How top-down and bottom-up attention modulate risky choice.

What is it about?

How much are we in control of our decisions? The current study explores how goal-relevant (top-down) and perceptual features (bottom-up) govern the distribution of attention in risky choice. Findings from participants’ choices, eye movements, and computational modeling analysis show that while salient perceptual features can influence the acquisition of information, their influence on choice is limited to situations in which those features are tied to potential outcomes of the decision. When such features are not tied to outcomes, their influence is suppressed by top-down control. These results suggest, contrary to popular accounts, that perceptual salience can induce bottom-up effects of overt selection, but the perceived value of information is the crucial arbiter of intentional control over choice.

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Photo by Clifford Photography on Unsplash

Photo by Clifford Photography on Unsplash