Preprint of “How does peer competition modulates risk-taking behavior: Evidence from Event-related potentials (ERPs) in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART)”

The relation between peer influence and risk-taking behaviors has received extensive empirical attention. However, the underlying mechanisms of whether how two-way conflicting context influences risk-taking behaviors still remain unclear. To this end, the current study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate how peer competition affects risk-taking behaviors among adolescents. Twenty-four college students completed a Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) under two contexts: single and peer competition condition. Behavioral results showed that participants prefer risk aversion in competitive context. ERPs results showed that participants induce higher N2 under peer competition in the decision-making phase. In the feedback phase, a higher P300 was observed in single condition while a more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) was showed after loss feedback. Results are in line with social comparison theory and reinforcement learning theory. The specific effect of peer influence on risk-taking behavior has been discussed.

Simple deterministic and complex probabilistic regularities underlying risky choices are acquired in a changing decision context

Beliefs about positive and negative outcome probabilities have been frequently investigated in experience-based risky decision making. However, it has not been clarified how these beliefs emerge and whether they remain persistent if the predictability and complexity of outcome probabilities change across decision contexts. Hence, the present study manipulated these two factors in a variant of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task performed by healthy young adults. In the first and final task phases, outcomes (rewards or balloon bursts) were predictable because of the presence of an underlying regularity. In the middle phase, outcomes were unpredictable because the regularity was absent. The complexity of the regularity differed across the deterministic, probabilistic, and hybrid experimental conditions. In the simple deterministic condition, a repeating sequence of three deterministic regularities perfectly predicted balloon bursts. In the more complex probabilistic condition, a single probabilistic regularity ensured that the probability of balloon bursts increased with each successive pump. In the most complex hybrid condition, a repeating sequence of three different probabilistic regularities increased burst probabilities. Even without informing participants about the presence or absence of the regularity, sensitivity to both the simple deterministic and the most complex hybrid regularities emerged and influenced risk taking. Unpredictable outcomes of the middle phase did not deteriorate the acquired sensitivity to these regularities. When only a single probabilistic regularity was present, predictable and unpredictable outcomes were processed similarly. In conclusion, assuming the reappearance of the initially experienced regularity, the robustness of representations might serve fast adaptation in a volatile decision environment.

Effect of swearing on strength: Disinhibition as a potential mediator

Introduction: Swearing fulfils positive functions including benefitting pain relief and physical strength. Here we present three experiments assessing a possible psychological mechanism, increased state disinhibition, for the effect of swearing on physical strength. Method: Three repeated measures experiments were carried out with sample sizes N=56, N=63 and N=118. All three included the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) to measure risky behaviour. Experiments 1 and 3 included measures of physical performance assessing, respectively, grip and arm strength. Experiment 3, which was pre-registered, additionally assessed flow, self-confidence, anxiety, emotion including humour, and distraction including novelty.Results: Experiments 1 and 3 found that repeating a swear word benefitted physical strength and increased risky behaviour, but risky behaviour did not mediate the strength effect. Experiment 2 showed no effect of listening to an audio track of a repeated swear word. Experiment 3 found that repeating a swear word increased flow, self-confidence, positive emotion, humour and distraction. Humour mediated the effect of swearing on physical strength. Discussion: Consistent effects of swearing on physical strength indicate that this is a reliable effect. Swearing affected several constructs related to state disinhibition including increased self-confidence. Humour appeared to mediate the effect of swearing on physical strength, consistent with a hot cognitions explanation of swearing-induced state disinhibition. However, as this mediation effect was part of an exploratory analysis, further pre-registered experimental research including validated measures of humour is required.

Reduced Social Risk-Taking in Depression

Social Risk Theory (Allen & Badcock, 2003) posits that depressed mood represents an adaptive response to unacceptably low social status, motivating the inhibition of social risk-taking in favor of submissive behaviours which reduce the likelihood of social exclusion. We examined social risk-taking using a novel adaptation of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) in 27 participants with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 35 healthy controls. All participants completed an Individual condition, the standard BART, and a Social condition, playing for a group of fellow participants following a team induction. The MDD group entered significantly fewer pumps in the Social relative to the Individual condition (p=.002, d=.668), and significantly fewer than controls (p=.030, d=.570). Concurrent questionnaire measures identified significant differences between groups on measures of Submissive Behaviour and Involuntary Subordination. This study suggests a specific inhibition of social risk-taking in depression alongside heightened submissiveness, in support of the Social Risk Theory.

Adaptation to recent outcomes attenuates the lasting effect of initial experience on risky decisions

Both primarily and recently encountered information have been shown to influence experience-based risky decision making. The primacy effect predicts that initial experience will influence later choices even if outcome probabilities change and reward is ultimately more or less sparse than primarily experienced. However, it has not been investigated whether extended initial experience would induce a more profound primacy effect upon risky choices than brief experience. Therefore, the present study tested in two experiments whether young adults adjusted their risk-taking behavior in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task after an unsignaled and unexpected change point. The change point separated early “good luck” or “bad luck” trials from subsequent ones. While mostly positive (more reward) or mostly negative (no reward) events characterized the early trials, subsequent trials were unbiased. In Experiment 1, the change point occurred after one-sixth or one-third of the trials (brief vs. extended experience) without intermittence, whereas in Experiment 2, it occurred between separate task phases. In Experiment 1, if negative events characterized the early trials, after the change point, risk-taking behavior increased as compared with the early trials. Conversely, if positive events characterized the early trials, risk-taking behavior decreased after the change point. Although the adjustment of risk-taking behavior occurred due to integrating recent experiences, the impact of initial experience was simultaneously observed. The length of initial experience did not reliably influence the adjustment of behavior. In Experiment 2, participants became more prone to take risks as the task progressed, indicating that the impact of initial experience could be overcome. Altogether, we suggest that initial beliefs about outcome probabilities can be updated by recent experiences to adapt to the continuously changing decision environment.