Positive Bias in Value-Based Decision Making: Neurocognitive Associations With Resilience

Adaptive behavior in everyday life regularly relies on value-based decision making. In this study, positive choice biases in decisions requiring a cost-benefit integration were associated with higher trait acceptance, a facet of self-reported resilience. Notably, this link was statistically accounted for by differences in neural processing. People with a more positive choice bias showed stronger neural responses to negative information in brain regions involved in cognitive control. This may reflect greater regulation of the processing of negative information and aligns with cognitive modeling pointing to a lower valuation of negative relative to positive information. These differences in value processing could shape experiences and behavior in ways that make some individuals more resilient to stress and mental health problems than others.