Frames, Biases, and Rational Decision-Making in the Human Brain

TLDR

Human choices are highly sensitive to how options are framed, a phenomenon that challenges standard economic models of rationality and whose neurobiological basis remains unclear. We found that amygdala activation underlies the framing effect, while activity in orbital and medial prefrontal cortex predicts lower susceptibility, indicating that emotional systems mediate decision biases and that the brain can modulate these biases toward rationality.

Abstract

Human choices are remarkably susceptible to the manner in which options are presented. This so-called "framing effect" represents a striking violation of standard economic accounts of human rationality, although its underlying neurobiology is not understood. We found that the framing effect was specifically associated with amygdala activity, suggesting a key role for an emotional system in mediating decision biases. Moreover, across individuals, orbital and medial prefrontal cortex activity predicted a reduced susceptibility to the framing effect. This finding highlights the importance of incorporating emotional processes within models of human choice and suggests how the brain may modulate the effect of these biasing influences to approximate rationality.