Media Archive 2018

Fickleness in Economic Decisions is not Coincidental

2018-12-12: Predicting economic decisions of individuals remains a challenge to scientists. The idea that we make purchasing decisions based on stable personal preferences is widespread. However, this assumption does not explain why we are unsure about some decisions and, occasionally even want to undo them. In a paper recently published in Nature Neuroscience, Christian Ruff and his co-authors show that this fickleness is caused by systematic distortions of our processes of perception. 
The authors show that preferences are the result of a momentary comparison process between sensory perceptions and the expectations and experiences of the person making the judgement. Just as the brain recognizes, sorts and compares sensory impressions with expectations and experiences (red, four wheels, sleek design, standing in a garage) to perceive an object (a Ferrari), it also constructs preferences anew in every situation.  Whether we buy a certain gift - e.g. a beautiful watch - therefore also depends on which shop we are in, which watches we expect to find in this shop, and which other watches we have already seen and judged. In their research, Christian Ruff and his research colleagues show how these environmental influences can predict our preferences and how they affect how certain we are that we have made the right decision. 
 

Paper in Nature Neuroscience

The Soothing Effects of Strangers

2018-09-29: Pain and the psyche are closely linked, and social factors play a crucial role in determining how people experience pain. The study shows that people experience significantly stronger pain relief if they are treated by a person who belongs to a different social group, compared to getting help from a member of the same group. Before the treatment, both groups showed similarly strong responses to pain. However, after being treated by what they considered a stranger, the participants from this group rated their pain to be less intense than the other group. This effect was not limited to the subjective pain experience. “We also saw a reduction of the pain-related activation in the corresponding brain regions,” says Philippe Tobler.

Press Release
Paper

Economists Get Involved

2018-08-21: The SRF economics program ECO invited two economists of our time, Ernst Fehr and Hans-Werner Sinn, to discuss current economic topics from their respective research positions: They cover the Euro crisis, labor market regulations, wage and performance transparency and the rising relevance of empirical methods in economics.

Watch it here (in German)

Out in the Cold or One of the Gang: Initial Contacts Set the Scene

2018-05-28: Ostracism within a group is likely to be an unintentional side effect of our tendency to team up with individuals with whom we have had previous good experiences, and not so much a deliberate exclusion of an individual based on their behavior, as Björn Lindström and Philippe Tobler from the Department show in their paper recently published in Nature Human Behaviour. Initiating and mixing up early interactions increases the probability of being part of the gang. 

Press release