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Related Experiment Video

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Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
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Published on: September 19, 2012

An fMRI study on sunk cost effect.

Jianmin Zeng1, Qinglin Zhang, Changming Chen

  • 1Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, No 1 Tiansheng Road, Beibei District, Chongqing City 400715, China.

Brain Research
|May 14, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The sunk cost effect, a common decision bias, is linked to specific brain activity. Higher sunk costs activate risk-related areas, while lower incremental costs engage reward-sensitive regions.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Decision Science
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • The sunk cost effect, or escalation of commitment, is a well-documented decision bias across multiple disciplines.
  • Despite its prevalence, the underlying neural mechanisms of the sunk cost effect remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural basis of the sunk cost effect using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  • To differentiate the brain activity associated with sunk costs versus incremental costs during decision-making.

Main Methods:

  • fMRI was employed to monitor brain activity in healthy subjects.
  • Participants made decisions in a task manipulating sunk costs and incremental costs.

Main Results:

  • Increased activity in lateral frontal and parietal cortices (risk-related areas) was associated with higher sunk costs.
  • Increased activity in the striatum and medial prefrontal cortex (reward-sensitive areas) was associated with lower incremental costs.
  • No overlapping brain regions were identified for both sunk cost and incremental cost processing.

Conclusions:

  • Neural responses to sunk costs and incremental costs are distinct.
  • Findings support the certainty effect as a potential explanation for the sunk cost effect over self-justification or diminishing sensitivity.