The neural basis of rationalization: cognitive dissonance reduction during decision-making.

ABSTRACT: People rationalize the choices they make when confronted with difficult decisions by claiming they never wanted the option they did not choose. Behavioral studies on cognitive dissonance provide evidence for decision-induced attitude change, but these studies cannot fully uncover the mechanisms driving the attitude change because only pre- and post-decision attitudes are measured, rather than the process of change itself. In the first fMRI study to examine the decision phase in a decision-based cognitive dissonance paradigm, we observed that increased activity in right-inferior frontal gyrus, medial fronto-parietal regions and ventral striatum, and decreased activity in anterior insula were associated with subsequent decision-related attitude change. These findings suggest the characterist

SUBMITTER: Jarcho JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3150852 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature