Acute stress affects risk taking but not ambiguity aversion
Economic decisions are often made in stressful situations (e.g., at the trading floor), but the effects of stress on economic decision making have not been systematically investigated so far. The present study examines how acute stress influences economic decision making under uncertainty (risk and...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
06 May 2014
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| In: |
Frontiers in neuroscience
Year: 2014, Volume: 8 |
| ISSN: | 1662-453X |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fnins.2014.00082 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2014.00082 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2014.00082/full 
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| Author Notes: | Magdalena Buckert, Christiane Schwieren, Brigitte M. Kudielka and Christian J. Fiebach |
| Summary: | Economic decisions are often made in stressful situations (e.g., at the trading floor), but the effects of stress on economic decision making have not been systematically investigated so far. The present study examines how acute stress influences economic decision making under uncertainty (risk and ambiguity) using financially incentivized lotteries. We varied the domain of decision making as well as the expected value of the risky prospect. Importantly, no feedback was provided to investigate risk taking and ambiguity aversion independent from learning processes. In a sample of 75 healthy young participants, 55 of whom underwent a stress induction protocol (Trier Social Stress Test for Groups), we observed more risk seeking for gains. This effect was restricted to a subgroup of participants that showed a robust cortisol response to acute stress (n = 26). Gambling under ambiguity, in contrast to gambling under risk, was not influenced by the cortisol response to stress. These results show that acute psychosocial stress affects economic decision making under risk, independent of learning processes. Our results further point to the importance of cortisol as a mediator of this effect. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 24.08.2020 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1662-453X |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fnins.2014.00082 |