Trait anxiety has effect on decision making under ambiguity, but not decision making under risk

Abstract

Objective To investigate whether the effects of trait anxiety on decision making under risk and decision making under ambiguity are the same.Methods 185 subjects were grouped into high trait anxiety (HTA),medium trait anxiety (MTA) and low trait anxiety (LTA) groups based on their trait anxiety scores.All subjects were assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT),the Game of Dice Task (GDT) and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST).Results HTA and LTA subjects compared to MTA subjects were impaired in decision making under ambiguity( MTA:2.08 ± 18.51 ; HTA:5.62 ± 20.35 ; LTA:5.94 ± 10.96,F =3.86,P =0.023 ),the relation between trait anxiety and IGT performance resembled the curved shape of an inverted U.Performances of the three groups had no differences on decision making under risk (MTA:4.55 ± 10.17; HTA:4.00 ± 9.75;LTA:4.33 ± 11.20,F=0.03,P=0.968 ),and had no differences on executive functions and feedback processing.Conclusion Trait anxiety has effect on decision making under ambiguity,but not decision making under risk.The results provide support for the idea that decision making under ambiguity and decision making under risk are different processes,moreover,support and extend the view that emotion has an impact on cognitive function. Key words: Trait anxiety; Decision making; Lowa gambling task; Game of dice task