LECTURE 4
SOME INTUITIONS
 e m otion al p ro ce s s es un d e rl ie ra p i d ,
b a s i c , a n d a u to m at ic eva l u a tions
 l ow - level pro c e s ses t h a t e l ic it
s t ro n g va l e nc e d a n d s te re ot y p e d
b e h av ioral re s p o nse s
 re fl e c t a s p e e d /a cc u ra c y t ra d e o f f
w h e re by b e h avio ral o p t i o n s a re
eva l uate d o n l y w i th s uf fi c ie n t
re s o lu t ion to b i a s b e h av ior i n a
g e n e rally a d a p t i ve m a n ne r, o f te n
d e s c ri b e d a s a c ru d e b i a s ing s i gnal
o r a h e u ri st ic ( JD M ) .
 In c o g n it ive p ro c e s se s a re re g a rd e d
a s i n te gra tin g i n fo rma tio n
re g a rd i ng th e d i m e nsio ns o f ri s k y
c h o ic e s a c c o rd i ng to s o m e
ex p e c t a t i on - based c a l c ulus, o r c o s t b e n e fi t a n a lysis & a re t y p i c a lly
re g a rd e d to i nvolve c o n t ro lle d
p ro c e s se s a n d a re s e q u e nt ial a n d
ru l e - ba sed
BECHARA
 Most theories of choice assume that decisions derive from an
assessment of the future outcomes of various options and
alternatives through some type of cost -benefit analyses. The
influence of emotions on decision -making is largely ignored.
The studies of decision-making in neurological patients who
can no longer process emotional information normally
suggest that people make judgments not only by evaluating
the consequences and their probability of occurring, but also
and even sometimes primarily at a gut or emotional level.
OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS
 what specific parameter s of decision contexts are encoded by the
brain?
 how are these parameters represented and processed at the neural
level?
 To what extent do such representations correspond to the
parameter s of decision -making frameworks?
 What is the relationship between these representations and
cognitive and emotional processes?
DECISION MAKING UNDER
UNCERTAINTY
 Minimal parameters: a basic tradeof f between expected
reward and risk
 Choosing between putting money into a savings account or the stock
market
Expected utility (risk is implicit) vs. financial
decision theory
UNCERTAINT Y PARAMETERS
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
NEURAL CORRELATES OF EXPECTED
REWARD
NEURAL CORRELATES OF RISK
CONCLUSIONS, PART 1
 the brain decomposes risky choice contexts along the
statistical dimensions that are the cornerstone of financial
decision theory, a paradigmatic cost -benefit and cognitive
computation
 However, these are paradigmatic emotion/affective regions
(including insula)
 At the level of reward/risk perception, no need for
speed/accuracy tradeof f
ETHICS AND THE BATTLE BET WEEN EMOTION
AND REASON
MORAL DECISION MAKING
 Emotion – reason distinction central to classical and contemporar y
debates
 Kant (cognitivism) vs. Hume (moral sentimentalism)
 Kohlberg ‘s cognitivist moral developmental psychology (moral
reasoning) vs. Gilligan
 Contemporary moral intuitionism (Haidt)
HAIDT’S SOCIAL INTUITIONISM
 Julie & Mark
 Family Dog
 4 reasons to doubt the causal importance of reason




Dual process problem
Motivated reasoning problem
Post hoc problem (objective reasoning a cognitive illusion)
The action problem
DUAL SYSTEMS
ETHICAL POSITIONS
Consequentialism
Mill's utilitarianism
An action is right if it
promotes the best
consequences.
Deontology
Virtue Theory
example
Kantian ethics
Aristotle's moral theory
An action is right if it is in
An action is right if it is what a
abstract
accordance with a moral rule virtuous agent would do in the
description
or principle.
circumstances.
A virtuous agent is one who acts
virtuously, that is, one who has
The best consequences
more concrete
A moral rule is one that is
and exercises the virtues. A
are those in which
specification
required by rationality.
virtue is a character trait a
happiness is maximized.
human being needs to flourish or
live well.
JOHN STUART MILL
GREENE
MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Scenarios that probe moral
intuition.



Much used in moral philosophy
One of the most famous is the
“trolley” dilemma
A runaway trolley is about to kill
5 people
a) Push lever to change track -- kill 1
to save 5.
b) Push man down foot bridge -- kill 1
to save 5.
 Deontological (emotion)
/utilitarian (reason)
FOOTBRIDGE/SWITCH
DIFFICULT VS EASY PERSONAL DILEMMA
STROOP
STROOP
STROOP
UTILITARIAN VS NON-UTILITARIAN