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The role of strategies in deciding advantageously in ambiguous and risky situations

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Abstract

In decision situations of everyday life, the potential positive or negative consequences of a decision are often specified and the associated probabilities are known or they are principally calculable (“decisions under risk”). On the basis of correlations reported in patient studies, it has been recently proposed that decisions under risk involve strategic components, i.e. calculation of the risk, as well as emotional processes, i.e. processing feedback from previous decisions. However, the potential impact of calculative strategies on decision-making under risk has not been investigated systematically, so far. In the current study, we examined 42 healthy subjects (21 females) with the Game of Dice Task measuring decisions under risk, and a questionnaire assessing strategy application in items comparable to the choices in the Game of Dice Task. In addition, the subjects performed the Iowa Gambling Task, examining decision-making under ambiguity, and a neuropsychological test battery focusing on executive functions. Results indicate that deciding advantageously in a decision-making task with explicit and stable rules is linked to applying calculative strategies. In contrast, individuals who decide intuitively prefer risky or disadvantageous choices in the Game of Dice Task. Applying calculative strategies was correlated with executive functions but not with performance on the Iowa Gambling Task. The results support the view that calculative processes and strategies may improve decision-making under explicit risk conditions.

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Acknowledgments

Parts of the work on this article have been supported by the German Research Foundation (BR 2894/1-1). We thank Eva Böcker for her very helpful assistance with the graphs and Jan Multmeier for helpful comments on the manuscript. The study complied with the current German laws and ethical principles. Recruiting and briefing of the participants complied with the declaration of Helsinki.

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  1. Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, P.O. Box: 10 01 31, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany

    Matthias Brand, Katharina Heinze, Kirsten Labudda & Hans J. Markowitsch

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  1. Matthias Brand
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Correspondence to Matthias Brand.

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Brand, M., Heinze, K., Labudda, K. et al. The role of strategies in deciding advantageously in ambiguous and risky situations. Cogn Process 9, 159–173 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-008-0204-4

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