Chats in the Stacks with Neuro book editor Valerie Reyna

Valerie Reyna, professor of human development and psychology, will be speaking in Mann Library's "Chats in the Stacks" series about her book The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making (co-edited with Vivian Zayas, associate professor of psychology). This is the newest volume in the Bronfenbrenner Series on the Ecology of Human Development, out this month from the American Psychological Association (APA). The work within is drawn from presentations from the Third Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference.

Whether the decision is to have unprotected sex, save or spend, consent to surgery, or have an extra helping of dessert, risky decisions permeate our lives, sometimes with disastrous consequences. How and why risk taking occurs has important implications, yet we have many unanswered questions about what influences risky behavior. This new book aims to help us understand the neural roots of bad decisions and paves the way for translation of science into practice and policy.

The talk will be held at 12pm on Monday, February 10 in the Stern Seminar Room (room 160), Mann Library. Books will be available for purchase and to be signed and light refreshments will be served. More information on the event can be found here.

New Book: “The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making”

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

Third Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference

The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making
September 22-23, 2011

Download a copy of the conference agenda

How and why risk taking occurs remains a mystery that has important implications for law, medicine, economics, and public policy. Building on a recent surge of research on risky decision making across the life span, leading neuroeconomists, neuroscientists, and social scientists convened in Ithaca to present and discuss their latest findings, and to develop a framework for future research. Their work spans such topics as the changing impact of rewards and punishments at different ages, emotional regulation and self control, and individual differences in personality, among other social, cognitive, biological, and developmental factors that shape risky behavior.

2011 Bronfenbrenner Conference on Risky Decision Making

The 2011 Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference, The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making, was held on September 22-23 in 102 Mann Library. The conference featured distinguished scholars whose expertise spans diverse areas of psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics: Antoine Bechara, Eveline Crone, Paul Glimcher, Jay Giedd, Scott Huettel, Brian Knutson, Beatriz Luna, Kevin Ochsner, and Philip Zelazo. Also in attendance were representatives from government agencies, including NIH and NSF. Through the talks, discussants’ presentations, and lively Q&A sessions, the speakers explained their latest findings, and the group in attendance discussed a framework for future research.

For further information, see the Cornell Chronicle article on the conference and the video of the full conference.

The conference was organized by Valerie Reyna (HD) and Vivian Zayas (Psych) and supported by the Cornell University Institute for Social Sciences, the Cornell University Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research and the Cornell University Office of the Dean of the College of Human Ecology; and sponsored by the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research.