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Related Concept Videos

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Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
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Avoidance-avoidance conflict refers to a psychological situation where a person must choose between two or more unpleasant alternatives. These conflicts are particularly stressful because neither option is desirable. This dilemma is often expressed in sayings like "caught between a rock and a hard place" or "between the devil and the deep blue sea." For instance, individuals who fear dental procedures may find themselves torn between enduring a painful toothache or facing the...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 15, 2025

Using the Threat Probability Task to Assess Anxiety and Fear During Uncertain and Certain Threat
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Negative news exposure does not affect risk or ambiguity aversion.

Luis S Garcia Campos1, Karolina M Lempert1

  • 1Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology
|July 15, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Exposure to negative news increased negative affect but did not alter risk or ambiguity aversion. These findings suggest incidental negative affect does not influence decisions under uncertainty unless misattributed to the choice itself.

Keywords:
ambiguity aversiondecision makingnegative affectnewsrisk avoidance

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Area of Science:

  • Decision Science
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • Decisions under uncertainty involve risk (known probabilities) or ambiguity (unknown probabilities).
  • Negative affect has been linked to increased risk and ambiguity aversion in prior research.
  • The impact of realistic negative stimuli, like news reports, on these aversions is less understood.

Discussion:

  • Incidental negative affect, induced by negative news, did not significantly change risk or ambiguity aversion in participants.
  • This null finding contrasts with some previous studies but aligns with others, suggesting context is crucial.
  • The effect of negative affect on decision-making under uncertainty may depend on whether the affect is misattributed to the choice itself.

Key Insights:

  • Negative news exposure significantly increased participants' negative affect.
  • No significant differences in risk aversion or ambiguity aversion were observed between the negative news and control groups.
  • The study controlled for potential confounding factors by using pre-registered designs and distinct control stimuli.

Outlook:

  • Further research should explore the conditions under which incidental negative affect influences decision-making under uncertainty.
  • Investigating the role of affect misattribution in moderating these effects is a key area for future studies.
  • Understanding the nuances of emotional influence on economic decisions has implications for policy and public communication.