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Updated: Nov 7, 2025

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
Published on: May 4, 2020
Stress and strategic decision-making in the beauty contest game
Johannes Leder1, Jan Alexander Häusser, Andreas Mojzisch
1Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences (CEREB), University of Erfurt, 99089 Erfurt, Germany; Institute of Psychology, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany.
Abstract:
Often, economic decisions do not only depend on one's own preferences, but also on the choices of others and therefore require strategizing (i.e., thinking about what others might think). In experimental economics, this has been modeled by the beauty contest game. Another typical feature of economic decisions is that they are often carried out under stress. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to examine the influence of stress on decision-making in the beauty contest game. Participants were randomly assigned to either the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) or a placebo version of the TSST-G (control condition). Then, participants played four rounds of a standard beauty contest game. As a biomarker of stress, salivary cortisol was measured. As predicted, participants under stress chose higher numbers in the beauty contest game than non-stressed participants, indicating less strategizing. This effect was mediated by the stress-induced increase in cortisol.
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