2026/03/17 by Suhas Vijayakumar, W. Yuna Yang, David DeFranza · 1 voice
Neuroscience · Social Sciences · Psychology · #Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment #Ethics and Social Impacts of AI #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
paper · pdf · doi:10.3389/fcomp.2026.1768435
openalex publication_date 2026/03/17 · openalex created_date 2026/03/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
This paper examines people’s lay belief concerning the mind of an artificial intelligence (AI) as a decision-making agent and how this belief shapes an individual’s own decision-making style in response. People perceive AI as more rational and reason-driven, in contrast to viewing humans as emotionally driven. Two studies confirm these beliefs, showing participants consistently judge AI as reason-based and humans as emotion-driven in decision-making. In a subsequent study, participants engage in an economic ultimatum game. When participants thought they were interacting with an AI (vs. a human) competitor, they adopted a more economically rational decision-making style, moving closer to the game-theoretic optimum. This shift in decision-making style was mediated by participants’ belief in the rational nature of AI. The findings suggest that perceptions of AI’s decision-making tendencies can influence the cognitive strategies that are adopted in response, with potential implications for human-AI interactions.