How choice ambiguity modulates activity in brain areas representing brand preference: evidence from consumer neuroscience

In the present paper we investigate whether choice ambiguity modulates activity in brain areas that represent brand preference and decision utility, as identified in previous studies. Our findings reveal that brain areas involved in the interaction of brand information and ambiguity information are the (predominantly left) ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and the anterior cingulate (AC). These activation patterns have earlier been found to correlate with brand preference. Thus, our findings show that the reduction of perceived ambiguity and information costs by brand information drives neural representations of brand preference as promoted by signaling theory in information economics. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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