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. 2017 Aug 21:8:1371.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01371. eCollection 2017.

Fear, Anger, and Risk Preference Reversals: An Experimental Study on a Chinese Sample

Shengxiang She  1   2 , Iveta Eimontaite  3 , Dangli Zhang  2 , Yan Sun  4
Affiliations

Fear, Anger, and Risk Preference Reversals: An Experimental Study on a Chinese Sample

Shengxiang She et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Fear and anger are basic emotions of the same valence which differ in terms of their certainty and control dimensions according to the Appraisal Tendency Framework, a theory addressing the relationship between specific emotions, and judgments and choices. Past research based on the Appraisal Theory revealed contradictory results for risky choice decision-making. However, these conclusions were drawn from Western samples (e.g., North American). Considering potential cultural differences, the present study aims to investigate whether the Appraisal Tendency hypothesis yields the same results in a Chinese sample. Our first study explores how dispositional fear and anger influence risk preferences through a classic virtual "Asia Disease Problem" task and the second study investigates how induced fear and anger influence risk preferences through an incentive-compatible task. Consistent with previous research, our results reveal that induced fear and anger have differential effects on risky decisions: angry participants prefer the risk-seeking option, whereas fearful participants prefer a risk-averse option. However, we find no associations between dispositional fear (or anger) and risky decisions.

Keywords: anger; emotion; fear; framing effect; risk preference reversals.

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