ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 provides an overview of the interdisciplinary field of neuroeconomics, or the application of neuroscience to an understanding of human choice and decision-making. This approach is similar to the previous topic of consumer neuroscience, but remains closer to academic research than specific applications. The field combines economics, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience in reciprocal ways, with neuroscience providing support for economic and cognitive theories while these disciplines provide insight and direction for further behavioral neuroscience research. Unlike some of the other applications in this book, neuroeconomics extends back in time to early efforts in behavioral economics and cognitive psychology. The addition of neuroscience tools and methods has illuminated the process of assigning value, provided insights into the role of emotion in decision-making, and identified the importance of social context in decision-making. Neuroscience has provided further insights into the processes by which choices are actually implemented by the nervous system.
