Neural evidence for Reference-dependence in real-market-transactions.
Human decision making has become one of the major research-foci in economics, marketing and in neuroscience. This study integrates perspectives from these disciplines by examining neurophysiological correlates to Reference-dependence of utility evaluations in real market contexts both before and after choice. First, by comparing buying and selling decisions, we observe an activation of the amygdala only in the latter. We interpret this as loss aversion with respect to prior possessions. This finding contributes to the settling of an ongoing fundamental dispute in economic theory by indicating the absence of loss aversion for money in routine transactions. Second, ex post satisfaction statements are accompanied by an activation of the reward processing orbitofrontal cortex, if the evaluation context is framed by a high external reference price instead of a lower internal reference price. This indicates a nonrational Reference-dependence--despite the neoclassical view of a rational Homo Economicus--of satisfaction measures and challenges a central marketing variable.
Weber
Bernd
B
Department of NeuroCognition, Life and Brain Center, Sigmund Freud Str. 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany. Bernd.Weber@ukb.uni-bonn.de <Bernd.Weber@ukb.uni-bonn.de>
Aholt
Andreas
A
Neuhaus
Carolin
C
Trautner
Peter
P
Elger
Christian E
CE
Teichert
Thorsten
T
D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004467:Economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012201:Reward