Deck 15: Decision Making

Question 1

What are the three factors that go into foraging decisions?

Answer 1

Encounter value; search value; search cost

Question 2

In signal detection theory, what is a decision variable?

Answer 2

not answered

Question 3

If I am willing to trade three of my apples for two of your pears, I have demonstrated what aspect of value-based decisions?

Answer 3

Value transitivity

Question 4

Regions of the vmPFC are equally sensitive to social reward and money. What aspect of value-based decisions does this demonstrate?

Question 5

You go to brush your teeth and realize that the tube of toothpaste is almost gone. The decision to try and squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste versus going to the store to get more is an example of a:

A)Perceptual decision
B)Value-based decision
C)Foraging decision

Question 6

Describe two studies indicating that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)/ ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) encodes a "common currency" for value-based decisions.

Question 7

What is meant by "common currency" in neuroeconomics?

Question 8

Explain the idea of a "saccade value map." How does it differ from that of a "salience map"?

Question 9

What is transitivity in value-based decisions? What does value transitivity correspond to?

Question 10

What evidence is there that the LIP encodes expected value?

Question 11

Describe a drift-diffusion model of decision making. What are the two critical variables in the model that determine how quickly a decision will be made?

Question 12

Define value transitivity and menu invariance. How are they related to each other?

Question 13

What is the difference between momentary evidence and accumulated evidence? For decisions about the direction of motion in a display of moving dots, what brain areas are associated with each?

Question 14

In a drift-diffusion model, _____ corresponds to the slope of the random walker and _____ to the threshold that triggers the commitment to a decision.

Question 15

Microstimulation studies of areas MT/V5 and area LIP have shown that the former is more closely associated with what aspect of diffusion models?

A)Drift rate
B)Decision boundary

Question 16

What is the difference between perceptual decisions, value decisions and foraging decisions?

Question 17

What two variables are the primary determinants of any value-based decision?

Question 18

Which economic decision is better (in terms of maximizing expected value):

A)Expected gain = $100; probability = 50%
B)Expected gain = $50; probability = 90%
C)Expected gain = $80; probability = 70%
D)Expected gain = $40; probability = 100%