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A study conducted by the National University of Singapore has found that genetics play a role in determining whether a person is willing to take strategic risk. And while individuals with these genes are likely to exhibit a higher degree of belief learning and, as such, anticipate the actions of others, such genes can also result in increased reinforcement learning.
And these genes can also regulate the way dopamine – a chemical released in the brain that signals pleasure and motivates people to seek rewards.
Enter gambling addiction.
“The study makes an impact on business decision-making. A chief executive officer, for example, has a built-in, hard-wired disposition and is more likely to make strategic decisions if he is conscious of such hard-wired influences,” said NUS economics professor Chew Soo Hong, one of the researchers on the team.
Beyond business, the study also has implications for addictions, such as gambling, mental illness and education.
“By studying the links between decision-making and genes, we are concurrently studying mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, as dopamine is one of the chemical defects causing it. Additionally, those with addictive behaviour engage in bad strategic planning, even sacrificing everything to feed their addictions — the study shows that this could be related to deficits in dopamine,” said NUS psychology professor Richard Ebstein, another member of the team.
“We also gain insight into why people are better at belief or reinforcement learning, which means we could now encourage strategic thinking or belief learning, from an early age, instead of learning by rote,” he added.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
