From one risky choice to the next: Trait dominance, feedback, and response-locked EEG in corporate leaders

Repeated risky choice can reflect both the direction of choice and whether a previous choice is repeated, but these patterns are not always distinguished in research on trait dominance. In this secondary analysis, 28 male corporate leaders completed a repeated monetary gambling task with complete feedback while EEG was recorded. Mixed-effects models examined associations of trait dominance, choice history, and feedback with subsequent High-risk choice, Stay/Switch behavior, response time, and response-locked FCz activity. Higher dominance was associated with greater odds of choosing High after both previous High- and Low-risk choices, with no reliable difference between the two history-specific associations. In the direct transition model, a 1-SD increase in continuous dominance corresponded to 47% higher odds of Current High choice (OR = 1.47, 95% CI [1.25, 1.73]). On the Stay/Switch scale, higher dominance predicted staying after High but switching after Low, indicating a High-directed pattern rather than uniformly greater repetition of the preceding risk level. Recent outcomes also remained consequential: absolute valence and comparative favorability were associated with subsequent choice, and responses were 12.7% slower after Gains than Losses, whereas dominance was not reliably related to response time. EEG findings were more qualified: mean FCz voltage was more positive in the predefined High-dominance group, whereas peak latency showed a feedback-dependent dominance contrast between Gain-Correct and Gain-Error trials; no individual condition-specific dominance slope survived Holm correction. Trait dominance was therefore associated most clearly with the direction of repeated risky choice, while recent experience continued to shape the next decision.