Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 28 February 1997:
Vol. 275. no. 5304, pp. 1293 - 1295
DOI: 10.1126/science.275.5304.1293

Reports

Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy

Antoine Bechara, Hanna Damasio, Daniel Tranel, Antonio R. Damasio *

Deciding advantageously in a complex situation is thought to require overt reasoning on declarative knowledge, namely, on facts pertaining to premises, options for action, and outcomes of actions that embody the pertinent previous experience. An alternative possibility was investigated: that overt reasoning is preceded by a nonconscious biasing step that uses neural systems other than those that support declarative knowledge. Normal participants and patients with prefrontal damage and decision-making defects performed a gambling task in which behavioral, psychophysiological, and self-account measures were obtained in parallel. Normals began to choose advantageously before they realized which strategy worked best, whereas prefrontal patients continued to choose disadvantageously even after they knew the correct strategy. Moreover, normals began to generate anticipatory skin conductance responses (SCRs) whenever they pondered a choice that turned out to be risky, before they knew explicitly that it was a risky choice, whereas patients never developed anticipatory SCRs, although some eventually realized which choices were risky. The results suggest that, in normal individuals, nonconscious biases guide behavior before conscious knowledge does. Without the help of such biases, overt knowledge may be insufficient to ensure advantageous behavior.

A. Bechara and D. Tranel, Department of Neurology, Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
H. Damasio and A. R. Damasio, Department of Neurology, Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, and The Salk Institute of Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92186, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed.


Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Role of Intuition in Collective Learning and the Development of Shared Meaning.
E. Sadler-Smith (2008)
Advances in Developing Human Resources 10, 494-508
   Abstract »    PDF »
An Empirical Test of Gain-Loss Separability in Prospect Theory.
G. Wu and A. B. Markle (2008)
Management Science 54, 1322-1335
   Abstract »    PDF »
Are attractive people rewarding? Sex differences in the neural substrates of facial attractiveness..
J. Cloutier, T. F. Heatherton, P. J. Whalen, and W. M. Kelley (2008)
J. Cogn. Neurosci. 20, 941-951
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The human ventromedial frontal lobe is critical for learning from negative feedback.
E. Z. Wheeler and L. K. Fellows (2008)
Brain 131, 1323-1331
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Neuronal Substrate of Risky Choice: An Insight into the Contributions of Neuroimaging to the Understanding of Theories on Decision Making under Risk.
V. VORHOLD (2008)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1128, 41-52
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Multiple Systems in Decision Making.
A. G. SANFEY and L. J. CHANG (2008)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1128, 53-62
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Prefrontal cortex damage abolishes brand-cued changes in cola preference.
M. Koenigs and D. Tranel (2008)
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 3, 1-6
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Unconscious emotional reasoning and the therapeutic misconception.
A Charuvastra and S R Marder (2008)
J. Med. Ethics 34, 193-197
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neural Substrates of Implicit and Explicit Emotional Processes: A Unifying Framework for Psychosomatic Medicine.
R. D. Lane (2008)
Psychosom Med 70, 214-231
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Symptoms of Frontotemporal Dementia Provide Insights into Orbitofrontal Cortex Function and Social Behavior.
I. V. VISKONTAS, K. L. POSSIN, and B. L. MILLER (2007)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1121, 528-545
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Role of Orbitofrontal Cortex in Decision Making: A Component Process Account.
L. K. FELLOWS (2007)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1121, 421-430
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neural Correlates of Inflexible Behavior in the Orbitofrontal Amygdalar Circuit after Cocaine Exposure.
T. A. STALNAKER, M. R. ROESCH, D. J. CALU, K. A. BURKE, T. SINGH, and G. SCHOENBAUM (2007)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1121, 598-609
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neural Encoding in the Orbitofrontal Cortex Related to Goal-Directed Behavior.
T. FURUYASHIKI and M. GALLAGHER (2007)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1121, 193-215
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Role of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Decision Making: Judgment under Uncertainty or Judgment Per Se?.
L. K. Fellows and M. J. Farah (2007)
Cereb Cortex 17, 2669-2674
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Decision-Making Dysfunctions in Psychiatry Altered Homeostatic Processing?.
M. P. Paulus (2007)
Science 318, 602-606
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Regional Cortical Thinning in Subjects With Violent Antisocial Personality Disorder or Schizophrenia.
V. M. Narayan, K. L. Narr, V. Kumari, R. P. Woods, P. M. Thompson, A. W. Toga, and T. Sharma (2007)
Am J Psychiatry 164, 1418-1427
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
What We Know and Do Not Know about the Functions of the Orbitofrontal Cortex after 20 Years of Cross-Species Studies.
E. A. Murray, J. P. O'Doherty, and G. Schoenbaum (2007)
J. Neurosci. 27, 8166-8169
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neural signature of fictive learning signals in a sequential investment task.
T. Lohrenz, K. McCabe, C. F. Camerer, and P. R. Montague (2007)
PNAS 104, 9493-9498
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
How Emotion Shapes Behavior: Feedback, Anticipation, and Reflection, Rather Than Direct Causation.
R. F. Baumeister, K. D. Vohs, C. Nathan DeWall, and Liqing Zhang (2007)
Personality and Social Psychology Review 11, 167-203
   Abstract »    PDF »
Advances in understanding ventromedial prefrontal function: The accountant joins the executive.
L. K. Fellows (2007)
Neurology 68, 991-995
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Individual differences and the neural representations of reward expectation and reward prediction error.
M. X Cohen (2007)
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2, 20-30
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neural foundations to moral reasoning and antisocial behavior.
A. Raine and Y. Yang (2006)
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 1, 203-213
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The liver and the moral organ.
M. D. Hauser (2006)
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 1, 214-220
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Gender differences in two decision-making tasks in a community sample of adolescents.
M. d'Acremont and M. Van der Linden (2006)
International Journal of Behavioral Development 30, 352-358
   Abstract »    PDF »
Orbitofrontal Cortex and Social Behavior: Integrating Self-monitoring and Emotion-Cognition Interactions..
J. S. Beer, O. P. John, D. Scabini, and R. T. Knight (2006)
J. Cogn. Neurosci. 18, 871-879
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mechanisms of spontaneous confabulations: a strategic retrieval account.
A. Gilboa, C. Alain, D. T. Stuss, B. Melo, S. Miller, and M. Moscovitch (2006)
Brain 129, 1399-1414
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Symmetry of cortical folding abnormalities in Williams syndrome revealed by surface-based analyses..
D. C. Van Essen, D. Dierker, A. Z. Snyder, M. E. Raichle, A. L. Reiss, and J. Korenberg (2006)
J. Neurosci. 26, 5470-5483
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Decision Making in Children With ADHD Only, ADHD-Anxious/Depressed, and Control Children Using a Child Version of the Iowa Gambling Task..
N. Garon, C. Moore, and D. A. Waschbusch (2006)
J Atten Disord 9, 607-619
   Abstract »    PDF »
Deciding how to decide: ventromedial frontal lobe damage affects information acquisition in multi-attribute decision making.
L. K. Fellows (2006)
Brain 129, 944-952
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neurophysiological correlates of emotion regulation in children and adolescents..
M. D. Lewis, C. Lamm, S. J. Segalowitz, J. Stieben, and P. D. Zelazo (2006)
J. Cogn. Neurosci. 18, 430-443
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
An Integrate-and-fire Model of Prefrontal Cortex Neuronal Activity during Performance of Goal-directed Decision Making.
R. A. Koene and M. E. Hasselmo (2005)
Cereb Cortex 15, 1964-1981
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Increased Impulsivity Associated With Severity of Suicide Attempt History in Patients With Bipolar Disorder.
A. C. Swann, D. M. Dougherty, P. J. Pazzaglia, M. Pham, J. L. Steinberg, and F. G. Moeller (2005)
Am J Psychiatry 162, 1680-1687
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cocaine Makes Actions Insensitive to Outcomes but not Extinction: Implications for Altered Orbitofrontal-Amygdalar Function.
G. Schoenbaum and B. Setlow (2005)
Cereb Cortex 15, 1162-1169
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Electrophysiological correlates of reward prediction error recorded in the human prefrontal cortex.
H. Oya, R. Adolphs, H. Kawasaki, A. Bechara, A. Damasio, and M. A. Howard III (2005)
PNAS 102, 8351-8356
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Lesions of Orbitofrontal Cortex Impair Rats' Differential Outcome Expectancy Learning But Not Conditioned Stimulus-Potentiated Feeding.
M. A. McDannald, M. P. Saddoris, M. Gallagher, and P. C. Holland (2005)
J. Neurosci. 25, 4626-4632
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Double Dissociation of Exteroceptive and Interoceptive Feedback Systems in the Orbital and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex of Humans.
E. Hurliman, J. C. Nagode, and J. V. Pardo (2005)
J. Neurosci. 25, 4641-4648
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neuroimaging Studies of Aggressive and Violent Behavior: Current Findings and Implications for Criminology and Criminal Justice.
J. L. Bufkin and V. R. Luttrell (2005)
Trauma Violence Abuse 6, 176-191
   Abstract »    PDF »
Impaired Decision Making in Suicide Attempters.
F. Jollant, F. Bellivier, M. Leboyer, B. Astruc, S. Torres, R. Verdier, D. Castelnau, A. Malafosse, and P. Courtet (2005)
Am J Psychiatry 162, 304-310
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Deficits in Social Knowledge Following Damage to Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.
L. W.Y. Mah, M. C. Arnold, and J. Grafman (2005)
J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 17, 66-74
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Different Underlying Impairments in Decision-making Following Ventromedial and Dorsolateral Frontal Lobe Damage in Humans.
L. K. Fellows and M. J. Farah (2005)
Cereb Cortex 15, 58-63
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Is knowing always feeling?.
A. G. Sanfey and J. D. Cohen (2004)
PNAS 101, 16709-16710
   Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: A reexamination of the evidence for the somatic marker hypothesis: What participants really know in the Iowa gambling task.
T. V. Maia and J. L. McClelland (2004)
PNAS 101, 16075-16080
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A study of bipolar disorder using magnetization transfer imaging and voxel-based morphometry.
S. D. Bruno, G. J. Barker, M. Cercignani, M. Symms, and M. A. Ron (2004)
Brain 127, 2433-2440
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Neuroeconomics: The Consilience of Brain and Decision.
P. W. Glimcher and A. Rustichini (2004)
Science 306, 447-452
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Human Decision Making: A Review and Conceptual Framework.
L. K. Fellows (2004)
Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev 3, 159-172
   Abstract »    PDF »
Reflective and Impulsive Determinants of Social Behavior.
F. Strack and R. Deutsch (2004)
Personality and Social Psychology Review 8, 220-247
   Abstract »    PDF »
Impairment of Social Perception Associated With Lesions of the Prefrontal Cortex.
L. Mah, M. C. Arnold, and J. Grafman (2004)
Am J Psychiatry 161, 1247-1255
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Activation of human medial prefrontal cortex during autonomic responses to hypoglycemia.
D. Teves, T. O. Videen, P. E. Cryer, and W. J. Powers (2004)
PNAS 101, 6217-6221
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Eye Movements during Task Switching: Reflexive, Symbolic, and Affective Contributions to Response Selection.
T. L. Hodgson, C. Golding, D. Molyva, C. R. Rosenthal, and C. Kennard (2004)
J. Cogn. Neurosci. 16, 318-330
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Lesions of the Orbitofrontal but not Medial Prefrontal Cortex Disrupt Conditioned Reinforcement in Primates.
A. Pears, J. A. Parkinson, L. Hopewell, B. J. Everitt, and A. C. Roberts (2003)
J. Neurosci. 23, 11189-11201
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Knowing about Knowing: Dissociations between Perception and Action Systems over Evolution and during Development.
M. D. HAUSER (2003)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1001, 79-103
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Ventromedial frontal cortex mediates affective shifting in humans: evidence from a reversal learning paradigm.
L. K. Fellows and M. J. Farah (2003)
Brain 126, 1830-1837
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Social Cognition and the Prefrontal Cortex.
J. N. Wood (2003)
Behav Cogn Neurosci Rev 2, 97-114
   Abstract »    PDF »
A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Bipolar Disorder: State- and Trait-Related Dysfunction in Ventral Prefrontal Cortices.
H. P. Blumberg, H.-C. Leung, P. Skudlarski, C. M. Lacadie, C. A. Fredericks, B. C. Harris, D. S. Charney, J. C. Gore, J. H. Krystal, and B. S. Peterson (2003)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 60, 601-609
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Emotional Intelligence and the Career Choice Process.
R. J. Emmerling and C. Cherniss (2003)
Journal of Career Assessment 11, 153-167
   Abstract »    PDF »
Comparative Aspects of Amygdala Connectivity.
J. L. PRICE (2003)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 985, 50-58
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Role of the Amygdala in Decision-Making.
A. BECHARA, H. DAMASIO, and A. R. DAMASIO (2003)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 985, 356-369
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Decision making in humans: the effect of manipulating the central noradrenergic system.
R E O'Carroll and B P Papps (2003)
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 74, 376-378
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Lesions of Orbitofrontal Cortex and Basolateral Amygdala Complex Disrupt Acquisition of Odor-Guided Discriminations and Reversals.
G. Schoenbaum, B. Setlow, S. L. Nugent, M. P. Saddoris, and M. Gallagher (2003)
Learn. Mem. 10, 129-140
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A possible substrate for dopamine-related changes in mood and behavior: Prefrontal and limbic effects of a D3-preferring dopamine agonist.
K. J. Black, T. Hershey, J. M. Koller, T. O. Videen, M. A. Mintun, J. L. Price, and J. S. Perlmutter (2002)
PNAS 99, 17113-17118
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Emotion, Cognition, and Behavior.
R. J. Dolan (2002)
Science 298, 1191-1194
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Control Processes and Self-Organization as Complementary Principles Underlying Behavior.
C. S. Carver and M. F. Scheier (2002)
Personality and Social Psychology Review 6, 304-315
   Abstract »    PDF »
Discussing Treatment Options and Risks With Medical Patients Who Have Psychiatric Problems.
D. E. Ness (2002)
Arch Intern Med 162, 2037-2044
   Full Text »    PDF »
Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Decision Biases in Recognition Memory.
S. Windmann, T. P. Urbach, and M. Kutas (2002)
Cereb Cortex 12, 808-817
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evidence for a dysfunctional prefrontal circuit in patients with an impulsive aggressive disorder.
M. Best, J. M. Williams, and E. F. Coccaro (2002)
PNAS 99, 8448-8453
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Neurology of Reasoning.
J. E. Shuren and J. Grafman (2002)
Arch Neurol 59, 916-919
   Full Text »    PDF »
Acquired Sexual Paraphilia in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.
E. M. Frohman, T. C. Frohman, and A. M. Moreault (2002)
Arch Neurol 59, 1006-1010
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Greater Orbital Prefrontal Volume Selectively Predicts Worse Working Memory Performance in Older Adults.
D. H. Salat, J. A. Kaye, and J. S. Janowsky (2002)
Cereb Cortex 12, 494-505
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Self-Representation in Nervous Systems.
P. S. Churchland (2002)
Science 296, 308-310
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Psychophysiology of Real-Time Financial Risk Processing.
A. W. Lo and D. V. Repin (2002)
J. Cogn. Neurosci. 14, 323-339
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Medial Frontal Cortex and the Rapid Processing of Monetary Gains and Losses.
W. J. Gehring and A. R. Willoughby (2002)
Science 295, 2279-2282
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Decision-making in mania: a PET study.
J. S. Rubinsztein, P. C. Fletcher, R. D. Rogers, L. W. Ho, F. I. Aigbirhio, E. S. Paykel, T. W. Robbins, and B. J. Sahakian (2001)
Brain 124, 2550-2563
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Effects of Frontal Lobe Lesions on Goal Achievement in the Water Jug Task.
M. K. Colvin, K. Dunbar, and J. Grafman (2001)
J. Cogn. Neurosci. 13, 1129-1147
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Psychiatric Aspects of Impulsivity.
F. G. Moeller, E. S. Barratt, D. M. Dougherty, J. M. Schmitz, and A. C. Swann (2001)
Am J Psychiatry 158, 1783-1793
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Behavior and treatment in frontotemporal dementia.
R. J. Perry and B. L. Miller (2001)
Neurology 56, S46-51
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Frontal Lobe Pathology and Antisocial Personality Disorder.
E. D. Bigler, A. Raine, L. LaCasse, and P. Colletti (2001)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 58, 609-611
   Full Text »    PDF »
Toward a Biology of Personality and Emotion.
R. J. Davidson (2001)
Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 935, 191-207
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Brain activity during biofeedback relaxation: A functional neuroimaging investigation.
H. D. Critchley, R. N. Melmed, E. Featherstone, C. J. Mathias, and R. J. Dolan (2001)
Brain 124, 1003-1012
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Integrating Orbitofrontal Cortex into Prefrontal Theory: Common Processing Themes across Species and Subdivisions.
G. Schoenbaum and B. Setlow (2001)
Learn. Mem. 8, 134-147
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The neural circuitry of emotion and affective style: prefrontal cortex and amygdala contributions.
R. J. Davidson (2001)
Social Science Information 40, 11-37
   Abstract »    PDF »
The frontal lobes are necessary for `theory of mind'.
D. T. Stuss, G. G. Gallup Jr, and M. P. Alexander (2001)
Brain 124, 279-286
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Prefrontal regions supporting spontaneous and directed application of verbal learning strategies: Evidence from PET.
C. R. Savage, T. Deckersbach, S. Heckers, A. D. Wagner, D. L. Schacter, N. M. Alpert, A. J. Fischman, and S. L. Rauch (2001)
Brain 124, 219-231
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Springs of Action: Affective and Analytical Information Processing in Choice.
E. Peters and P. Slovic (2000)
Pers Soc Psychol Bull 26, 1465-1475
   Abstract »    PDF »
The relationship between ADHD theory and practice: A preliminary investigation.
D. A. DeBonis, M. Ylvisaker, and D. K. Kundert (2000)
J Atten Disord 4, 161-173
   Abstract »    PDF »
The Emotional Modulation of Cognitive Processing: An fMRI Study.
J. R. Simpson Jr., D. Öngür, E. Akbudak, T. E. Conturo, J. M. Ollinger, A. Z. Snyder, D. A. Gusnard, and M. E. Raichle (2000)
J. Cogn. Neurosci. 12, 157S-170
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Deficits in decision-making in patients with aneurysms of the anterior communicating artery.
N. Mavaddat, P. J. Kirkpatrick, R. D. Rogers, and B. J. Sahakian (2000)
Brain 123, 2109-2117
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dissociable Neural Responses in Human Reward Systems.
R. Elliott, K. J. Friston, and R. J. Dolan (2000)
J. Neurosci. 20, 6159-6165
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Dysfunction in the Neural Circuitry of Emotion Regulation--A Possible Prelude to Violence.
R. J. Davidson, K. M. Putnam, and C. L. Larson (2000)
Science 289, 591-594
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Prophylactic Mastectomy or Screening in Women Suspected to Have the BRCA1/2 Mutation: A Prospective Pilot Study of Women's Treatment Choices and Medical and Decision-analytic Recommendations.
I. Unic, L. C.G. Verhoef, P. F.M. Stalmeier, and W. A.J. Van Daal (2000)
Med Decis Making 20, 251-262
   Abstract »    PDF »
Changes in Functional Connectivity in Orbitofrontal Cortex and Basolateral Amygdala during Learning and Reversal Training.
G. Schoenbaum, A. A. Chiba, and M. Gallagher (2000)
J. Neurosci. 20, 5179-5189
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Impaired social response reversal: A case of `acquired sociopathy'.
R. J. R. Blair and L. Cipolotti (2000)
Brain 123, 1122-1141
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »