Males with low risk-taking propensity overestimate risk under acute psychological stress

Abstract

Arousing research has investigated stressed individuals’ decision biases, but whether and how stress and individual traits interact to impact the underlying decision-making process is unknown. Here, we aim to explore the effect of acute stress on the interaction between the objective level of risk and subjective risk preference (i.e. risk-taking propensity). Eighty-three healthy males participated in the study. We adopted the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) to induce acute psychological stress and categorized participants into the high or low risk-taking propensity (HRP/LRP) group according to their traits in daily life. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) was applied to measure their feedback processing in a risky decision task, while behavioral indexes and EEG signals were recorded. The results showed that stressful participants pumped fewer times than the controls, especially for the LRP under stress, indicating that they were more willing to avoid taking risks. Compared with the stressed HRP group, the stressed LRP showed higher salivary cortisol responses and a more positive FRN following positive feedback in higher risk levels. It implies that acute psychological stress leads the LRP to overestimate the risk probability and become more cautious in the sequential processing of risk. These findings highlight the role of the feedback process and individual traits in risky decision-making under stress.