Testing the implications of a dynamic, neurally-informed computational model of valuation, decision making, and self-control

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Have you ever started reaching for a tempting plate of cookies, only to stop a fraction of a second later when you remember that they're full of fat and sugar? Or struggled to resist the lure of TV and the Internet while working? Effective self-control allows us to resist these kinds of immediate temptations and make decisions we know will leave us better off in the end. Unfortunately, people often struggle with temptation and choose in ways they later regret. Despite decades of research, we don't fully understand why. What makes self-control feel so hard sometimes? What goes wrong when we succumb to temptation? Most importantly, how can we develop better self-control? By investigating the computational and neural bases of decision making, my research has provided new answers to these long-standing questions. This work highlights something that often goes under-appreciated despite its deep importance: self-control doesn't just “happen.” It is a process that unfolds and changes over time, sometimes quite quickly, sometimes agonizingly slowly. Thus, to understand and improve decision making, we must account not just for the choice someone makes in the end, but also for the rich affective and cognitive dynamics that occur along the way. The proposed program of research does this in two specific ways. First, it draws on insights from psychology, neuroscience, and economics to understand how and when information about the value of a choice is represented across the brain. Second, it uses a novel combination of continuous behavioral measures, neuroimaging, and computational modeling to test important predictions about how the timing of information and the deployment of self-control interact to shape choices. This approach will help to clarify when and why the deployment of self-control will be effect, and when it is likely to fail. The ability to resist temptation in the pursuit of long-term goals has been linked to a host of important benefits for both the self and society, while deficits in this ability are thought to contribute to destructive relationships, problems with addiction and obesity, and workplace productivity. Understanding the basic mechanisms underlying choice may help us to better understand both adaptive and maladaptive choices, as well as to develop more effective interventions to improve outcomes. This program of research contributes toward that goal, by developing and refining new models of choice behaviour, and providing new insights into when and why self-control fails. It will be of interest to the general public, as well as to business leaders, policy makers, and educators hoping to help people make better, more adaptive choices.