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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
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Gender differences in the effects of emotion induction on intertemporal decision-making
Eleonora Fiorenzato1,2, Patrizia Bisiacchi2, Giorgia Cona2,3
1Department of Neuroscience, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Plos One
|March 20, 2024
Summary
Fear impacts women's financial decisions more than men's. Women show increased delay discounting when fearful, preferring immediate rewards, while men remain unaffected by emotions.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Intertemporal choices involve trade-offs between immediate and delayed rewards.
- Delay discounting describes the preference for sooner, smaller rewards over later, larger ones.
- Emotions and gender are known to influence decision-making, but their interaction in intertemporal choice is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interplay of emotion and gender on delay discounting.
- To examine how induced fear and joy affect intertemporal choices differently in men and women.
Main Methods:
- 308 participants were randomized into conditions inducing fear, joy, or a neutral emotional state using movie clips.
- Participants completed a computerized delay discounting task involving hypothetical monetary rewards.
- Emotional states and gender were analyzed for their effect on reward preference.
Main Results:
- Fear significantly increased delay discounting in women, leading to a preference for immediate rewards.
- Women in a fearful state showed a greater preference for immediate rewards compared to those in a joyful state.
- Men's intertemporal choices were not significantly affected by the induced emotional states.
Conclusions:
- Fear differentially impacts intertemporal choices based on gender, suggesting distinct evolutionary strategies.
- Emotional states, particularly fear, play a crucial role in modulating financial decision-making in women.
- Future research should explore the neurobiological underpinnings of these gender-specific emotional influences on economic choices.
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