New Book: “The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making”

January 27, 2014

The newest book in the Bronfenbrenner Series on the Ecology of Human Development is out this month from the American Psychological Association (APA). The work presented in The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making, edited by Valerie Reyna and Vivian Zayas, is drawn from presentations made at the Third Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference.

From the APA web site:

Whether the decision is to have unprotected sex, consent to surgery, spend rather than save for retirement, or have an extra piece of pie, risky decisions permeate our lives, sometimes with disastrous consequences. How and why risk taking occurs has important implications, yet many questions remain about how various factors influence decision-making.

Vivian Zayas and Valerie Reyna

This book advances basic understanding and scientific theory about the brain mechanisms underlying risky decision making, paving the way for translation of science into practice and policy. This compelling research topic crosses a number of disciplines, including social, cognitive, and affective (emotion) neuroscience psychology, brain sciences, law, behavioral economics, and addiction.

The book's chapter co-authors include Valerie Reyna, Vivian Zayas, Scott Huettel, Eveline Crone, Beatriz Luna, Brian Knutson, Walter Mischel, and Antione Bechara.

The book is the third in the APA's Bronfenbrenner Series on the Ecology of Human Development, each volume in which results from research presented at a Biennial Bronfenbrenner Conference. The first two books in the series are:

Chaos and Its Influence on Children's Development: An Ecological Perspective, edited by Gary Evans and Theodore Wach

Research for the Public Good: Applying Methods of Translational Research to Improve Human Health and Well-being, edited by Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon

Book debuts brain models of risky decision-making - Cornell Chronicle
Video from the Third Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference