title: Born to choose: the origins and value of the need for control.
abstract: Belief in one's ability to exert control over the environment and to produce desired results is essential for an individual's wellbeing. It has repeatedly been argued that perception of control is not only desirable, but is also probably a psychological and biological necessity. In this article, we review the literature supporting this claim and present evidence of a biological basis for the need for control and for choice-that is, the means by which we exercise control over the environment. Converging evidence from animal research, clinical studies and neuroimaging suggests that the need for control is a biological imperative for survival, and a corticostriatal network is implicated as the neural substrate of this adaptive behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Newark, Smith Hall, Room 301, 101 Warren Street, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. laurenleotti@psychology.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Lauren A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Leotti
authors.forename: Sheena S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Iyengar
authors.forename: Kevin N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Ochsner
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D012931:Social Environment
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 1985 Jun;53(3):406-14
references.pmid: 4008724
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2008 Aug;12(8):306-13
references.pmid: 18606561
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 1980 Apr;89(2):203-12
references.pmid: 7365132
references.citation: Science. 2005 Nov 25;310(5752):1337-40
references.pmid: 16311337
references.citation: J Pers. 2006 Dec;74(6):1557-85
references.pmid: 17083658
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1970 Nov;23(5):393-401
references.pmid: 5478565
references.citation: Child Dev. 2003 May-Jun;74(3):769-82
references.pmid: 12795389
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2005 Mar;8(3):365-71
references.pmid: 15696163
references.citation: Am Psychol. 1996 Dec;51(12):1213-30
references.pmid: 8962530
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2006 Dec 20;26(51):13264-72
references.pmid: 17182776
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 1981 Jul;90(1):89-101
references.pmid: 7267899
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2007 Aug 15;27(33):8877-84
references.pmid: 17699669
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2008 Aug 15;42(2):902-10
references.pmid: 18582578
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Mar 27;98(7):4259-64
references.pmid: 11259662
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2007 Nov;18(11):978-83
references.pmid: 17958712
references.citation: J Exp Anal Behav. 1980 Jul;34(1):77-86
references.pmid: 16812181
references.citation: Psychol Monogr. 1966;80(1):1-28
references.pmid: 5340840
references.citation: Science. 2004 Apr 16;304(5669):452-4
references.pmid: 15087550
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2008 Jun 25;28(26):6750-5
references.pmid: 18579749
references.citation: J Gambl Stud. 2005 Winter;21(4):481-502
references.pmid: 16311878
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1999 Jun;76(6):988-1007
references.pmid: 10402682
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2006 Jul;16(7):916-28
references.pmid: 16207933
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1994 Summer;18(2):223-49
references.pmid: 8058215
references.citation: Trends Cogn Sci. 2005 May;9(5):242-9
references.pmid: 15866151
references.citation: Pain. 2008 Jul 31;137(3):631-639
references.pmid: 18063311
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 2007 Jul;64(7):1015-20
references.pmid: 17620493
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2007 Feb 12;177(1):165-70
references.pmid: 17140674
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1989 May;56(5):805-14
references.pmid: 2724068
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 Jul 1;14(5):785-94
references.pmid: 12167262
references.citation: Brain. 2002 Aug;125(Pt 8):1808-14
references.pmid: 12135971
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2008 Aug 15;42(2):998-1031
references.pmid: 18579414
references.citation: Behav Processes. 1997 Feb;39(2):205-14
references.pmid: 24896966
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2008 Mar;134(2):270-300
references.pmid: 18298272
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Feb 1;29(3):977-83
references.pmid: 16153860
references.citation: Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2006;8(4):397-406
references.pmid: 17290798
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Mar 30;107(13):6005-9
references.pmid: 20231462
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2004 Jul;22(3):1281-90
references.pmid: 15219600
references.citation: Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2006 Jun;1(1):18-25
references.pmid: 18985097
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008 Aug;199(3):457-80
references.pmid: 18311558
references.citation: Annu Rev Psychol. 1985;36:495-529
references.pmid: 3919637
references.citation: Behav Processes. 2006 Jul;73(1):117-20
references.pmid: 16687218
references.citation: Br J Gen Pract. 2008 Sep;58(554):614-8
references.pmid: 18801278
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2001 Mar;12(2):135-40
references.pmid: 11340922
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 1956 May;52(3):384-9
references.pmid: 13318848
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2003 Jul;39(4):693-705
references.pmid: 12859123
references.citation: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2004 Apr;19(2):114-22
references.pmid: 15019708
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1976 Aug;34(2):191-8
references.pmid: 1011073
references.citation: Nature. 2003 Oct 2;425(6957):473-4
references.pmid: 14523435
references.citation: Neuroreport. 2003 Jul 18;14(10):1311-5
references.pmid: 12876463
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 May;1104:70-88
references.pmid: 17344522
references.citation: Neuron. 2004 Jan 22;41(2):281-92
references.pmid: 14741108
references.citation: Psychol Med. 2004 May;34(4):591-6
references.pmid: 15099414
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2005 Dec;17(12):1897-906
references.pmid: 16356327
references.citation: Neuron. 2008 Sep 11;59(5):829-38
references.pmid: 18786365
references.citation: J Exp Psychol Gen. 1979 Dec;108(4):441-85
references.pmid: 528910
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2004 Sep;14(9):1022-30
references.pmid: 15115748
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997 Apr 15;811:207-24; discussion 224-5
references.pmid: 9186599
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2003 Nov 30;146(1-2):3-17
references.pmid: 14643455
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2009 Mar 25;29(12):3760-5
references.pmid: 19321772
references.citation: J Pers. 1987 Jun;55(2):237-65
references.pmid: 3612470
references.citation: J Cogn Neurosci. 2007 Jun;19(6):993-1003
references.pmid: 17536969
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 1979 Aug;47(4):725-33
references.pmid: 500908
references.citation: Child Dev. 2004 Nov-Dec;75(6):1657-76
references.pmid: 15566371
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2005 Sep;8(9):1255-62
references.pmid: 16116457
references.citation: J Pers Soc Psychol. 2000 Dec;79(6):995-1006
references.pmid: 11138768