The Role of Cognitive Control in the Processes Underlying Easy And Difficult Risky Monetary Decision-Making

Risky decision-making leverages other cognitive functions as part of the processes underlying valuation 和 选择, but the direct connections between these domains of cognitive function 和 risky 选择 have only recently been examined. A total of 50 participants, age 18-22 , completed an online experiment with a two-part task. First participants completed a novel risky decision-making task in which they initially completed an identical static 选择 set of gamble options, followed by a dynamic 选择 set tailored to the individual 和 designed to equate subjective difficulty of 选择s across participants. Both 选择 behavior (probability of gambling, 选择, output) 和 reaction time (seconds) were measured. 额外的任务, 数字跨度测量, was used to quantify participant working memory capacity, defined as cognitive control capacity. The study concluded with a Need for Cognition Questionnaire 和 additional demographic questionnaires. Thus far, results suggest an effect of current trial type (i.e., difficulty) on reaction time (ß = -0.030, SE =0.00228 , p < 2𝑥 10−16), but no effect of the previous trial’s difficulty (ß = 8.27≥10−4,se = 2.32 𝑥 10−3, p = 0.723).  然而, when looking at a continuous model of 选择困难, there is a weak effect of previous difficulty on reaction time (ß = -0.0195, SE =0.00793 , p = 0.01418) 和 a significant interaction between 选择困难 和 capacity (high or low; ß = -0.0238, SE =0.00791 , p = 0.00269). These results will be further analyzed to better elucidate the relationship between cognitive capacity, 选择困难, 和 risky monetary decision making. This work could have important implications for  quantifying of a potential relationship between control 和 risky 选择.