Math under pressure may make a gamble's downside seem smaller
People who tackled arithmetic problems while stressed by a countdown clock, error buzzers and an observer nearby later gave potential losses less weight when deciding whether to accept a gamble. This finding from a new study suggests that pressure may change the balance between how people perceive what they could stand to gain and what they could lose.
A new study indicates that pressure may alter how people perceive the potential gains and losses in a gamble. Researchers from the University of Milano-Bicocca found that when 61 healthy adults were given arithmetic problems under stressful conditions, they later assigned less weight to potential losses in gambling decisions compared to a control group. Specifically, the pressured group gave losses only about 1.7 times the weight of gains, while the control group gave losses roughly 2.4 times the weight of gains.
The stress was induced through a countdown clock, error buzzers, an observer nearby, and a visible progress bar indicating a potential bonus. Despite the pressure, both groups still showed a preference for avoiding losses. The study did not find any increase in the impact of positive cues, such as win-associated colors, among the pressured group.
Heart rates did rise during the arithmetic tasks in the pressured group, but stress levels, as measured by cortisol, did not differ significantly between the two groups. The researchers suggest that the method of inducing stress and the timing of the subsequent test could have influenced the results.
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