Investigating Coping Processes and Psychophysiological Responses to Uncertainty in Eleven-Year-Old Children

This experimental study investigated the cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses of 11-year-old children when confronted with uncertainty. Using a reward-feedback-based simulation, participants engaged in decision-making tasks involving ambiguous outcomes while their heart rate, decision time, hesitation behavior, and verbalized thought processes were systematically recorded. Findings demonstrated that uncertainty led to increased physiological arousal, longer decision times, greater hesitation, and lower decision accuracy. Regression analysis revealed hesitation as the strongest predictor of physiological arousal (BPM difference), whereas decision time and accuracy were not significant. Notably, participants' dominant task value orientation-classified according to the situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT)-significantly influenced both physiological and cognitive outcomes. Children with utility-driven motivation exhibited the highest decision accuracy and lowest physiological stress, whereas those motivated by perceived cost showed the opposite pattern. These results provide empirical support for behavioral and physiological responses associated with uncertainty and highlight the importance of developmentally tailored interventions in educational settings. Implications for psychoeducational program design incorporating neurophysiological and technological tools such as EEG, VR, and eye-tracking are discussed.