Chapter 14 Flashcards
actor-critic learning model
A framework for learning that posits two independent elements: a critic that learns rules mapping actions to rewards, and an actor that learns the optimal policy for selecting actions.
altruistic punishment
An action taken to harm another individual, at personal cost, in order to enforce a social norm (e.g., sacrificing one’s own money in order to punish someone who cheats in a game).
ambiguity aversion
The tendency to prefer choice options whose outcome probabilities are known over options with unknown probabilities (i.e., that have ambiguity).
behavioral economics
A new social science discipline that combines elements of traditional economics and psychology to explain real-world decisions, including observed biases in choice.
bounded rationality
The idea that biological limitations on cognitive processing prevent people from making decisions or from reasoning in a fully rational manner.
dopamine
A catecholamine neurotransmitter involved in learning and reward evaluation, among other roles in the nervous system of humans and other animals.
drift-diffusion model
A mathematical description of decision making behavior in terms of competing processes that drift in a random-walk fashion toward boundaries. Also called diffusion decision model.
dual-system model
A framework for decision making that posits the existence of two independent systems—typically, a fast emotional system and a slower cognitive system—whose interactions over time predict choices.
endowment effect
A bias in decision making in which people will pay less to buy something than they would accept to sell the same thing, if they already possessed it.
expected utility
The personal value (i.e., utility) placed on the potential outcome of a decision, as derived from the combination of the value and probability of its potential outcomes.
expected value
The average value in a particular currency (e.g., dollars) of the potential outcome of a decision as weighted by the relative probabilities of those outcomes.
fictive learning
The adjustment of rules for behavior based on reward outcomes that were observed, but not received directly.
framing effect
A mode of representing a decision-making scenario that changes the decisions people make, even though the basic structure of the problem is left unchanged.
game theory
A subfield of behavioral economics that investigates how people make decisions in simple, well controlled games.
habit
A well-established pattern of thought or behavior.
heuristic
A rule or procedure derived from past experience that can be used to solve a problem (e.g., in decision making, perception, or some other aspect of cognition).
hyperscanning
An fMRI technique in which data are collected simultaneously across more than one MRI scanner, often while individuals are playing a multiplayer game.
Iowa Gambling Task
An experimental paradigm, developed by Antonio Damasio and colleagues at the University of Iowa, that tests subjects’ sensitivity to risk and reward; the test reveals that patients with damage to the inferior prefrontal cortex tend to make risk-seeking choices.
lateral intraparietal area (LIP)
Also called area LIP. A part of the inferior parietal lobule that plays a key role in orienting attention and the eyes to a location in space.
negative reinforcement
The removal of an aversive outcome following an action.
neuroeconomics
Also called decision neuroscience. An emerging discipline that combines theoretical perspectives from neuroscience and economics, as well as other of the social sciences, in the creation of mechanistic models for behavior.
neuromarketing
The use of measurements of physiology or brain function to shape the branding and advertising of consumer products.
neurorealism
The tendency to consider a behavioral or mental phenomenon to be more real based on the presence of neuroscience data.
nucleus accumbens
A subdivision of the ventral striatum that contains neurons sensitive to the neurotransmitter dopamine and contributes to learning and reward evaluation.
primary reinforcer
Also called unconditioned reinforcer. A stimulus whose rewarding properties come from its salutary effects on homeostatic processes; food, water, warmth, and sex are examples.
probability weighting
A core assumption of prospect theory, such that the subjective probability of an outcome can differ systematically from the objective probability.
prospect theory
A quantitative decision-making model proposing that people make decisions in terms of the anticipated gains and losses from their current state, and that probabilities are subjective.
punishment
The delivery of an aversive stimulus.
rational choice model
A framework for explaining choice behavior that assumes that decision makers are consistent in their preferences and procedures for generating choices.
rationality
Consistency in decision making that is based on a conscious evaluation of the circumstances.
reference dependence
A core assumption of prospect theory, such that outcomes are evaluated in terms of their relative change (positive or negative) from the current state.
reward prediction error (RPE)
A quantity given by the difference between the reward that was expected and what actually occurs; the activity of some dopaminergic neurons seems to convey this quantity.
risk aversion
The tendency to prefer lower-risk options when making decisions, even in some situations when those options have reduced expected value.
satisficing
An approach to decision making in which a decision maker does not seek the best possible option, but instead chooses the first option that meets some threshold for acceptability.
secondary reinforcer
A stimulus that has no direct effects on homeostatic processes but is nevertheless rewarding; money is a paradigmatic example.
temporal difference learning
A form of learning that modulates behavior according to the difference between an obtained reward and an estimate, compiled over the recent past, of an expected reward.
temporal discounting
Also called delay discounting. The reduction in the desirability of an outcome based on the delay in time until it will be delivered.
utility
The personal worth associated with a good; may deviate from the stated value of that good depending on an individual’s preferences, biases, or current state.
ventral striatum
The portion of the ventral caudate and putamen that encompasses the nucleus accumbens.
ventral tegmental area (VTA)
A part of the midbrain that contains many dopaminergic neurons and is important for reward and learning.
