Events Calendar

Psychological and Brain Sciences Spence Lecture

A. David Redish, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota

The Neurophysiology of Precommitment to Avoid Sunk Costs: Evidence from Mice, Rats, and Humans

Abstract: People often make decisions based on the time and costs they have already spent rather than the time and costs they expect to have to spend. With a carefully designed task, we've found that mice and rats do as well. Bringing together studies from mice, rats, and humans on a series of parallel economic foraging tasks, we have elucidated neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie how mice, rats, and humans all learn to precommit to choices so as to avoid situations where those sunk costs might disrupt their decision-making. Along the way, we'll look at the neurophysiology that underlies prospection, deliberation, and regret, and why it takes multiple decision-making algorithms to explain behavior.

The Spence Lecture Series is sponsored by the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in honor of the late Professor Kenneth W. Spence, chair of the department from 1942-1964.