Brand Matthias, Heinze Katharina, Labudda Kirsten, Markowitsch Hans J
Physiological Psychology, University of Bielefeld, P.O. Box: 10 01 31, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany.
Cogn Process. 2008 Aug;9(3):159-73. doi: 10.1007/s10339-008-0204-4. Epub 2008 Jan 30.
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.
在日常生活的决策情境中，决策潜在的积极或消极后果通常是明确的，且相关概率是已知的，或者原则上是可计算的（“风险下的决策”）。基于患者研究报告的相关性，最近有人提出，风险下的决策涉及策略成分，即风险计算，以及情感过程，即处理先前决策的反馈。然而，到目前为止，计算策略对风险下决策的潜在影响尚未得到系统研究。在当前研究中，我们使用骰子游戏任务对42名健康受试者（21名女性）进行了风险下决策的测量，并通过一份问卷评估了在与骰子游戏任务中的选择类似的项目中策略的应用情况。此外，受试者还进行了爱荷华赌博任务，以考察模糊情境下的决策，以及一套侧重于执行功能的神经心理测试。结果表明，在具有明确且稳定规则的决策任务中做出有利决策与应用计算策略有关。相比之下，在骰子游戏任务中凭直觉做决策的个体更倾向于选择有风险或不利的选项。应用计算策略与执行功能相关，但与爱荷华赌博任务的表现无关。这些结果支持了这样一种观点，即计算过程和策略可能会改善明确风险条件下的决策。
