Behavioral and neural correlates of increased self-control in the absence of increased willpower - PubMed (original) (raw)

Behavioral and neural correlates of increased self-control in the absence of increased willpower

Eran Magen et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014.

Abstract

People often exert willpower to choose a more valuable delayed reward over a less valuable immediate reward, but using willpower is taxing and frequently fails. In this research, we demonstrate the ability to enhance self-control (i.e., forgoing smaller immediate rewards in favor of larger delayed rewards) without exerting additional willpower. Using behavioral and neuroimaging data, we show that a reframing of rewards (i) reduced the subjective value of smaller immediate rewards relative to larger delayed rewards, (ii) increased the likelihood of choosing the larger delayed rewards when choosing between two real monetary rewards, (iii) reduced the brain reward responses to immediate rewards in the dorsal and ventral striatum, and (iv) reduced brain activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (a correlate of willpower) when participants chose the same larger later rewards across the two choice frames. We conclude that reframing can promote self-control while avoiding the need for additional willpower expenditure.

Keywords: judgment and decision-making; neuroeconomics; reward reframing; temporal discounting.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Delay discounting was influence both by reward framing (hidden- or explicit-zero) and task. (A) Discount rates were estimated for each participant in a valuation task of standalone rewards (x axes) and in a choice task of preferences among pairs of rewards (y axes). For both tasks, rewards were presented sequentially in a hidden-zero (e.g., 5.00in2wk)andanexplicit−zero(e.g.,5.00 in 2 wk) and an explicit-zero (e.g., 5.00in2wk)andanexplicit−zero(e.g.,0.00 today and $5.00 in 2 wk) frame. Points in each plot are separate subjects. Dashed lines indicate equivalent discount rates in the valuation and choice tasks. Discount rates were significantly lower in the choice tasks than in the valuation tasks (hidden-zero: P < 10−4; explicit-zero: P < 0.005), consistent with the elicitation of willpower during choice. (B) Additionally, discount rates were significantly lower when outcomes were presented in the explicit-zero than in the hidden-zero frame (P < 0.001 for discount rates averaged over the valuation and choice tasks). ***P < 0.001.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2.

Brain activity related to valuation and exertion of willpower were both influenced by choice framing. (A) Activity in reward-related dorsal and ventral striatum was greater for choices made in the hidden-zero than the explicit-zero frame. (B) Differences in striatal activity across framing formats correlated with individual differences in the size of the behavioral framing effect (ɣ;

SI Note B

). (C) The dlPFC and pPC have been implicated in the exertion of willpower and were active during decision-making. (D) Choice framing resulted in differences in mean neural activity in the striatum but not in the pPC or dlPFC regions. However, choice framing reduced dlPFC activity when participants selected larger later rewards, depending on the size of the framing effect (ɣ). ***P < 0.001.

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