Collaborative Research: Social and contextual influences on the formation of expectations about reward outcomes across the Primates

当面临选择时，人类通常会根据他们对其他人做出的类似决定的结果的观察来做出决定。虽然在某些情况下，这种比较有助于确定最好的结果，但在其他情况下，这种社会比较可能导致不太理想的、甚至可能是负面的决定或结果。例如，在做出与个人或家庭经济有关的决定时，人们可能会观察他人(同龄人、同事、邻居、家人等)，以确定什么是“正常的”或“适当的”，这可能会导致基本上负担不起的支出(俗称为“与邻居同行”)，因此，增加了他们财务崩溃的风险。同样，对同事、邻居或同事的观察可能会导致比较，从而导致做出“有风险的”决定，同样会产生潜在的负面结果。了解人们如何以及为什么观察和应用他人做出的决定来做出自己的决定，即使这种比较是无效的，甚至是积极的误导性的，这可能有助于制定策略，这些策略可以用来帮助人们做出好的决定，并将他们做出糟糕决定的可能性降至最低。由于人们每天都面临决策情况，这项研究将有助于人们制定策略，帮助他们做出促进幸福感的正确决定。在这个项目中，首席调查员将研究影响决策的因素，当个人依赖其他人收到的东西来确定他们的预期结果时，也称为参照点。我们的第一个研究目标是探索这些参照点如何影响人们对其结果的预期。特别是，我们感兴趣的是，如果这些期望被打破，会发生什么。此外，我们感兴趣的是，围绕决策的其他因素可能会影响这些参考点被用来建立预期的程度。这些背景包括情况的风险、观察到的结果符合典型结果的程度(例如，只有一个人收到该结果，还是其他所有人都收到了该结果？)，以及在违反预期的情况下，是否有充分的理由解释为什么自己的结果可能与预期的结果不同。我们的第二个研究目标是了解这些行为的演变。这一点很重要，因为通过了解更广泛的生物和心理基础、机制和过程，我们可以开始设计有效的干预措施，以抵消次优决策。理解人类决策行为的生物学基础的一种方法是在非人类物种中探索这些问题。我们将使用实验经济学的方法来探索1)风险如何与个人对其结果的预期相互作用，2)社会环境如何影响个人的预期，以及3)如果存在感知到的违反预期的理由，个人是否会做出不同的反应。这些问题将有助于理解社会比较如何推动在某些情况下可能导致负面结果的决策过程。在更广泛的影响方面，我们非常重视为下一代科学家提供科学方法培训。这包括让本科生、研究生和博士后研究员参与这项提案所涉及的所有级别的研究。我们还将把这项研究带给K-12的学生，以便在这些学生还年轻的时候激发他们对科学的热情。此外，良好的决策应该对所有年龄段的人产生积极影响，因此这是一个特别相关和重要的话题，应该很容易让学生在成长过程中参与进来。我们通过在K-12区学校展示我们的科学和社区参与科学活动来实现这一参与，例如参加当地学校的公共“科学之夜”，以及私人投资机构和我们的学生参与科学博览会。更广泛地说，人们每天都会遇到我们正在探索的那种决定，在这些情况下做出好的决定直接影响到经济、身体和心理的健康。

When faced with a choice, humans often make decisions based on their observations of the results of similar decisions made by other people. Although in some cases such comparisons can help determine the best outcome, in other contexts, such social comparisons can lead to less than optimal, and even potentially negative, decisions or outcomes. For instance, when making decisions related to personal or family economics, people may observe others (peers, colleagues, neighbors, family, etc.), to determine what is "normal" or "appropriate," potentially leading to expenditures that essentially cannot be afforded (colloquially known as (keeping up with the Joneses') and therefore, increase their risk of financial ruin. Similarly, observations of peers, neighbors, or colleagues may lead to comparisons that result in the making of "risky" decisions, again with potentially negative outcomes. Understanding how and why people observe and apply the decisions made by other people to the making of their own decisions, even when such comparisons are not valid or are even actively misleading, may aid in the development of strategies that can be used to help people make good decisions and minimize the probability that they will make poor ones. Because people are faced with decision-making situations on a daily basis, this research will be important for helping people to develop strategies that will help them make good decisions that promote well-being. In this project, the Principal Investigators will study the factors that influence decision-making when individuals rely on what others receive to determine their expected outcome, also known as a reference point. Our first research goal is to explore how these reference points influence what people expect their outcomes to be. In particular, we are interested in what happens if those expectations are violated. Additionally, we are interested in what other factors surrounding the decision may influence the degree to which these reference points are used to establish expectations. These contexts include the riskiness of the situation, the degree to which an observed outcome conforms to what is typical (e.g., is only one other person receiving that outcome, or is everyone else receiving that outcome?), and, in situations in which expectations are violated, whether there is a good rationale for why one's own outcome might differ from what is expected. Our second research goal is to understand the evolution of these behaviors. This is important because by understanding the broader biological and psychological foundations, mechanisms, and processes, we can begin to design effective interventions to counteract sub-optimal decision-making. One way to understand the biological foundations of human decision-making behavior is to explore these questions in nonhuman species. We will use methods from experimental economics to explore 1) how risk interacts with individuals' expectations about their outcomes, 2) how the social context influences individuals' expectations, and 3) whether individuals respond differently if there is a rationale for a perceived violation of expectations. Together these questions will provide an understanding of how social comparison may drive decision-making processes that could lead to negative outcomes in certain contexts. In terms of broader impacts, we have a strong focus on providing training in the scientific method to the next generation of scientists. This includes engaging undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in all levels of the research involved in this proposal. We will also bring this research to K-12 students in order to generate enthusiasm for science while these students are young. Additionally, good decision-making should positively impact people of all ages, so it is a particularly relevant and important topic that should easily engage students during their formative years. We accomplish this engagement by presenting our science in area K-12 schools and through community involvement in science, such as participating in public "science nights" at local schools and involvement in science fairs by both the PIs and our students. More broadly, people encounter daily the sorts of decisions that we are exploring, and good decision making in these situations directly impacts financial, physical, and psychological well-being.