Conditioned associations and economic decision biases

Humans show substantial deviation from rationality during economic decision making under uncertainty. A computational perspective suggests these deviations arise out of an interaction between distinct valuation systems in the brain. Here, we provide behavioural data showing that the incidental presentation of aversive and appetitive conditioned stimuli can alter subjects’ preferences in an economic task, involving a choice between a safe or gamble option. These behavioural effects informed a model-based analysis of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, involving an identical paradigm, where we demonstrate that this conditioned behavioral bias engages the amygdala, a brain structure associated with acquisition and expression of conditioned associations. Our findings suggest that a well known bias in human economic choice can arise from an influence of conditioned associations on goal-directed decision making, consistent with an architecture of choice that invokes distinct decision-making systems.