Losses Loom Larger Than Gains In The Brain: Neural Loss Aversion Predicts Behavioral Loss Aversion

One of the most robust phenomena in behavioral studies of decision making is loss aversion, the tendency for people to exhibit greater sensitivity to losses than to equivalent sized gains. Authors measured brain activity while individuals decided whether to accept or reject gambles without feedback. This design isolated activity reflecting decisions without contamination by the anticipation or experience of impending monetary gains or losses. A broad neural network showed increasing activity as the potential gain increased, whereas an overlapping set of regions showed decreasing activity as the potential loss increased.