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Does Gender Matter in the Relationship between Anxiety and Decision-Making?
Fenghua Zhang1,2, Leifeng Xiao3, Ruolei Gu4,5
1School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|January 10, 2018
Summary
Gender and anxiety interact in decision-making. Men with low anxiety performed better on ambiguous tasks, while anxiety levels influenced risk-taking behavior, but gender did not.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Anxiety's impact on decision-making is debated, with inconsistent findings.
- Gender differences may confound results in anxiety and decision-making studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interactive effects of gender and trait anxiety on decision-making.
- To differentiate effects on ambiguous (Iowa Gambling Task) versus risky (Game of Dice Task) decisions.
Main Methods:
- 135 students categorized by gender and trait anxiety (high/medium/low).
- Participants completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Game of Dice Task (GDT).
- Trait anxiety measured using Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.
Main Results:
- Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) showed a significant anxiety-gender interaction.
- Men with low trait anxiety outperformed women on the IGT.
- Game of Dice Task (GDT) revealed low-anxious individuals were more risk-seeking than medium-anxious.
- No gender effect was observed on the GDT.
Conclusions:
- Gender selectively moderates anxiety's influence on ambiguous decision-making.
- Anxiety's effect on risk-taking is independent of gender.
- Findings highlight the importance of considering gender in anxiety-related decision-making research.
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