Three Experimental Studies of Reward and Decision Making

Author: Kang, Min Jeong

Year: 2010

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Camerer, Colin F.

Committee Members: Camerer, Colin F.; Rangel, Antonio; Bossaerts, Peter L.; Adolphs, Ralph

Option: Social Science

DOI: 10.7907/1NPB-7J55

Abstract

This thesis investigates reward-driven decision making using a combination of techniques such as functional neuroimaging, behavioral experiments, and pupilometry. Different aspects of reward and decision making were examined in three different studies, including the nature of curiosity, similarities and differences in hypothetical and real decisions, and optimal-timing decisions. In the study of curiosity, my colleagues and I conceptualized information as a rewarding object and curiosity as a form of reward anticipation of the rewarding information. We explored this hypothesis using a combination of functional neuroimaging, pupillometry, behavioral experiments, and memory-retrieval experiments. In the study of hypothetical and real decisions, the neural differences and similarities underlying these types of decisions were explored. We discuss potential implications of the findings on scientific practices and suggest the possibility of a new use of fMRI to improve the prediction of real choices based on hypothetical choice data. In the third study, we explore how people make timing decisions when motivation to delay trades off against the motivation to take an action immediately. We experimentally test current theory and examine how strategic decisions become sophisticated over time. We further hypothesize about psychological processes that could guide decision making under uncertainty and time pressure.

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