Module 7: Reward System and Decision Making Flashcards
Give one example of how emotions can be evolutionarily adaptive.
Emotions evolved in response to problems.
An example would be Disgust when someone is Sick, this leads to less social interaction of which keeps us safe from pathogens/diseases.
Define a decision.
A selection of a belief or action by taking into consideration internal and external factors.
It implies the possibility of more than 1 outcome.
Identify 4 factors that influence decision making.
1) Magnitude of reward or punishment
2) Probability of outcomes
3) Effort it takes to get outcome
4) Delay in receiving outcome
Explain why dopamine is not the pleasure chemical with 3 examples.
Dopamine has more to do with motivation - especially when involved in reward pathways.
- T-maze (less dopamine will make rats prefer the easy, less rewarding route. With more dopamine, they prefer to exert more effort for larger reward).
- Parkinson’s (lack of dopamine, takes dopamine agonist medication): they do not report lack of pleasure & the drug is not pleasurable to take.
- Schizophrenia medication (too much dopamine, but it isn’t associated with pleasure)
Define a risky decision.
Involves uncertainty and emotion - so outcome is assessed as good or bad.
True or False: Dopamine mediates the influence of potential rewards on an organisms decision to pursue the choice or not.
True
Dopamine pathways include:
Mesolimbic system to striatum.
These include thalamus, amygdala, and hypothalamus - all very old parts of the brain.
How did the dopamine agonist drug affect patients with Parkinson’s?
Caused Pathological Gambling in some within 1-3 months.
How does antipsychotic medication of schizophrenia affect these patients?
They report lack of motivation but don’t present inability to enjoy pleasurable experiences.
They become less likely to work hard to obtain a large reward. (less effort with less dopamine)
How does dopamine transmission affect Effort in decision making?
Less dopamine = less effort.
More dopamine = more effort.
True or false: Mischel et al.’s Marshmallow test is an example of Delay Gratification.
True
True of false: In Mischel et al.’s Marshmallow test, children who were able to Delay their Gratification and get another marshmallow ended up having lower SAT scores, less of an ability to cope with frustration and stress, and unhealthy BMIs later on in their lives.
False - it was the opposite!
What is delay gratification?
the act of resisting temptation of immediate gratification in hopes of attaining a more valuable one.
How is delay gratification measured?
With Delay discounting/temporal discounting
What is delay discounting?
The value of Delay is subjective; waiting isn’t worth it for some people, and it is for others.
