Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences (CEREB), University of Erfurt, 99089 Erfurt, Germany; Institute of Psychology, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Sep;38(9):1503-11. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.12.016. Epub 2013 Jan 9.
Often, economic decisions do not only depend on one's own preferences, but also on the choices of others and therefore require strategizing (i.e., thinking about what others might think). In experimental economics, this has been modeled by the beauty contest game. Another typical feature of economic decisions is that they are often carried out under stress. Therefore, in the present study, we aimed to examine the influence of stress on decision-making in the beauty contest game. Participants were randomly assigned to either the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) or a placebo version of the TSST-G (control condition). Then, participants played four rounds of a standard beauty contest game. As a biomarker of stress, salivary cortisol was measured. As predicted, participants under stress chose higher numbers in the beauty contest game than non-stressed participants, indicating less strategizing. This effect was mediated by the stress-induced increase in cortisol.
通常情况下，经济决策不仅取决于个人的偏好，还取决于他人的选择，因此需要进行策略规划（即考虑他人的想法）。在实验经济学中，这可以通过选美比赛游戏来模拟。经济决策的另一个典型特征是，它们通常是在压力下进行的。因此，在本研究中，我们旨在研究压力对选美比赛游戏中决策的影响。参与者被随机分配到特里尔社会压力测试组（TSST-G）或 TSST-G 的安慰剂版本（对照条件）。然后，参与者玩了四轮标准的选美比赛游戏。作为压力的生物标志物，测量了唾液中的皮质醇。正如预测的那样，处于压力下的参与者在选美比赛游戏中选择的数字高于无压力的参与者，这表明他们的策略规划较少。这种效应是由皮质醇的应激诱导增加介导的。
