Anticipatory stress interferes with utilitarian judgment
Abstract
A recent study indicates that acute stress affects moral decision making (Youssef et al., in press). The current study examines whether results can be replicated using a different kind of stressor and a different kind of stress measurement. We induced stress in 25 participants with a cover-story of an anticipated speech. Another group of 25 participants were tested in a control condition. Stress levels and stress responses were assessed with questionnaires and heart rate. All participants performed a moral decision-making task describing moral dilemmas. Dilemmas were either personal or impersonal and each offered a utilitarian and a non-utilitarian option. Results show that acutely stressed participants made fewer utilitarian judgments and needed longer for making a decision compared to control participants. Individual physiological stress response was related to few utilitarian judgments. Results are basically in line with those previously found although different instruments were used.
Starcke, K., Ludwig, A.-C. & Brand, M. (2012). Anticipatory stress interferes with utilitarian judgment. Judgment and decision making, 7, 61-68.
Executive functions, categorization of probabilities and learning from feedback: what does really matter for decision-making under explicit risk conditions?
Abstract
In two experiments with healthy subjects we used the Game of Dice Task (GDT), the Probability-Associated Gambling (PAG) task, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), executive-function and logical thinking tasks to shed light on the underlying processes of decision making under risk. Results indicate that handling probabilities, as in the PAG task, is an important ingredient of GDT performance. Executive functions and logical thinking also play major roles in deciding in the GDT. Implicit feedback-learning, as measured by the IGT, has little impact. Results suggest that good probability-handling may compensate for the effects of weak executive functions in decisions under risk.
Schiebener, J., Zamarian, L., Delazer, M., & Brand, M. (2011). Executive functions, categorization of probabilities, and learning from feedback: What does really matter for decision making under explicit risk conditions? Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 33, 1025-1039.
Decision-making under risk conditions is susceptible to interference by a secondary executive task.
Abstract
Recent research suggests two ways of making decisions: an intuitive and an analytical one. The current study examines whether a secondary executive task interferes with advantageous decision-making in the Game of Dice Task (GDT), a decision-making task with explicit and stable rules that taps executive functioning. One group of participants performed the original GDT solely, two groups performed either the GDT and a 1-back or a 2-back working memory task as a secondary task simultaneously. Results show that the group which performed the GDT and the secondary task with high executive load (2-back) decided less advantageously than the group which did not perform a secondary executive task. These findings give further evidence for the view that decision-making under risky conditions taps into the rational-analytical system which acts in a serial and not parallel way as performance on the GDT is disturbed by a parallel task that also requires executive resources.
Starcke, K., Pawlikowski, M., Altstötter-Gleich, C., Wolf, O.T. & Brand, M. (2011). Decision-making under risk conditions is susceptible to interference by a secondary executive task. Cognitive Processing, 12, 177-182.
Excessive Internet gaming and decision making: Do excessive World of Warcraft-players have problems in decision making under risky conditions?
Abstract
The dysfunctional behavior of excessive Internet gamers, such as preferring the immediate reward (to play World of Warcraft) despite the negative long-term consequences may be comparable with the dysfunctional behavior in substance abusers or individuals with behavioral addictions, e.g. pathological gambling. In these disorders, general decision-making deficits have been demonstrated. Hence, the aim of the present work was to examine decision-making competences of excessive World of Warcraft players. Nineteen excessive Internet gamers (EIG) and a control group (CG) consisting of 19 non-gamers were compared with respect to decision-making abilities. The Game of Dice Task (GDT) was applied to measure decision-making under risky conditions. Furthermore psychological-psychiatric symptoms were assessed in both groups. The EIG showed a reduced decision-making ability in the GDT. Furthermore the EIG group showed a higher psychologicalpsychiatric symptomatology in contrast to the CG. The results indicate that the reduced decision-making ability of EIG is comparable with patients with other forms of behavioral addiction (e.g. pathological gambling), impulse control disorders or substance abusers. Thus, these results suggest that excessive Internet gaming may be based on a myopia for the future, meaning that EIG prefer to play World of Warcraft despite the negative long-term consequences in social or work domains of life.
Pawlikowski, M. & Brand, M. (2011). Excessive Internet gaming and decision making: Do excessive World of Warcraft-players have problems in decision making under risky conditions? Psychiatry Research, 188, 428-433.
Watching pornographic pictures on the Internet: role of sexual arousal ratings and psychological-psychiatric symptoms for using Internet sex sites excessively.
Abstract
Excessive or addictive Internet use can be linked to different online activities, such as Internet gaming or cybersex. The usage of Internet pornography sites is one important facet of online sexual activity. The aim of the present work was to examine potential predictors of a tendency towards cybersex addiction in terms of subjective complaints in everyday life due to online sexual activities. We focused on the subjective evaluation of Internet pornographic material with respect to sexual arousal and emotional valence as well as on psychological symptoms as potential predictors. We examined 89 heterosexual, male participants with an experimental task assessing subjective sexual arousal and emotional valence of Internet pornographic pictures. The Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and a modified version of the IAT for online sexual activities (IATsex) as well as several further questionnaires measuring psychological symptoms and facets of personality were also administered to the participants. Results indicate that self-reported problems in daily life linked to online sexual activities were predicted by subjective sexual arousal ratings of the pornographic material, global severity of psychological symptoms, and the number of sex applications used when being on Internet sex sites in daily life, while the time spent on Internet sex sites (minutes per day) did not significantly contribute to explanation of variance in IATsex score. Personality facets were not significantly correlated with the IATsex score. The study demonstrates the important role of subjective arousal and psychological symptoms as potential correlates of development or maintenance of excessive online sexual activity.
Brand, M., Laier, C., Pawlikowski, M., Schächtle, U., Schöler, T., & Altstötter-Gleich, C. (2011). Watching pornographic pictures on the Internet: role of sexual arousal ratings and psychological-psychiatric symptoms for using Internet sex sites excessively. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 17, 371-377.
