Repository logo
 

Psychophysiological arousal and inter- and intraindividual differences in risk-sensitive decision making.


Change log

Authors

Studer, Bettina 
Scheibehenne, Benjamin 
Clark, Luke 

Abstract

The current study assessed peripheral responses during decision making under explicit risk, and tested whether intraindividual variability in choice behavior can be explained by fluctuations in peripheral arousal. Electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR) were monitored in healthy volunteers (N = 68) during the Roulette Betting Task. In this task, participants were presented with risky gambles to bet on, with the chances of winning varying across trials. Hierarchical Bayesian analyses demonstrated that EDA and HR acceleration responses during the decision phase were sensitive to the chances of winning. Interindividual differences in this peripheral reactivity during risky decision making were related to trait sensitivity to punishment and trait sensitivity to reward. Moreover, trial-by-trial variation in EDA and HR acceleration responses predicted a small portion of intraindividual variability in betting choices. Our results show that psychophysiological responses are sensitive to explicit risk and can help explain intraindividual heterogeneity in choice behavior.

Description

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12627

Keywords

Bayesian, Decision making, Peripheral arousal, Personality, Risk, Adult, Arousal, Bayes Theorem, Decision Making, Female, Galvanic Skin Response, Games, Experimental, Heart Rate, Humans, Individuality, Male, Personality Assessment, Psychophysics, Reaction Time, Risk, Young Adult

Journal Title

Psychophysiology

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0048-5772
1469-8986

Volume Title

53

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
This work was completed within the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, supported by a consortium award from the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust. The Centre for Gambling Research at UBC is supported by funding from the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and the Province of British Columbia government.