Relationships between the big five personality characteristics and performance on behavioral decision making tasks

Metacognition of one's strategic planning in decision-making: the contribution of EEG correlates and individual differences

The metacognition of one's planning strategy constitutes a "second-level" of metacognition that goes beyond the knowledge and monitoring of one's cognition and refers to the ability to use awareness mechanisms to regulate execution of present or future actions effectively. This study investigated the relation between metacognition of one's planning strategy and the behavioral and electrophysiological (EEG) correlates that support strategic planning abilities during performance in a complex decision-making task. Moreover, a possible link between task execution, metacognition, and individual differences (i.e., personality profiles and decision-making styles) was explored. A modified version of the Tower of Hanoi task was proposed to a sample of healthy participants, while their behavioral and EEG neurofunctional correlates of strategic planning were collected throughout the task with decisional valence. After the task, a metacognitive scale, the 10-item Big Five Inventory, the General Decision-Making Style inventory, and the Maximization Scale were administered. Results showed that the metacognitive scale enables to differentiate between the specific dimensions and levels of metacognition that are related to strategic planning behavioral performance and decision. Higher EEG delta power over left frontal cortex (AF7) during task execution positively correlates with the metacognition of one's planning strategy for the whole sample. While increased beta activity over the left frontal cortex (AF7) during task execution, higher metacognitive beliefs of efficacy and less willingness to change their strategy a posteriori were correlated with specific personality profiles and decision-making styles. These findings allow researchers to delve deeper into the multiple facets of metacognition of one's planning strategy in decision-making.

Fractional Anisotropy of Cingulum Cingulate Mediates the Relationship Between Happiness and Work Performance in Healthy Individuals

INTRODUCTION

As competition among companies around the world intensifies, the nature of work and the performance required are becoming more complex. In parallel with this, there is growing attention on happiness and well-being as factors related to improving employee performance. However, little is known about the relationship between happiness and the brain and work performance in healthy people.

METHODS

Therefore, we analyzed the correlations between the nine categories of work role performance (WRP), the subjective happiness scale (SHS), and four regions of fractional anisotropy (FA), an index reflecting brain microstructure that has been shown to be related to apathy in previous studies.

RESULTS

It was shown that the cingulum cingulate (CCI) and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) correlated with the WRP and its facets in a manner consistent with their respective functions. In particular, the CCI was found to be extensively correlated with the facets of the WRP and to have a partially mediating effect on the relationship between the SHS and the WRP.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to show that indicators reflecting healthy individuals' happiness and brain microstructure, which are related to a variety of nonwork factors, are positively correlated with the diverse roles and performance that characterize modern work.

Feasibility of virtual reality and machine learning to assess personality traits in an organizational environment

Introduction

Personality plays a crucial role in shaping an individual's interactions with the world. The Big Five personality traits are widely used frameworks that help describe people's psychological behaviours. These traits predict how individuals behave within an organizational setting.

Methods

In this article, we introduce a virtual reality (VR) strategy for relatively scoring an individual's personality to evaluate the feasibility of predicting personality traits from implicit measures captured from users interacting in VR simulations of different organizational situations. Specifically, eye-tracking and decision-making patterns were used to classify individuals according to their level in each of the Big Five dimensions using statistical machine learning (ML) methods. The virtual environment was designed using an evidence-centered design approach.

Results

The dimensions were assessed using NEO-FFI inventory. A random forest ML model provided 83% accuracy in predicting agreeableness. A k-nearest neighbour ML model provided 75%, 75%, and 77% accuracy in predicting openness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness, respectively. A support vector machine model provided 85% accuracy for predicting extraversion. These analyses indicated that the dimensions could be differentiated by eye-gaze patterns and behaviours during immersive VR.

Discussion

Eye-tracking measures contributed more significantly to this differentiation than the behavioural metrics. Currently, we have obtained promising results with our group of participants, but to ensure the robustness and generalizability of our findings, it is imperative to replicate the study with a considerably larger sample. This study demonstrates the potential of VR and ML to recognize personality traits.

Sex modulated the relationship between trait approach motivation and decision-making

It has been observed that one's Behavioral Approach System (BAS) can have an effect on decision-making under uncertainty, although the results have been mixed. To discern the underlying neural substrates, we hypothesize that sex may explain the conflicting results. To test this idea, a large sample of participants was studied using resting state fMRI, utilizing fractional Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuations (fALFF) and Resting-State Functional Connectivity (rsFC) techniques. The results of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) revealed an interaction between sex and BAS, particularly in the last 60 trials (decision-making under risk). Males with high BAS showed poorer performance than those with low BAS. fALFF analysis showed a significant interaction between BAS group and sex in the left superior occipital gyrus, as well as the functional connectivity between this region and the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Additionally, this functional connectivity was further positively correlated with male performance in the IGT, particularly in the decision-making under risk stage. Furthermore, it was found that the functional connectivity between left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and left superior occipital gyrus could mediate the relationship between BAS and decision-making in males, particularly in the decision-making under risk stage. These results suggest possible sex-based differences in decision-making, providing an explanation for the inconsistent results found in prior research. Since the research was carried out exclusively with Chinese university students, it is essential to conduct further studies to investigate whether the findings can be generalized.

Understanding the effect of proactive personality and perceived consumer effectiveness on low-carbon travel intention

Choosing low-carbon transportation is an effective strategy for mitigating carbon emissions. This study utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework to investigate the influences of proactive personality and perceived consumer effectiveness on low-carbon travel intention. By surveying urban residents, we examined the effects of subjective norm, behavioral attitude, perceived behavioral control, proactive personality, and perceived consumer effectiveness on low-carbon travel intention. The findings indicated that subjective norm, behavioral attitude, perceived behavioral control, proactive personality, and perceived consumer effectiveness have positive impacts on low-carbon travel intention. Notably, subjective norms have the greatest influence on behavioral intention, followed by proactive personality, while perceived consumer effectiveness has the least impact. Furthermore, this study identified attitude and perceived behavioral control as mediating factors between proactive personality, perceived consumer effectiveness, and low-carbon travel intentions. These findings reaffirmed the universal applicability of the TPB in individual decision-making contexts. The results also suggested that to promote low-carbon travel, it is crucial to not only focus on the social aspects of urban residents but also leverage the potential of individuals with a proactive personality.

Network Analysis of the Structure of the Core Symptoms and Clinical Correlates in Comorbid Schizophrenia and Gambling Disorder

Few studies have analyzed the clinical profile of treatment-seeking patients with the comorbid presence of schizophrenia (SCZ) and gambling disorder (GD), which warrants new research to assess the network structure of this complex mental condition. The aim of this study was to explore the organization of the symptoms and other clinical correlates of SCZ with GD. Network analysis was applied to a sample of N = 179 SCZ patients (age range: 19-70 years, mean=39.5, SD=9.9) who met clinical criteria for gambling disorder-related problems. Variables included in the network were the core GD symptoms according to the DSM-5, psychotic and paranoid ideation levels, global psychological distress, GD severity measures (debts and illegal behavior related with gambling), substances (tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs), and personality profile. The nodes with the highest authority in the network (variables of highest relevance) were personality traits and psychological distress. Four empirical modules/clusters were identified, and linkage analysis identified the nodes with the highest closeness (bridge nodes) to be novelty seeking and reward dependence (these traits facilitate the transition between the modules). Identification of the variables with the highest centrality/linkage can be particularly useful for developing precise management plans to prevent and treat SCZ with GD.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11469-022-00983-y.

Deliberative and Affective Risky Decisions in Teenagers: Different Associations with Maladaptive Psychological Functioning and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation?

Using network analysis, we investigated the relationships between maladaptive psychological functioning, difficulties in emotion regulation, and risk-taking in deliberative and affective behavioral decisions. Participants (103 adolescents aged between 13 and 19 years, 62% boys) took the Cold (deliberative) and Hot (affective) versions of the Columbia Card Task and completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). In contrast to the view that risk propensity increases from preadolescence to middle adolescence and decreases at later ages, our study revealed no age-specific trend. YSR syndrome scales were significantly correlated with risk propensity, but only in the Cold version. The YSR Thought Problems scale was the most central node in the network, linking internalizing and externalizing problems with risk propensity in the Cold CCT. Lack of emotional Clarity was the only DERS consistently linked with risk-taking both in correlation and network analyses. Maladaptive psychological functioning and difficulties in emotion regulation were linked with risk propensity in affective risky decisions through deliberative processes. The statistical significance of direct and indirect effects was further examined using nonparametric mediation analyses. Our study highlights the role of cognitive factors that in each variable set might account for risk-taking in teenagers.

The role of social context in risky decision-making: Presence of friend and low resistance to peer influence increase risky decision-making

Following sociocultural and personality theory, the current study addresses the need to investigate the influence of the social context and related personality variables on risky decision-making. Risky decision-making was assessed in six daily-life scenarios in a sample of 357 adult participants, ages 18-75. Scenarios differed regarding competition (competitive vs. non-competitive) and presence of others (alone, with friends, or with acquaintances). Additionally, the personality variables ego-strength, agreeableness, and resistance-to-peer influence as well as demographic variables were assessed. Results showed that participants made more risky decisions in the non-competitive scenarios and in the scenarios when they were accompanied by a friend compared to when they were alone. Regression analyses revealed that men made more risky decisions than women. High resistance-to-peer influence and agreeableness whereas related to fewer risky decisions. Overall, results showed the strong influence of social and personality factors on risky decision-making which could have implications for prevention programmes. Further, these results show that a pure cognitive approach to the study of risky decision-making is too narrow. Considering cognition, social context, and personality traits together seems to be a promising approach for the study of risky daily-life decisions.

Highlighting psychological pain avoidance and decision-making bias as key predictors of suicide attempt in major depressive disorder-A novel investigative approach using machine learning

OBJECTIVE

Predicting suicide is notoriously difficult and complex, but a serious public health issue. An innovative approach utilizing machine learning (ML) that incorporates features of psychological mechanisms and decision-making characteristics related to suicidality could create an improved model for identifying suicide risk in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

METHOD

Forty-four patients with MDD and past suicide attempts (MDD_SA, N = 44); 48 patients with MDD but without past suicide attempts (MDD_NS, N = 48-42 of whom with suicide ideation [MDD_SI, N = 42]), and healthy controls (HCs, N = 51) completed seven psychometric assessments including the Three-dimensional Psychological Pain Scale (TDPPS), and one behavioral assessment, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Descriptive statistics, group comparisons, logistic regressions, and ML were used to explore and compare the groups and generate predictors of suicidal acts.

RESULTS

MDD_SA and MDD_NS differed in TDPPS total score, pain arousal and avoidance subscale scores, suicidal ideation scores, and relevant decision-making indicators in BART. Logistic regression tests linked suicide attempts to psychological pain avoidance and a risk decision-making indicator. The resultant key ML model distinguished MDD_SA/MDD_NS with 88.2% accuracy. The model could also distinguish MDD_SA/MDD_SI with 81.25% accuracy. The ML model using hopelessness could classify MDD_SI/HC with 94.4% accuracy.

CONCLUSION

ML analyses showed that motivation to avoid intolerable psychological pain, coupled with impaired decision-making bias toward under-valuing life's worth are highly predictive of suicide attempts. Analyses also demonstrated that suicidal ideation and attempts differed in potential mechanisms, as suicidal ideation was more related to hopelessness. ML algorithms show useful promises as a predictive instrument.

Problem Gambling 'Fuelled on the Fly'

Problem gambling is a gambling disorder often described as continued gambling in the face of increasing losses. In this article, we explored problem gambling behaviour and its psychological determinants. We considered the assumption of stability in risky preferences, anticipated by both normative and descriptive theories of decision making, as well as recent evidence that risk preferences are in fact 'constructed on the fly' during risk elicitation. Accordingly, we argue that problem gambling is a multifaceted disorder, which is 'fueled on the fly' by a wide range of contextual and non-contextual influences, including individual differences in personality traits, hormonal and emotional activations. We have proposed that the experience of gambling behaviour in itself is a dynamic experience of events in time series, where gamblers anchor on the most recent event-typically a small loss or rare win. This is a highly adaptive, but erroneous, decision-making mechanism, where anchoring on the most recent event alters the psychological representations of substantial and accumulated loss in the past to a representation of negligible loss. In other words, people feel better while they gamble. We conclude that problem gambling researchers and policy makers will need to employ multifaceted and holistic approaches to understand problem gambling.

The role of cognition and reinforcement sensitivity in older adult decision-making under explicit risk conditions

Introduction: Previous research has suggested that individual differences in executive functions, memory and reinforcement sensitivity are associated with performance on behavioral decision-making tasks. Decision-making performance may also decline with age, however there is a lack of research on the interplay of cognitive and affective processes, and their impact on older adult decision-making. This study examined associations between executive functions, memory and reinforcement sensitivity on the Game of Dice Task (a measure of decision-making under explicit risk) among older adults.Method: One thousand and two older adults without cognitive impairment (aged 72-78 years) participated as part of an Australian longitudinal cohort study (the Personality and Total Health Through Life study). Decision-making sub-types were identified through cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess associations with measures of cognition and reinforcement sensitivity.Results: Cluster analysis identified three decision-making sub-types, which we label "advantageous," "disadvantageous" and "switching." Multivariate analyses found that relative to the mid-performing "switching" sub-type, advantageous decision-makers were more likely to be younger, male and have higher scores on a test of verbal learning. Disadvantageous decision-makers were more likely to have poorer scores on some components of executive function (set shifting, but not working memory or inhibitory control), although this effect was partly attenuated by a measure of reinforcement sensitivity (reward responsiveness).Conclusion: These results indicate that specific components of learning and executive functions are influential in decision-making under explicit risk among a sample of older adults.

Do Learning Approaches Set the Stage for Emotional Well-Being in College Students?

The research aim of this paper was two-fold: to generate evidence that personality factors are linear predictors of the variable approaches to learning (a relevant cognitive-motivational variable of Educational Psychology); and to show that each type of learning approach differentially predicts positive or negative achievement emotions, in three learning situations: class time, study time, and testing. A total of 658 university students voluntarily completed validated questionnaires referring to these three variables. Using an ex post facto design, we conducted correlational analyses, regression analyses, and multiple structural predictions. The results showed that Conscientiousness is associated with and predicts a Deep Approach to learning, while also predicting positive achievement emotions. By contrast, Neuroticism is associated with and significantly predicts a Surface Approach to learning, as well as negative achievement emotions. There are important psychoeducational implications in the university context, both for prevention and for self-improvement, and for programs that offer psychoeducational guidance.

Personality Traits and Impulsivity Tasks Among Substance Use Disorder Patients: Their Relations and Links With Retention in Treatment

BACKGROUND

Various authors have described the elements of impulsive approach and inhibitory control in drug users. These two components have been studied in terms of personality traits, performance on tasks that measure impulsive behavior, and neurophysiology. However, few studies have analyzed the association between these constructs. Thus, the aim of the present study is to analyze the associations between personality traits and performance on impulsivity tasks.

METHODS

A follow-up study was conducted with a baseline assessment at the beginning and end of treatment. The sample was composed of 121 patients undergoing treatment in therapeutic communities. Personality domains were evaluated through the PID-5. The impulsivity tasks employed were the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), Delay Discounting Test (DDT), Go/No-Go and Stroop test.

RESULTS

A correlation was found between DDT scores and the domains of detachment (r = -.315; p<.01), antagonism (r = -.294; p<.01), and disinhibition (r = .215; p<.05). Performance on the Stroop task was significantly associated with psychoticism (r = .232; p<.05) and negative affect (r = .212; p<.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that IGT scores and negative affect predict retention in treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings partially support the hypothesized association between sensation-seeking personality traits and detachment with impulsive choice tasks; and the relationships between negative affect and psychoticism traits with performance on inhibitory control tasks. Further, impulsive choice task scores and negative affect are both shown to predict retention in treatment.