Title |
Predicting the knowledge–recklessness distinction in the human brain
|
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Published in |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, March 2017
|
DOI | 10.1073/pnas.1619385114 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Iris Vilares, Michael J Wesley, Woo-Young Ahn, Richard J Bonnie, Morris Hoffman, Owen D Jones, Stephen J Morse, Gideon Yaffe, Terry Lohrenz, P Read Montague |
Abstract |
Criminal convictions require proof that a prohibited act was performed in a statutorily specified mental state. Different legal consequences, including greater punishments, are mandated for those who act in a state of knowledge, compared with a state of recklessness. Existing research, however, suggests people have trouble classifying defendants as knowing, rather than reckless, even when instructed on the relevant legal criteria. We used a machine-learning technique on brain imaging data to predict, with high accuracy, which mental state our participants were in. This predictive ability depended on both the magnitude of the risks and the amount of information about those risks possessed by the participants. Our results provide neural evidence of a detectable difference in the mental state of knowledge in contrast to recklessness and suggest, as a proof of principle, the possibility of inferring from brain data in which legally relevant category a person belongs. Some potential legal implications of this result are discussed. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 16 | 27% |
United Kingdom | 3 | 5% |
Korea, Republic of | 2 | 3% |
Germany | 2 | 3% |
Japan | 1 | 2% |
Canada | 1 | 2% |
Belgium | 1 | 2% |
Mexico | 1 | 2% |
Hungary | 1 | 2% |
Other | 6 | 10% |
Unknown | 25 | 42% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 40 | 68% |
Scientists | 16 | 27% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 3% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 2 | 2% |
Unknown | 131 | 98% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 31 | 23% |
Researcher | 22 | 17% |
Student > Bachelor | 16 | 12% |
Professor | 10 | 8% |
Student > Master | 9 | 7% |
Other | 28 | 21% |
Unknown | 17 | 13% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 39 | 29% |
Neuroscience | 25 | 19% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 12 | 9% |
Social Sciences | 6 | 5% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 3 | 2% |
Other | 22 | 17% |
Unknown | 26 | 20% |