Researchers Find Neural Signals Align with Social Signals

In findings published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute found that our inherent risk-taking preferences affect how we view and act on information from other people. The brain scans taken during the study showed that participants increased their perceived value of a gamble after seeing other people take that same gamble. The neural signals also predicted the likelihood that participants would conform to others’ choices. “You’re more likely to follow the risky decisions of other people if you like to take risks, and you’re more likely to follow the cautious decisions of other people if you tend to be cautious,” said senior author of the study. The phrase, “birds of a feather flock together,” applies to these findings. However, the author of the study notes that risk taking is not inherently bad. Some risks can be healthy, such as trying out for a team. “Risk is uncertainty, and that appeals to some people more than others … This goes beyond negative peer pressure and demonstrates why strong social support systems are effective for encouraging healthy choices.” Although no one knows how their gambles will play out, the likelihood that you will be swayed depends on how much you value what others say. The researchers found that this social valuation process occurs in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to encode values and rewards. To read more about this study, click here.