Decision making under stress: A selective review
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2012 |
Authors: |
K. Starcke, M. Brand |
Publication/Journal: |
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews |
Keywords: |
cognition, decision-making, emotion, neuroimaging, neuropsychology, stress, stress hormones |
ISBN: |
01497634 |
Abstract:
Many decisions must be made under stress, and many decision situations elicit stress responses themselves.
Thus, stress and decision making are intricately connected, not only on the behavioral level, but
also on the neural level, i.e., the brain regions that underlie intact decision making are regions that are
sensitive to stress-induced changes. The purpose of this review is to summarize the findings from studies
that investigated the impact of stress on decision making. The review includes those studies that examined
decision making under stress in humans and were published between 1985 and October 2011. The
reviewed studies were found using PubMed and PsycInfo searches. The review focuses on studies that
have examined the influence of acutely induced laboratory stress on decision making and that measured
both decision-making performance and stress responses. Additionally, some studies that investigated
decision making under naturally occurring stress levels and decision-making abilities in patients who
suffer from stress-related disorders are described. The results from the studies that were included in
the review support the assumption that stress affects decision making. If stress confers an advantage or
disadvantage in terms of outcome depends on the specific task or situation. The results also emphasize
the role of mediating and moderating variables. The results are discussed with respect to underlying
psychological and neural mechanisms, implications for everyday decision making and future research
directions.