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Social nudges: utility conferred from others

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Observing the choices of others adds utility to the chosen option. The additional utility conferred by others' choices is encoded by the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and explains the idiosyncratic effects of social influence.

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Figure 1: Individuals vary in their willingness to choose risky options.

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Correspondence to Mauricio R Delgado.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Smith, D., Delgado, M. Social nudges: utility conferred from others. Nat Neurosci 18, 791–792 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4031

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