Affect and decision making: a “hot” topic

Effects of Induced Mood on Attention and Decision Strategies in Risky Choice

The effects of induced incidental moods on patterns of information search and decision outcomes were investigated in a risky choice task with mixed-domain problems. Viewing of short videos was used to induce either happy or sad mood in participants, who then made choices between pairs of options consisting of a probabilistic gain coupled with a probabilistic loss. Eyetracking measures of information search, specifically frequencies of transitions between key aspects of the decision alternatives, were analyzed and related to use of heuristic or analytic compensatory strategies. Data were also gathered in a control condition, where participants were instructed to use an EV-calculation strategy, a prototypical integrative compensatory strategy. Results showed significant differences in choices and attention transitions between the EV-instruction and the induced mood conditions, but minimal differences between the happy and sad induced mood conditions. Participants in the induced mood conditions showed relatively more evidence of heuristic strategy use, but analytic strategies remained the modal strategy in all conditions. Importantly, key types of attention transitions were shown to reliably predict the frequency of observed choices consistent with optimal (EV- maximizing) and certain heuristic strategies.

Linking cognitive and affective heuristic cues to interpersonal risk perceptions and behavior

People often use cognitive and affective heuristics when judging the likelihood of a health outcome and making health decisions. However, little research has examined how heuristics shape risk perceptions and behavior among people who make decisions on behalf of another person. We examined associations between heuristic cues and caregivers' perceptions of their child's asthma risk, the frequency of caregivers' asthma management behaviors, and child health outcomes. We used Ipsos KnowledgePanel to recruit 814 U.S. adult caregivers of children with asthma of the age <18 years. Participants completed a survey at baseline (T1) and 3 months later (T2). Caregivers who, at T1, reported greater negative affect about their child's asthma (affect heuristic cue), greater ease of imagining their child experiencing asthma symptoms (availability heuristic cue), and greater perceived similarity between their child and a child who has ever experienced asthma symptoms (representativeness heuristic cue) reported statistically significantly (p < 0.05) higher interpersonal perceived risk of their child having an exacerbation or uncontrolled asthma at T1. They also indicated at T2 that their child had poorer asthma control and more frequent exacerbations. Greater T1 negative affect was associated with more frequent T2 actions to reduce inflammation, manage triggers, and manage symptoms, and with poorer T2 child health outcomes. Heuristic cues are likely important for interpersonal-not just personal-risk perceptions. However, the interrelationship between caregivers' ratings of heuristic cues (in particular, negative affect) and risk judgments may signify a struggle with managing their child's asthma and need for extra support from health care providers or systems.

Willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19: the role of risk perception, trust in institutions, and affects

Introduction

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to stop the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent severe disease. This study aims to ascertain the determinants of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance in the French population before the vaccine was introduced (France's second lockdown) and during the roll-out of the vaccination campaign (France's third lockdown). We focus on the following as determinants of willingness to be vaccinated: risk perception, affects related to the risk, and trust in political and health institutions.

Method

The study was conducted among two convenient samples including 591 and 474 participants. The results show that the timing of the crisis was important. While the intention to be vaccinated was relatively low before the vaccines were introduced, it became significantly higher when the vaccination campaign was deployed.

Results

The results show that risk perception and trust in health institutions are the most relevant predictors of intention to be vaccinated.

Discussion

Results are discussed in terms of the effectiveness of communication campaigns.

Decision-making under risk and ambiguity in adults with Tourette syndrome

BACKGROUND

Tourette syndrome (TS) as well as its most common comorbidities are associated with a higher propensity for risky behaviour in everyday life. However, it is unclear whether this increased risk propensity in real-life contexts translates into a generally increased attitude towards risk. We aimed to assess decision-making under risk and ambiguity based on prospect theory by considering the effects of comorbidities and medication.

METHODS

Fifty-four individuals with TS and 32 healthy controls performed risk and ambiguity decision-making tasks under both gains and losses conditions. Behavioural and computational parameters were evaluated using (i) univariate analysis to determine parameters difference taking independently; (ii) supervised multivariate analysis to evaluate whether our parameters could jointly account for between-group differences (iii) unsupervised multivariate analysis to explore the potential presence of sub-groups.

RESULTS

Except for general 'noisier' (less consistent) decisions in TS, we showed no specific risk-taking behaviour in TS or any relation with tics severity or antipsychotic medication. However, the presence of comorbidities was associated with distortion of decision-making. Specifically, TS with obsessive-compulsive disorder comorbidity was associated with a higher risk-taking profile to increase gain and a higher risk-averse profile to decrease loss. TS with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder comorbidity was associated with risk-seeking in the ambiguity context to reduce a potential loss.

CONCLUSIONS

Impaired valuation of risk and ambiguity was not related to TS per se. Our findings are important for clinical practice: the involvement of individuals with TS in real-life risky situations may actually rather result from other factors such as psychiatric comorbidities.

Emotional reactions to climate change: a comparison across France, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom

We present a study of emotional reactions to climate change utilizing representative samples from France, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom (UK). Drawing on appraisal theories of emotion, we examine relations between appraisals, emotions, and behavioral intentions in the context of climate change. We compare the four countries concerning emotional differences and commonalities and relate our findings to pertinent models of cultural values. Five distinct emotions were measured: worry, hope, fear, outrage, and guilt. In addition, the survey asked respondents to appraise a set of climate-related statements, such as the causality of climate change, or the efficacy of mitigation efforts. Also, a set of climate-relevant actions, such as willingness to reduce energy consumption or support for climate policies, was assessed. Findings show that appraisals of human causation and moral concern were associated with worry and outrage, and appraisals of efficacy and technological solutions were associated with hope. Worry and outrage are associated with intentions to reduce one's energy consumption, whereas hope and guilt are related to support for policies such as tax and price increases. A country comparison shows that French respondents score high on outrage and worry and tend to engage in individual behaviors to mitigate climate change, whereas Norwegian respondents score high on hope and show a tendency to support policies of cost increase. Generally, worry is the most and guilt the least intense emotion. Moral concerns and perceived collective efficacy of one's country in addressing climate change are relatively strong in France, while beliefs in human causation and in negative impacts of climate change prevail in Germany, and confidence in technological solutions are prevalent in Norway. In sum, findings reveal typical patterns of emotional responses in the four countries and confirm systematic associations between emotions and appraisals as well as between emotions and behaviors. Relating these findings to models of cultural values reveals that Norway, endorsing secular and egalitarian values, is characterized by hope and confidence in technological solutions, whereas France and Germany, emphasizing relatively more hierarchical and traditional values, are rather characterized by fear, outrage, and support for behavioral restrictions imposed by climate change policies.

Emotional Intelligence as Evaluative Activity: Theory, Findings, and Future Directions

The question of whether ability-related emotional intelligence (ability EI) predicts important life outcomes has attracted considerably more attention than the question of what ability EI consists of. In the present paper, the authors draw from the attitude and emotion literatures to suggest that the evaluation dimension of meaning is likely key in understanding how ability EI operates. Measures of ability EI predict the extent to which individuals can accurately evaluate words and measures of the latter type act as emotional intelligence measures. Extending this analysis, the paper reviews recent sources of data linking ability EI to attitudinal processes, such as those involved in attitude-behavior relationships and affective bipolarity. Individuals with high EI appear to experience their affect in more bipolar terms and they display evidence of greater decisiveness in their evaluations. Pursuing links of the present type will allow researchers to generate new predictions concerning the ability EI construct.

Measuring feelings about choices and risks: The Berlin Emotional Responses to Risk Instrument (BERRI)

We introduce a brief instrument specifically validated for measuring positive and negative feelings about risks-the Berlin Emotional Responses to Risk Instrument (BERRI). Based on seven studies involving diverse adults from three countries (n = 2120), the BERRI was found to robustly estimate anticipatory affective reactions derived from subjective evaluations of positive (i.e., assured, hopeful, and relieved) and negative emotions (i.e., anxious, afraid, and worried). The brief BERRI outperformed a 14-item assessment, uniquely tracking costs/benefits associated with cancer screening among men and women (Studies 1 and 2). Predictive validity was further documented in paradigmatic risky choice studies wherein options varied over probabilities and severities across six contexts (health, social, financial, technological, ethical, and environmental; Study 3). Studies 4-6, conducted during the Ebola epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic, indicated BERRI responses were sensitive to subtle effects caused by emotion-related framing manipulations presented in different cultures and languages (the United States, Spain, and Poland). Study 7 indicated BERRI responses remained stable for 2 weeks. Although the BERRI can provide an estimate of overall affect, choices were generally better explained by the unique influences of positive and negative affect. Overall, results suggest the novel, brief instrument can be an efficient tool for high-stakes research on decision making and risk communication.

Study on the diversity of mental states and neuroplasticity of the brain during human-machine interaction

Introduction

With the increasing demand for human-machine collaboration systems, more and more attention has been paid to the influence of human factors on the performance and security of the entire system. Especially in high-risk, high-precision, and difficult special tasks (such as space station maintenance tasks, anti-terrorist EOD tasks, surgical robot teleoperation tasks, etc.), there are higher requirements for the operator's perception and cognitive level. However, as the human brain is a complex and open giant system, the perception ability and cognitive level of the human are dynamically variable, so that it will seriously affect the performance and security of the whole system.

Methods

The method proposed in this paper innovatively explained this phenomenon from two dimensions of brain space and time and attributed the dynamic changes of perception, cognitive level, and operational skills to the mental state diversity and the brain neuroplasticity. In terms of the mental state diversity, the mental states evoked paradigm and the functional brain network analysis method during work were proposed. In terms of neuroplasticity, the cognitive training intervention paradigm and the functional brain network analysis method were proposed. Twenty-six subjects participated in the mental state evoked experiment and the cognitive training intervention experiment.

Results

The results showed that (1) the mental state of the subjects during work had the characteristics of dynamic change, and due to the influence of stimulus conditions and task patterns, the mental state showed diversity. There were significant differences between functional brain networks in different mental states, the information processing efficiency and the mechanism of brain area response had changed significantly. (2) The small-world attributes of the functional brain network of the subjects before and after the cognitive training experiment were significantly different. The brain had adjusted the distribution of information flow and resources, reducing costs and increasing efficiency as a whole. It was demonstrated that the global topology of the cortical connectivity network was reconfigured and neuroplasticity was altered through cognitive training intervention.

Discussion

In summary, this paper revealed that mental state and neuroplasticity could change the information processing efficiency and the response mechanism of brain area, thus causing the change of perception, cognitive level and operational skills, which provided a theoretical basis for studying the relationship between neural information processing and behavior.

A strong alcoholic drink does not influence self-assessments of the big five personality traits

cAlohol affects how people think, feel, and behave, and how they perceive the physical and social world around them. But does alcohol also influence how people perceive themselves? Past work points to a number of possibilities, suggesting intoxication could lead to positive biases, to negative biases, or have no effects on self-assessments at all. Here we tested whether alcoholic intoxication affects self-assessments of personality within the Big Five personality framework. We hypothesized that intoxicated participants would see themselves more positively than non-intoxicated individuals would. We conducted a preregistered laboratory experiment on participants divided into three groups: alcohol intoxication (n = 106), placebo (n = 114), and control conditions (n = 109). Contrary to predictions, we found no differences in self-assessments of personality across conditions. Findings point to the possibility that self-assessments of personality may be too stable to be affected by the momentary changes in thoughts and feelings caused by alcoholic intoxication.

Affective components in promoting physical activity: A randomized controlled trial of message framing

Although the study of the affective components involved in predicting physical activity is spreading faster and faster, there is a lack of studies testing their role when promoting physical activity through message interventions. In the present study, we considered these components by focusing on how anticipated affective reactions and emotional processing of the messages influence receivers’ affective attitude toward physical activity, concurrent behavior, and future intention. A sample of 250 participants was involved in an intervention relying on prefactual (i.e., “If … then…”) messages promoting physical activity. All messages were sent through a research app and were focused on the expected consequences of exercising (or not exercising). Four experimental conditions involving messages differing as to their outcome sensitivity framing (i.e., gain, non-loss, non-gain, and loss) were compared to a control condition. Results showed that reading gain and non-gain messages enhanced the positive affective attitude toward physical activity, compared to control. Enhanced affective attitude after the intervention increased, in turn, self-reported physical activity and future intention. Interestingly, gain messages were even more persuasive for people with a low level of positive anticipated affective reactions. Furthermore, their effectiveness was especially attributable to the elicitation of hope in receivers. Discussion focuses on the advantages of considering affective components and their implications when promoting physical activity.

Working with emotions: emotional intelligence, performance and creativity in the knowledge-intensive workforce

Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether work-related emotional intelligence (W-EI) benefits job performance among knowledge-intensive workers.

Design/methodology/approach

Postdoctoral researchers (Study 1) and industry researchers (Study 2) were recruited (total N = 304). These knowledge workers completed an ability-based emotional intelligence (EI) test and characterized their work-related performance. Potential moderators were also assessed.

Findings

There were positive relations between W-EI scores and both task performance and creative performance. In addition, these relationships were stronger in the context of higher levels of job negative affect and/or role overload.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, these findings are among the first to demonstrate the value of the EI construct within a knowledge-intensive workforce.

The role of future-oriented affect in engagement with genomic testing results

Future-oriented emotions such as anticipatory affect (i.e., current affect experienced regarding a potential future outcome) and anticipated affect (i.e., expectations about potential future affect), are uniquely associated with health decision-making (e.g., electing to receive results of genomic testing). This study investigated the degree to which negative anticipated and anticipatory emotions predict health decision making over time, and whether such emotions predict social, emotional, and behavioral responses to anticipated information (e.g., genomic testing results). 461 participants (M age = 63.9, SD = 5.61, 46% female) in a genomic sequencing cohort who elected to receive genomic sequencing (carrier) results were included in the current study. Anticipated and anticipatory affect about sequencing results were assessed at baseline. Psychological and behavioral responses to sequencing results, including participants' reported anxiety, decisional conflict, and distress about sequencing results, whether they shared results with family members, and their intentions to continue learning results in the future, were collected immediately, one month, and/or six months after receiving results. More negative anticipated and anticipatory affect at baseline was significantly and independently associated with lower intentions to continue learning results in the future, as well as higher levels of anxiety and uncertainty at multiple time points after receiving results. Anticipated negative affect was also associated with greater decisional conflict, and anticipatory negative affect was also associated with greater distress after receiving results. Future-oriented emotions may play an important role in decisions that unfold over time, with implications for genomic testing, behavioral medicine, and health decision-making broadly.

Role of Gender-Based Emotional Intelligence in Corporate Financial Decision-Making

PURPOSE

Business competition is getting more intense nowadays, and corporate survival is getting harder; consequently, corporate managers have to make financial decisions in complex and globalized scenarios. As a result, in order to compete in today's global economy, businesses are contemplating incorporating behavioural components of human psychology into their decision-making processes. Corporations are masters of quantitative analysis, but they rarely pay attention to behavioural elements of organizational success. Emotional intelligence is important in many parts of life; therefore, it is crucial to look at its dimensions when it comes to corporate financial decision-making.

METHODS

A simple random sampling technique was used to collect data from 200 senior-level managers from the corporate sector located in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad of Pakistan. SPSS version 22 was used to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS

Results of the study show the gender-based variation in corporate financial decision-making detailing the higher impact of EI of males on CFD than their counterparts in the corporate sector organizations. The elements of self-awareness, empathy, motivation and self-regulation affect the financial decision-making of both the genders with varying degrees of influence, whereas social skills do not affect CFD of both genders.

CONCLUSION

The study findings explicate that the influence of self-awareness and empathy constructs of EI on corporate financial decisions is stronger in female managers than their male counterparts. However, male managers exhibit a significantly stronger influence of motivation, social skills, and self-regulation dimensions on their financial decisions compared to female managers in a corporate setting. Overall, the impact of EI on CFD is slightly higher in male managers. These empirical outcomes imply that organizations should assess the employees not only for technical skills but also based on their emotional intelligence during the recruitment process.

Risky Therefore Not Beneficial: Replication and Extension of Finucane et al.’s (2000) Affect Heuristic Experiment

Risks and benefits are negatively related in people’s minds. Finucane et al. causally demonstrated that increasing risks of a hazard leads people to judge its benefits as lower. Vice versa, increasing benefits leads people to judge its risks as lower (original: r = −.74 [−0.92, −0.30]). This finding is consistent with an affective explanation, and the negative relationship is often presented as evidence for an affect heuristic. In two well-powered studies, using a more stringent analytic strategy, we replicated the original finding. We observed a strong negative relationship between judgments of risks and benefits across three technologies, although we do find that there was no change in risks when highlighting low benefits. We note that risks seem to be more responsive to manipulation (as opposed to benefits) and find evidence that the negative relationship can depend on incidental mood. We provided materials, data sets, and analyses on https://osf.io/sufjn/?view_only=6f8f5dc6ff524149a4ed5c6de9296ae8 .

Negative Affect and Maladaptive Eating Behavior as a Regulation Strategy in Normal-Weight Individuals: A Narrative Review

Emotions have a powerful influence on eating behavior, and eating behavior can have a powerful effect on emotions. The objective of the present narrative review was to evaluate the relationship between negative affect and maladaptive eating behavior as a regulation strategy in normal-weight individuals. A search of the literature within PubMed®, MEDLINE® and PsycINFO was conducted using a combination of the following terms: “affect”, “negative affect”, “affect regulation” and “maladaptive eating behavior”. A total of 106 papers were identified for full text review and were included in the final set of literature. The manuscript presents an overview of the literature on negative affect and maladaptive eating behavior. It offers a brief overview of restrained, uncontrolled and emotional eating in normal-weight individuals and looks at maladaptive eating behavior used to regulate their affect. Based on the previous research findings, we argue that using more adaptive strategies for emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal) might result in downregulating integral negative affect to food and in improving eating behavior.

Do People Become More or Less Materialistic during Disasters? The Mediating Roles of Mortality Salience and Gratitude

Studies have yielded inconclusive findings regarding the relationship between disaster experience and materialism. Whereas some have found a positive relationship, others have reported a negative relationship. To clarify the mechanisms underlying these mixed findings, we proposed and examined two mechanisms, namely mortality salience and gratitude. A total of 214 participants (M_age = 42.05 years, SD = 16.49 years) were randomly assigned into either an experimental condition to experience a disaster or a control condition. Participants in the experimental condition reported a lower level of materialism than the scores of their counterparts in the control condition. Such effects were mediated by both mortality salience and gratitude. Participants in the experimental condition reported higher levels of both mortality salience and gratitude simultaneously. Mortality salience strengthened materialism, but gratitude weakened materialism. These findings highlighted the duel-existing mechanisms underlying the relationship between disaster experience and materialism.

The Effect of Persuasive Messages in Promoting Home-Based Physical Activity During COVID-19 Pandemic

We tested the plausibility of a persuasion model to understand the effects of messages framed in terms of gain, non-loss, loss, and non-gain, and related to the physical, mental and social consequences of doing physical activity at home during the lockdown restrictions. 272 Italian participants responded to a questionnaire on their attitude and intention at Time 1, frequency of past behavior, and self-efficacy related to exercising at home. Then, participants were randomly assigned to four different message conditions: (a) gain messages focused on the positive outcomes associated with doing physical activity at home; (b) non-loss messages focused on the avoided negative outcomes associated with doing physical activity at home; (d) loss messages focused on the negative outcomes associated with not doing physical activity at home; (c) non-gain messages focused on the missed positive outcomes associated with not doing physical activity at home. After reading the messages, participants answered a series of questions regarding their perception of threat and fear, their evaluation of the messages, and their attitude and intention toward exercising at home at Time 2. Using multigroup structural equation modeling, we compared message conditions, and tested whether the effects of the messages on attitude and intention at Time 2 were mediated by message-induced threat, message-induced fear, and message evaluation. Results showed that the perception of the messages as not threatening was the key point to activate a positive evaluation of the recommendation. The highest persuasive effect was observed in the case of the non-loss frame, which did not threaten the receivers, triggered a moderated fear and, in turn, activated a positive evaluation of the recommendation, as well as higher attitude and intention to do home-based physical activity at Time 2. Overall, these results advance our comprehension of the effects of message framing on receivers' attitudes and intentions toward home-based physical activity.

A Cognitive-Emotional Model to Explain Message Framing Effects: Reducing Meat Consumption

We tested the plausibility of a cognitive-emotional model to understand the effects of messages framed in terms of gain, non-loss, non-gain, and loss, and related to the health consequences of red/processed meat consumption. A total of 544 Italian participants reported their attitude toward reduced red/processed meat consumption and intention to eat red/processed meat (time 1 questionnaire). One week later, participants were randomly assigned to four different message conditions: (a) gain messages focused on the positive health outcomes associated with low meat consumption; (b) non-loss messages focused on the avoided negative health outcomes associated with low meat consumption; (c) non-gain messages focused on the missed positive health outcomes associated with high meat consumption; (d) loss messages focused on the negative health outcomes associated with high meat consumption (message sending). After reading the messages, participants answered a series of questions regarding their emotional and cognitive reactions to the messages, their evaluation of the messages, and again their attitude and intention toward red/processed meat consumption (time 2 questionnaire). Comparing different multivariate linear models under the Bayesian approach, we selected the model with the highest plausibility conditioned to observed data. In this model, message-induced fear influenced systematic processing, which in turn positively influenced message evaluation and attitude, leading to reduced intention to consume red/processed meat. Vice versa, message-induced anger reduced systematic processing, which in turn negatively influenced message evaluation, and led to no effect on attitude and intention. The comparison among message conditions showed that gain and non-loss messages activated integrated emotional and cognitive processing of the health recommendation, while loss and non-gain messages mainly activated emotional shortcuts toward attitude and intention. Overall, these results advance our comprehension of the effects of message framing on receivers' attitudes and intentions.

The Roles of Shame and Guilt in the Development of Aggression in Adolescents With and Without Hearing Loss

This longitudinal study examined how shame and guilt contribute to the development of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescents with and without hearing loss. Adolescents between 9 and 16 years old (adolescents with hearing loss (n = 80; Mage = 11.91) and without hearing loss (n = 227; Mage = 11.63)) completed self-reports on three occasions with an interval of 9 months. Mixed model analyses revealed that both reactive aggression and proactive aggression decreased with age, whereas shame and guilt peaked in early adolescence. Adolescents with hearing loss reported higher levels of proactive aggression, lower levels of shame and guilt, and showed protracted development for guilt compared to their hearing peers. In both groups, shame contributed to an increase in reactive aggression, whereas guilt contributed to a decrease in proactive aggression. These longitudinal associations highlight the unique role that shame and guilt play in the development of adolescent aggression.

Worry, Perceived Threat and Media Communication as Predictors of Self-Protective Behaviors During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Europe

Efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus emphasize the central role of citizens' compliance with self-protective behaviors. Understanding the processes underlying the decision to self-protect is, therefore, essential for effective risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the present study, we investigate the determinants of perceived threat and engagement in self-protective measures in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Austria during the first wave of the pandemic. The type of disease (coronavirus vs. seasonal flu) and the type of numerical information regarding the disease (number of recovered vs. number of dead) were manipulated. Participants' cognitive and emotional risk assessment as well as self-reported engagement in protective behaviors were measured. Results show that worry was the best predictor of perceived threat in all countries. Moreover, a path analysis revealed that worry and perceived threat serially mediated the effect of type of disease on engagement in self-protective behaviors. The numerical framing manipulation did not significantly impact behavior but had a direct effect on worry and an indirect effect on perceived threat. These results are in line with theoretical accounts that identify emotions as a central determinant for risk perception. Moreover, our findings also suggest that effective risk communication during the COVID-19 pandemic should not stress comparisons to other, well-known viral diseases, as this can ultimately reduce self-protective behaviors.

Risk Perception and Protective Behaviors During the Rise of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy

Risk perception is important in determining health-protective behavior. During the rise of the COVID-19 epidemic, we tested a comprehensive structural equation model of risk perception to explain adherence to protective behaviors in a crisis context using a survey of 572 Italian citizens. We identified two categories of protective behaviors, labeled promoting hygiene and cleaning, and avoiding social closeness. Social norms and risk perceptions were the more proximal antecedents of both categories. Cultural worldviews, affect, and experience of COVID-19 were the more distal predictors. Promoting hygiene and cleaning was triggered by the negative affective attitude toward coronavirus and mediated by an affective appraisal of risk. The deliberate dimension of risk perception (perceived likelihood) predicted only avoiding social closeness. Social norms predicted both types of behaviors and mediated the relations of cultural worldviews. Individualism (vs. communitarianism), more than hierarchy (vs. egalitarianism), shaped the affective evaluation of coronavirus. The model was an acceptable fit to the data and accounted for 20% and 29% of the variance in promoting hygiene and cleaning, and avoiding social closeness, respectively. The findings were robust to the effect of sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, and zone of the country). Taken together, our findings confirmed the empirical distinction between affective and deliberate processes in risk perception, supported the validity of the affect heuristic, and highlighted the role of social norms as an account for why individualistic people were less likely to follow the prescribed health-protective behaviors. Implications for risk communication are discussed.

Learning to make smart choices in the context of risk: The roles of internal affective feedback and life events

Autonomic arousal may facilitate beneficial decision-making when the link between choices and outcomes is uncertain. However, it is unknown whether greater risk-specific autonomic arousal is linearly associated with faster learning to avoid risky decisions. Furthermore, although the influence of stress on decision-making is well documented, it is unknown whether recent life stress might moderate the relationship between this internal affective feedback and decision-making. We report two studies using the Iowa Gambling Task with diverse community samples. Each study demonstrated a linear relationship between the level of autonomic arousal prior to risky decision-making and the rate of learning to avoid risk. Additionally, participants' recent life events conditionally moderated this association. Specifically, the relationship between risk-specific arousal and advantageous learning was strongest for participants who experienced relatively more positive and fewer negative life events in the previous four months. These findings suggest that autonomic arousal may generally inform decision-making, but less so when life circumstances are relatively poor.

Incidental Emotions and Hedonic Forecasting: The Role of (Un)certainty

The impact of incidental emotions on decision making is well established. Incidental emotions can be differentiated on several appraisal dimensions, including certainty–uncertainty. The present research investigates the effect of certainty–uncertainty of incidental emotions on hedonic forecasting. The results of four experimental studies indicate that uncertainty-associated incidental emotions, such as fear and hope, compared with certainty emotions, such as anger and happiness, amplify predicted utility. This amplification effect is confirmed for opposite utility types; uncertainty-associated emotions, when compared with their certainty counterparts, lead to an overprediction of positive utilities and to an underprediction of negative utilities. This effect is mediated by the prediction task uncertainty, providing evidence for a carryover process of the incidental emotion. The effect of task uncertainty on predicted utility is, in turn, partly mediated by attention to the task, suggesting that an affective adaptation process lies behind the amplification of forecasts. Taken together, these findings extend the impact of certainty–uncertainty to the context of hedonic forecasting and further corroborate the impact of incidental emotions in judgment and decision making.

Risk Ladder, Table, or Bulleted List? Identifying Formats That Effectively Communicate Personalized Risk and Risk Reduction Information for Multiple Diseases

BACKGROUND

Personalized medicine may increase the amount of probabilistic information patients encounter. Little guidance exists about communicating risk for multiple diseases simultaneously or about communicating how changes in risk factors affect risk (hereafter "risk reduction").

PURPOSE

To determine how to communicate personalized risk and risk reduction information for up to 5 diseases associated with insufficient physical activity in a way laypeople can understand and that increases intentions.

METHODS

We recruited 500 participants with <150 min weekly of physical activity from community settings. Participants completed risk assessments for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, colon cancer, and breast cancer (women only) on a smartphone. Then, they were randomly assigned to view personalized risk and risk reduction information organized as a bulleted list, a simplified table, or a specialized vertical bar graph ("risk ladder"). Last, they completed a questionnaire assessing outcomes. Personalized risk and risk reduction information was presented as categories (e.g., "very low"). Our analytic sample (N = 372) included 41.3% individuals from underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds, 15.9% with vocational-technical training or less, 84.7% women, 43.8% aged 50 to 64 y, and 71.8% who were overweight/obese.

RESULTS

Analyses of covariance with post hoc comparisons showed that the risk ladder elicited higher gist comprehension than the bulleted list (P = 0.01). There were no significant main effects on verbatim comprehension or physical activity intentions and no moderation by sex, race/ethnicity, education, numeracy, or graph literacy (P > 0.05). Sequential mediation analyses revealed a small beneficial indirect effect of risk ladder versus list on intentions through gist comprehension and then through perceived risk (b_{IndirectEffect} = 0.02, 95% confidence interval: 0.00, 0.04).

CONCLUSION

Risk ladders can communicate the gist meaning of multiple pieces of risk information to individuals from many sociodemographic backgrounds and with varying levels of facility with numbers and graphs.

Effectiveness of Leadership Decision-Making in Complex Systems

This paper traverses the domains of leadership and decision-making within various types of systems with different levels of complexity. The article presents some background about both leadership and decision-making, and then explores the concept of leadership decision-making and some of the factors involved. The paper then reviews complex systems and provides examples to differentiate complex systems from other systems. Finally, these strands are brought together with a consideration of leadership decision-making in complex systems and presentation of a framework to assist managers faced with decision-making in complexity, based on data collected in a survey. The aim and practical contribution of this paper is to improve the outcomes of leadership decision-making within complex systems, based upon the findings and on a decision aid model derived from them. The paper, therefore, should help people in real life and leaders within organizational settings to improve their decision-making effectiveness within the ever-increasing range of complex situations which are now widely encountered.

Scared to Trust? - Predicting Trust in Highly Automated Driving by Depressiveness, Negative Self-Evaluations and State Anxiety

The advantages of automated driving can only come fully into play if these systems are used in an appropriate way, which means that they are neither used in situations they are not designed for (misuse) nor used in a too restricted manner (disuse). Trust in automation has been found to be an essential psychological basis for appropriate interaction with automated systems. Well-balanced system use requires a calibrated level of trust in correspondence with the actual ability of an automated system. As for these far-reaching implications of trust for safe and efficient system use, the psychological processes, in which trust is dynamically calibrated prior and during the use of automated technology, need to be understood. At this point, only a restricted body of research investigated the role of personality and emotional states for the formation of trust in automated systems. In this research, the role of the personality variables depressiveness, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and locus of control for the experience of anxiety before the first experience with a highly automated driving system were investigated. Additionally, the relationship of the investigated personality variables and anxiety to subsequent formation of trust in automation was investigated. In a driving simulator study, personality variables and anxiety were measured before the interaction with an automated system. Trust in the system was measured after participants drove with the system for a while. Trust in the system was significantly predicted by state anxiety and the personality characteristics self-esteem and self-efficacy. The relationships of self-esteem and self-efficacy were mediated by state anxiety as supported by significant specific indirect effects. While for depression the direct relationship with trust in automation was not found to be significant, an indirect effect through the experience of anxiety was supported. Locus of control did not show a significant association to trust in automation. The reported findings support the importance of considering individual differences in negative self-evaluations and anxiety when being introduced to a new automated system for individual differences in trust in automation. Implications for future research as well as implications for the design of automated technology in general and automated driving systems are discussed.

Does Neutral Affect Exist? How Challenging Three Beliefs About Neutral Affect Can Advance Affective Research

Researchers interested in affect have often questioned the existence of neutral affective states. In this paper, we review and challenge three beliefs that researchers might hold about neutral affect. These beliefs are: (1) it is not possible to feel neutral because people are always feeling something, (2) neutrality is not an affective state because affect must be positively or negatively valenced, and (3) neutral affect is unimportant because it does not influence cognition or behavior. We review the reasons these beliefs might exist and provide empirical evidence that questions them. Specifically, we argue that neutral affect is a felt experience that provides important valence-relevant information, which influences cognition and behavior. By dispelling these beliefs about neutral affect, we hope to shine a light on the assumptions that researchers hold about the nature of affect and to provide novel theoretical and methodological perspectives that help advance our understanding of the affective landscape.

How Behavioral Economics and Nudges Could Help Diminish Irrationality in Suicide-Related Decisions

People regularly make decisions that are not aligned with their own self-interests. These irrational decisions often stem from humans having bounded rationality (e.g., limited computational power), which produces reliable cognitive biases that occur outside of people's awareness and influences the decisions people make. There are many important decisions leading up to a suicide attempt, and it is likely that these same biases exist within suicide-related decisions. This article presents an argument for the likely existence of cognitive biases within suicide-related decision making and how they may influence people to make irrational decisions. In addition, this article provides new evidence for using a behavioral economic intervention-nudges-as a potential way to combat rising suicide rates. We explore how nudges can help increase means safety, disseminate suicide prevention skills/materials, diminish well-known biases (e.g., confirmation bias), and uncover biases that may be occurring when making suicide-related decisions.

Implicit measurement of emotional experience and its dynamics

Although many studies revealed that emotions and their dynamics have a profound impact on cognition and behavior, it has proven difficult to unobtrusively measure emotions. In the current study, our objective was to distinguish different experiences elicited by audiovisual stimuli designed to evoke particularly happy, sad, fear and disgust emotions, using electroencephalography (EEG) and a multivariate approach. We show that we were able to classify these emotional experiences well above chance level. Importantly, we retained all the information (frequency and topography) present in the data. This allowed us to interpret the differences between emotional experiences in terms of component psychological processes such as attention and arousal that are known to be associated with the observed activation patterns. In addition, we illustrate how this method of classifying emotional experiences can be applied on a moment-by-moment basis in order to track dynamic changes in the emotional response over time. The application of our approach may be of value in many contexts in which the experience of a given stimulus or situation changes over time, ranging from clinical to consumption settings.

The Influence of Feelings While Driving Regular Cars on the Perception and Acceptance of Self-Driving Cars

Self-driving vehicles will affect the future of transportation, but factors that underlie perception and acceptance of self-driving cars are yet unclear. Research on feelings as information and the affect heuristic has suggested that feelings are an important source of information, especially in situations of complexity and uncertainty. In this study (N = 1,484), we investigated how feelings related to traditional driving affect risk perception, benefit perception, and trust related to self-driving cars as well as people's acceptance of the technology. Due to limited experiences with and knowledge of self-driving cars, we expected that feelings related to a similar experience, namely, driving regular cars, would influence judgments of self-driving cars. Our results support this assumption. While positive feelings of enjoyment predicted higher benefit perception and trust, negative affect predicted higher risk and higher benefit perception of self-driving cars. Feelings of control were inversely related to risk and benefit perception, which is in line with research on the affect heuristic. Furthermore, negative affect was an important source of information for judgments of use and acceptance. Interest in using a self-driving car was also predicted by lower risk perception, higher benefit perception, and higher levels of trust in the technology. Although people's individual experiences with advanced vehicle technologies and knowledge were associated with perceptions and acceptance, many simply have never been exposed to the technology and know little about it. In the absence of this experience or knowledge, all that is left is the knowledge, experience, and feelings they have related to regular driving.

Risks Seem Low While Climbing High: Shift in Risk Perception and Error Rates in the Course of Indoor Climbing Activities

Little is known about people’s risk perception while participating in potentially harmful activities. In a field study conducted in a climbing gym, we investigated how the climbing activity influences climbers’ risk perception and error rates. Based on research on embodiment, we argue that the perception of risks may differ between being in an active state during climbing and being in an inactive state before or after climbing. In addition to subjective risk perception, error rates were observed as an objective measure of behavior that increase the risk for accidents. Experience was included as a potential moderator because indoor climbing is also accessible to inexperienced people. Drawing on the affect heuristic, we hypothesized that experienced climbers are guided by their intuitions, which makes them less susceptible for influences of their physical state when judging climbing risks. Less experienced climbers need to rely more on deliberative thinking and their judgments may be more distorted by the effects of being in an active state. Climbers were asked to judge climbing risks at five points in time (twice before, twice during and once after climbing in a gym). In addition, the amount and type of climbing errors was observed at two points in time during the activity. We recruited 57 participants (32% female) in a large climbing gym in Germany, who were between 18 and 57 years of age. Results show that participants’ perception of climbing risks generally decreased during the activity phase as opposed to the pre-activity phase, while error rates increased. Higher experience was associated with lower risk perception, but also more errors. Further, experience may weaken the influence of physical activity on risk perception. In higher risk sports people have to make important decisions while being active. Our results suggest that especially climbers need to be aware that being physically active can distort their risk perception.

A Rosier Reality: Incongruency in Stated and Revealed Ingroup Preferences among Young Asian American Speed Daters

Several studies have identified inconsistencies between “stated” interpersonal attitudes and those “revealed” after an interaction. The authors used the speed-dating paradigm to examine stated and revealed attitudes in ingroup preferences among Asian American subgroups (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino Americans). Young single Asian Americans ( n = 198) reported preferences for dating different ethnicities and went on speed dates, after which they could offer second dates to their partners. As expected, all four ethnic subgroups showed clear ingroup biases in stated preferences. Ingroup bias in revealed preferences (measured through date offers and ratings of partners’ mate desirability), however, were minimal. At the individual level, stated ingroup preferences did not significantly predict revealed ingroup preferences. In summary, among young Asian Americans, ingroup preferences may not hold in an interactive scenario. The findings suggest that in the presence of personal cues provided through a brief interaction, people may be less prone to make judgments on the basis of ethnicity, even when consequences extend beyond the laboratory. Furthermore, mechanisms for selecting a partner may differ in “hot” (affective) versus “cold” (cognitive) states.

Does Fear Increase Search Effort in More Numerate People? An Experimental Study Investigating Information Acquisition in a Decision From Experience Task

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of numeracy and the emotion of fear on the decision-making process. While previous research demonstrated that these factors are independently related to search effort, search policy and choice in a decision from experience task, less is known about how their interaction contributes to processing information under uncertainty. We attempted to address this problem and to fill this gap. In the present study, we hypothesized that more numerate people would sample more information about a decision problem and that the effect of fear would depend on the source of this emotion: whether it is integral (i.e., relevant) or incidental (i.e., irrelevant) to a decision problem. Additionally, we tested how these factors predict choices. We addressed these hypotheses in a series of two experiments. In each experiment, we used a sampling paradigm to measure search effort, search policy and choice in nine binary problems included in a decision from experience task. In Experiment 1, before the sampling task we elicited incidental fear by asking participants to recall fearful events from their life. In Experiment 2, integral fear was elicited by asking participants to make choices concerning medical treatment. Decision problems and their payoff distributions were the same in the two experiments and across each condition. In both experiments, we assessed objective statistical numeracy and controlled for a change in the current emotional state. We found that more numerate people sampled more information about a decision problem and switched less frequently between alternatives. Incidental fear marginally predicted search effort. Integral fear led to larger sample sizes, but only among more numerate people. Neither numeracy nor fear were related to the number of choices that maximized expected values. However, across two experiments sample sizes predicted the number of choices that maximized experienced mean returns. The findings suggest that people with higher numeracy may be more sensitive to integral emotions; this may result in more effortful sampling of relevant information leading to choices maximizing experienced returns.

Eagerness and Optimistically Biased Metaperception: The More Eager to Learn Others' Evaluations, the Higher the Estimation of Others' Evaluations

People frequently judge how they are viewed by others during social interactions. These judgments are called metaperceptions. This study investigates the relationship between eagerness to determine the evaluation of others and metaperceptions. We propose that eagerness, which reflects approach motivation, induces positive emotions. We apply feelings-as-information theory and hypothesize that positive emotions cause optimistic self-evaluations and metaperceptions. Participants in three studies interact with judges during a singing contest (Study 1), a speech (Study 2), and an interview (Study 3). Results corroborate that eagerness to learn the evaluation of others is overall related to optimistically biased metaperceptions. This effect is mediated sequentially by positive emotions, optimistic self-evaluations, and increased metaperceptions.

Don't know responses to cognitive and affective risk perception measures: Exploring prevalence and socio-demographic moderators

OBJECTIVES

Many people report uncertainty when appraising their risk of cancer and other diseases, but prior research about the topic has focused solely on cognitive risk perceptions. We investigated uncertainty related to cognitive and affective risk questions. We also explored whether any differences in uncertainty between cognitive and affective questions varied in magnitude by item-specific or socio-demographic characteristics.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of data collected for a 2 × 2 × 3 full-factorial risk communication experiment (N = 835) that was embedded within an online survey.

METHODS

We investigated the frequency of 'don't know' responses (DKR) to eight perceived risk items that varied according to whether they assessed (1) cognitive versus affective perceived risk, (2) absolute versus comparative risk, and (3) colon cancer versus 'any exercise-related diseases'. Socio-demographics were as follows: sex, age, education, family history, and numeracy. We analysed the data using multilevel logistic regression.

RESULTS

The odds of DKR were lower for affective than cognitive perceived risk (OR = 0.64, p < .001). This difference occurred for absolute but not comparative risk perceptions (interaction effect, p = .004), but no interactions for disease type or demographic characteristics were found (ps > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Lower uncertainty for affective (vs. cognitive) absolute perceived risk items is consistent with research stating: (1) Risk perceptions are grounded in people's feelings about a hazard, and (2) feelings are easier for people to access than facts. Including affective perceived risk items in health behaviour surveys may reduce missing data and improve data quality. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Many people report that they don't know their risk (i.e., risk uncertainty). Evidence is growing for the importance of feelings of risk in explaining health behaviour. Feelings are easier for people to access than facts. What does this study add? Don't know responding is higher for absolute cognitive than absolute affective risk questions. This difference does not vary in magnitude by demographic characteristics. Affective perceived risk questions in surveys may reduce missing data and improve data quality.

Good (or bad) vibrations: clinical intuition in violence risk assessment

Assessment and management of the risk of violence in psychiatry inevitably and appropriately draws on emotionally laden ‘intuitive’ modes of thought, as well as deliberative analytic thinking. This article discusses the concept of ‘intuition’ and proposes a brief set of guidelines, derived from work by the cognitive psychologist Robin Hogarth, by which intuitive thinking may be applied by clinicians when undertaking risk assessment work. The guidelines are: consider the learning structure relevant to the risk assessment task; use your own emotions as a source of data; impose ‘circuit breakers' such as cost–benefit analyses and validated structured risk assessment tools; and use a narrative approach to develop formulations. The guidelines are intended to provide a framework for ongoing reflective practice in assessing and managing risk.

Testing whether barriers to a hypothetical screening test affect unrelated perceived benefits and vice versa: A randomised, experimental study

OBJECTIVE

Determine whether (fictitious) health screening test benefits affect perceptions of (unrelated) barriers, and barriers affect perceptions of benefits.

METHODS

UK adults were recruited via an online survey panel and randomised to receive a vignette describing a hypothetical screening test with either high or low benefits (higher vs. lower mortality reduction) and high or low barriers (severe vs. mild side-effects; a 2×2 factorial design). ANOVAs compared mean perceived benefits and barriers scores. Screening 'intentions' were compared using Pearson's χ² test.

RESULTS

Benefits were rated less favourably when barriers were high (mean: 27.4, standard deviation: 5.3) than when they were low (M: 28.5, SD: 4.8; p=0.010, partial η²=0.031). Barriers were rated more negatively when benefits were low (M: 17.1, SD: 7.6) than when they were high (M: 15.7, SD: 7.3; p=0.023, partial η²=0.024). Most intended to have the test in all conditions (73-81%); except for the low benefit-high barrier condition (37%; p<0.0005; N=218).

CONCLUSIONS

Perceptions of test attributes may be influenced by unrelated characteristics.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Reducing screening test barriers alone may have suboptimal effects on perceptions of barriers if benefits remain low; increasing screening benefits may not improve perceptions of benefits if barriers remain high.

What is a good medical decision? A research agenda guided by perspectives from multiple stakeholders

Informed and shared decision making are critical aspects of patient-centered care, which has contributed to an emphasis on decision support interventions to promote good medical decision making. However, researchers and healthcare providers have not reached a consensus on what defines a good decision, nor how to evaluate it. This position paper, informed by conference sessions featuring diverse stakeholders held at the 2015 Society of Behavioral Medicine and Society for Medical Decision Making annual meetings, describes key concepts that influence the decision making process itself and that may change what it means to make a good decision: interpersonal factors, structural constraints, affective influences, and values clarification methods. This paper also proposes specific research questions within each of these priority areas, with the goal of moving medical decision making research to a more comprehensive definition of a good medical decision, and enhancing the ability to measure and improve the decision making process.

The Case for Using Personally Relevant and Emotionally Stimulating Gambling Messages as a Gambling Harm-Minimisation Strategy

Emotions typically exert powerful, enduring, and often predictable influences over decision-making. However, emotion-based decision-making is seen as a mediator of impulsive and reckless gambling behaviour, where emotion may be seen as the antithesis of controlled and rational decision-making, a proposition supported by recent neuroimaging evidence. The present paper argues that the same emotional mechanisms can be used to influence a gambler to cease gambling, by focusing their emotional decision-making on positive external and personally relevant factors, such as familial impact or longer term financial factors. Emotionally stimulating messages may also have the advantage of capturing attention above and beyond traditionally responsible gambling messaging. This is important given the highly emotionally aroused states often experienced by both gamblers and problem gamblers, where attentional activation thresholds for external stimuli such as messages may be increased.