title: Neural substrates of framing effects in social contexts: A meta-analytical approach.
abstract: We hypothesize that framing effects (risk-averse in the positive frame and risk-seeking in the negative frame) are likely to occur when ambiguous social contexts result in ambiguous or ambivalent risk preferences, leading the decision-maker to search for more subtle cues, such as verbal framing. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we examined framing effects in both unambiguous homogeneous group and more ambiguous heterogeneous group contexts. We began by conducting a meta-analysis and identified three regions of interest: the right inferior frontal gyrus, the left anterior cingulate (ACC)/ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and the left amygdala. Our own fMRI data were collected while the participants made choices between a sure option and a gamble framed in terms of the number of lives to either save or die. The framing effect was evident in a heterogeneous context with a mixture of kin and strangers, but disappeared in a homogeneous group of either all kin-members or all strangers. The fMRI results revealed a greater activation in the right middle/inferior frontal gyrus under the negative than the positive framing, and less ACC/vmPFC deactivation under positive framing in the heterogamous/ambiguous context. The activation of the amygdala was correlated with greater risk-seeking preference in homogeneous kinship contexts.
authors.affiliation: a Psychology Department , University of South Dakota , Vermillion , SD , USA.
authors.forename: X T
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: b Institute of Psychology , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Li-Lin
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: c School of Economics and Management , Southwest Jiaotong University , Chengdu , China.
authors.forename: Hongming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Framing effect; fMRI; meta-analysis; risky choice; social group composition