Tali Sharot: "Cognitive Obstacles to Truth"

Classic theories assume that agents gather and integrate information in a way that will result in the most accurate representation of reality, given the constraints. In this talk I will present evidence that suggest instead that humans are active choosers in building their belief system. In particular, people are more likely to seek information about favorable than unfavorable outcomes and incorporate such information faster into their beliefs. This generates biased beliefs, which can have important societal implications including ill preparedness in the face of natural (or human-made) disasters. This lecture was held at the 2018 Holberg Symposium: "Democracy and Truth" in honour of Holberg Laureate Cass Sunstein. Biography: Tali Sharot is Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the Affective Brain Lab at University College London. Her research integrates neuroscience, behavioural economics and psychology to study how emotion influences beliefs and decisions.