WE DON'T KNOW WHY WE DECIDE WHAT WE DECIDE

The consumer does not know at all why he chooses what he buys, although he then elaborates brainy arguments to justify himself. The impact on Economic Science.

Although it seems difficult to accept, economic decisions are practically taken before reaching consciousness, which is the place where economists always believed was made the economic calculation, the rational cost-benefit equation. I have had the opportunity to read innumerable neuroscientific papers on the subject, and all agree that the limbic (emotional) basis of economic decisions is very powerful, including the orbitofrontal cortex (which would emit the "value signal"), and always below the level of consciousness.

The neuroscientist John-Dylan Haynes (of the Max Planck Institute of Germany), perhaps one of the most advanced in these subjects, has shown, via neuroimaging, that we practically decided a choice seconds before we are aware of it, through refined subcortical and cortical mechanisms, which we do not control consciously. Haynes adds that there is evidence that a decision is encoded in circuits of the prefrontal and parietal cortex up to 10 seconds before it enters consciousness, reflecting the functioning in the brain of high-level networks control areas, which begin to prepare a decision long before it enters the conscience, and that predetermines it in a very high percentage.

Undoubtedly, these ideas are quite revolutionary for Economics, since they go against the traditional consensus of the rational optimizing agent, besides since for decades it is known that our memory, the base of comparison to decide, works highly to unconscious level.

"The impression that we are able to freely choose between different possible courses of action is fundamental to our mental life. However, it has been suggested that this subjective experience of freedom is no more than an illusion and that our actions are initiated by unconscious mental processes long before we become aware of our intention to act". (Haynes, The Unconscious Determinants of Free Decisions in the Human Brain, Nature, 2008, pag. 1)

But these discoveries should not surprise us so much, it has been known for some time that the conscious part corresponds to only 10% of the energy consumed by the brain, while 90% is consumed by our unconscious, which confirms its enormous participation in decision-making , even if we do not realize it.

The brain consumes the same energy when it is doing research tasks that when it is sleeping. This situation is due to the fact that constantly, generally unconsciously, it is receiving and processing internal and external information. It is always alert, constantly evaluating alternatives to possible future situations that may pose a danger to the survival of its owner.

We do not know why we choose what we buy

Going to the bottom of the subject, the consumer does not know at all why he chooses what he buys. The decision is made, in large part, below the threshold of consciousness, where our most instinctive biology and our most emotional parts carve strong. In the unconscious, the interest for the product, the purchase intention and the loyalty to the brand are elucidated. These elements correspond to the construction, partly induced by the promotional campaigns, of desires and loyalty.

The mechanism works in the following way: certain sensory stimuli (induced by large corporations) activate deep areas of our brain. The reward system (limbic and subconscious), especially the nucleus accumbens, is put into action and drives to seek food, sex and safety, the three basic pillars of human survival. The brands, which I repeat are creations of large corporations to induce, seek to activate brain areas that regulate the sense of belonging, making us part of a group, a tribe, a community. All this, together with the natural tendency to imitate and / or empathize with everything that surrounds us (mirror neurons), leads us to consume much less rationally than we believe, pulling down the dogma of free choice, the sovereignty of the consumer.

To sum up

Our rationality has a very high unconscious component, although it is difficult to accept it, especially those people who think they are too rational and self-controlled. The day that the vast community of social scientists fully understands these concepts, which come from Cognitive Neuroscience, they will have to start rewriting many chapters of university books. And believe me, that time is getting closer.

Author: Sebastián Laza

Sebastián Laza is a Behavioral Economist, specialized in the interrelation between Cognitive Neuroscience and Decision Making.

He also is the Executive Director of the Applied Neurosciences to Management and Economics Program (National University of Cuyo, Argentine) and the Neuroeconomics's Coordinator of the  of ​​the Latin American Institute of Applied Neurosciences (http://neurociencias.online/).

Additionally, he is the author of NEUROECONOMICS: THE DISRUPTIVE PATH (2018): https://www.amazon.com/NEUROECONOMICS-DISRUPTIVE-PATH-Sebastian-Laza/dp/1718177844