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Abstract:
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Psychological models of judgment and decision -making that focus on dual processes distinguish between two modes of judgment . One mode of judgment uses incomplete , probabilistic associations that lead to good -enough judgments for most situations . A second mode of judgment uses more complete information and applies deterministic decision rules to reason through a decision . The two modes operate in parallel but they can also interact and may be viewed as ends of a continuum . Although some psychology researchers have hypothesized that the two modes of information processing are carried out by distinct neural systems , neural research has not fully tested the distinctions that psychological research has drawn between the two modes . Three studies aim to address the gap between psychological and neural models of judgment and decision -making . Study 1 addresses the lack of neural research comparing judgments based on probabilistic information (characteristic of the first mode of judgment in dual -process models ) with judgments based on deterministic rules (characteristic of the second mode of judgment in dual -process models ) . Specifically , Study 1 compares basic probabilistic judgments and deterministic rule -based judgments to identify neural regions that are preferentially associated with one mode of judgment . Study 2 moves toward a more ecologically valid investigation of neural systems associated with judgments based on probabilistic associations . That is , Study 2 examines a probabilistic cue that is used in real -world judgments : affect . Study 3 examines neural regions associated with the interaction of the two modes of judgment in the underexplored domain of social evaluation . Modes of judgment may interact when the second mode of judgment uses new information to adjust a judgment previously driven by the first mode of judgment , as when a hiring manager uses information about a job candidate to adjust a first impression initially based on appearance . Study 3 examines the neural systems involved when people use newly available information to adjust a previously made affectively -driven judgment . Findings in the three studies contribute to scientific understanding of how neural regions support judgment , but do not definitively identify separable neural systems for dual -process modes of judgment . |