Factors influencing judgments of causal relations

学习、理解和应用关于因果关系的知识的能力是我们日常思考和决策的核心认知能力。事实上，一个人有效地思考和推理因果关系的能力是一个人在我们生活的这个动态和不断变化的世界中取得成功的基础。这项研究的主要目的是揭示(1)应用、(2)表征和(3)因果思维信念获得的认知机制。具体地说，通过使用多种融合的方法(例如，基本的行为和功能脑成像)，拟议的研究将提供重要的新见解，以了解外显(即更有意识和控制)和内隐(即更无意识和自动)的认知过程如何共同促进这三个相互关联的组成部分的因果思维。在学术层面上，这项研究的发现将有助于发展更具压迫性的因果思维理论，特别是人类推理和决策的一般理论。重要的是，这项研究也具有重大的现实意义。具体地说，因果思维已被证明是包括医学、法律和经济学在内的广泛学科中有效的人类决策的关键要素。在对因果关系做出判断时，通过深入了解内隐和外显过程如何有助于信念的应用、表征和获得，我们将更有利地制定策略，在先前信念可能有害于有效决策的情况下限制它们的影响。

The ability to learn, comprehend, and apply knowledge about causal relations is a core cognitive faculty underlying much of our daily thinking and decision-making. Indeed, one's ability to think and reason effectively about causal relations is fundamental to an individual's success in the dynamic and ever changing world in which we live. The primary objectives of the proposed research are to uncover the cognitive mechanisms underlying the (1) application, (2) representation, and (3) acquisition of beliefs in causal thinking. Specifically, through the use of multiple converging methodologies (e.g., basic behavioural and functional brain imaging), the proposed research will provide important new insights into how explicit (i.e., more conscious and controlled) and implicit (i.e., more unconscious and automatic) cognitive processes jointly contribute to causal thinking in each of these three interrelated components. At an academic level, the findings from this research will aid in the development of more compressive theories of causal thinking in particular, and human reasoning and decision-making in general. Importantly, this research also has significant real world implications. Specifically, causal thinking has been shown to be a key element underlying effective human decision-making in a wide range of disciplines, including Medicine, Law, and Economics. By gaining insights into how implicit and explicit processes contribute to the application, representation, and acquisition of beliefs when making judgments about causal relations, we will be more advantageously positioned to develop strategies that limit the impact of prior beliefs when they could be deleterious to effective decision-making.