Neuroscience of Preference and Choice: Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms

One of the most pressing questions in neuroscience, psychology and economics today is how does the brain generate preferences and make choices? With a unique interdisciplinary approach, this volume is among the first to explore the cognitive and neural mechanisms mediating the generation of the preferences that guide choice. From preferences determining mundane purchases, to social preferences influencing mating choice, through to moral decisions, the authors adopt diverse approaches to answer the question.  Chapters explore the instability of preferences and the common neural processes that occur across preferences. Edited by one of the world’s most renowned cognitive neuroscientists, each chapter is authored by an expert in the field, with a host of international contributors.

Emphasis on common process underlying preference generation makes material applicable to a variety of disciplines – neuroscience, psychology, economics, law, philosophy, etc.Offers specific focus on how preferences are generated to guide decision making, carefully examining one aspect of the broad field of neuroeconomics and complementing existing volumesFeatures outstanding, international scholarship, with chapters written by an expert in the topic area

1. The Evolution of Preferences, Laurie Santos (Yale)

2. How the mind predicts future preference, Daniel Gilbert (Harvard)

3. Neural representations of preference, Raymond Dolan (University College London, UK)

4. Effects of Choice, Tali Sharot (University College London, UK)

5. Effects of Set Size, Kenway Louie & Paul Glimcher (NYU)

6. Effects of Framing, Benedetto DeMartino & Daniel Kahneman (Caltech)

9. Generating Social Preferences, Daniela Schiller & Elizabeth Phelps (NYU)

10. Social Groups Preferences, Andreas Olsson & Mahzarin Banaji (Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and Harvard)

11. Mating Preferences, Sue Carter (University of Illinois Chicago)

12. Moral Preferences, Josh Greene and Jonathan Haidt (Harvard, University of Virginia)

13. Top Down Modulation of Preferences, Antonio Rangel (Cal Tech)

14. Auditory Preferences, Josh McDermott (NYU)

15. Visual Preference and visual Aesthetics, Samir Zeki (University College London)