Cognitive Neuroscience, Decision Making and the Law.
By Barbara Bottalico
European Journal of Risk Regulation, 3/2011, pp. 427-432.
Barbara has provided me with this introduction to the paper:
The development of cognitive neuroscience is likely to present a range of opportunities in many spheres of public life. Part of the international debate has focused on the new chance to investigate human-decision making. This has indeed allowed the birth of new disciplines combining cognitive neuroscience and other fields related to economic studies, such as neuroeconomics and consumer neuroscience, and risk management and communication studies. This Report contains a brief description of the state of the art of these new fields of study. It also proposes a closer examination of some possible implications of decision-making analysis. On forensic grounds, there may be interesting applications of the ‘cultural cognition theory’ on neuroscience. The report basically suggests that people tend to overestimate the degree of scientific support for positions they are culturally predisposed to accept. This may provide interesting clues as to judicial perception of science and its practical impact on the application of standards for admissibility of scientific evidence. On a society-related level, a better understanding of decision-making and perception of risk would be crucial for the regulation of so-called ‘neuro-enhancement’. On the one hand, possible effects on personal traits are able to change people’s behavior and individual choices. On the other hand, cognitive studies on this increasing phenomenon will be useful for developing more informed risk communication processes in relation to drug risk perception.
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