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Source: Getty
The Biology of Cooperative Decision-Making: Neurobiology to International Relations
To understand how humans really make decisions, experts can draw on a biologically grounded account that combines evidence from neuroscience, biology, psychology, and economics.
Source: Handbook of International Negotiation
To negotiate, cooperate or compete successfully with another, we should know what motivates them and how they make decisions. To understand how humans really make decisions, we can draw on a biologically grounded account that combines evidence from neuroscience, biology, psychology and economics.
I discuss three areas central to negotiation: first, evidence from biology and neuroscience about how human cooperation emerges and is controlled; second, the neural bases of the fairness motivation; and third, the neural phenomenon of “prediction error” that affects how our actions impact on others.I link each area to international negotiation through historical cases and give practical policy recommendations. Finally, I describe four general rules for using neuroscience, and the behavioural decision sciences more generally, to apply to practical policy.
About the Author
Former Nonresident Associate, Nuclear Policy Program
Wright was a nonresident associate in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment. His research draws on his background in neuroscience to explore political decisionmaking in economics and nuclear security.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.