Most Popular ArticlesDecember 22, 2009
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A study by three neuroscientists at Emory University finds that when given expert advice, the decision-making part of our brain shuts down. That's not a big deal if the advice we are receiving is good. But what if it isn't?
In the study, the results of which were published in March 2009, the scientists used a functional MRI to monitor the brain activity of 24 college students while they made decisions about swapping a guaranteed payment for a chance at a higher lottery payout. Sometimes the students made the decision on their own. At other times, they received written advice from Charles Noussair, an Emory University economist who advises the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Not surprisingly, the advice given by Noussair was followed by the students, even when it was bad. For example, at times his advice was to accept the tiny guaranteed payout rather than playing a lottery with great odds of winning and a high payout. And they did!
But perhaps more interesting was what was going on in the brain. It wasn't that the students ignored their own internal thought process when being given supposed expert advice.
When making decisions on their own, without any expert advice, students showed activity in their anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - brain regions associated with making decisions and calculating probabilities. When given advice from Noussair, activity in those regions flatlined.
The implications are troubling, especially when coupled with the documented unreliability of experts. Take, for example, the track record of wine critics, political pundits and mutual fund managers.
In a study of wine critics done over four years, judges were given the same wine three different times, each time from the same bottle, and their ratings typically varied widely.
How about political prognosticators?Display article as PDF for printing.
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