Kernels of selfhood: GPT-4o shows humanlike patterns of cognitive dissonance moderated by free choice

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lehr, Steven A.; Saichandran, Ketan S.; Harmon-Jones, Eddie; Vitali, Nykko; Banaji, Mahzarin R.
• 署名单位: Boston University; University of New South Wales Sydney; Harvard University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-12222
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2501823122
• 发表日期: 2025-05-20
• 关键词: ai weapons; CONSEQUENCES

摘要

Large language models (LLMs) show emergent patterns that mimic human cognition. We explore whether they also mirror other, less deliberative human psychological processes. Drawing upon classical theories of cognitive consistency, two preregistered studies tested whether GPT-4o changed its attitudes toward Vladimir Putin in the direction of a positive or negative essay it wrote about the Russian leader. Indeed, GPT displayed patterns of attitude change mimicking cognitive dissonance effects in humans. Even more remarkably, the degree of change increased sharply when the LLM was offered an illusion of choice about which essay (positive or negative) to write, suggesting that GPT-4o manifests a functional analog of humanlike selfhood. The exact mechanisms by which the model mimics human attitude change and self-referential processing remain to be understood.