According to a new study, the reward system, located in our brain, affects our judgment. In other words, we pass judgment on a situation based on our preferences without realizing it.
The brain of humans, and mammals in general, has a reward system. The latter allows us to carry out certain actions or to have certain behaviors, driven by three factors: an affective factor, consisting of the pleasure caused by the “reward” obtained after the action, a factor corresponding to the motivation that we have to obtain this reward, but also a cognitive factor, relating to what one will learn thanks to this action. This is why, for example, dogs are trained by giving them food when they do what is asked of them. Food, for the animal, is the reward. It’s the same for humans.
Our judgment is biased
According to a new study, conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, in Cologne (Germany) and published in the journal The Journal of Neuroscience, this reward system affects our judgment in the face of certain experiences, because it is linked to our preferences. “In complex and confusing situations, we risk making a biased judgment as soon as we prefer one conclusion to another”, explains Bojana Kuzmanovic, one of the scientists of the study.
Participants were asked to estimate the average and personal risk of different negative events. Then, the true average risk was communicated to them. They then adjusted their estimates accordingly. “By ignoring unpleasant information, we avoid drawing threatening conclusions. We might, for example, overlook federal statistics that indicate a higher risk of heart attack, because we believe that we have a particularly healthy lifestyle.” In other words, we pass judgment on a situation according to what “suits” us.
Our desires activate the reward system
To conduct their research, the scientists used the magnetic resonance tomography to record brain activity. They found that our preferences activate certain regions of the brain, which are also strongly stimulated by rewards, such as food or money.
The researchers also demonstrated, for the first time, that the reward system in turn stimulated certain areas of the brain, which were themselves already involved in the conclusion process, and therefore in judgment. The stronger this influence, the more the judgment of the study participants was driven by their wants and wishes. Thus, the brain systems that motivate our efforts to obtain a reward also motivate the construction of our judgment. Next step for scientists: compare these systems in healthy people and in sick people.
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