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Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

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People's explanatory preferences for scientific phenomena.

Deena Skolnick Weisberg¹, Emily J Hopkins², Jordan C V Taylor³

¹Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave., Villanova, PA, 19085, USA. deena.weisberg@villanova.edu.

Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications

|November 23, 2018

Summary

People prefer explanations that reduce complex topics to simpler, more fundamental concepts. This study found a particular attraction to neuroscience explanations, even when irrelevant.

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Area of Science:

Psychology and Neuroscience
Interdisciplinary scientific understanding

Background:

Laypeople often favor explanations incorporating neuroscience, irrespective of relevance.
This preference may stem from a general inclination towards reductive explanations.
Prior research has not explored discipline-specific preferences for reductive explanations.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether people prefer reductive explanations across different scientific disciplines.
To determine if the preference for neuroscience information in explanations varies by scientific field.

Main Methods:

82 participants evaluated appropriate investigation methods for topics across six scientific fields.
Participants selected methods matching the field or from a more reductive adjacent field.
Analysis focused on method selection patterns, particularly for psychology and neuroscience.

Main Results:

Participants favored methods aligned with the scientific field or from the next most reductive field.
This preference was most pronounced when linking psychology and neuroscience.
Neuroscience phenomena were perceived as requiring significantly more explanatory methods.

Conclusions:

Public perception of scientific field relationships is generally accurate.
There is a discernible bias towards favoring neuroscience in explanations.
This suggests a specific attraction to neuroscience information in understanding phenomena.