Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Sofia Davicino | Email: sofiadavicinoo@gmail.com
Pedro Bianco Milatich1°2°, Sofia Davicino1°2°, Jo Carlos Jimenez Torres3°, Ignacio Ferrelli3°
1° Laboratorio de Ciencias Cognitivas IIpsi (Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas)
2° UNC (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba)
3° UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires)
Emotion plays a critical role in risk-related decision-making (DM) processes. Previous studies suggest that individuals with anxious traits make fewer risky decisions. Social stressors, such as public speaking, modulate DM; research suggests that stress may amplify gender differences in risk-taking, with women being more risk-averse and men more risk-prone, but it is unclear how these variables affect performance. In this study, we will assess the impact of anxiety induced by a social stressor on DM. To do this, we will use the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a decision-making task where participants choose between four decks of cards with different monetary losses or gains. The goal of the task is to identify the most advantageous decks. We will include a social stress condition: an experimental group will be instructed to give a public speech after completing the task, and we will include a control group without this instruction. Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity will be recorded, and the event-related potentials known as error-related negativity (ERN) and error-related positivity (ERP) will be analyzed. This will allow us to explore the neural mechanisms underlying error detection and the effect of stress on DM across different genders.