Inconsistent choice-making a normal part of how the brain evaluates options

Economists have noticed that people can behave inconsistently when making choices. According to economic theory, people should choose the same things every time, under the same circumstances, because they are recognized as holding the same value as before. But people don't always do that. Sometimes consumers will switch their preferences, known in industry terms as "customer churn." While economists have previously called that an error in rationality, a new study says an important part of inconsistent choice-making is due to idiosyncratic activity in the brain areas that assess value.

"If the value of a Coke is higher to you than a Pepsi, then you should choose the Coke every single time," explains study co-author Ryan Webb, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. "But because of these 'noisy' fluctuations in neural activity, every so often, the Pepsi is better than the Coke."

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