a selective emotional decision-making bias elicited by facial expressions选择性情感决策偏差引起的面部表情.pdfVIP

A Selective Emotional Decision-Making Bias Elicited by Facial Expressions Nicholas Furl*, Shannon Gallagher, Bruno B. Averbeck Unit on Learning and Decision Making, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America Abstract Emotional and social information can sway otherwise rational decisions. For example, when participants decide between two faces that are probabilistically rewarded, they make biased choices that favor smiling relative to angry faces. This bias may arise because facial expressions evoke positive and negative emotional responses, which in turn may motivate social approach and avoidance. We tested a wide range of pictures that evoke emotions or convey social information, including animals, words, foods, a variety of scenes, and faces differing in trustworthiness or attractiveness, but we found only facial expressions biased decisions. Our results extend brain imaging and pharmacological findings, which suggest that a brain mechanism supporting social interaction may be involved. Facial expressions appear to exert special influence over this social interaction mechanism, one capable of biasing otherwise rational choices. These results illustrate that only specific types of emotional experiences can best sway our choices. Citation: Furl N, Gallagher S, Averbeck BB (2012) A Selective Emotional Decision-Making Bias Elicited by Facial Expressions. PLoS ONE 7(3): e33461. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0033461 Editor: Angela Sirigu, French National Centre for Scientific Research, France Received September 1, 2011; Accepted February 15, 2012; Published March 15, 2012 This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons