The self’s choice: Priming attentional focus on bodily self promotes loss frequency bias

Abstract

When attention is focused on self representation(s), the ability to evaluate one’s internal sensations is enhanced, according to previous research by Ainley and colleagues (Consciousness and Cognition, 22(4), 1231–1238, 2013). Self-representations are usually distinguished between bodily and narrative. Both bodily and narrative representations improve decision-making processes, in that the consideration of alternatives is informed by sensations experienced deep inside the body (e.g., anxiety) as suggest by the literature (Noël, Brevers & Bechara in Frontiers in Psychiatry, 4, 179, 2013). The objective of the present study is to analyze the decision-making process in multiple conditions of stimulated self-representations. Participants played the Iowa Gambling Task three times (a baseline without stimuli and two randomly ordered stimulations to prime bodily and narrative self-representations). While no significant differences emerged regarding advantageous choices, participants showed loss frequency bias in the condition with bodily-self representation priming. Two interpretations are proposed: bodily-self focus acted as a distractor diminishing participants’ commitment to long term outcomes or enhanced interoception promoted aversion to losses. Directions are given for future research and clinical implications.

The Impact of Unsupportive Social Support on the Injured Self in Breast Cancer Patients

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How to address the body after breast cancer? A proposal for a psychological intervention focused on body compassion

“…Starting from the background, women with a history of breast cancer tend to reframe their identity as that of a or “woman at risk,” leading to rethinking future expectations and taking health management into account (Gibson et al, 2015 ; McGannon et al, 2016 ; Moskalewicz et al, 2022 ). In this way, women need to deal with a renovated overall self, which is described as a system of cognitive and affective schemas that affects life-meanings and decisions (Christoff et al, 2011 ; Sui and Humphreys, 2015 ; Sebri et al, 2021c ). Women tend to show a new self-representation, called Injured Self , an illness-schema rich with emotions and autobiographical memories related to the oncological journey, which is particularly relevant to create images of the self (Sebri et al, 2020 ).…”

How to make big decisions: A cross-sectional study on the decision making process in life choices

“…In their studies, they found that subjects who show higher anxiety levels tended to make riskaverse personal choices, but not in others' decisions. According to literature, anxiety affects decision because its makes risks and possible negative outcomes of choices more salient in the decision maker's perception (Sebri et al, 2021;Noël et al, 2013;Cavanagh et al, 2014;Herman et al, 2018), so that final decisions may be conservative and/or orientated to avoid risks and punishments more than obtaining distant positive outcomes.…”