The Anatomy of Bias: How Neural Circuits Weigh the Options
Jan Lauwereyns
Abstract
This book examines the neural underpinnings of decision-making using “bias” as its core concept, rather than the more common but noncommittal terms “selection” and “attention.” It offers an integrative, interdisciplinary account of the structure and function of bias, which it defines as a basic brain mechanism that attaches different weights to different information sources, prioritizing some cognitive representations at the expense of others. The author introduces the concepts of bias and sensitivity based on notions from Bayesian probability, which he translates into easily recognizable neur ... More
This book examines the neural underpinnings of decision-making using “bias” as its core concept, rather than the more common but noncommittal terms “selection” and “attention.” It offers an integrative, interdisciplinary account of the structure and function of bias, which it defines as a basic brain mechanism that attaches different weights to different information sources, prioritizing some cognitive representations at the expense of others. The author introduces the concepts of bias and sensitivity based on notions from Bayesian probability, which he translates into easily recognizable neural signatures, introduced by concrete examples from the experimental literature. He examines, among other topics, positive and negative motivations for giving priority to different sensory inputs, and looks for the neural underpinnings of racism, sexism, and other forms of “familiarity bias.” The author—a poet and essayist as well as a scientist—connects findings and ideas in neuroscience to analogous concepts in such diverse fields as post-Lacanian psychoanalysis, literary theory, philosophy of mind, evolutionary psychology, and experimental economics.
Keywords:
selection,
attention,
cognitive representations,
Bayesian probability,
neural signatures,
experimental literature,
positive motivations,
negative motivations,
sensory inputs,
neural underpinnings
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2010 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780262123105 |
| Published to MIT Press Scholarship Online: August 2013 |
DOI:10.7551/mitpress/9780262123105.001.0001 |
