“Learning to choose is hard. Learning to choose well is harder. And learning to choose well in a world of unlimited possibilities is harder still, perhaps too hard.” (Barry Schwartz)
Every day, consumers have to make decisions on which brand to choose, which product to buy and what advertisement sounds credible. Unfortunately, the decision making process has become so complicated due to the amount of choices and information available. The question then becomes: what (why) influences consumers to make their purchasing decision? Consumers themselves might be able to express what they want, like, or even how much they will be willing to pay for an offering. However, they are not capable to tell us where that value comes from and when and how …show more content…
Many of the studies around neural responses to rewards have implicated neural circuits associated with dopamine (DA). The ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the midbrain contains DA; which contributes to reward evaluation. The neural linked to reward consists of the basal ganglia, the amygdala, and the hippocampus, as well as to cortical regions like the medial frontal lobe (Textbook). Costa, Tran, Turchi and Averbeck (2014) concluded that monkeys prefer a novel choice option to a familiar one when their DA transporter was blocked. The researchers also showed that DAT blockade led monkeys to assess and choose novel options relative to the best alternative and familiar option. This study demonstrated that alterations in dopamine levels may lead to excessive novelty seeking and impulsivity, hence impacting the decision making process.
It is also important to look at how people deal with uncertainty when looking at neuroeconomic research in decision making. There are two types of uncertainty. The first one deals with uncertainty “about what outcome will occur”. It generally leads to risk aversion. Meta-analytic techniques helped identify four cortical regions associated with the degree of risk during decision making: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex, and the anterior insula.
Every day, consumers have to make decisions on which brand to choose, which product to buy and what advertisement sounds credible. Unfortunately, the decision making process has become so complicated due to the amount of choices and information available. The question then becomes: what (why) influences consumers to make their purchasing decision? Consumers themselves might be able to express what they want, like, or even how much they will be willing to pay for an offering. However, they are not capable to tell us where that value comes from and when and how …show more content…
Many of the studies around neural responses to rewards have implicated neural circuits associated with dopamine (DA). The ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the midbrain contains DA; which contributes to reward evaluation. The neural linked to reward consists of the basal ganglia, the amygdala, and the hippocampus, as well as to cortical regions like the medial frontal lobe (Textbook). Costa, Tran, Turchi and Averbeck (2014) concluded that monkeys prefer a novel choice option to a familiar one when their DA transporter was blocked. The researchers also showed that DAT blockade led monkeys to assess and choose novel options relative to the best alternative and familiar option. This study demonstrated that alterations in dopamine levels may lead to excessive novelty seeking and impulsivity, hence impacting the decision making process.
It is also important to look at how people deal with uncertainty when looking at neuroeconomic research in decision making. There are two types of uncertainty. The first one deals with uncertainty “about what outcome will occur”. It generally leads to risk aversion. Meta-analytic techniques helped identify four cortical regions associated with the degree of risk during decision making: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, the posterior parietal cortex, and the anterior insula.