Atti del Convegno
DECISIONE TRA EMOZIONE E COGNIZIONE.
Meccanismi funzionali e disfunzionali del decision-making
12 APRILE 2014
UNIVERSITÀ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE
Largo Gemelli, 1 – 20123 Milano
PROGRAMMA
8.00 – 9.00
Iscrizione partecipanti
9.00 – 9.30
Apertura lavori – Albino Claudio Bosio, Michela Balconi
9.30 – 11.00
Basi emotive, cognitive e neuropsicologiche della decisione – Chair: N. Bonini
• Neuroscienze e decision-making: un approccio integrato - M. Balconi
• Comunicazione e decisione: tra persuasione e inganno - N. Bonini
• Strumenti di neuroimmagine nello studio dell’effetto di stimoli audiovisivi - G. Vecchiato
11.00 – 11.15 Coffee break
11.15 – 13.00 Clinica della decisione – Chair: S. Campanella
• A triadic neurocognitive approach to addiction - X. Noel
• Alcohol dependence, ERPs and inhibition: is it possible to predict relapse? - S. Campanella
• Patient engagement in health care: pathways for shared decision-making - G. Graffigna, S. Barello
• Gambling, reward mechanisms and decision-making - R. Finocchiaro, M. Balconi
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 16.00 Contesti e applicazioni della decisione – Chair: F. Babiloni
• L’efficacia di una comunicazione pubblicitaria: quale ruolo per gli strumenti di brain imaging? - P. Cherubino
• Ragione e sentimento: chi è il miglior personal shopper? - B. Colombo, P. Iannello, A. Antonietti
• Advertising, brand and neuromarketing or how consumer brain works - B. Stumpo, M. Balconi, F. Leanza
• Decidere e comunicare nel neuromanagement - C. Scortegagna, M. Balconi
Modalità di iscrizione: Dato il numero limitato di posti, si prega di notificare la propria adesione tramite
e-mail ([email protected]), indicando nome, cognome e affiliazione.
Sarà riconosciuto un attestato di partecipazione.
Quote di partecipazione: 40 € (IVA esente)
Modalità di pagamento: In loco oppure Bonifico Bancario
(IBAN: IT07W0306903390211610000191 - Beneficiario: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
- Causale: Iscrizione a “Decisione tra Emozione e Cognizione”, “NOMINATIVO PARTECIPANTE”)
INFO: [email protected]
www.psychoneuronet.com/convegno12aprile.htm
Comitato Scientifico:
Michela Balconi
Fabio Babiloni
Nicolao Bonini
Segreteria Organizzativa:
Maria Elide Vanutelli
Davide Crivelli
Atti del Convegno
DECISIONE TRA EMOZIONE E COGNIZIONE.
Meccanismi funzionali e disfunzionali del decision-making
12 APRILE 2014
UNIVERSITÀ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE
Largo Gemelli, 1 – 20123 Milano
SESSIONE
Basi emotive, cognitive e neuropsicologiche della decisione
Chair: N. Bonini
• Neuroscienze e decision-making: un approccio integrato
M. Balconi
• Comunicazione e decisione: tra persuasione e inganno
N. Bonini
• Strumenti di neuroimmagine nello studio dell’effetto di stimoli audiovisivi
G. Vecchiato
UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE - MILANO
Department of Psychology
www.psychoneuronet.com
DECISIONE TRA EMOZIONE E COGNIZIONE:
MECCANISMI FUNZIONALI E DISFUNZIONALI DEL
DECISION-MAKING
Michela Balconi
Research Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience
Department of Psychology
Catholic University of Milan, Italy
[email protected]
Decision between emotion and
cognition
 Three sections to answer … about a possible
integration
1. Basi emotive, cognitive e neuropsicologiche
della decisione
2. Clinica della decisione
3. Contesti e applicazioni della decisione
Decision between emotion and
cognition

Neurophysiological models of decision


Cognitive models of decision


The reward mechanisms and the emotional effects
What kind of intra-individual variability?


“Normative” models ; the “rational” problem; decisional bias (frame effect,
euristics); communication and persuasion
Emotional attitude and engagement


The neuropsychological measures for decisions; the role of the prefrontal cortex
The functional/dysfunctional contexts (addition)
The personal attitudes

The “cognitive styles”; the “decisional styles”; purchese processes
Decision between emotion and cognition:
what about the neurophysiology?


More than 1700 scientific papers that talk about the physiology of decisional
processes
The concept of decision-making is applied to heterogeneous contexts and it is
related to different biological systems
Some examples



To decide what kind of visual pattern: the perceptual decision
To select movements and the decision to act: the motor decision
To opt for an economic strategy: the economic decision

Human vs. apes



Drosophyla and different flight paths
Action planning in motor tasks
Financial investments
Neuroscience and decisonmaking
 What about decisions? What is a decision?
 Between neurophysiology, cognition and
emotion
Cognition _____________________ Emotion
Neurophysiology
UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE - MILANO
Department of Psychology
www.psychoneuronet.com
NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL FRONTAL BRAIN ACTIVITY,
REWARD-SENSITIVITY AND SENSE OF EFFICACY IN
GAMBLING DECISIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Michela Balconi
Research Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience
Department of Psychology
Catholic University of Milan, Italy
[email protected]
The theoretical background
 Phase 1: Gambler behavior

Frontal system: the contribution of PFC (vMPFC; DLPFC) (Bechara et al.,
2010)


Motivational-Reward mechanisms, OFC (Davidson, 2009)
Somatic marker disfunction (Damasio et al., 2008)
Multilevel analysis: behavioral task (IOWA), autonomic index,
EEG/ERP
 Phase 2: Dependence-behavior

What kind of relationship beween «gambler» and «addiction» ?
PFC and «gambler behavior»
 Gambler behavior: unfunctional behavior in decisional-processes
with increased risk-seeking, high dependence to reward which
produces more risky and unfunctional (loss) strategies
 Brain correlates = prefrontal cortex

vMPFC, DLPFC: executive functions and control of decisional processes
(working memory), for action planning; long-term pianification and
strategies

OFC and its relatioship with amygdala and reward mechanisms
 Frontal brain unbalance (BIS/BAS system) (Gray, 2001): more
sensitivity to reward and less to punishment (Balconi et al., 2013)
Reward mechanisms
PFC and «gambler»: what effect on
behavior?
1)
Some neurocognitive hypotheses on gambler behavior:
effect on both the emotional/motivational and cognitive
level
2)
VMPFC unbalance between left (reward) and right
(punishment) hemisphere, with increased left activation
 reward-sensitivity (BIS/BAS) induces a related effect: more
attentional bias toward positive (potentially rewarding) than
negative (potentially punishing) cues (Balconi et al., 2014; Barry et
al., 2008)
3) DLPFC impairment, disfunctional executive system
(disexecutive):
 Cognitive effects: reduced long-term strategies
 Attentional bias toward risky-choices
Iowa Gambling Task
(IGT)
(Bechara et al., 1997; 2009)
Participants have to choose between decks that yield high immediate gain but larger future loss
(long-term disadvantageous decks, BAD DECKS), and decks that yield lower immediate gain
but a smaller future loss (long-term advantageous decks, GOOD DECKS)
The somatic marker
Patients and pathological gambler = «bad decision-makers»
Reduction of «biological markers» = unability to manage the
decisional process
But is it enought to explain the
«gambling»? Some integrative measures…
 Autonomic behavior: SCR and somatic marker
+
 Cognitive and metacognitive measures: self-
representation of the strategies
 BIS/BAS measures: as a predictive value of the
gambler behavior
 Neurophysiological EEG/ERPs correlates as
attentional/feedback markers: P300/FRN; alpha
band analysis
Main hypotheses: the multilevel
biomarkers of gambling behavior
WHAT ABOUT THE PREDICTIVE VALUES OF THESE DIFFERENT
MEASURES?

REWARD SENSITIVITY (BIS/BAS) :
 motivational response to external reinforce, with a direct impact on behavioral
choices and cognitive strategies MORE RISK-SEEKING CHOICES related to high
reward sensitivity

AUTONOMIC RESPONSIVENESS:
 SCR somatic marker as a biological marker of loss
PARTIAL INABILITY TO
ACTIVATE A FUNCTIONAL SOMATIC SIGNAL in case of bad decks
…continue

EEG/ERP
 Attentional marker: P300 as a functional correlate of attentional bias, able to
inhibit interfering stimulus processing (focal attention)
REDUCED
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXPECTED AND UNEXPECTED STIMULI


External feedback: FRN as a functional correlate of feedback bias, generally
increased in case of unattended (loss) feedback
LESS RESPONSIVE TO
NEGATIVE (LOSS) FEEDBACK
Alpha Brain activation: alpha band as an index of brain activity (frontal left/right
unbalance), alpha decreasing as increased brain activity, with an inter-hemispheric
balence
INCREASED LEFT (REWARD) HEMISPHERE ACTIVITY
Subjects
 Phase 1 Sub-clinical sample: 28 high risk-
seeking (i.e. Risk Attitude Scale; Sensation Seeking Scale) and
high reward-sensitivity (high BAS-reward > 18) (HRS);
22 low risk-seeking and low rewardsensititivy (low BAS-reward < 10) (LRS)
 Phase 2 Clinical sample (cocaine-abusers)
Behavioral responses to IGT
35,00
30,00
mean selections
25,00
20,00
HRS
LRS
15,00
10,00
5,00
0,00
bed decks
good decks
* = all comparisons were significant p≤ .01
Behavioral responses to IGT
 Increased bad-deck choices for HRS
 more heterogeneous strategy (a higher number
of changes)
 inability to report their own overall choice
strategy (post-exp debriefing questionnaire)
 Absence of a metacognitive representation
SCR modulation
0,20
*
*
mS/s
0,15
HRS
0,10
LRS
0,05
0,00
bed decks
good decks
SCR modulation
 Somatic marker: decreased SCR for punishment
(loss) for HRS in comparison with LRS who
showed the «classical» increasing pre-loss effect
 But necessary to be explored the post-
punishment/reward somatic response: the
preliminary results show no significant
differences between HRS and LRS group
P300 modulation
*
10,00
*
9,00
*
8,00
mVolt
7,00
6,00
HRS
5,00
LRS
4,00
3,00
2,00
1,00
0,00
reward
punishment
P300 for reward and loss – LRS (250-350 ms)
P300 for reward and loss - HRS
eLORETA SOURCE ANALYSIS
P300 modulation
 Less significant posterior P300 response in HRS, with
significant reduction in case of punishment in
comparison with LRS
 But more posteriorly distributes than previous
studies (i.e. Campanella): a P3b effect?
 Less ability to restore past experience and updating
the context in case of unexpected cues
mVolt
FRN modulation
10,00
9,00
8,00
7,00
6,00
5,00
4,00
3,00
2,00
1,00
0,00
*
*
HRS
LRS
reward
punishment
FRN for reward and loss – LRS (180-250 ms)
FRN for reward and loss - HRS
FRN modulation
• FRN effect for HRS/LRS as a function of loss and
reward: reverse pattern for loss with decreased
FRN for HRS than LRS, on the contrary similar
profile for reward
• For HRS less ability to compare internal vs
external feedback in case of loss
Alpha asymmetry
Alpha (8-12 Hz) band – Log-trasformed asymmetry for mean power density
A negative value indicated more right-side alpha power, i.e greater cortical activity in the
left hemisphere for HRS
Conclusions:
step 1
To summarize
 Behavior and cognitive strategies: more disfunctional and low self-
knowledge on the cognitive strategies for HRS
 Autonomic (SCR) behavior: in general less responsiveness; absence
of clear somatic marker related to losses
 Less P300 and FRN responsivity to unattended and negative (loss)
feedback: it may be explained as an increased bias toward the
rewarding cues which «limited» the usual more punishment
(unexpectancy) effect
 Supported also by an hemispheric unbalance as shown by alpha:
clear reward preference (left-hemisphere) for HRS than LRS
Conclusions:
step 1
 but also working memory disfunction managed by
DLPFC
 Thus an explanation only reward-based is unable to
explain all the cognitive significant effects we found
(mainly for metacognitive deficits and FRN effect)
 Both reward system explanation (as reported by alpha
asymmetry and somatic marker impairment) and
executive functions (working memory) (as reported
by P300/FRN and metacognition) should be considered
Conclusions:
 What
step 1
more
proficient
bio-marker
functional/dysfunctional processes?
of
 All together as potential predictors of a «reward
bias»
 But are all results explanable only based on a reward
system anomaly and the predominance of lefthemisphere activity?
 DLPFC contribution and working-memory role to be
tested also on drug-dependence
Step 2
Drug-dependence behavior
 Similar profile than higher reward-sensitivity
and risk-seeking?
 See next talk (Finocchiaro, Balconi)
 A continuum from subclinical «gambler» to
other dysfunctional behavior?
1) reward sensitivity (bad strategies)
2) Absence of metacognition
3) Less somatic marker response
4) unbalanced left/right activation
 More emotion or more cognition in
functional/dysfunctional conditions?
 Some future clinical/application contexts
 Parkinson desease
 Alzheimer desease
 Neuromarketing (Stumpo et al.)
 NeuroManagement (Scortegagna et al.)
Thanks!
Roberta Finocchiaro
Ylenia Canavesio
Salvatore Campanella
All the “gamblers” who
worked and will work with
us
Comunicazione e Decisione: tra persuasione ed inganno
Nicolao Bonini
Dipartimento di Economia e Management
Università di Trento
Milano
12 aprile 2014
1
Comunication and informed decision-making
Beyond the paradigm of accurate and complete information &
the neoclassical notion of sovereign consumer…
The organization/framing of accurate and complete information
might well be misleading…
The theory of rational choice (e.g. economic rationality)
Preferences are:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
Complete
Internally consistent
Stable
Self-referred (selfish)
Psychological vs. economic accounts of preference and value.
3
The sovereign consumer: Neoclassical notion
Consumer sovereignty in terms of satisfaction of coherent preferences
“Each individual, it is usually claimed, is the best or proper judge of her own well-being, and those
judgments of well-being are revealed in her preferences” (Sugden, 2004, p. 1016) -emphasis
added.
“Economists usually assume that these revealed preferences are also normative preferences –
preferences that represent the economic actor’s true interests.” (Beshears et al., 2008, p.
1787) -emphasis added.
The sovereign consumer & Market regulation
Corollary of conventional economic rationality:
It is sufficient to provide the sovereign consumer with accurate and complete
information to allow him/her to make normative preferences (es. la migliore scelta;
quella che risponde al meglio ai suoi interessi).
Minimalist approach to Market Regulation => Simplified Norms
Money, money, money…
• Searching for the best offer…(& deceptive
communication?)
B) Crisi economica e comportamento dei consumatori: USA
• The top four (by volume of sales) global discount retailers increased their net
sales by 38,9% during the period 2006-2008.
• The retail industry witnessed a 0.7 percent increase in sales (February 2008
– 2009). However, this positive figure was almost entirely attributed to the
positive performance of the discount stores (+2,9%), while department
stores sales dropped by 9%
Source: KMPG Issues Monitor, June 2009, volume 3.
B) Crisi economica e comportamento dei consumatori: ITA
Un fenomeno sociale
• La percentuale di famiglie Italiane che fa regolarmente la spesa agli hard
discount è cresciuta dal 21% al 28,4% nel periodo 2008 - 2009.
• La percentuale di famiglie Italiane che cerca attivamente e regolarmente
offerte promozionali e sconti commerciali è cresciuta dal 36% al 42,1% nel
periodo 2008 - 2009.
[1] Analisi della Camera di Commercio di Monza e Brianza su dati ISTAT
On the psychology of choosing the worst offer
-Graffeo & Bonini, submitted Exp.1
Percentage vs. Euro-saved comparative formats
Product
Ski Helmet
Initial price
40€
Euro saved
Percentage discount
11€ 24%
[9.60 €]
9
.. Choosing the worst offer
Product:
Ski Helmet
-Graffeo e Bonini, submitted Exp.1
NUMERACY
LOW
Percentage
discount (worst
option)
Euro-Saved
discount
Tot.
HIGH
83
58
141
45.6%
29.4%
37.2%
99
139
238
54.4%
70.6%
62.8%
182
197
379
10
Chi square (1) = 10,6 p < .001.
Choosing the worst offer….
-Graffeo e Bonini, submitted, Exp.1
Comparative price formats & Numeracy
Prodotti
Prezzo iniziale
Sconto in Valore
Assoluto
Sconto in Percentuale e
corrispondente valore assoluto
Zaino
50€
12€ 22%
[11€]
Cuscino in lattice
30€
11€ 32%
[ 9,6€]
Casco da sci
40€
11€ 24% [ 9,6€]
11
Proportion dominance out of the lab….
Same economic value, but different perceptions..
Proportion dominance & Perceived value of a coupon
Yin & Dubinsky, 2004
Vendor Coupon: Expires 12/15/04
SAVE $10.00
Off the $50.00 regular price of Product A
Vendor Coupon: Expires 12/15/04
SAVE 20%
Off the $50.00 regular price of Product A
Same economic value, but different perceptions..
Offerte commerciali: L’informazione è accurata, però….
• Ecco il consiglio di uno tra i migliori 15 professori di marketing negli Stati
Uniti:
Advertising Principles (Evidence-based principles):
“For inexpensive products, state price discounts as percentage saved; for
expensive products, state price discounts as dollars saved –or present
both” –underlined mine
Armstrong, J. S. (2010) Persuasive Advertising, New York: Mac Millan
Numeracy or something else?
Heuristic Vs. analytic approaches to solve
the decision problem….
Choosing the worst offer
Type of choice (out of
three products)
-Graffeo e Bonini, submitted Exp.1
Choice strategy
Heuristic
Worst offer
(percentage
format)
Best offer
(Euro-saved)
Total choices
Tot.
Analytic
139
278
417
51.7%
31.9%
36.5%
130
594
724
48.3%
68.1%
63.5%
269
872
1141
16
17
…more on the psychology of the choice of commercial
offers
• On the impact of low initial prices &
impulsivity…. (Graffeo, Polonio & Bonini, in progress)
• Impulsivity as a trait of vulnerable consumers?
Stimuli Example - 1
19
Stimuli Example - 2
20
Numeracy Vs. Impulsivity
.. Solo i consumatori che hanno scarsa alfabetizzazione numerica, oppure c’è
dell’altro?
Quanto costa la pallina?
“Un set di racchetta e pallina costa in totale
1,10€. La racchetta costa 1 euro più della
pallina”.
Quanto costa la pallina?
Experimental method
39 students (16 males and 23 females), mean age = 24.5 (SD = 3.47).
Participants responded to 12 decision problems randomly presented.
For each problem the participants decided whether to buy a product (e.g.
DVD player) at shop A or B.
The two shops, A and B, sold the same identical product but it was on sale
with different initial prices and percentage discounts.
We will call the two alternatives “option with low (high) initial price” - for half
of the problems the more worthwhile option is the one with low initial price,
the best option is the one with
high initial price.
for the other half
23
Areas of interest (AOI)
24
Eye Tracking Procedure
25
Results – Behavior, Preferences:
CRT, Numeracy and Choice (1)
• Dependent Variable: Choice
of the option with low/high
initial price.
• Predictors: CRT, Numeracy,
Dominant option (D.O.), CRT
by D.O., and Numeracy by
D.O..
• Effect of CRT: Low CRT
participants chose the
product with low initial price
significantly more often than
the high CRT participants
(low CRT = 6.9 vs. high CRT
= 5.3, β = -1.79, SE = 0.43, Z =
-4.19, p < .001).
Mean number of preferences for the low initial price options,
out of 12 problems
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Low CRT
High CRT
26
Results – Behavior, Preferences:
CRT, Numeracy and Choice (2)
The interaction CRT * D.O. is
significant (β = 1.79, SE = 0.58, Z =
3.07, p = .002).
Mean number of preferences for the
low initial price options, out of 6 problems
5
When the D.O. is the product with low
initial price, the choices of low and
high CRT participants are very similar
(low CRT = 4 vs. high CRT = 4.3).
4.5
4
3.5
DO Low Price
DO High Price
3
2.5
2
On the contrary, when the D.O. is the
product with high initial price, the low
CRT participants chose more often
the product with low initial price
(suboptimal option) than high CRT
(low CRT = 2.9 vs. high CRT = 1). [out
of 6 problems]
1.5
1
0.5
0
Low CRT
High CRT
27
Results – Behavior, Preferences:
CRT, Numeracy and Choice (3)
• The factor Dominant Option (D.O.) is not statistically
significant (β = 0.37, SE = 1.16, Z = 0.32, p = .75).
• The factors Numeracy and the interaction Numeracy by
Choice Pair are not significant.
• Thus, Impulsivity matters more than Numeracy…
28
Results – Process, Eye movements:
CRT and Saccades
A compact index of the participants' saccades: ratio between vertical and
horizontal saccades.
Higher values of the index indicate that the participant did a larger
proportion of vertical saccades, compared to the number of horizontal
saccades.
A linear mixed model on the Saccades Index (I.V.: CRT, Choice Pair; CRT by
Choice Pair) indicates that the participants with low CRT did a smaller
proportion of vertical saccades compared to the high CRT participants (1.8
vs. 2.7, β = .89, SE = 0.23, t = 3.92, p < .001).
29
Results – Process, Eye movements:
CRT and Fixation Times
Natural logarithm transformation of the fixation times (Newell &
Rosenbloom, 1981).
The mean fixation times of the two prices (r(24) = .87, p < .001)
and of the two discounts (r(24) = .70, p < .001) are highly
correlated.
Low CRT participants did significantly shorter Price and
Discount Fixations, compared to the high CRT participants
(Price Fixations: 5.6 vs. 5.8; β = .20, SE = 0.03, t = 7.7, p < .001.
Discount Fixations: 5.36 vs. 5.44; β = .08; SE = 0.02, t = 3.4, p30<
.001).
Results – Process, Eye movements:
CRT and Eye movements Conclusions
Overall, the results show that participants with different CRT
scores used different strategies of information search.
Low CRT participants did a greater proportion of horizontal
saccades and they gazed for a shorter time the two macroareas of interest, compared to the high CRT participants (the
fixation time is considered a proxy of the processing depth).
31
Eye movements and Accuracy (Choice
Efficiency)
Saccades do not affect accuracy (β = 0.13, SE = 0.09, Z = 1.49, p =
.14).
Longer fixations of the prices are associated with greater
accuracy (β = 1.91, SE = 0.58, Z = 3.30 p < .001), while longer
fixations of the discounts reduce the accuracy (β = -1.71, SE =
0.65, Z = 0.51, p = .008).
32
Conclusion 1
The low CRT participants have a different approach to the
evaluation of the choice problems compared to the high CRT
participants.
- Shorter fixations and less vertical saccades (shallow withinoption search). A “first impression” evaluation of the option?
Strong preference for one kind of option: the low initial price
option.
Participants with a propensity to choose impulsively (as
measured by CRT) tend to use a Heuristic choice strategy
(incomplete evaluation of the options, shorter fixations, and
shallow information search process), which increases the
33
chance to prefer the more attractive but economically dominated
option.
Conclusion 2 Price anchors & illusion of
advantage
Anchoring on initial prices….
Reported findings (e.g. the role of initial low price) are congruent
with the study of the Office of Fair Trade on drip pricing format
(e.g., the role of headline price)
However, not for everybody… (e.g. not for low impulsive
consumers…)
34
Conclusion 1
Theory & Experimental evidence
Homo sapiens & decision anomalies
Failure (descriptive and predictive) of the consumer sovereign principle
Is it sufficient to provide the sovereign consumer with accurate and
complete information to allow him/her to make normative
preferences (es. the best choice; the choice that reflects his/her
true interests)?
… not always -as we just saw!
Conclusion 2
Beyond the lab
From persuasive to misleading commercial practices?
- Drip pricing format
- Anchoring on unreasonable cheapest/highest initial
low prices
- Default prices
See the very sophisticated notion of «misleading» used by European Union
36
A Sophisticated Notion…
- Directive 2005/29/CE of May 11, 2005
Section 1. Misleading Commercial Practices: Article 6: Misleading Actions
1.
A commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if it contains false information
and is therefore untruthful or in any way, including overall presentation, deceives or is
likely to deceive the average consumer, even if the information is factually correct (…),
and in either case causes or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that
he would not have taken otherwise
(…)
See Caterina (2010) on the notion of misleading action & “decision error”
See also Article 7 on Misleading Omissions
37
Un passo avanti: le nozioni di “azione ingannevole” e “vantaggio
comparativo illusorio”
Un commento alla lettera d)
“(…) proteggere il consumatore dalla macchinaz. perpetrata tramite l’utilizzo di
sistemi di calcolo della somma dovuta o per mezzo della concessione di
sconti, premi fedeltà e simili, i quali persuadono la parte vulnerabile a
moltiplicare gli acquisti sull’abbrivio della falsa aspettativa di beneficiare
di vantaggi che, a ben guardare, sono frutto di mera illusione”
De Cristofaro e Zaccaria (2010). Commentario breve al Diritto dei consumatori, CEDAM, p. 159
commento 6
38
Temporal price framing: the study of OFT, 2010
The “drip price frame” (or partitioned pricing) was found the most
likely misleading frame… [survey, experiment and focus groups]
“Drip pricing” = where price increments (e.g., due to taxes, card charges and
delivery charges) ‘drip’ through during the buying process..
E.g.1: Ticket price (10 €), then plus Admin. Fee (5€), then plus Payment
charge (5€)
See also legal cases such as “AIR ITALY”, “Home shopping selections”
39
Consumer detrimental effects of Drip Pricing
“The evidence shows that certain pricing techniques when used in a
misleading way can result in consumers making purchasing
decision they would not have made were prices more clearly
advertised, or to spend more than they need to” [OFT, Advertising of
Prices, § Findings and outcomes; See also Annexe I “Ranking of pricing practices”]
40
Competition detrimental effects of Drip Pricing
Consumer purchasing decisions are driven by who has the
cheapest headline prices - which in turn disadvantages firms that
include all charges in the headline price…
In general, misleading pricing is not only bad for the consumer, it is
also bad for competition (e.g. it creates an uneven playing field
between fair vs. unfair dealing businesses).
41
AGCM: “MY AIR” case (PS168)
La sentenza è motivata dal fatto che la procedura di acquisto dei biglietti (via
internet) è strutturata in maniera tale da generare un vantaggio illusorio.
Al momento in cui il consumatore sceglie se acquistare o meno il servizio
l’indicazione di prezzo non corrisponde al costo effettivo del servizio (che
viene reso chiaro nei due successivi passaggi).
Dunque, i vari elementi di costo del servizio NON non sono immediati, forniti in
maniera contestuale e con pari grado di enfasi espressiva.
AGCM: “… nel consumatore si è già creato il falso convincimento della minore
onerosità del servizio! => dunque la leva psicologica è l’induzione di falsa credenza?...
42
TAR confirmed it…
Considerate le caratteristiche proprie del mezzo Internet nell’offerta
di beni/servizi:
…La completezza informativa del messaggio va effettuata attraverso
un’attenta analisi della struttura del sito, tenendo conto del fatto
che tra i consumatori alcuni si fermano al primo livello informativo
(effetto aggancio) (TAR Lazio, 8394/09): le caratteristiche principali
devono risultare chiaramente percepibili sin dalla prima pagina
del sito web.
Si noti, inoltre, come altre informazioni rilevanti possano essere poco accessibili. Ad
esempio, assenza di un link oppure un percorso di consultazione solo eventuale
(PS3883 Tatuaggifantasy)
43
ASA Adjudication on Home Shopping Selections Ltd
– April 20, 2011
AD: An e-mail offer for Snuggle Blankets feature the headline text
“BUY1 GET1 FREE for just GBP 10 + P&P” followed by a
picture of a woman lying on a sofa wearing (…)
ISSUE: The compliant challenged whether the ad was
misleading, because it failed to provide details of postage and
packaging costs (P&P).
44
ASA Adjudication on Home Shopping Selections Ltd
– April 20, 2011
Assessment:
Upheld. The ASA noted that postage and packaging costs
were available on the checkout page of HSS’ website
but considered that the delivery charge was a significant
term likely to affect a consumer’s decision to take up the
offer and therefore should have been made clear in the
ad. Because it was not, we concluded that the ad was
misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 and 3.4.4 (Misleading
advertising) and 9.2.3 (Distance selling).
45
A&A in the business domain
Too expensive referent initial prices
See uso di prezzi iniziali esageratamente alti e fuori mercato (e.g. ancore out of range;
ancore non credibili, etc.) – see codice di autoregolamentazione gruppo aziende
coupon online. => pcs via induzione falsa credenza?
Codice di auto-regolamentazione & “Couponing”…
Il Codice di auto-regolamentazione sui prezzi (Consorzio Netcomm che rappresenta 127 aziende del
settore) [presentato alla Camera dei Deputati il 6 novembre 2012]
“[Codice] … è relativo alle modalità di comunicazione e pubblicizzazione delle offerte di
sconti e risparmi nel settore del commercio elettronico (…) esso definisce in particolare
le regole per la comparazione dei prezzi => prezzi omogenei + prezzo di riferimento
oggettivo e verificabile”
•
“[nel settore dell’e-commerce] si perde il rapporto di fiducia personale => è cruciale dunque dare
valore alla forza etica delle aziende (e.g., brand ad elevato livello di fiducia)
Il Sole 24 Ore, Domenica 4 novembre 2012, p. 48 nòva – n. 305
Default option & Consumer choice
1)
Automobile insurance regulation (in Pennsylvania the higher-cost
option was the default – 70% of drivers purchased it Vs. 21% drivers in
New Jersey. See Johnson et al., 1993)
2) Online buying of railways ticket (with Vs. without the reserved seat
option – five times more with the default set to price inclusive of reserved
seat! See Goldstein et al., 2008) [see also my study on online purchasing of the
hotel room inclusive or not of half board]
3) See Fasolo et al. rel. online choosing of a hotel vs. a hospital presented at Trento on June 2013
Default option frame and Deception
What’ about the behaviour of Mr X who purchased the higher-cost railways ticket [insurance
policy, room hotel, hotel, etc.] because of the default frame? For example, what’s about if we
could demonstrate that “he would not have purchased it under a different frame” such as:
i)
The Alternative default option frame (e.g., the lower-cost ticket is the default);
ii)
Active Choice frame (e.g., both options are explicitly presented) – See Beshears et al., 2008
The EU consumer policy perspective
“The European Commission has proposed a Directive on consumer rights which includes a
clause limiting the use of default options in consumer contracts (European Commission, 2008).
Specifically, sellers would be required to obtain express consent from consumers for any
payment that is in addiction to the payment for the main contractual obligation, and could not
rely on default options that require buyers to reject those options to avoid payment” (OECD,
2010 Consumer Policy Toolkit, p. 47)
Neuroimaging tools for studying the
effect of audiovisual stimuli
Dr. Giovanni Vecchiato
Dept of Physiology and Pharmacology
University of Rome “Sapienza”
Human tissues generate an electrical potentiaI
measurable on the skin
 In1849 the german physiologist Emil
Heinrich Du Bois-Reymond reported for the
first time the gathering of small electric
potentials generated by contractions of
hands muscles
 In 1880 the ECG is measured in
dogs Neuroimaging and advertisement
....and later on humans
15/04/2014
Pagina 2
The father of the Electroencephalograhy
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Pagina 3
Technologies to study brain functions
• Measurement of postsynaptic potentials (PSP) in the apical
dendrites of the cerebral cortex pyramidal cells
• Synchronization and desynchronization of PSP generate
signals measurable on the scalp surface
• EEG  electric fields
• Analysis of temporal and
frequency signals variations
Titolo Presentazione
15/04/2014
Pagina 4
Electroencephalograhy – EEG
• EEG measures potentials by means of electrodes located on
the scalp surface
• Neurons spatial properties have to
assure the reciprocal amplification of
their extracellular electric field
– Parallel dendric trees
– Normal to the cortical surface
• Different kind of sensors can be
used
– Passive: economic, impedence
adaptation
– Active: expensive, high SNR
– Dry: easy to use, low SNR
Titolo Presentazione
15/04/2014
Pagina 5
High resolution EEG and the estimation of
cortical sources
A large number
of recording
electrodes is
not sufficient to
detect
accurately the
cortical activity
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Pagina 6
High resolution EEG and the estimation of
cortical sources
Insert
the
Realistic
geometry
Model of of
skull
and
The Head
dura
mater
Volume
in
inverse
Conductor
calculation
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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The Neuromarketing world
The ideas behind
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Neuroeconomy as
value-based decision making
• Nowadays there is a large
body of evidences suggesting
that neuroimaging tools could
return useful information on
brain processing mechanism
related to the observation of
videos (lectures, commercials)
and economic decisions
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Pagina 9
Neuromarketing
Neuromarketing is a
discipline that investigates
the brain related activity
with respect to marketing
relevant task such as the
purchase of goods or
advertising
(McClure et al., Neuron
2004; Braeutigam et al.,
Eur. J. Neurosci 2004)
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Neural predictor of purchases
• It has been investigated the possibility to detect in
advance with neuroimaging tools, such as the fMRI,
the preference of the subjects for purchasing some
goods (Knutson et al., Neuron, 2007)
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Neural responses to TV commercials
Cognitive advertisements activate predominately posterior parietal
and superior prefrontal cortices, whereas affective material
modulates activity in orbitofrontal cortices, the amygdala and the
brainstem.
Ioannides et al., Brain Topography 2000
Vecchiato et al., Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience 2011
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Descriptors of memorization and
pleasantness
Experimental hypothesis
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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EEG is able to track cognitive attention and
memorization for ads
•
•
•
High resolution EEG techniques are able to return
accurate information about the cerebral spatiotemporal activity during the observation of sensory
percepts in humans (Babiloni et al., 1996; 2003;
2005)
Several papers have been demonstrated that there
exists a strict link between the EEG activity in a
particular set of frequency bands (theta, alpha, beta,
gamma) and particular cognitive event such as
visual attention and memorization (from minutes
to several hours based; Klimesh et al, 1999;
Summerfield et al, 2005)
It is hence possible to use the EEG technology and
the variation of the power spectra in those frequency
bands to track time-dependent changes of visual
attention and memorization during the sensory
perception of commercial ads (De Vico Fallani et
al., 2008; Astolfi et al., 2008; Vecchiato et al., 2009)
Neuroimaging and advertisement
15/04/2014
Summerfield, C., Mangels, J.A. Coherent
theta-band activity predicts item-context
binding during encoding. NeuroImage
24,692–703 2005.
Pagina 14
Measurements on EEG, HR and GSR return
information on emotive states
•
•
•
•
Variation of Galvanic Skin Responses (GSR) have
been then associated to variation of the arousal
of the emotive state of the subject (Buchel and
others 1998; Morris and others 1998).
Variation of the Heart Rate (HR) have also been
linked by a variety of psychophysiological studies
to the variation of the positive/negative quality
of the emotions experienced by the subject
Dozen of studies suggested that the vision of sad,
or even boring films generated a decrease of
the HR when compared to the baseline conditions
(Bosch et al., 2001; Ritz, Steptoe et al., 2000;
Kreibig et al, 2007). In addition, positive
emotions trigger increased HR values.
Positive and negative emotions could be also
detected with the unbalance of EEG activity
(Davidson, 2004)
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Descriptors of memorization and pleasantness
of TV commercials
•
•
We linked significant variation of EEG, GSR and HR measurements with the
memory and pleasantness of the stimuli presented, as resulted
successively from the subject’s verbal interview.
Different indices were used to summarize the cerebral and autonomic
measurements performed
A lifelike experiment !
Commercial
Commercial
Break
Break
~7 min
~3 min
GSR
HR
Commercial
Commercial
Break
Break
•
Commercial
Commercial
Break
Break
Each commercial break
consists of several spots
Neuroimaging and advertisement
•
Neutral
Documentary
(~30 min)
In this study we were interested
to analyse the brain activity
occurring during the
“naturalistic” observation of
commercials.
To measure both the brain
activity and the emotional
engagement subjects
investigated, we used
simultaneous EEG, GSR and
HR measurements during the
whole experiment.
15/04/2014
Pagina 16
Methodology
Experimental Design
•
•
The subjects after 2 hours the
observation of the whole video
(documentary + commercials) were
interviewed
Four groups of cerebral and
autonomic data were generated
– Data related to the spots
remembered  RMB group
– Data related to the spots forgotten 
FRG group
– Data related to the spots liked by the
subjects  LIKE group
– Data related to the spots did not liked
by the subjects  DISLIKE group
LIKE
Neuroimaging and advertisement
FRG
RMB
15/04/2014
DISLIKE
Pagina 17
Patterns of cortical Power
Spectral Density
An estimation of the cortical
activity by means of the high
resolution EEG
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Statistical cortical maps
A frequency analysis
• During the observation of the memorized TV commercials the
population analyzed have increased power spectral activity in
the theta-alpha band, left frontal cortex.
• These results are congruent with:
•
•
Previous results on memorization of complex items (Summerfield et al., 2005,
NeuroImage)
The HERA model (Tulving et al., 1994, PNAS)
RMB
Vecchiato et al. (2010), Brain Topography
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Cognitive Indices
•
From the EEG
measurements we derived
two cognitive indices
related to Memorization
and Attention
•
•
The Memorization Index is
linearly correlated with the
probability of spontaneous
recall
The increase of the
Attention Index enhances
the probability of recall
Vecchiato et al., IEEE Pulse 2012
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Statistical cortical maps
A frequency analysis
• The brain activity during the observation of TV commercials that
was rated as pleasant by the subjects has an enhancement in
the theta, alpha frontal left frontal activity.
• The results here obtained for the LIKE condition are also
congruent with other observations performed with EEG in a
group of 20 subjects during the observation of pictures from the
International Affective Picture System (IAPS)
LIKE
Aftanas et al. (2004), Neuroscience and
Behavioral Physiology
Balconi et al. (2009), Brain Res, Brain Res Bull
Neuroimaging and advertisement
Vecchiato et al. (2010), Brain Topography
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EEG asymmetry and pleasantness
• EEG frontal asymmetry:
– the most of activity in the left frontal
hemisphere relates to the observation of
commercials that have been judged pleasant
by the analyzed population. On the other
hand, the right frontal sites highlighted
neuroelectrical activations concerning the
observation of advertisements that have
been judged less pleasant
– this imbalance in the activations was linearly
correlated with the degree of pleasantness
the subjects expressed
The left PFC is an important brain area in a
widespread circuit that mediates appetitive
ZZIM==ZZlike
dx - Zsx
dislike
approach, while the right PFC appears to
form a major component of a neural circuit
that instantiates defensive withdrawal
(Davidson, 2004)
Vecchiato et al., MBEC 2011
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Autonomic nervous system’s variability
• Heart rate:
– The HR increase in a significant way (p<0.023) as
well as the increment of the LF/HF ratio (p<0.01)
during the observation of the TV commercials
remembered and judged pleasant, respectively
*
• Galvanic Skin Response:
– The level the GSR did not change across the
different TV spots irrespective of the RMB, FRG,
LIKE or DISLIKE conditions (p<0.3)
The HR and LF/HF are variables
able to track the occurrence of
memorization and pleasantness of
the commercial videos while there
are no changes in the GSR
x
RMB
Neuroimaging and advertisement
LIKE
Vecchiato et al., (2010) Brain
Topography
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Pagina 23
Statistical cortical maps
A temporal analysis
• Through advanced
techniques of brain
imaging we can see the
most activated cortical
areas during the
observation of the ad and
of the percept frame by
frame.
Brand e
Logo
• We can asses the scenes
which engage and those
that does not, with respect
to the cerebral state elicited
by the observation of a
documentary.
Astolfi et al., Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience 2009
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Statistical cortical maps
A temporal analysis
Drinkers
Non Drinkers
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Cultural differences in the fruition of
advertisements
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Advertisements employed in the experiment
27
Spot europeo
Spot cinese
Results from the Chinese
population
Same levels of
memorization and
attention…
The memorization index is
slightly higher for the ad
with Chinese actors, except
for the segments in which
the brand is presented and
the one where mum and
doughter are seen through
the smartphone;
 There is more attention in
the spot with european
actors
Vecchiato et al., IFMBE 2012
28
… but the Chinese population does not like the
European ad
•Chinese seem to
reject European actors;
•The rejection regards
charachters since in
the brand exposition
there is no difference
between the two ads
Vecchiato et al., IFMBE 2012
29
Ethical Issues
• Coerce consumers into buying products
that they neither need nor want
• Help companies to identify new and
exciting products that people wants and
find useful  Ad PreTest
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Acknowledgment
Prof. Fabio Babiloni
Dr. Arianna Trettel
Dr. Anton Giulio Maglione
Dr. Patrizia Cherubino
Dr. Ilenia Graziani
Dr. Donatella Mattia
Dr. Febo Cincotti
Dr. Laura Astolfi
Dr. Jlenia Toppi
Dr. Gianluca Borghini
Thank you for your attention!
Neuroimaging and advertisement
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Pagina 31
Atti del Convegno
DECISIONE TRA EMOZIONE E COGNIZIONE.
Meccanismi funzionali e disfunzionali del decision-making
12 APRILE 2014
UNIVERSITÀ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE
Largo Gemelli, 1 – 20123 Milano
SESSIONE
Clinica della decisione
Chair: S. Campanella
• A triadic neurocognitive approach to addiction
X. Noel
• Alcohol dependence, ERPs and inhibition: is it possible to predict relapse?
S. Campanella
• Patient engagement in health care: pathways for shared decision-making
G. Graffigna, S. Barello
• Gambling, reward mechanisms and decision-making
R. Finocchiaro, M. Balconi
A triadic neurocognitive
approach to addiction
X. Noël
• Addiction as a relapsing disorder
characterized by compulsivity
Positive reinforcement (impulsivity)  Negative
reinforcement (impulsivity)  Incentive habit
(compulsivity)
• Perseveration in responding in the face of
adverse consequences (e. g., degraded
reinforcer)
Animal studies of compulsivity
Similar to
humans,
after a
prolonged
period of
drug intake,
and despite
an equal
amount of
drug taken, a
restricted
number of
rodents
develop
addiction-like
behaviors
•
Addiction may reflect a number of within- and between-system
neuroadaptations to excessive activation of the reward system at the
neurocircuitry level
•
Key systems: incentive salience mesolimbic dopamine system (reward
craving) and dorso-striatum system (habit); spinothalamocortical system
(pain); extended amygdala system (negative craving); HPA axis system
(stress); prefrontal cortex system (decision-making)
•
But, note the heterogeneity of processes
•
Triadic model states interactions between three neural and cognitive
systems promoting:
– automatic, habitual and salient behaviors – amygdala-striatum
– reflective decision-making forecasting the future consequences of a behavior and
inhibitory control – PFC –
– the integration of interoception states into conscious feelings and into decision–
making - Insula
HYPERACTIVE AUTOMATIC PROCESSING OF DRUG CUES AT
THE LEVEL OF ATTENTION , MEMORY AND ACTION
TENDENCIES
ADDICTION
ADDICTION CUES
DECISIONS
AND /OR
ACTIONS
HYPERACTIVE
PROPRIOCEPTIVE
PROCESSING
(CRAVING, STRESS)
WEAKENED SUPERVISORY
SYSTEM (PREPOTENT
RESPONSE INHIBITON )
5
I. Enhanced habitual response
• Attentional bias towards addiction-related cues
• Implicit memory associations
• Action tendencies
• Activity-dependent long-term depression (LTD) and long-term
potentiation (LTP) are key forms of synaptic plasticity that
permit strenghening (LTP) or weakening (LTD) of synapses in
an interplay that allows the refinement of neuronal circuits
necessary to adapt behavior to an ever-changing environment
• Whereas LTD is progressivly recovered in nonaddicted rates
maintaining a controlled drug intake, addicted animals have
permanently impaired LTD
• Lack of behavioral flexibility due to impaired (basic) learning
processes
HYPERACTIVE AUTOMATIC PROCESSING OF DRUG CUES AT
THE LEVEL OF ATTENTION , MEMORY AND ACTION
TENDENCIES
ADDICTION
ADDICTION CUES
DECISIONS
AND /OR
ACTIONS
HYPERACTIVE
PROPRIOCEPTIVE
PROCESSING
(CRAVING, STRESS)
WEAKENED SUPERVISORY
SYSTEM (PREPOTENT
RESPONSE INHIBITON )
8
II. Disrupted executive control
• Salience detection
• Executive attention
• Motor control
• Conflict detection
• Conflict monitoring
• Conflict resolution
In vivo optogenetic stimulation of
prelimbic cortex suppresses compulsive
cocaine seeking
HYPERACTIVE AUTOMATIC PROCESSING OF DRUG CUES AT
THE LEVEL OF ATTENTION , MEMORY AND ACTION
TENDENCIES
ADDICTION
ADDICTION CUES
DECISIONS
AND /OR
ACTIONS
HYPERACTIVE
PROPRIOCEPTIVE
PROCESSING
(CRAVING, STRESS)
WEAKENED SUPERVISORY
SYSTEM (PREPOTENT
RESPONSE INHIBITON )
12
III. Poor integration of feeling into
decision-making
• Insula hyperactivation while processing addiction cues in
addicts, which correlates positively to craving intensity
• Craving states make approach tendances stronger and the
inhibition of the motivational response less efficient
• Using smoking as a form of addiction, evidence shows that
insula damage wipes out smoking addiction, by completely
erasing the urge to smoke (Naqvi, …, & Bechara, 2007, in
Science)
• Damage to insula abolishes cognitive distortions during
simulated gambling (Clark, …, & Bechara, 2014, in PNAS)
• To address the role of the insula in addiction to
smoking, patients with insula damage were
examined
• Quitting can be of 2 kinds:
1. Quitting because of being scared.
2. Quitting with complete ease, like a switch being
turned off, i.e., disruption of smoking addiction.
• Patients who quit smoking after lesion onset were
designated as having a “disruption of smoking
addiction” if they fulfilled all 4 of the following
criteria:
• They reported that they quit smoking less
than 1 day after lesion onset
• They rated the difficulty of quitting as less
than 3 on a scale of 1-7
• They reported that they quit in one attempt
• They reported that they felt no urges to
smoke since quitting.
• The Specific Hypothesis: Smokers with
insula lesions are more likely to have a
disruption of smoking addiction after
lesion onset, as defined by these
criteria, compared to smokers with
non-insula lesions.
Number of subjects
with lesions in the
different brain regions
identified in this study.
ALL
(N=69)
INSULA
(N=19)
NONINSULA
(N=50)
0
N
12
69
smoked at
lesion onset
37
“non-quitters”
32
“quitters”
16
16
quitters
quitters
not meeting meeting
criteria
criteria
53
“no disruption
of smoking
addiction”
16
“disruption
of smoking
addiction”
__1 Case (5%)
• By combining the patients with right or left insula lesions: the
odds of quitting with a disruption of smoking addiction
were about 136 times greater after a lesion that affected
either the right or left insula than after a lesion that did
not affect the insula (adjusted odds ratio=136.49, c2=15.48,
p=0.00008).
• Two neural processes relate to drug craving
– One relates to abnormal activity in the insula, which intensifies
the awareness of drug craving; damage to this system tends to
wipe out the urge to take drug.
– The other relates to abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex, which
is associated with decreased awareness (lack of insight) of the
acquired addictive behavior and lack of concern about the
potential long term consequences of cigarette smoking.
To sum up
•
Craving for drugs (or for gambling) may be powerful on decision making and
behaviour because of its action on some automatic and non-automatic
motivational-related processes
•
For instance, deregulated stress system is strongly involved in alcohol
relapse (see recent Sinha’s prospective studies). But how does it work?
•
Based on the triadic model to addiction, it could be best explained by the
way the stress moderates the relationship between impulsive and reflective
systems
•
The relationship between this “lack of awareness” and cognition, especially
executive control functions, and the incapacity of drug addicts to control
their drug seeking behavior, cope with daily stress and demands, and avoid
relapse should be an area for future research
Alcohol dependence, ERPs and
inhibition: is it possible to predict
relapse?
Salvatore Campanella
University of Brussels, Belgium – Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and
Addiction
Milano, 12/10/2014
Addiction can be operationally defined as the
continuation of choices leading to terrible
consequences despite of the explicitly stated
desire to make a different choice
A major problem: the relapse rate
There is an urgent need to identify neurocognitive mechanisms that may help to
identify people at « high risk » to relapse…..
Why to focus on the inhibition process?
Amplitude
=
Intensity of processing
Latency
=
Speed of processing
Why do we need ERPs?
(1)
Why do we need ERPs?
(2)
A Contextual Go-NoGo Task
80% of Go trials: M
20% of NoGo trials: W
3 contexts
Illustration
M
+
M
+
M
+
M
+
W
+
M
+
M
Drinker typology based on AUDIT
scores
Possible Dependence
Heavy Drinkers
(mean 16.9)
Light Drinkers
(mean 6.5)
Follow-up at 3 months
BUT THE ERROR RATE IS SIMILAR BETWEEN Relapsers and Non Relapsers!
However, when we look at ERPs…
Relapsers vs Controls: p = .026
Non Relap vs Controls: p =1
Discussion
• Patients made more commissions errors than
controls;
• No more errors in alcohol context;
• The error rate did not predict relapse;
Flaudias et al., 2013
• However, at the ERP level, the NoGo P3 of
Relapsers disclosed higher amplitude than the
one of Non Relapsers = Controls : patients who
need higher neural resources to perform correct
inhibition are more prone to relapse?..!
Conclusions
• Is the NoGo P3 a biological marker of
relapse? Clinical impact: increase
cognitive control through
neuropsychological retraining?
• Is the alcohol attentional bias really
modulated by detoxification cure?
• What is the impact of anti-craving
medications on these processes???
Thank you for your
attention!
Guendalina Graffigna, Serena Barello
Faculty of Psychology
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy)
A. Claudio Bosio*
*Scuola di Dottorato in Psicologia – Università Cattolica di Milano
Patient Engagement in
health care: pathways for
shared decision-making.
DECISIONE TRA EMOZIONE E COGNIZIONE
Meccanismi funzionali e disfunzionali del decision-making
12 aprile 2014, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
1
1
Shared decision making: a primacy for the 21°
century healthcare
Questioning about “how to talk with patients” and how to make
them engaged in healthcare decision making is currently a
policy imperative for Western healthcare systems (WHO, 2008;
Zuger, 2013)...
….Shared Decision Making (SDM) is
increasingly advocated by the patient
centered care as an ideal model of clinical
decision-making (Richards, 1998; Coulter et al.,
1999 Coulter et al., 2013 ; Elwyn et al., 2000)…
…as far as it has the potential to deliver
better health outcomes and a more
efficient use of resources by also
retaining patients’ autonomy and selfdetermination (Tinetti & Basch, 2013).
Graffigna G., Barello S., Riva G., (2013) Response to: Potential benefits of “well engaged patients” are akin to those from a blockbuster drug, say experts, BMJ.
2
2
Shared decision making: is this a matter
of patients’ health literacy?
• According to a «health literate
care model» (Koh et al., 2013), the
majority of interventions aimed at
fostering a SDM in the medical
course, are primarily oriented to
improve the patients’ ability to
obtain and understand basic
health information…
• …thus narrowing the process of
SDM on the patients’ cognitive
activation toward the disease
management (Graffigna et al., 2013)…
Graffigna G., Barello S., Riva G., (2013) Response to: Potential benefits of “well engaged patients” are akin to those from a blockbuster drug, say experts, BMJ.
Koh, H. K., Brach, C., Harris, L. M., & Parchman, M. L. (2013). A proposed ‘health literate care model’ would constitute a systems approach to improving patients’ engagement in care. Health Affairs, 32(2), 357-367
3
“No decision about me, without me” (?)
Despite the ackowledged benefits of this practice, the literature about the patients’ desired role and
involvement expectations in the SDM process is still controversial and doesn’t offer shared guidelines for
practice….
…The model of SDM risks to be a “fashionable claim” and produce “side effects”
instead of being a real guide for effective medical practice….
4
Patient engagement in healthcare:
a framework proposal to cast light on SDM
Patient engagement in health care is highly recommended in order to
make them leaders of their care process (Hibbard et al., 2008, Gruman et al., 2009, Graffigna
et al., 2013)….
The patient engagement model (Graffigna et al., 2013, 2014) may allow to better
understand the features of the patient-doctor relational dynamics occurring
along the care process….
…thus illuminating the preferable decision making style that is attuned with
the patient’s care needs and expectations….
Graffigna, G., Barello, S., Wiederhold, B. K., Bosio, A. C., & Riva, G. (2013). Positive Technology as a Driver for Health Engagement. Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine 2013, 9.
Barello S., Graffigna G., Vegni E., Savarese M., Lombardi F., Bosio AC (2014) Patient-doctor relational patterns in heart failure patient engagement: A Qualitative Study (submitted)
5 Potential regulatory pathways in patient
engagement process: four subsequent
phases
THE PROCESS OF PATIENT ENGAGEMENT
DISENGAGEMENT
“I am in a blackout”
AROUSAL
“I am a ill body”
ADHESION
“I am a patient”
EUDAIMONIC PROJECT
“I am a person”
THINK
COGNITIVE BLINDNESS
SUPERFICIAL
KNOWLEDGE
COGNITIVE
ADHESION
SENSE-MAKING
FEEL
DENY
ALERT
ACCEPTANCE
ELABORATION
ACT
FREEZING
BEHAVIORAL
DISORGANIZATION
FORMAL ADHERENCE
SITUATED PRACTICES
A wide qualitative study was conducted on the chroninc patient engagement experience
involving 99 patients across different clinical population (diabetes, cancer, CVD, neurological impairments, BPCO).
This study allowed to build a patient engagement modeling basing on the patient perspective.
(see Graffigna et al., 2013)
Graffigna, G., Barello, S., Wiederhold, B. K., Bosio, A. C., & Riva, G. (2013). Positive Technology as a Driver for Health Engagement. Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine 2013,
6 9.
Barello S., Graffigna G., Vegni E., Savarese M., Lombardi F., Bosio AC (2014) Patient-doctor relational patterns in heart failure patient engagement: A Qualitative Study (submitted)
6 The patient-doctor relationship along the engagement
process: implication for decision making strategies
The patient engagement modeling highlights
specificities in the roles enacted respectively
by patients and doctors along the care
process…
6.1
DELEGATED DECISION MAKING
THE PROCESS OF PATIENT ENGAGEMENT
DISENGAGEMENT
“I am in a blackout”
“DEPENDENCE ZONE”: DELEGATED DECISION MAKING
• Patients rely completely on clinicians for health advice and treatments…
• …they delegate to the doctor decisions regarding treatment and disease management…
• This model legitimates the patient in a passive, dependent role vis-a-vis the physician
• …positive health outcomes are assumed to be the responsibility of the clinician.
DOCTOR AS A LEADER
“At the beginning of the journey [with the disease] the doctor has to make you feel safe and should hang around with you and giving the key to
understand what happened before understanding what will be” (54 year-old male patient with NYHA Class III HF).
“I needed to be reassured...and to understand that what I was feeling was not strange or wrong... I only wanted doctor told me that it was normal”
(60 year-old female patient with diabetes).
6.2
INFORMED DECISION MAKING
THE PROCESS OF PATIENT ENGAGEMENT
AROUSAL
“I am a ill body”
“NURTURING ZONE”: INFORMED DECISION MAKING
•
•
•
Patients totally rely on the expertise of clinicians to address their condition.
… and health providers are asked help patients to work upon facts and emotions
that are difficult to cope with.
This allows the patients to test behavioural caring patterns and learn to manage
emotional response to cope with the new health condition
DOCTOR AS A VICARIUS
“I met a doctor really careful in explaining me everything I asked her. Once, I experienced a stab and I right away thought of death. Fortunately I
took courage and I told her my worries, She told me that it was not an alarming symptom even if she understood my concerns. This made me
immediately feel well”. (54 year-old female patient with NYHA Class III HF)
6.3
DELIBERATIVE DECISION MAKING
THE PROCESS OF PATIENT ENGAGEMENT
ADHESION
“I am a patient”
“EMPOWERMENT ZONE” : DELIBERATIVE DECISION MAKING
•the physician is perceived as a reliable and authoritative expert and this
allows patients to feel confident and not alone in managing their disease…
•The patient still strongly relies of the doctor’s judgment to make
decisions about the disease management
DOCTOR AS AN
AUTHORITATIVE EXPERT
“I always follow what the doctor tells me. Everyone is good at something different and I am not a health specialist. I know it is modern
to have something to say about everything, even something I am not good at, but, in this moment I can’t and this is not my case.’ (70
year-old male patient with BPCO)
6.4
SHARED DECISION MAKING
THE PROCESS OF PATIENT ENGAGEMENT
EUDAIMONIC PROJECT
“I am a person”
“SELF-DETERMINATION ZONE”: SHARED DECISION MAKING
•Patients can directly take proactive action according with the healthcare provider.
•Positive health outcomes are perceived by patients to be their own responsibility.
•The physician is required to support the patients in finding personalized solutions to
“situated” problems
• The doctor is a “trusted ally” to whom they asked counselling on demand.
DOCTOR AS A TRUSTED ALLY
“Yes, I do help the doctor because I live with my medical condition and I am experienced. I have had it for years. I know my problem, I
know myself and I know my body, so I would report anything new or different that would help the doctor.”
(54 year-old female patient with NYHA Class III HF)
7
Towards an “engagement sensitive»
clinical decision making
Shared decision making is not an “on-off status”
but it should be developed according to the phase
of engagement the patient is experiencing….
The patients’ attitude to be engaged in SDM doesn’t
merely depend on the patient’s health literacy but
also on the emotional elaboration of the disease
condition and on the acquired behavioral skills to
manage the disease
We thus advocate for the development of an
“engagement sensitive decision making” in order
to orient guidelines for a medical practice really finetuned with the patients’ needs at each phase of the
engagement process.
12
8
What is next? Future research lines
Further research is needed to deepen the value of engaging patient in SDM by:
•
Deepening the physicians’ perspective and barriers toward a shared decision making
model
•
Considering not only dyadic exchanges (e.g. patient-doctor) occurring when decision
making processes are enacted along the care process….
•
…but also taking in consideration triadic exchanges (e.g. patient-doctor-caregivers)
•
Finally, context-based studies are needed to discover the features of DM across
different medical cultures and health systems
[email protected]
[email protected]
Conference
Decision between emotion and cognition
Functional and dysfunctional mechanisms in decision-making
12 April 2014
University Catholic of Sacred Heart, Milan
Gambling
Reward Mechanisms
and Decisional-Making
www.psychoneuronet.com
Roberta Finocchiaro
Michela Balconi
[email protected]
Unit of Research in Affective and Social Neuroscience
University Catholic of Sacred Heart, Milan
Gambling
The player has to
put in wagering a
stake of money or
anything of value
The bet can not
be withdrawn

Caravaggio, I bari, oil on canvas, 1594
The result of
the game should
be based on
case
Gambling Behavior: epidemiology
Italian Population
Never
Gambling
46%
Gambling
(At least
once in the
last 12
months)
54%
1,3% - 3,8%
Problematic
Gambling
0,5% - 2,2%
Pathological
Gambling
Estimated Italian population affected by gambling. Serpelloni 2012. (age 18-74)
Italian Journal on Addiction, Volume 3, Number 3, July 2013. Department of drugs policy.
Presidency of the the Council of Ministers
Gambling behavior
 Creative play is a physiological behavior, risk
awareness, social gaming and competition, not
often
 Problematical voluntary behavior at risk,
increasing of play frequency, increasing time and
work for gambling

Pathological gambling, daily use, with
negative consequences in terms of
mental, physical and social (Substancerelated and Addictive disorders in DSMV)
Gambling Addiction
Abstinence
Craving
Tolerance
Some evidences show the similarity
of reward-related neurocircuitry
and behavior patterns to those of
substance related-addictions
Gambling Addiction
 pathological
gambling occurs frequently in
people with impulsive
 marked by excessive attention to the
potential reward and the desire of
immediate reinforcement
 the tendency to respond immediately
without taking into account the negative
consequences of the excessive sensitivity to
the threat of punishment (not reward)
 deficit in inhibitory control that leads to
action despite the risk of negative
consequences
A similar profile in Subestance Use
Addictive?
 Compulsive
drug use can be described as a
condition associated with dysfunctional brain
mechanisms that subvert the ability to make
decisions (Barry & Petry, 2008 )
 Substance abuse could arise from poor decisionmaking skills that lead individuals with substance
use disorders (SUD) to ignore long-term negative
consequences in the interest of immediate
gratification or relief of uncomfortable states.
 Impaired
metacognitive representation (selfknowledge; strategic planning; flexibility; efficacy) of
the decisional behavior ( Balconi M, Campanella S, Finocchiaro R.
2013)
Addictive Behavior: Brain Correlates
 vMPFC, DLPFC: executive functions and
control of decisional processes (working
memory), for action planning; organizing,
payn attention to; managing time and
space long-term pianification and
strategies
 OFC and its relatioship with ACC,
Amygdala, Insula (Noël X. et al. 2013) and
Reward Mechanisms
Reward Mechanisms
Dysfunctions in the
dopaminergic mesolimbic
Reward System, driving
attention to DependenceAssociated Stimuli, rendering
them specifically salient
Dennis S., Charney MD., Psychobiological mechanisms of resilience
and vulnerability: implications for successful adaptation to extreme
stress. Am J Psychiatry 2004;161:195-216
Addictive behavior like….
unfunctional behavior in decisional-processes
with increased risk-seeking, high dependence to
reward which produces more risky and
unfunctional (loss) strategies
Frontal brain unbalance (BIS/BAS system, Gray 2001): more
sensitivity to reward and less to punishment (Schutter
et al., 2004)
Our study...
DYSFUNCTI
ONAL
BEHAVIOR
(IGT)
MOTIVATION
(BIS/BAS)
HEMISPHERIC
LATERALIZATION
EFFECT (ALPHA
BAND)
Iowa Gambling Task ( IGT)
(Bechara et al. 1994)
BIS and BAS measures represent
a usable tool to test
subjective reward-sensitivity
based on neurophysiological
correlates ( Balconi et al.
 Behavioral Inhibition System
withdrawal behavior (right PFC)
 Behavioral Activation System
approach behavior (left PFC)
A strong relationship was shown
between impulsivity, drugdependence and BAS (Dawe &
Loxton, 2004).
2012;Davidson et al. 2004;
Carver & White 1994, Gray
1981)
A direct association between the
BAS and BAS subscale ( BAS Drive,
Fun Seeking, Reward responsiveness)
to substance abuse ( Franken et
al.,2006)
Electroencephalography (EEG)

Modulation of brain oscillations is a
valid measure of brain activation, and it
has been applied often to find distinct
responsiveness in the two hemispheres
for different cognitive or emotional task
(Balconi & Mazza,2009; Sutton & Davidson,1997, Balconi,
Finocchiaro, & Canavesio 2014)
Alpha Power ( Increased activity)
Left Frontal System
Money gains and Reward Trials
Alpha Power (Reduction activity)
Right Frontal System
Punishment Conditions
(Buss et al.,2003)
S.J Van Albada & P.A. Robinson. Relationships between
electroencephalographic spectral peaks across frequency bands. Front.
Hum. Neurosci 2013; 7-56
Hypothesis
In association with riskier
choices, SUD ( Substance
Use Disorder) subjects in
comparison to controls
should show higher BAS
ratings, mainly for BASReward subscale.
SUD subjects should show a
consistent alpha activity
increasing within the left
hemisphere in the case of an
immediate reward
(disadvantageous decks, DD)
in comparison with a delayed
reward (advantageous decks,
AD)
Methods
 The SUD Group N=40
Control Group N=42 (
SerT 1 Milano- SerT 2
Monza)

Inclusion criteria: lifetime history of dependence (Structural
Clinical Interview, DSM IV) minimum abstinence duration of 15
days before testing.
 Evaluation of severity of drug use
Intensity ( average dosing)
Frequency (consuption episodes by month)
Duration ( years of duration)

Exclusion criteria for both SUD and CG
 Suicidal ideation and psychosis
 Absence of documented co-morbid mood or personality disorders
Methods
Experimental Phase

BIS and BAS scores were calculated for each subject . It included 24
item. BAS also includes three subscales (Reward, 5 items, Drive, 4 items,
and Fun Seeking, 4 items)

All participants received standard instructions for the IGT
Briefly, they were told that the object of the task was to win as much as possible
and avoid losses by drawing cards, one at a time, from the four decks. They were
informed that each card drawn would indicate how much they had won and
whether there was a penalty as well.
EEG recordings were performed with a 32-channel DC amplifier
and acquisition software (NEUROSCAN 4.2) during task execution
(SYNAMPS system)
Results
BEHAVIOURAL IGT PERFORMANCE
As revealed by post-hoc analysis, increased II( Iowa Index) was
found for CG compared to SUD within all the five blocks
Results
BEHAVIOURAL IGT PERFORMANCE
As revealed by post-hoc analysis, increased II( Iowa Index) was
found for CG compared to SUD within all the five blocks
Results
BIS/BAS MEASURE
Group differences were found for BAS, and BAS-D Increased
scores were found for SUD compared with CG
Results
BIS/BAS MEASURE
Group differences were found for BAS, and BAS-D Increased
scores were found for SUD compared with CG
Results
ALPHA BAND ANALYSIS
A significant increased LTA (log-transformed asymetry) in
response to DD ( Deck Disadvantageous) than AD (Deck
Advantageous) was found. SUD showed an increased LTA
compared with CG.
Results
ALPHA BAND ANALYSIS
Response to risky and unrisky choices in DD: a clear «left –
hemisphere effect» for risky choice
risky
unrisky
Results
Regression analysis
A decreased II ( Iowa Index) was correlated with an increased
BAS-Reward.
A significant effect was also found for LTA which explained the
II decreasing for SUD. On the contrary, BIS di d not
significantly account for the variance of II.
Discussion
1. Results were consistent with the hypotheses that chronic
use of psychoactive substances produces significant deficits
in decisional processes based on reward bias.
The two groups, SUD and CG, showed different behavioral
options and opposite strategies in performing IGT
II. Relationship between BAS measure and IGT performance in
SUD. A significant substantial increased BAS and BASReward component was registered for SUD in
comparison with CG
III. A significant higher left frontal activation for SUD
was observed when they opted for DD than AD.
This result was supported by the supposition that the most
rewarding conditions implicate a higher left activation,
orienting their choices toward an immediate reward
Comparing high BAS Healthy Subjects and
Cocaine Dependence…..



40,00
Similar bad-deck choices, no metacognitive selfmonitoring
No pre-loss SCR( Skin Conductance Response)
increasing, moreover in DD less general SCR in any
condition
Unbalanced left/right activation
0,16
35,00
0,14
30,00
0,12
25,00
0,10
20,00
HRS
15,00
DD
0,08
HRS
0,06
DD
10,00
0,04
5,00
0,02
0,00
bed decks
good decks
0,00
bed decks
good decks
Balconi, Finocchiaro Canavesio, 2014
Conclusion
 Reward bias seems to be the most relevant variable to
explain the current results : long-term strategy is inhibited
by the apparent present reward outcomes.
 Frontal motivational mechanisms (BAS) act as regulators
of the strategic behavior
Conclusion
About the future….
 Successive
research is require to better
understand the role of the neural correlates
(PFC) underlying the reward system by taking
into account the left/right lateralization based on
other brain oscillations (high-frequency bands)
 Finally,
other important variable is the direct
comparison between drug-addiction and other
addiction-categories (such as alcoholdependence)
or neurological patients (VMPFC) to verify similar
behavioral deficits in decisions.
Special thanks to
Michela Balconi
Salvatore Campanella
Ylenia Canavesio
THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION
[email protected]
Atti del Convegno
DECISIONE TRA EMOZIONE E COGNIZIONE.
Meccanismi funzionali e disfunzionali del decision-making
12 APRILE 2014
UNIVERSITÀ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE
Largo Gemelli, 1 – 20123 Milano
SESSIONE
Contesti e applicazioni della decisione
Chair: F. Babiloni
 Ragione e sentimento: chi è il miglior personal shopper?
B. Colombo, P. Iannello, A. Antonietti
 Advertising, brand and neuromarketing or how consumer brain works
B. Stumpo, M. Balconi, F. Leanza
 Decidere e comunicare nel neuromanagement
C. Scortegagna, M. Balconi
Are Emotions a Better Personal
Shopper Than Cognition?
Barbara Colombo, Paola Iannello & Alessandro Antonietti
Psychology Department
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
Milano
Decision making
processes activates
two thinking systems:
Rational
Emotional/Intuitive
1
The two systems
Experiential
Analytic
System 1
System 2
Tacit
Deliberative
Analytic
Fast
Slow
Emotional
Rational
Automatic
Controlled
Implicit
Explicit
(Kahneman, 2003)
(Hogharth, 2001)
2
Intuitive
(Epstein, 2002; Slovic, 2002)
(Hammond, Hamm, Grassia & Pearson, 1987; McMackin & Slovic, 2000)
Which is the best?
Neither one is the very best
Joint effect of task’s properties and
thinking modality
Focusing on the
joint effect, we find
ourselves with TWO
personal shoppers.
Do they know
exactly what they
are doing? Is their
cooperation
always productive?
And, equally important, what about a map for the
researcher?
Which are possible methodologies to investigate the role of
emotions vs.(&) cognition in DM tasks?
ROUTE 1
– enhancing differences
Use of brain
stimulation to
enhance or inhibit
the activation of the
DLPFC
Colombo & Mazzucchelli, in
press
Aim:
In relation to
to investigate
Emotionaldesign products
attentional
behavior
decision-making
processes
Non-emotional
design products
Damasio, 1999; 2003;
Stuss and Levine,
2002; Rushworth et
al., 2004
emotional regulation
DLPFC
decision making
Modulating DLPFC activity
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
To explore differences due to different patterns of activation,
effective method to
explore
effect of emotions
on decision-making
processes
Emotional-design
products
are able to elicit an
emotional response
based on generally
quick/impulsive
evaluation of the visual
aspects of the stimuli
(Norman, 2004).
The intuitive system
To purchased, an
object has to be
perceived also
useful and easy to
use
plays a role in the
evaluation of these
stimuli.
otherwise, it will be
described as appealing
but
consumers will not buy
it
People should rely
on intuition to
evaluate those
stimuli
(Bruner, 1986; Chaiken and Trope,
1999; Evans and Over, 1996; 2003;
Sloman, 1996; Sun, Slusarz and Terry,
2005)
(Norman, 1990; Norman, 2004; I.E.A,
International Ergonomics
Association, 2003; Giannini, Tessa and
Viaggiano, 2011).
So these objects
also activate the
second system
Aim1
Detect changes in participants’ behaviors, depending on different
stimulation conditions.
We hypothesize that anodal stimulation will decrease participants’ response
time during the decision-making task, since they should be more impulsive.
Aim 2
Explore consumers’ attentional behavior, when emotional and/or functional
objects are evaluated,
We recorded participants’ eye-movements to highlight different
explorations’ paths according to the stimulation condition
Aim 3
Explore the actual purchasing choices
Thirty volunteers (20 females and 10 males, age range: 21- 33, Mean: 24.57; SD:
2.75
Anodal
Cathodal
Sham
On F3
Effects of tDCS on Decision Making
response time
General condition effect (F32;26= 1.96; p<.05; 2 = .71).
Participants in sham condition had lower response times than participants
in cathodal condition and higher than participants in anodal condition
R
e
s
p
o
n
s
e
T
i
m
e
Attentional behavior
Influence of transcranial stimulation on individuals’ attentional behavior
while examining different design products and evaluating them (before the
purchase choice)
The index Fixations before was the only one that showed significant
differences: we found a significant condition effect (F8;50= 2.38; p<.05;
2 = .26).
Participants in the cathodal
condition “ignored” the
pictures for a longer time
during their visual exploration,
focusing first on the captions
Influence of brain stimulation on purchasing choices
We found a main effect of condition (F32;524= 2.02; p<.05; 2 = .75).
The between-subjects effects tests showed that the corrected model was
significant for four objects) – two functional and two emotional
Individuals tend to make different purchase choices after anodal and
cathodal stimulation, but the difference is not due the emotional vs.
functional characteristics of the object. All participants tend to prefer
functional products, even if they tend to make their decision with different
timing and considering different elements after an opposite stimulation.
ROUTE 2
– relying on “built-in” natural differences
Measuring the
influence of
fluctuations of
hormonal levels in
women on DM tasks
Iannello, Nelli & Zugno (in prep)
Hormones
Decision
making &
Evaluation/
judging
Partner
selection
Clothes
preferences
•  (sensitivity to
specific masculine
features)
• (Haselton &
Gangestad, 2006)
• (wearing red/pink
clothing during
ovulation)
• (Beall & Tracy,
2013)
Risk behavior health
psychology
Self-esteem,
selfacceptance,
bodily
perception
• (Pearson &
Schipper,
unublished study)
•  (Iannello &
Bruschi, in prep)
Aim
H
IGT
Influence of
hormonal
fluctuations during
menstrual cycle
Risk preferences in
IGT
Personality
Sample
N=100
age range:
22- 45, Mean:
25.67; SD: 3.47
Fertile Phase
33
Infertile Phase
67
Materials
! Ad hoc questionnaire to identify the menstrual cycle
phase
!  Dickman Impulsivity Inventory (Dickman, 1990)
! A computerized version of the Iowa
Gambling Task
Results
W
i
n
n
i
n
g
s
Disfunctional
Impulsivity
Low
high
Fertile
Infertile
Phase
Phase (F1,67= 2.209; n.s.)
Phase*disfunctional impulsivity (F1,67= 5.049; p<.05)
H
IGT
Influence of
hormonal
fluctuations during
menstrual cycle
Risk preferences in
IGT
Personality
The two “personal
shoppers”
work together
They are guided by clients’
individual and by objects’ and
tasks’ characteristics
More research is needed to
better understand this
relationship
Thank you!
UNVERSITA’ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE-MILANO
Department of Psychology
ADVERTISING, BRAND AND NEUROMARKETING OR
HOW CONSUMER BRAIN WORKS
Beniamino Stumpo, Michela Balconi, Federica Leanza
Research Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience
Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan
Iterion Market Research
Emotion and decision

Classical economists begin from the prerequisite that people maximize their
individual utility and are rational and self-centred

Recent research don’t share the idea of a rational and “optimizing” individual
and experimental data about decisional processes underline that people often
act in non rational way, but they maintain their effectiveness

Emotions are a fundamental component for decision making:
emotional information elaboration, which operate simultaneously to cognitive
processes, are able to explain what rational decision theory and limited
rationality theory don’t illustrate

Motivation and attitude: some recent contributions underlined the role of
subjective attitude (for example proactive and prosocial attitudes)
THEY DETERMINE PREFERENCE AND CHOICE
The Decision Making Process


Normative theory: in a economic setting, the decision is linked at the
utility function

It is concerned with identify the best decision to take

Ideal decision maker: fully informed, able to compute with perfect accuracy and fully
rational.
Descriptive theory: the people aren’t fully rational (Simon, 1967)

The emotions and motivations drive the behavior

“The prospect theory” of Kahneman and Tversky
Decisions: a multi-dimensional picture
Cognitive
Emotional
Controlled Processes:
serial, deliberative and often associated
to a subjective perception of effort
I
II
Automatic Processes:
multitasking, they are out of
consciousness and they don’t need a
particular effort, so they are faster than
the controlled processes
III
VI
The prefrontal cortex

Three important prefrontal areas:

The anterior cingulate cortex

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

The orbitofrontal cortex
-Alpha (8-13 Hz)
-Beta (13-30 Hz)

Recent study with EEG
Decision + Emotion
-Gamma (>40 Hz)
-Tetha (4-8 Hz)
-Emotional responsiveness in the area prefrontal
(Balconi, 2009).
-Positive correlation with the use of working memory
in tasks related to reward
( Kawasaki, 2012)
Reward System
The orbitofrontal cortex, the nucleus
accumbens and the anterior cingulate cortex
are the areas responsible of the sense of
reward and pleasure
Reward-selective neurons, that is, neurons that shows
different firing rates depending on the expected reward
outcome, are present in many different brain areas.
(Schultz, Nat Reviews Neurosci, 2000)
Izuma et al (2008): the existence of an overlap between
the neural monetary reward and social
The experiment

Decision-making and shopping choices are meaningfully linked also to advertising
(Krugman, 2008).

Advertising (ADV) and emotions: a classical issue in consumer and ADV psychology.

Key process nowadays: consumer’s engagement in ADV, which means to build an
emotional link between brand, product, persons (Wang, 2006; Schultz & Block,
2011; Liu, 2012; Mira & Kimiagary, 2013; Balconi, Leanza & Stumpo, in press).

A study has been realized using an innovative approach, based on an integration of
neurosciences and qualitative: neuro-quali.
The experiment
Aim and Objectives

Explore the impact of reward mechanisms and their prefrontal (dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex DLPFC) correlates to support cognitive and emotive process in
evaluating some consumer goods. We analysed the brain oscillation modulation
in response to some ADVs of consumer goods.

Evaluate the emotional contribution by analyzing the psychophysiological data
(skin conductance response, heart rate).

Explore the perceptual and attentional impact (count and length fixation) in
response to some ADVs of consumer goods.

Evaluate experiences, feelings, comprehension, etc of each respondent
through semantic differential and individual qualitative interview
Subjects
Subjects
Females
Males
Tot.
20-30 Ages
12
8
20
30-40 Ages
3
11
14
15
19
34
Tot.
Stimuli and procedure
The subjects viewed five ADVs (30”) of different markets, in casual order. Their
reactions during and after the vision were measured by: consumer neurosciences’
tools (described later), semantic differential, individual qualitative interview (45’).
Food: Barilla
Pharma: Enterogermina
Finance: Che Banca!
Clothing: Calzedonia
Consumer elettronics:
Samsung
Tools
BIOFEEDBACK
Autonomic Recording (PULS, SCL, SCR)
EYE-TRACKER
Recording of eye position and its movements:
•Count Fixation
•Length Fixation
EEG RECORDING
EEG recordings were performed. Specifically, we measured
brain activity:
• frontal (F3, Fz, F4)
• middle-central (Cz, C3, C4)
• temporo-parietal (P3/T7, Pz, P4/T8)
• occipital (Oz, O1, O2)
Results CORTICAL INDEXES
theta band modulation (mv2)
Theta band modulation
90,00
80,00
70,00
*
*
60,00
50,00
frontal
40,00
central
30,00
temporo-parietal
20,00
occipital
10,00
0,00
category types
THETA LTA
0,10
F4
0,05
LTA
0,00
-0,05
F3
-0,10
-0,15
-0,20
category types
Results EYE MOVEMENTS
Count Fixation
Video (F=30,670; p:.000)
19,211
18,797
15,289 16,039
11,367
Results EYE MOVEMENTS
Lenght Fixation
Video (F=19,643;p:.000)
6,839
6,746
5,553
The gaze of the subject
lingers on the ADV’s
details
5,786
4,759
Decrease of attention while watching
the Enterogermina ADV
Results AUTONOMIC MEASURES
PULS
Video*Blocks(F:3,017; p:,045)
Enterogermina
PULSE
Highest number of
pulsations detected during
the vision of the third block
“Casa”
Video Enterogermina
77,609
76,942
75,465
75,197
Introduzione
Intestino
Casa
Conclusione
The present research highlighted main neurophysiological results:
-
The specific activation of the prefrontal system response to good
processing. A clear prefrontal (DLPFC) activity was found during ADV
evaluation, mainly related to theta band variations.
-
The role of the reward system in reacting to different types of stimuli. A
heterogeneous impact was observed in response to different ADVs: the
higher positive value and preference expressed for some stimuli was
related to theta frequency band modulation within the DLPFC.
-
The subjects have paid special attention to the Samsung spot (high
number and duration fixations). On the contrary, a negative emotional
reaction was found while watching the Enterogermina message.
-
Strong relationship has been observed between the explicit evaluation
of the consumer’s preference among the ADVs and brain activity.
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL
5,689
5,576
4,414
5,504
4,513
Adjective: Beautiful
(F:7,373; p.:,000)
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL
5,116
5,099
4,891
Adjective: Interesting
4,520
(F:1,805; p.:,144)
4,313
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL
4,826
4,473
4,246
3,732
2,483
Adjective: Exciting
(F:8,786; p.:.000)
Conclusions
•
The neuro-quali integration has allowed for a substantial step forward in showing
how consumer’s brain works, especially when exposed to a rewarding, and
therefore engaging, ADV:
-
Overall two ADV’s (Samsung and Barilla) performed much better than others. In
particular, the activation of the reward system is strongly related to higher
qualitative/explicit scores. This clearly means that the reward system plays a key
role in creating engagement and in making communication more effective.
-
Final question is: which kind of immaterial and psychological reward are these
brands offering to persons in their fruition experience?
-
An interpretative answer is that these brands engage the consumer through a
social reward based on the idea of sharing: the reassurance that one can
count on someone else, and that one can be helpful towards others. One’s own
individuality has a precise and rewarding meaning and value, does not mean
loneliness but is instead the basis for building sharing.
-
In times of crisis the psychological dimension of reciprocity becomes even more
relevant: it is still possible to trust others, despite the many contrary clues coming
from reality.
Decidere e comunicare nel
Neuromanagement
Dr.ssa Chiara Scortegagna Direttore Generale AdHocManagement s.r.l.
Dr. Alessio Picci
Quante pubblicazioni?
«Neuromanagement»
169 risultati
«Organizational
Neuroscience» 72 risultati
«Organizational
Cognitive Neuroscience»
91 risultati
2014
2
How Business Schools Lost Their Way
(Bennis, O’Toole, 2005)
2014
3
Riduzionismo
2014
4
Ricostruzionismo
2014
5
Possibili applicazioni in ambito organizzativo
2014
6
Management
Gruppo
Individuo
2014
7
Motivazione
Individuo
Gruppo
Management
2014
Comunicazione
Collaborazione
Leadership
8
Atteggiamenti espliciti/impliciti
2014
9
Motivazione
Individuo
Gli incentivi economici contribuiscono
all’aumento della produttività?
The dark side of monetary incentive: how does
extrinsic reward crowd out intrinsic motivation
(Ma Q.; Jin J.; Meng L.; Shen Q.; Neuroreport
2014 Feb 12;25(3):194-8)
Riduzione dei potenziali evento correlati legati
alla motivazione quando l’incentivo viene
presentato prima del completamento del
compito
Applicazione in azienda sarà orientata al
miglioramento della performance individuale,
attraverso la stimolazione delle risorse personali
al fine di aumentare la produttività
dell’organizzazione
2014
10
Comunicazione
Come restituire un feedback efficace?
Individuo
Brain potentials associated with the outcome
processing in framing effects (Qingguo
M.; Yandong F.; Qing X.; Jun B.; Huixian T.;
Neuroscience Letters, Volume 528, Issue 2, 24
October 2012, Pages 110–113)
Significatività di feedback negativo correlato
(FRN) nei frames negativi rispetto a quelli positivi
Attenzione e cura nei confronti del contesto di
feedback, al fine di stabilire uno spazio protetto
per la crescita personale e professionale
dell’individuo
2014
11
Collaborazione
Gruppo
I nuovi membri del team come reagiscono al
carico di lavoro?
Mental Workload Analysis during the
Production Process: EEG and GSR Activity
(Zhengyi J.; Yugui L.; Xiaoping Z.; Jianmei W.;
Wenquan S.; Applied Mechanics and
Materials; November, 2012; 193-197)
Maggiore risposta dell’emisfero destro riguardo
onde theta, SMR, beta e gamma
La formazione stimola le capacità
dell’individuo, ne rende consapevole la
gestione e favorisce il ribaltamento del punto
d’osservazione
2014
12
Leadership
Quali sono i leaders più idonei a guidare un
gruppo di lavoro?
Management
Examination of the neural substrates activated in
memories of experiences with resonant and
dissonant leaders (Boyatzis R. E., Passarelli A.M.;
Koenig K.; Lowe M.; Blessy M.; Stoller J.; Phillips M. The
Leadership Quarterly Volume 23, Issue 2, April 2012,
259–272)
Resonant leaders: attivano 14 aree cerebrali, fra cui
quelle coinvolte nelle relazioni sociali
Dissonant leaders: attivano 6 aree cerebrali, fra cui le
regioni associate all’attenzione focalizzata e quelle
associate alle emozioni negative
L’applicazione in azienda significherà lavorare sulla
disponibilità del leader verso gli altri intesa come
consapevolezza e responsabilità
2014
13
Progetti
in corso
Creazione di un progetto formativo
sperimentale sulla negoziazione con
riferimento alla letteratura
neuroscientifica
Valutazione della gestione delle
emozioni in ambito formativo
tramite EEG, Biofeedback e
Eyetracker finalizzato alla
costruzione di un progetto formativo
per Formazione-Formatori
2014
14
Grazie per l’attenzione!
[email protected]
2014
15
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decision-making - Dipartimenti - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore