{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,17]],"date-time":"2026-02-17T13:11:43Z","timestamp":1771333903256,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MIT Press","issue":"5","content-domain":{"domain":["direct.mit.edu"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Does the presence of irrelevant neuroscience information make explanations of psychological phenomena more appealing? Do fMRI pictures further increase that allure? To help answer these questions, 385 college students in four experiments read brief descriptions of psychological phenomena, each one accompanied by an explanation of varying quality (good vs. circular) and followed by superfluous information of various types. Ancillary measures assessed participants' analytical thinking, beliefs on dualism and free will, and admiration for different sciences. In Experiment 1, superfluous neuroscience information increased the judged quality of the argument for both good and bad explanations, whereas accompanying fMRI pictures had no impact above and beyond the neuroscience text, suggesting a bias that is conceptual rather than pictorial. Superfluous neuroscience information was more alluring than social science information (Experiment 2) and more alluring than information from prestigious \u201chard sciences\u201d (Experiments 3 and 4). Analytical thinking did not protect against the neuroscience bias, nor did a belief in dualism or free will. We conclude that the \u201callure of neuroscience\u201d bias is conceptual, specific to neuroscience, and not easily accounted for by the prestige of the discipline. It may stem from the lay belief that the brain is the best explanans for mental phenomena.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_00750","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,11,12]],"date-time":"2014-11-12T19:33:53Z","timestamp":1415820833000},"page":"926-944","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":82,"title":["Superfluous Neuroscience Information Makes Explanations of Psychological Phenomena More Appealing"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Diego","family":"Fernandez-Duque","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1Villanova University"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jessica","family":"Evans","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"1Villanova University"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Colton","family":"Christian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2University of Oregon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sara D.","family":"Hodges","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2University of Oregon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,5,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2021073000501371300_R1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1551-6709.2009.01008.x","article-title":"Mental health clinicians' beliefs about the biological, psychological, and environmental bases of mental disorders","volume":"33","author":"Ahn","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cognitive Science"},{"key":"2021073000501371300_R26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"766","DOI":"10.1038\/nrg1686","article-title":"History of genetic disease: The molecular Huntington disease: A history","volume":"6","author":"Bates","year":"2005","journal-title":"Nature Reviews Genetics"},{"key":"2021073000501371300_R2","unstructured":"Beall, E., Meindl, P., Iyer, R., Monterosso, J., Graham, J., & Schwarz, B. 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