What Are The Limitations Of Decision-making And The Brain?

Describe a recent purchase you have made and analyze the extent to which you use system 1 and system 2 modes of decision

            Recently I purchased supplies for my daughter – diapers, formula and wipes as she is still very young.  Before I went to the store I already knew what kind of diapers I was going to buy based on previous research on quality and price.  Same process for the wipes and formula as well.  Since these primary items constitute a sizable sum each month I have found it to be helpful to be aware of how much I am paying for these items.  I would say I was definitely using way more of my system 2 decision making.  As Zurawicki discusses, system 2 decisions are based on slow, deliberate and logical thought processes versus the more emotional and impulsive system 1 thought processes (Zurawicki, L., 2009).

What are the limitations of decision-making and the brain?

            The authors of Neural Predictors of Purchases, Knutson et al., (2007) were certainly decisive in determining that the brain primarily uses a cost versus benefit type of analysis when making decisions about purchases.  However, the major limitation of the research is that it does not explain how the brain rationalizes a decision when there is no apparent way to determine the cost to benefit ratio – like when buying life insurance for example.  So while the research paper is intriguing it is narrow in its ability to describe a fully cohesive picture of how the brain makes decisions, especially related to purchasing products (Knutson et al., 2007).

What is the specific role of the amygdala and to which extent does activation of the amygdala informs the process by which we make decisions?

The amygdala’s role is to interpret signals from multiple sensory systems within the brain like the thalamus and the visual cortex in order to decide and direct the body how to respond to stimulus.   The amygdala then informs the autonomic, behavioral, and endocrine systems how to respond to a stimulus.  The amygdala also sends information to prefrontal cortex where it is processed into higher reasoning (Gazzaniga, M. et al, 2009).  Primarily the amygdala role in decision making process is using its communication pathways (high and low roads) from the cortex to match memories off visual information and associate an emotional response to it. 

References

Gazzaniga M. S., I. R. B., Mangun G. R. (2009). Cognitive neuroscience: the biology of the mind (Third Edition ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Knutson, B., Rick, S., Wimmer, G. E., Prelec, D., & Loewenstein, G. (2007). Neural Predictors of Purchases. Neuron. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2006.11.010

Zurawicki, L. (2010). Neuromarketing: Exploring the Brain of the Consumer (1 ed.). Boston, MA, USA: Springer.