Where do our preferences come from? How hard decisions shape our preferences

Manifestations, social impact, and decay of conceptual beliefs: A cultural perspective

INTRODUCTION

Believing comprises multifaceted processes that integrate information from the outside world through meaning-making processes with personal relevance.

METHODS

Qualitative Review of the current literature in social cognitive neuroscience.

RESULTS

Although believing develops rapidly outside an individual's conscious awareness, it results in the formation of beliefs that are stored in memory and play an important role in determining an individual's behavior. Primal beliefs reflect an individual's experience of objects and events, whereas conceptual beliefs are based on narratives that are held in social groups. Conceptual beliefs can be about autobiographical, political, religious, and other aspects of life and may be encouraged by participation in group rituals. We hypothesize that assertions of future gains and rewards that transcend but are inherent in these codices provide incentives to follow the norms and rules of social groups.

CONCLUSION

The power of conceptual beliefs to provide cultural orientation is likely to fade when circumstances and evidence make it clear that what was asserted no longer applies.

Neuromodulation of choice-induced preference changes: the tDCS study of cognitive dissonance

Introduction

Difficult choices between two equally attractive options result in a cognitive discrepancy between dissonant cognitions such as preferences and actions often followed by a sense of psychological discomfort known as cognitive dissonance. It can lead to changes in the desirability of options: the chosen option becomes more desirable, whereas the rejected option is devalued. Despite the ample experimental evidence to show this effect, the neural mechanisms and timing of such choice-induced preference changes are not fully understood.

Methods

In this study, we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to modulate the activity of the posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC), which has been associated with conflict monitoring and choice-induced preference changes in neuroimaging studies. Prior to a revised version of Brehm's free-choice paradigm, participants in two experiments underwent cathodal (inhibitory) or anodal (excitatory) tDCS of the pMFC compared to sham (placebo) stimulation prior to the choice phase.

Results

Our results showed that cathodal tDCS significantly decreased the choice-induced preference change relative to a sham, but only in direct comparisons of rejected options. No significant effect of anodal tDCS in comparison with sham was observed.

Discussion

This study replicates the general behavioral effect of cognitive dissonance and provide partial support for the theory of the pMFC contribution to choice-related cognitive dissonance and subsequent preference changes, with possible limitations of an under-sampling for the obtained effect size and an asymmetry in the inhibitory-excitatory effects of non-invasive tDCS.

Neurochronometry of choice-induced preference changes: when do preferences actually change?

According to cognitive dissonance theory, a discrepancy between preferences and actions may lead to the revaluation of preferences, increasing preference for the chosen options and decreasing for the rejected options. This phenomenon is known as the spreading of alternatives (SoA), which results in a choice-induced preference change (CIPC). Previous neuroimaging studies have identified several brain regions that play a role in cognitive dissonance. However, the neurochronometry of the cognitive mechanisms underlying CIPC is a topic of debate. In other words, does it occur during the difficult choice, immediately after the choice, or when people encounter the options again? Furthermore, it remains unclear what is the exact time point, relative to the onset of facing options, either within the choice or after it, when the attitudes start to be revised. We argue that applying online protocols of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), during or immediately after the choice process, could be the most efficient way to better understand the temporal dynamics of the SoA effect. TMS allows for achieving high temporal and spatial resolution, modulating the activity of areas of interest, and examining the causal relationships. Besides, unlike the offline TMS, the online instrument allows tracking of the neurochronometry of attitude change, by varying stimulation onsets and durations with respect to the option stimuli. Based on scrupulous analysis of previous findings, employing online TMS studies of conflict monitoring, cognitive control, and CIPC neuroimaging results, we conclude that the use of online TMS is critical to examine the neurochronometry of CIPC.