Disgust selectively dampens value-independent risk-taking for potential gains

Despite intricate interactions between emotion and decision making, the underlying cognitive mechanisms that govern their relationship remain elusive. Recent theoretical and empirical advances suggest that preferences in risky decision making can arise from the computation of subjective utility (value-dependent) or direct approach-avoidance action tendencies (value-independent). Here, 48 participants performed two gambling tasks (accept/reject and choice selection tasks) under the emotion manipulation (neutral versus disgust) to investigate how decision context and emotion may influence risk preference via the value-dependent and -independent pathways. The results showed that the decision context affected the degree to which both value-dependent and -independent systems were engaged. Crucially, however, the disgust emotion had a selective effect on participants' choices in the accept/reject task. Furthermore, computational analyses revealed that this specific effect resulted from a reduced propensity to gamble for potential gains by engaging only the value-independent system. These results indicate dissociative effects of decision context and emotion and suggest a specific route by which disgust influences choice preference in risky decision making.