Prediction of Loan Decisions with Optical Neuroimaging (fNIRS) and Machine Learning

The successful applications of neuroscientific methods and artificial learning approaches have increased in applied fields such as economics, marketing, and finance in the last decade. In this study, a prediction model was developed using the output of optical neuroimaging (fNIRS) measurements from the prefrontal brain regions while 40 participants made decisions for 35 credit offers. The aim was to predict participants' responses to credit offers using artificial learning methods based on four metrics obtained over time from the optical neuroimaging system. The findings of the study indicate that the first 6 seconds (prior to the response entry) are particularly critical. While the performance rate in the developed prediction models is found to be higher, especially in tree-based algorithms, this paper includes a performance comparison of 5 models specifically.