Neurocognitive underpinnings of cross-cultural differences in risky decision making

Neural mechanisms underlying competition-induced optimal decisions in individuals with high entrepreneurial intention

In a rapidly changing and uncertain business environment, individuals with high entrepreneurial intention (HEI) inevitably need to compete or cooperate with others to maximize their gains. However, the effects of competition and cooperation on the risky decision-making and neural mechanisms of individuals with HEI are not clear. By combining the modified Devil Task and electroencephalogram (EEG) technology, the current study showed that a competition context is more likely to motivate optimal decisions and enhance the total decision gains for individuals with HEI than a cooperation context. A positive relationship between the frequency of optimal decisions and the total gains of decision-making for individuals with HEI was also found, and this relationship was mediated by the degree of entrepreneurial intention. The EEG results showed that individuals with HEI made decisions in the competition context with greater P2 amplitude of frontal regions than in the cooperation context, and source localization analyses revealed that this difference in brain activity was manifested in the medial prefrontal cortex. Finally, the results revealed a positive relationship between the P2 amplitude and the degree of entrepreneurial intention of individuals with HEI. Overall, the study suggests that competition is an effective way to motivate individuals with HEI to make optimal decisions and, thus, maximize their profits, providing new perspectives on ways to promote successful entrepreneurship.

Decision-making under stress: A psychological and neurobiological integrative model

Understanding the impact of stress on cognitive processes, particularly decision-making, is crucial as it underpins behaviors essential for survival. However, research in this domain has yielded disparate results, with inconsistencies evident across stress-induction paradigms and drug administration protocols designed to investigate specific stress pathways or neuromodulators. Building upon empirical studies, this research identifies a multifaceted matrix of variables contributing to the divergent findings. This matrix encompasses factors such as the temporal proximity between stressors and decision tasks, the nature of stressors and decision contexts, individual characteristics including psychobiological profiles and affective states at the time of decision-making and even cultural influences. In response to these complexities, we propose a comprehensive model that integrates these relevant factors and their intricate interplay to elucidate the mechanisms governing decision-making during stressful events. By synthesizing these insights, our model not only refines existing paradigms but also provides a framework for future study designs, offering avenues for theoretical advancements and translational developments in the field of stress's impact on cognitive functions. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the nuanced relationship between stress and decision-making, ultimately advancing our knowledge of cognitive processes under challenging conditions.

Do incidental positive emotions induce more optimistic expectations of decision outcomes? An empirical study from the perspective of event-related potential

INTRODUCTION

Previous research has found that incidental emotions of different valences (positive/negative/neutral) influence risky decision-making. However, the mechanism of their influence on psychological expectations of decision outcomes remains unclear.

METHODS

We explored the effects of different incidental emotions on the behavioral, psychological, and electrophysiological responses of individuals in risky decision-making through a money gambling task using a one-way (emotion type: positive, negative, neutral emotions) between-subjects experimental design.

RESULTS

Individuals with positive emotions had significantly greater risk-seeking rates than those with negative emotions during the decision selection phase (p < .01). In the feedback stage of decision outcomes, individuals showed stronger perceptions of uncertainty in the decision environment under gain and loss feedback compared with neutral feedback, as evidenced by a more positive P2 component (i.e., the second positive component of an event-related potential). Positive emotions produced greater than expected outcome bias than neutral emotions, as evidenced by a more negative FRN component (i.e., the feedback-related negativity component).

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that positive emotions increase individuals' psychological expectations of decision outcomes. This study provides new empirical insights to understand the influence of incidental emotions on risky decision outcome expectations.

Contribution of the sensorimotor beta oscillations and the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry during value-based decision making: A simultaneous EEG-fMRI investigation

In decision neuroscience, the motor system has primarily been considered to be involved in executing choice actions. However, a competing perspective suggests its engagement in the evaluation of options, traditionally considered to be performed by the brain's valuation system. Here, we investigate the role of the motor system in value-based decision making by determining the neural circuitries associated with the sensorimotor beta oscillations previously identified to encode decision options. In a simultaneous EEG-fMRI study, participants evaluated reward and risk associated with a forthcoming action. A significant sensorimotor beta desynchronization was identified prior to and independent of response. The level of beta desynchronization showed evidence of encoding the reward levels. This beta desynchronization covaried, on a trial-by-trial level, with BOLD activity in the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry. In contrast, there was only a weak covariation within the valuation network, despite significant modulation of its BOLD activity by reward levels. These results suggest that the way in which decision variables are processed differs in the valuation network and in the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry. We propose that sensorimotor beta oscillations indicate incentive motivational drive towards a choice action computed from the decision variables even prior to making a response, and it arises from the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuitry.

Cultural modulation of early attentional responses to positive self-information: An ERP investigation of self-enhancement

Westerners show a strong tendency to view themselves in a positive light (i.e., self-enhancement), but this tendency is substantially weaker among East Asians. At present, however, it remains inconclusive whether this cultural difference reflects genuine variation in spontaneous engagement in this motivational tendency or is driven by individuals' deliberate efforts to present oneself in culturally acceptable ways. In the present research, we sought to address this issue by examining whether culture modulates early attentional bias to self-name, presented in the context of positive (vs. negative) situations. Both European American and Asian American participants (N = 64) read a series of scenarios depicting either a positive or a negative life situation and were subsequently presented with their name or names of famous people or strangers. European Americans showed greater P2, an ERP component of early attentional arousal, when the self-name was primed with positive (vs. negative) situations. In contrast, Asian Americans' P2 in response to the self-name was not moderated by situation primes. Moreover, the degree to which P2 was enhanced in positive (vs. negative) situations was negatively correlated with Asian cultural values. These results demonstrate that cultural variation in self-enhancement may reflect genuine beliefs about the self, manifested automatically at an early stage of attentional processing.