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NEUROSCIENCE

Is visual representation coloured by desire?

Nature Human Behaviour volume 3, pages 891–892 (2019)Cite this article

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People are often told they ‘view the world through rose-coloured glasses’. But do desires in fact change perceptual representations? A new study suggests people not only report observing what they wish was true, but they are also more likely to see what they wish was true.

If motivation alters what people perceive, the authors reason, then corresponding alteration to the pattern of neural activity in visual areas should be observed. If, however, motivation creates a ‘response bias’, then a signature of that modulation should be observed in regions important for motivation before an individual even lays eyes on the stimulus.

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  1. Affective Brain Lab, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK

    Tali Sharot

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  1. Tali Sharot
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Correspondence to Tali Sharot.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Sharot, T. Is visual representation coloured by desire?. Nat Hum Behav 3, 891–892 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0639-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0639-x

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