The Cognition of Investment
Brian M. Sweis’ article “Sensitivity to ‘sunk costs’ in mice, rats, and humans” intrigues the idea that certain cognitive processes that were previously assumed to be unique to humans are present in a variety of higher-intelligence species. Although this statement is true for a variety of cognitive abilities, the neurological phenomenon of “sunk cost” is particularly surprising due to its modern correlation to economics. The dictionary definition of “sunk cost” is the “traditional economic theory suggests that decisions should be based on valuations of future expectations that ignore spent resources that cannot be recovered.” This has been denoted in humans as an adaptation that evolved around the necessity of planning for the future, with special consideration for the energy given towards progress. Despite this, when considering the predicament logically, past results do not dictate future returns, so a present choice of whether to continue to invest time and energy in something should be determined from the circumstances of a given moment, not the amount of resources previously invested. Despite the typical correlation of “sunk cost” to humans in financial terms, Brian M. Sweis’ study delves into the fact that other animals, such as mice and rats, are also capable of such cognitive decisions.
Similar to the research on the ability of animals to understand and utilize investing, the article “Cuttlefish Delay Gratification, a Sign of Smarts” published on The Scientist by Asher Jones describes how Alex Schnell observed and studied the investment responses of a cuttlefish. The article begins by describing a peculiar pattern observed in a cuttlefish in a lab where it would respond negatively in the morning yet be more open for interaction at night. With interest in the observation of “episodic-like memory” seen in the cuttlefish, Dr. Shnell went on to conduct an experiment to see if there was any response to investment. Typically known as the “marshmallow test” (a test in which a child is offered one marshmallow, but is told that if they can wait 15 minutes, they can have another), a similar scenario is presented to the cuttlefish where it is offered its second favorite food immediately or if it can wait a given amount of time, it is offered its favorite food. Interestingly enough, the cuttlefish were able to withstand anywhere from 50 to 130 seconds in order to receive their preferred food. During this period, the option of receiving the immediate reward was always available, which the cuttlefish would settle with once a certain threshold of invested time was reached.
I found it particularly interesting that in the newfound study, another observation was made regarding the cuttlefish waiting for their reward. Due to the difficulty of temptation present in the study with the immediate reward being available, it was observed that the cuttlefish had a tendency to turn away from the reward. This is presumed to be due to the cuttlefish avoiding the temptation of the immediate reward in order to focus on the task at hand. This has also been observed in dogs, chimpanzees, and children, who will decide to find distractions such as playing with toys in order to pass time for the reward. The significance of this finding, and its respective correlation to Sweis’ findings is that the ability to understand investments is not a unique trait to humans, but rather a cognitive perception that is present in a variety of animals. The ability to perceive a correlation between investment and reward is an evolutionary trait that allows for greater future outcome, and has ultimately resulted in the success of higher-intelligence animals.
References:
Jones, Asher. “Cuttlefish Delay Gratification, a Sign of Smarts.” The Scientist Magazine®, www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/cuttlefish-delay-gratification-a-sign-of-smarts-68516.
Sweis, Brian M., et al. “Sensitivity to ‘Sunk Costs’ in Mice, Rats, and Humans.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 13 July 2018, science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6398/178.full.
My husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease at 57.his symptoms were shuffling of feet,slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 45 degree angle, things were tough for me, but now he finally free from the disease with the help of total cure ultimate health home, he now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed, he had trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult,getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible.we had to find a better solution for his condition which has really helped him a lot,the biggest helped we had was ultimatehealthhome they walked us through the proper steps,am highly recommended this ultimatehealthhome@gmail.com to anyone who needs help.
ReplyDelete