Differences In Risk Decision Performance Under Single And Double Task Conditions

Recently,researchers in decision making have proposed dual-process model,which argued that decision making depends on two distinct systems:intuitive-experience system and rational-analytical system.The former is a relatively effortless system that relies on prior and immediate experience or heuristics;the latter is an effortful,resource-dependent,cognitive controlled system.Although the dual-process model has been widely supported,there are still some disapprovals.Firstly,according to the dual-process model,the two systems have sharply different evolutionary histories and neuro-logical substrates,so that there is an independent relationship between the two systems.However,the dynamic graded continuum(DGC)model believe that the two systems might exist in the same dimension because of the saving principle of cognitive resources in humans.Thus,the two systems might be involved in the decision making as a dynamic continuum,which has no substantial differences between them.Secondly,although the dual-process model believe that the intuitive-experience system is the root for rational biases,some researchers argued that intuitive-experience system also has its merits,especially in those complex situations.The unconscious thought theory(UTT)holds that intuitive-experience system can process faster and effortless,which can help decision maker to obtain satisfactory results when cognitive resources are limited.In everyday life,many decisions are processed under complicated environment.For example,in hospital,a doctor have to make effective decisions when he/she is doing a surgery;on the road,a driver have to make quickly judgments for the various complex road conditions when he/she is driving.In these complex environment,decisions are made while being occupied with other cognitive tasks.Some research found that there is an interference between the decision task and the secondary executive task,and explained such interference in the perspective of dual-process model.Whereas,some research found that there might also be a promotion in decisional performance when decision were made with other cognitive tasks accompanied.Therefore,the dissertation conducted four studies using standard Game of Dice Task(GDT),GDT+n-back task,and GDT with other kinds of executive tasks,to systematically investigate the reason for the difference of decision making between single and dual task situation,and its possible moderating factors.Study 1 explored the difference of decision making between single-task and dual-task situation,and explore whether personality trait(i.e.,sensation seeking)moderated the difference.Results revealed that Chinese college students did better in dual-task situation than in single task situation.Also,they were more risk-seeking in both GDT tasks.This result supported for DGC and UTT,which implied that the level of cognitive resource competition might be the reason for the difference of decision making between single and dual task situation.Study 2 conducted four experiments to confirm that cognitive resources competition is the reason for the difference of decision making between single and dual task situations.Experiment 2 and 3 found that when digit n-back tasks as the secondary task,the GDT performance would be promoted.However,when figure n-back tasks as the secondary task,no matter the task difficulty increased,the GDT performance would not changed.Experiment 4 and 5 showed that with different executive task as the secondary task,the decisional performance would be differently promoted,and when the secondary tasks were involved in the auditory-vocal input/out while GDT were involved in the visual-motor input/output,the influence of secondary task on decision performance would be reduced to some extent.Thus,the results of Study 2 further support that cognitive resouces competition is the reason for the difference of decision making in dual task situation.Study 1 and 2 mainly support for the explanation that cognitive resources competition is the reason for the difference of decision making between single and dual task situation,and also found that such difference would be influenced by sensation seeking.In addition,besides of the influence of personality,whether the difference of decision making in single and dual task situations might be influenced by emotional factors?Study 3 and 4 aim to explore this.Study 3 used two experiments to explore the influence of incidental emotions and integral emotions on decision making in both single-and dual-tasks situations.Experiment 6 showed that incidental sadness can promote GDT performance in both single-and dual-tasks situations,so that the difference of decision making between single and dual task situation was diminished.Experiment 7 showed that emotional factors in n-back task did not have influence on decision making in dual-task situation.Regression analysis in the two experiments consistently found that emotional factors only have significant influence on GDT performance in single-task situation,and such influence would be mediated by strategies used in GDT.From study 3,we can conclude that emotional states would also moderated the difference of decision making across dual-and single-situation.Compared to single task situation,decision making would be less influenced by emotional factors,which indicating that decision makers might use low affective infusion strategy in GDT under dual-task situation.Study 4 used three experiments to explore the influence of task-unrelated and task-related stress on decision making in both single and dual tasks situations.Experiment 8 found that when decision makers were in stress,participants would have more risk aversion and their GDT performance would be promoted in both single-and dual-tasks situations.While,experiment 9 found that when the stress were correlated with task goals,participants would become more risk seeking and their GDT performance would be impaired both single-and dual-tasks situations.Regression analysis in the two experiments consistently found that stress have significant influence on GDT performance in dual-task situations,and such influence could be mediated by intuitive judgments of probabilities.Based on this,experiment 10 provide some tips of risk probabilities and explore whether such tips can alleviate the negative influence of high-goal induced stress on GDT performance.Results showed that with the help of tips,especially when tips in negative and neutral framing description,participants can make low-risk decisions in GDT inspite of the high task goals.Therefore,study 4 indicated that alought stress do not moderate the difference of decision making across dual-and single-situation,stress can have influence on decision making both under dual-and single-situation via intuitive judgments of probabilities.In conclusion,the dissertation verified that cognitive resources competition is the reason for the difference of decision making between single and dual task situation.In addition,personality and emotional state of decision makers would moderate this difference.The results in the present dissertation provide some empirical evidence for DGC and UTT.