| Paper: | PS-1A.2 | ||
| Session: | Poster Session 1A | ||
| Location: | H Lichthof | ||
| Session Time: | Saturday, September 14, 16:30 - 19:30 | ||
| Presentation Time: | Saturday, September 14, 16:30 - 19:30 | ||
| Presentation: | Poster | ||
| Publication: | 2019 Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, 13-16 September 2019, Berlin, Germany | ||
| Paper Title: | Confidence Drives a Neural Confirmation Bias | ||
| Manuscript: | Click here to view manuscript | ||
| License: |  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. |
||
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.32470/CCN.2019.1064-0 | ||
| Authors: | Max Rollwage, Tobias Hauser, Alisa Loosen, Rani Moran, Raymond Dolan, Stephen Fleming, Wellcome Trust Centre For Human Neuroimaging, United Kingdom | ||
| Abstract: | Contested issues (e.g. climate change) can generate polarised and entrenched opinions. A prominent source of polarisation is confirmation bias, where evidence against one’s position tends to be selectively disregarded. Despite the ubiquity of confirmation bias, its computational and neural underpinnings are unknown. Across three studies, we combined psychophysical modelling and magnetoencephalography (MEG) with a perceptual discrimination task to address its neural underpinnings. Convergent evidence from these studies show that, at a neural level, accumulation of confirming evidence is facilitated in comparison to disconfirming evidence. This effect is amplified when people are highly confident in an initial decision, reducing the likelihood of behavioural changes of mind. We conclude that confidence shapes a selective neural gating for choice-consistent information, revealing a neuronal mechanism underlying a confirmation bias. | ||