Impulsivity Moderates Skin Conductance Activity During Decision Making in a Modified Version of the Balloon Analog Risk Task

Abstract

Individual differences in traits such as impulsivity and processing of risk and reward have been linked to decision making and may underlie divergent decision making strategies. It is, however, unclear whether and how far individual differences in these characteristics jointly influence decision making. Here, we aimed to investigate the roles of skin conductance responses, a psychophysiological marker of risk processing and impulsivity, as assessed by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 on decision making. Forty-six healthy participants performed a modified version of the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART), where reward and explosion risk are manipulated separately. Participants are informed about whether they play a high versus low reward and high versus low explosion risk condition. The exact risk and reward contingencies are, however, unknown to participants. Participants were less risk-taking under high, compared to low explosion risk and under high reward, compared to low reward on the modified BART, which served as a validation of the paradigm. Risk-taking was negatively related to skin conductance responses under high explosion risk. This relationship was primarily driven by individuals with relatively high levels of impulsivity. However, impulsivity alone was not found to be related to decision making on the modified BART. These results extend evidence that skin conductance responses may guide decision making in situations, where participants are informed about risk level (high vs. low), which might be differentially moderated by different levels of impulsivity.

Resting-State Theta Oscillations and Reward Sensitivity in Risk Taking

“…Further, self-assessed reward sensitivity demonstrated a greater correlation with first-trial than with average risk taking, indicating that sensitivity to outcomes could affect the former more ( Erev et al, 2008 ; Lejarraga and Gonzalez, 2011 ). Absence of correlations between BIS11 scores and performance on decision-making tasks is in line with the literature ( Gomide Vasconcelos et al, 2014 ; Lauriola et al, 2014 ; Reddy et al, 2014 ; Hüpen et al, 2019 ).…”

Resting-state theta oscillations and reward sensitivity in risk taking

“…Further, self-assessed reward sensitivity demonstrated a greater correlation with first-trial than with average risk taking, indicating that sensitivity to outcomes could affect the former more (Erev, Ert, & Yechiam, 2008; Lejarranga & Gonzalez, 2011). Absence of correlations between BIS11 scores and performance on decision-making tasks is in line with the literature (Lauriola, Panno, Levin, & Lejuez, 2014; Reddy et al, 2014; Hüpen, Habel, Schneider, Kable, & Wagels, 2019; Gomide Vasconcelos, Sergeant, Corrêa, Mattos, & Malloy-Diniz, 2014).…”

Altered psychophysiological correlates of risk‐taking in borderline personality disorder

“…In the high‐risk condition, compared to the low‐risk condition, the explosion probability is 1.5 times greater. Reward also increases linearly, with the profit distribution of the high reward condition being five times higher compared to the low reward condition at each time point (see Hüpen et al, for more details). At the beginning of each trial, the present condition is displayed.…”

“…In the present study, we investigated whether anticipatory SCRs are related to risk‐taking behavior in individuals with BPD. To this end, we used a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (Hüpen, Habel, Schneider, Kable, & Wagels, ). The BART has been shown to induce arousal in a similar manner as in naturalistic risk‐taking behavior.…”