Freedom of choice in decision-making: Introspecting the cause of our actions

决策选择的自由：反思我们行为的原因

• 批准号: ES/V00378X/2
• 负责人: Lucie Charles
• 金额: $ 50.39万
• 依托单位: Queen Mary University of London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FV00378X%2F2
• 关键词: Freedom; choice; decision; making; Introspecting

Context of the researchUnderstanding the causes of human behaviour is the defining aim of scientific psychology. Only recently however, psychologists have begun to investigate the cognitive mechanisms by which people evaluate their own decisions and choices. For example, studies on confidence judgments have shed light on the inter-individual differences leading some people to fail to change their minds, even when proven wrong. Surprisingly however, almost no previous research has used controlled laboratory conditions to investigate individuals' ability to introspect the cause of their actions and to detect which factors influence them when they are making a choice. Failures of introspection however have major implications for autonomy. People may experience an illusory sense of control and independence even when their decisions are in fact manipulated. Our recent research has started to reveal the existence of such illusions. Preliminary results showed that people experience an increased sense of detachment and freedom when they contradict suggestions, mistaking opposition for being free. This "thrill of rebellion" effect, reminiscent of some teenage behaviours or some political radicalization movements, effectively confuses being contrarian with being independent. Such cognitive bias, if not identified as such, could potentially be misused as tools to control individual behaviour, raising important societal and ethical issues. Basic scientific research on how people introspect the reasons for their choices is thus essential. Aims and objectivesThis project investigates how, and to what extent, people are able to introspect the origins of their decisions. It relies on studying the relation between two measures (i) the objective dependence of our actions on external events, and (ii) our subjective experience of whether our actions depend on those events, or, alternatively, reflect our freedom from them. These questions are addressed through controlled experimental laboratory studies and neuroimaging of healthy adult volunteers. This general aim is achieved through four specific objectives:1. To determine whether people can accurately identify the reason for their decision when several potential sources of influence are present, and to determine the neural dynamics of this process.2. To measure subjects' ability to voluntarily silence implicit and explicit suggestions and make choices free from external influence.3. To determine how affective value and reward modulate the ability to detach from influence, and to investigate the neural correlates of voluntary detachment from incentives.4. To quantify using controlled experimental measures, the value that people attribute to their subjective feeling of having freedom of choice. Potential applications and benefits"Liberty" is a near-universal popular cry, and a concept with enormous power to drive human action. This project delivers the first systematic laboratory investigation into the cognitive mechanisms underlying humans' introspection of the origin of their choices and the subjective feeling of being free in one's decisions and actions. Understanding these basic mechanisms would represent a major research contribution to cognitive psychology, social psychology, social policy and economics. There are important implications for society: new media offer powerful tools to influence individual decisions, often without people being aware of such manipulation. Therefore, the project should capture the interest of several sectors within wider society, particularly consumer behaviour and communication specialists. We plan to disseminate to and collaborate with policy groups to maximize positive societal impact of the research ideas. We will aim to translate our findings to the digital economy, e.g. through cognitive training programs aiming to enhance detection of factors influencing individual choice, and thus protect autonomy.

研究背景理解人类行为的原因是科学心理学的明确目标。然而，直到最近，心理学家才开始研究人们评估自己的决定和选择的认知机制。例如，对信心判断的研究揭示了个体间的差异导致一些人无法改变他们的想法，即使被证明是错误的。然而，令人惊讶的是，几乎没有以前的研究使用受控的实验室条件来调查个人反省其行为原因的能力，以及在他们做出选择时发现哪些因素影响他们的能力。然而，内省的失败对自主性有重大影响。人们可能会体验到一种虚幻的控制感和独立感，即使他们的决定实际上是被操纵的。我们最近的研究已经开始揭示这种错觉的存在。初步结果显示，当人们反驳建议时，他们会体验到更强的超然感和自由感，误以为反对是自由的。这种“反叛的快感”效应，让人想起一些青少年行为或一些政治激进运动，实际上混淆了逆向与独立。这种认知偏见，如果不加以确认，就有可能被滥用为控制个人行为的工具，从而引发重要的社会和道德问题。因此，关于人们如何反思其选择原因的基础科研至关重要。目的和目标本项目调查人们如何以及在多大程度上能够反思他们的决定的起源。它依赖于研究两个度量之间的关系：（i）我们的行为对外部事件的客观依赖性，以及（ii）我们的主观经验，即我们的行为是否依赖于这些事件，或者，反映我们的自由。这些问题通过对照实验室研究和健康成年志愿者的神经成像来解决。这一总体目标通过四个具体目标实现：1.为了确定人们是否可以准确地识别他们的决定的原因时，存在几个潜在的影响源，并确定这一过程的神经动力学。2.测量被试在不受外界影响的情况下，自愿沉默内隐和外显建议以及做出选择的能力。探讨情感价值和奖励对影响力分离能力的调节作用，以及动机自愿分离的神经机制.使用受控实验测量来量化人们归因于他们拥有选择自由的主观感觉的价值。潜在的应用和好处“自由”是一个几乎普遍的流行口号，是一个具有巨大力量推动人类行动的概念。该项目首次对人类反思其选择的起源以及在决定和行动中自由的主观感受的认知机制进行了系统的实验室调查。理解这些基本机制将代表对认知心理学、社会心理学、社会政策和经济学的重大研究贡献。这对社会有重要的影响：新媒体提供了影响个人决定的强大工具，而人们往往没有意识到这种操纵。因此，该项目应引起更广泛社会中若干部门的兴趣，特别是消费者行为和通信专家。我们计划向政策团体传播并与之合作，以最大限度地发挥研究思想的积极社会影响。我们的目标是将我们的发现转化为数字经济，例如通过认知培训计划，旨在加强对影响个人选择的因素的检测，从而保护自主权。

项目成果

Mistaking opposition for autonomy: psychophysical studies on detecting choice bias

将反对误认为自主：检测选择偏见的心理物理学研究

• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1785
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Biological Sciences
• 作者: Kummen Å

Exposure to misleading and unreliable information reduces active information-seeking

接触误导性和不可靠的信息会减少积极的信息寻求

• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/4zkxw
• 发表时间: 2023
• 作者: Jiwa M