An Even Bigger Win: Understanding the Neural Systems Underlying Motivational Influences on Ambiguous Social Perception

the word “sad”). Participants processed words significantly more quickly than facial expressions. Furthermore, different subregions within the prefrontal cortex were recruited to suppress words compared to faces. We do not typically encounter faces with words on them (advertisements and the rare tattoo notwithstanding), so what is the significance of Ovaysikia et al.’s (2011) findings? The results challenge current theories about what kinds of information dominates as we try make meaning of ambiguous input. They also call attention to a number of important questions about meaning-making that have received very little attention in the neuroscience literature. The findings challenge assumptions made by dual-process perspectives that currently dominate research on judgment in psychology, neuroscience, and economics. Dual-process perspectives suggest that we most typically make meaning (i.e., make a judgment) of ambiguous situations in a predictable, two-step process (Tversky and Kahneman, 1974). We first use automatic, instinctual processes to estimate a possible meaning and then adjust our instincts using learned processes which are theorized to most often be relatively controlled. The findings in Ovaysikia et al.’s (2011) study are evidence that meaning-making using “instinctual” processes is not always quicker than “learned” processes. The researchers note that interpreting facial expressions is arguably more instinctual than reading. Years before children learn to read, they spontaneously show interest in facial expressions compared to other objects (Mondloch et al., 1991) and can differentiate facial expressions of emotion for guidance A commentary on