Behavioral Neuroscience

Question

While we usually view the reflective system as the ‘better’ decision-maker, describe situations—either from early evolution or modern-day—in which the reflexive system would be expected to serve the organism more effectively.

Answer 1

One example where the reflexive system takes precedence is a simple one— your hand reflexively moving away after touching a hot surface. If we had to wait for the reflective system to kick in, we might burn ourselves!