Poorer decision making among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence for “pandemic-brain”

Abstract

Objective Did living through the COVID-19 pandemic cause healthy college students to experience “pandemic-brain,” a phenomenon characterized by difficulties with various cognitive abilities? Did students shift from deliberative to more impulsive decision making? Participants We compared a pre-pandemic sample of 722 undergraduate students to 161 undergraduate students recruited in Fall 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method We compared scores on the Adult Decision Making Competence scale among participants who completed the task pre-pandemic or across two time points in Fall 2020, during the pandemic. Results Decision making was less consistent and more reliant on gain/loss framing during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic, but college students were no less confident in their decisions. No significant changes in decision making occurred during the pandemic. Conclusions These decision making changes could increase the risk of making an impulsive choice with negative health consequences affecting demands on student health centers and imperiling learning environments.