Many years ago I read Antonio Damasio's Descartes error. Last year he came out with a new book; Self comes to mind: Constructing the conscious mind. I have not read his new book.
In Descartes error Damasio suggests, after research with the Iowa gambling task, that emotion is vital for making rational decisions. In the gambling task, it has been demonstrated that individuals with brain damage in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex cannot learn from punishment and therefore continue to go for the chance of high reward even though it turns out to be punishing in the long run. Other case studies show that people with damage in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex can logically reason how they should act, but they have difficulty in making an appropriate decision. Emotion may well be the factor that can help us choose one thing over something else. Damasio explains this with his somatic marker hypothesis. According to the hypothesis, we learn to associate a particular physiological affective state with a particular situation. This associated physical state is reproduced whenever we end up in a similar situation again. This may also be what we usually call "gut feeling". The hypothesis in itself bears resemblance to the theory of operant conditioning which I mentioned in an earlier article (the idea that we learn to associate behavior with reinforcers and punishers). The hypothesis has some support in that there are slightly different physiological reactions for different emotions (such as different facial expressions, different hormonal secretion, varying heart beat and body temperature). More research is needed to support this mechanism. What Damasio and other researchers have taught us, however, is the importance of emotion in decision making.
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AuthorThis is my class blog for IB Psychology. Here I will publish reflections on psychology, reviews of psychology books, recommended links, lecture notes, and information on psychology topics that are not covered by the syllabus. You are free to add comments or ask me questions. Archives
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