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Emotion regulation and decision making under risk and uncertainty
Renata M Heilman1, Liviu G Crişan, Daniel Houser
1Emotion and Cognition Neuroscience Laboratory, Program of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Babeş Bolyai University.
Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
|April 7, 2010
Summary
Emotion regulation strategies, like cognitive reappraisal, influence decision-making. Controlling negative emotions can promote risk-taking, but reappraisal
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Emotions significantly impact social and economic decisions.
- Individuals actively engage in emotion regulation (ER) strategies.
- The role of ER in decision-making, distinct from acute emotion, requires investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of emotion regulation strategies on decision-making.
- To differentiate the effects of acute emotion versus acute emotion regulation on risk-taking.
- To examine the impact of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression on decisions.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Manipulated laboratory-induced fear and disgust, assessing decisions using the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).
- Study 2: Examined naturally occurring negative emotions and the incidental use of cognitive reappraisal on BART performance.
- Measured risk aversion and decision-making performance in response to emotional states and regulation strategies.
Main Results:
- Cognitive reappraisal of induced negative emotions (fear, disgust) promoted riskier decisions in the BART and improved IGT performance.
- Naturally occurring negative emotions increased risk aversion in the BART.
- Incidental use of cognitive reappraisal impeded the risk-averse effect of naturally occurring negative emotions.
Conclusions:
- Emotion regulation, particularly cognitive reappraisal, significantly modulates decision-making, especially risk-taking.
- The effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal in reducing emotional experience underlies its beneficial impact on decision-making.
- Findings highlight the importance of considering ER strategies when examining emotion's role in economic and social choices.
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