Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Impact of Social Context on Individuals01:21

Impact of Social Context on Individuals

414
Social psychology examines how the real or imagined presence of others influences individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. A key concept in this field is the role of social context in shaping behavior. The same individual may act differently depending on the social setting, due to the varying expectations and norms associated with each environment. This context-dependent behavior illustrates the influence of social roles, which prescribe appropriate conduct in specific situations.Social...
414
Causes of Social Behavior III: Biological and Environmental Influences01:28

Causes of Social Behavior III: Biological and Environmental Influences

404
Social behavior is a complex phenomenon that arises from the interaction between biological predispositions and environmental influences. This intricate interplay shapes how individuals think, feel, and act in various social contexts. Understanding these mechanisms requires insights from psychology, neuroscience, genetics, and evolutionary theory.Environmental Influences on Social BehaviorEnvironmental factors, including temperature, odors, and visual stimuli, play a crucial role in shaping...
404
Attribution Theory00:56

Attribution Theory

14.0K
Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).
14.0K
Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior01:28

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

298
Automatic processing refers to the cognitive operations that occur without conscious intent or awareness, playing a fundamental role in shaping social cognition and behavior. These processes enable individuals to navigate complex social environments efficiently by relying on mental shortcuts and pre-existing knowledge structures known as schemas. One of the most influential mechanisms underlying automatic processing is priming, which subtly activates mental representations through exposure to...
298
Cognition and Behavior01:23

Cognition and Behavior

435
Social psychology examines the complex interplay between individual mental processes and social interactions. Historically, the field was divided into two domains: social behavior and social cognition. Researchers focusing on social behavior analyzed actions within social contexts, such as conformity, aggression, or cooperation. Meanwhile, social cognition researchers investigated how people perceive, interpret, and mentally represent their social environments. However, modern perspectives no...
435
Reason and Intuition01:37

Reason and Intuition

7.7K
The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the...
7.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Why we value things more as we are about to lose them: A reference-based theory.

Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews·2026
Same author

On the origin of the reward function: Exploring the role of conditioned reinforcement and social learning.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2025
Same author

Cultural Incentive Learning: How Culture Shapes Acquisition of Values.

Evolutionary anthropology·2025
Same author

The Status Importance Scale: Development and validation of a self-report questionnaire for measuring how much people care about status.

British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953)·2024
Same author

The traps of adaptation: Addiction as maladaptive referent-dependent evaluation.

Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience·2023
Same author

Deconstructing the Conspiratorial Mind: the Computational Logic Behind Conspiracy Theories.

Review of philosophy and psychology·2022

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 16, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

6.6K

Neural processes mediating contextual influences on human choice behaviour.

Francesco Rigoli1, Karl J Friston1, Raymond J Dolan1,2

  • 1The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.

Nature Communications
|August 19, 2016
PubMed
Summary

The brain uses the hippocampus and dopaminergic midbrain to adjust choices based on reward context. This neural circuit helps normalize subjective values according to available rewards, influencing decision-making.

More Related Videos

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

1.2K
Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
07:05

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

6.5K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
05:48

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients

Published on: June 12, 2020

6.6K
The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

1.2K
Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
07:05

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

6.5K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Decision Science

Background:

  • Contextual factors significantly influence decision-making in natural environments.
  • Subjective reward values are known to be normalized based on the range of available rewards.
  • The neural mechanisms underlying this context-sensitivity in choice remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural basis of context-sensitive value normalization during decision-making.
  • To identify brain regions involved in integrating contextual information with reward value.
  • To elucidate how the brain adapts choice strategies based on varying reward distributions.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed during a gambling task.
  • Participants performed the task across blocks with distinct reward distributions (contexts).
  • Analysis focused on brain activity, particularly in the hippocampus and ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN), in relation to context and choice.

Main Results:

  • Hippocampal activation increased at the start of each block, correlating with the degree of contextual influence on choice.
  • Value-based responses in the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN) exhibited context-sensitivity, amplified by stronger contextual effects.
  • Enhanced hippocampal activity at block onset predicted greater context-sensitivity in the VTA/SN.

Conclusions:

  • A neural circuit involving the hippocampus and dopaminergic midbrain (VTA/SN) drives context-sensitive choice.
  • The hippocampus appears to signal the current reward context, modulating dopaminergic computations in the VTA/SN.
  • This mechanism allows for flexible adjustment of subjective value based on environmental context, optimizing decision-making.