Showing papers by "Dean Mobbs published in 2020"
New York University1, University of Chicago2, Mackenzie Presbyterian University3, Middlesex University4, University of Kent5, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń6, Harvard University7, Yale University8, Stanford University9, Northwestern University10, University of Sussex11, Utrecht University12, University of California, San Diego13, University of Maryland, College Park14, McGovern Institute for Brain Research15, University of Queensland16, University of Michigan17, California Institute of Technology18, Lehigh University19, University of Regina20, University of Oregon21, Ohio State University22, Massachusetts Institute of Technology23, University of St Andrews24, University of Cambridge25, University of British Columbia26, University of Illinois at Chicago27, University of California, Berkeley28, Carleton University29, VU University Amsterdam30, Cornell University31
TL;DR: Evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics is discussed, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months.
3,223 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated risk perception and self-reported engagement in protective behaviours in 1591 United States-based individuals cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the first week of the pandemic.
Abstract: Efforts to change behaviour are critical in minimizing the spread of highly transmissible pandemics such as COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether individuals are aware of disease risk and alter their behaviour early in the pandemic. We investigated risk perception and self-reported engagement in protective behaviours in 1591 United States-based individuals cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the first week of the pandemic. Subjects demonstrated growing awareness of risk and reported engaging in protective behaviours with increasing frequency but underestimated their risk of infection relative to the average person in the country. Social distancing and hand washing were most strongly predicted by the perceived probability of personally being infected. However, a subgroup of individuals perceived low risk and did not engage in these behaviours. Our results highlight the importance of risk perception in early interventions during large-scale pandemics.
465 citations
TL;DR: This work has shown that decisions to avoid or escape predators occur at different spatiotemporal scales and that they are supported by different computations and neural circuits embedded within a distributed defensive circuitry.
110 citations
New York University1, University of Chicago2, Mackenzie Presbyterian University3, Middlesex University4, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń5, University of Kent6, Harvard University7, Yale University8, Stanford University9, Northwestern University10, University of Sussex11, Utrecht University12, University of California, San Diego13, University of Maryland, College Park14, McGovern Institute for Brain Research15, University of Queensland16, University of Michigan17, California Institute of Technology18, Lehigh University19, University of Regina20, University of Oregon21, Ohio State University22, Massachusetts Institute of Technology23, University of St Andrews24, University of Cambridge25, University of British Columbia26, University of Illinois at Chicago27, University of California, Berkeley28, Carleton University29, VU University Amsterdam30, Cornell University31
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behaviour with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we discuss evidence from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months.
33 citations
TL;DR: The interactive mentalizing theory (IMT) is proposed -to emphasize the role of metacognition in different mentalizing components and to advance knowledge on mentalizing during live social interaction by identifying how these subprocesses can be organized by different target agents and facilitated by combining computational modeling and interactive brain approaches.
30 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Risk perception and self-reported engagement in protective behaviours in 1591 United States-based individuals cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the first week of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of risk perception in early interventions during large-scale pandemics.
Abstract: Efforts to change behaviour are critical in minimizing the spread of highly transmissible pandemics such as COVID-19 However, it is unclear whether individuals are aware of disease risk and alter their behaviour early in the pandemic We investigated risk perception and self-reported engagement in protective behaviours in 1591 United States-based individuals cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the first week of the pandemic Subjects demonstrated growing awareness of risk and reported engaging in protective behaviours with increasing frequency but underestimated their risk of infection relative to the average person in the country Social distancing and hand washing were most strongly predicted by the perceived probability of personally being infected However, a subgroup of individuals perceived low risk and did not engage in these behaviours Our results highlight the importance of risk perception in early interventions during large-scale pandemics © 2020 The Authors
20 citations
TL;DR: FMRI data confirms that outcome processing in emotion-related regions may underlie individual differences in foreign language effects in judgment and decision making and indicates that foreign language enhanced neural responses to rewards.
8 citations
TL;DR: It is found that analgesic and hyperalgesic responses were differentially dependent on the conscious awareness of the relevant stimuli, challenging the view that classical conditioning of analgesic pain responses operates without conscious awareness.
Abstract: A large proportion of human cognitive processes may operate outside of conscious awareness. Subliminally presented visual stimuli that are not consciously perceived have a pervasive effect on behavioral and autonomic responses. Recent studies have claimed that placebo/nocebo effects, which are previously thought to require conscious expectancies, can be elicited to comparable levels regardless of whether the stimuli were consciously perceived or not. We systematically explored the role of consciousness in conditioned analgesic and hyperalgesic pain responses using both classical delay conditioning procedure and trace conditioning procedure. In 2 experiments (total N = 247), we found that analgesic and hyperalgesic responses were differentially dependent on the conscious awareness of the relevant stimuli. Specifically, the analgesic response was only significant when stimuli were supraliminal in both conditioning/acquisition phase and test/activation phases. While the hyperalgesic responses were acquired and activated irrespective of stimulus exposure (supraliminal/subliminal), the magnitude of this response was larger when stimuli were supraliminal in the test stage. Our results indicate that analgesic responses require both conscious conditioning and conscious activation, challenging the view that classical conditioning of analgesic pain responses operates without conscious awareness. Hyperalgesic responses are generally not dependent on the consciousness of stimuli, suggesting the presence of a valence-specific rapid regulatory mechanism to enable adaptive responses in threatening circumstances. Our study demonstrates a nascent role of consciousness in the learning of complex cognitive processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
4 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that humans select competition avoidant and risk diluting strategies during foraging depending on socially adjusted value, and using multivariate fMRI analyses that social adjusted value is encoded by mid-cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, regions that integrate value and action signals.
Abstract: In group foraging organisms, optimizing the conflicting demands of competitive food loss and safety is critical. We demonstrate that humans select competition avoidant and risk diluting strategies during foraging depending on socially adjusted value. We formulate a mathematically grounded quantification of socially adjusted value in foraging environments and show using multivariate fMRI analyses that socially adjusted value is encoded by mid-cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, regions that integrate value and action signals.
1 citations
TL;DR: This work shows that while the hippocampus encodes MOS decisions across all types of threat, a vmPFC anterior-posterior gradient tracked threat predictability, and suggests that when pre-empting danger, the anteriorvmPFC may provide a safety signal, possibly via predictable outcomes, while the posterior vmP FC drives prospective danger signals.
Abstract: Humans, like other animals, pre-empt danger by moving to locations that maximize their success at escaping future threats. We test the idea that spatial margin of safety (MOS) decisions, a form of pre-emptive avoidance, results in participants placing themselves closer to safer locations when facing more unpredictable threats. Using multivariate pattern analysis on fMRI data collected while subjects engaged in MOS decisions with varying attack location predictability, we show that while the hippocampus encodes MOS decisions across all types of threat, a vmPFC anterior-posterior gradient tracked threat predictability. The posterior vmPFC encoded for more unpredictable threat and showed functional coupling with the amygdala and hippocampus. Conversely, the anterior vmPFC was more active for the more predictable attacks and showed coupling with the striatum. Our findings suggest that when pre-empting danger, the anterior vmPFC may provide a safety signal, possibly via predictable outcomes, while the posterior vmPFC drives prospective danger signals.
1 citations