Decisions

It is well known that people use probability and reward (i.e., value) information irrationally/suboptimally when making decisions. This is interesting since people tend to use this same information in an optimal manner when performing movements. One possible reason for this fascinating paradox is that humans have an enormous amount of experience performing movements by the time they reach adulthood. Conversely, people typically have little to no experience in the types of decision-theoretic tasks that are commonly employed in neuroeconomics. Therefore, my work with Colin Camerer, Antonio Rangel and Shin Shimojo investigated the role of expertise in how the brain uses and represents value when making risky decisions. We compared the brain activity of poker experts to novices while performing various decision-theoretic tasks. We are currently finishing data analysis and hope to begin writing soon. Please check back for updates.

In the context of gambling, impulsive behavior is commonly characterized by a few attributes: deciding to wager more rapidly, without careful consideration; increased incidence of errors in the decision-making process; and also wagering more money (either through increased betting frequency or magnitude). Although impulsivity is typically associated with pathological or problem gamblers, there are circumstances under which non-problem gamblers can exhibit such behavior. My work with Colin Camerer and Shin Shimojo investigates the role of deficient predictive models in evoking impulsive wagering behavior. Please check back soon; this data is currently being collected.