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Boredom proneness is associated with noisy decision-making, not risk-taking
- Source :
- Experimental Brain Research
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Previous research shows that individuals who tend to get bored frequently and intensely—the highly boredom prone—are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. However, these studies are based largely on self-reports. Here we address this gap and suggest that noisy decision-making (DM) is a potential driver for this relationship between boredom proneness and risk-taking. In Study 1, eighty-six participants completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) while EEG was recorded. We found blunted feedback processing with higher boredom proneness, as indexed by reduced feedback-P3 amplitudes. Risk taking, as indexed by the BART, was not higher in the highly boredom prone. In Study 2a (N = 404) we directly tested the noisy DM hypothesis in an online sample using a binary choice task, and found that with higher boredom proneness, participants were more likely to alternate between choices on a trial-to-trial basis, but were not more likely to choose the risky alternative. These findings were replicated in a new sample (Study 2b), and extended to the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Study 3). In the IGT we found increased choice switching and reduced feedback sensitivity with higher boredom proneness. Once again, higher risk taking as indexed by the IGT was not evident in the highly boredom prone. Overall, our findings suggest that boredom proneness is associated with noisy decision-making (i.e., a tendency to alternate more between choice options regardless of risk level), and not risk-seeking per se. That is, the highly boredom prone are not necessarily attracted to risks, but rather, may be insensitive to risks due to reduced feedback sensitivity.
- Subjects :
- Decision Making
Sample (statistics)
050105 experimental psychology
Task (project management)
Developmental psychology
Feedback
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Risk-Taking
medicine
Humans
Risk taking
Feedback related negativity
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Risk level
General Neuroscience
05 social sciences
Boredom
Iowa gambling task
Feedback P3
Gambling
Self Report
medicine.symptom
Psychology
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14321106
- Volume :
- 239
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Experimental brain research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e89fce3898e7ba9b1ca3f975630f162c