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. 2022 Oct 13:13:958918.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.958918. eCollection 2022.

Taking gambles at face value: Effects of emotional expressions on risky decisions

Piotr Winkielman  1   2 , Jennifer L Trujillo  1 , Boris Bornemann  3 , Brian Knutson  4 , Martin P Paulus  5
Affiliations

Taking gambles at face value: Effects of emotional expressions on risky decisions

Piotr Winkielman et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Emotional facial expressions are ubiquitous and potent social stimuli that can signal favorable and unfavorable conditions. Previous research demonstrates that emotional expressions influence preference judgments, basic approach-avoidance behaviors, and reward learning. We examined whether emotional expressions can influence decisions such as choices between gambles. Based on theories of affective cue processing, we predicted greater risk taking after positive than negative expressions. This hypothesis was tested in four experiments across tasks that varied in implementation of risks, payoffs, probabilities, and temporal decision requirements. Facial expressions were presented unobtrusively and were uninformative about the choice. In all experiments, the likelihood of a risky choice was greater after exposure to positive versus neutral or negative expressions. Similar effects on risky choice occurred after presentation of different negative expressions (e.g., anger, fear, sadness, and disgust), suggesting involvement of general positive and negative affect systems. These results suggest that incidental emotional cues exert a valence-specific influence of on decisions, which could shape risk-taking behavior in social situations.

Keywords: choice; decisions; emotion; expressions; faces; judgment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trial structures of tasks used in our four experiments. Study 1 (Panel A), Study 2 (Panel B), Study 3 and 4 (Panel C,D), and Study 4 (Panel C). The specific numbers in feedback events represent possible outcomes on the first trial.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of facial expression on risky choice in the Pass/Invest Task (Study 1).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of facial expression on risky choice in the Pass/Invest Task (Study 2).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of facial expression on physiological response of the corrugator supercilii in the gambling task (during the 2,000 ms after face presentation; Study 2).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of facial expression on risky choice in the 3-Card Task (Study 3).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of facial expression on risky choice in the Risky Gains Task (Study 3).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Effects of facial expression (including disgust and sadness) on risky choice in the 3-Card Task (Study 4).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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