Neural similarity between choice options predicts group-level context effects
Asaf Madar, Tom Zemer, Ido Tavor, Dino J Levy · 2026
Read Neural similarity between choice options predicts group-level context effects by Asaf Madar, Tom Zemer, Ido Tavor, Dino J Levy (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13439569.txt.
Description
Asaf Madar, Tom Zemer, Ido Tavor, and Dino J Levy predict quirks of group choice from brain scans rather than listed prize features, reporting in 2026. Choices shift with the company an option keeps, a pattern called context effects. Standard models need each option described by two tidy numbers, yet people weigh hidden features too. The team first measured context effects for lotteries in a behaviour group. Two further groups then had brain scans while viewing the lotteries outside any choice.
Similarity between brain patterns for two lotteries forecast the context effects those lotteries produced. The forecasts beat classic attribute-based models on fresh data as well as on the data used to build them. Brain patterns mixed the stated features with unlisted ones that behaviour alone could not reveal. The authors offer neural similarity as a window on the full feature set behind decisions.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Asaf Madar, Tom Zemer, Ido Tavor, Dino J Levy |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 73131 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |