Affective response predicts risky choice for fast, but not slow, decisions.

Abstract

We use skin conductance to measure emotional arousal in subjects who make risky choices under time pressure or time delay. Our results show a strong correlation between subjects' skin conductance responses and their risky choices under time pressure but not under time delay. Subjects were more risk taking for higher levels of measured electrodermal activity (skin conductance). In line with descriptive theories of risky choice, the effect was most pronounced for choices involving losses rather than gains. Taken together, our findings indicate that participants under time pressure rely on affect at the point of decision-making. This provides support for behavioral models that recognize the role of emotional brain systems in decision making under risk.

Fast and Slow Investments in Asset Markets: Influences on Risk Taking

“…Others likewise propose that feelings influence risky choices (Loewenstein et al 2001), and still others that if choice time is limited, feelings frequently substitute for analysis (Finucane et al 2000;Kempf, Merkle, and Niessen-Ruenzi 2014). In Persson et al (2018) students are asked to make choices within 7 sec or after a delay of 7 sec between a sure gain (loss) and an equal probability of obtaining a larger gain (smaller loss) or nothing. Only when choice time is limited, a positive relationship is observed between risk taking for losses and a physiological index of feelings (skin conductance).…”

An Immersive Virtual Reality Game for Predicting Risk Taking through the Use of Implicit Measures

“…Additionally, situational factors, such as time pressure, have an influence on the relationship between GSR and RT. In an experiment with two kind of decisions (time pressure and time delay), the relationship between GSR and RT was positive in situations under time pressure, and negative in situations under time delay [75].…”

“…In this regard, decisions in no risk zones present less time pressure, and they are of the type: selection of paths or decision of whether to take spheres or not. Since time pressure has been raised as one of the influential factors in the relationship between GSR and RT [75], it is possible that, in these decisions in which there are no situational biases, decision-making is more guided by individuals personality and temperamental factors than in risk zones.…”

Pain, Touch, and Decision Making : Behavioral and Brain Responses to Affective Somatosensory Stimulation

“…In terms of the type of content that goes into a judgment or decision, System 1 is typically described as emotional, whereas System 2 is unemotional. For example, there is a stronger negative correlation between judgments of benefits and judgments of risk when people have five seconds to respond compared to when they have more time (Finucane et al, 2000), and skin conductance responses predict risky choice under time pressure but not time delay (Persson et al, 2018). In other words, under circumstances when System 2 is less able to monitor System 1, people to a greater extent rely on affect when they make judgments and decisions.…”