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How stress hormones influence judgment, choice and social preferencesTobias Kalenscher – Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf
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Stress and Decision-Making
How stress influences thinking and decision-making3
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Stress and Decision-Making
How stress influences thinking and decision-making4
Stress?
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How do we make decisions?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making5
„It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.“The Wealth of Nations (1776)
Our decisions are motivated by self-interest
Adam Smith (1723-1790)
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How do we make decisions?
Sophisticated rational beliefs
Stable preferences
Maximizes own-payoff
Disregards other peoples‘ well-being
How stress influences thinking and decision-making6
Rational own-payoff maximizer
www.hhu.de
How do we make decisions?
Sophisticated rational beliefs
Stable preferences
Maximizes own-payoff
Disregards other peoples‘ well-being
How stress influences thinking and decision-making7
Rational own-payoff maximizer
www.hhu.de
Sophisticated rational beliefs?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making8
A question: You buy a toy for your little son
A bat and a ball cost €1.10
The bat costs €1.00 more than the ball
How much does the ball cost?
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Sophisticated rational beliefs?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making9
System 1
Intuitive, automatic cognition – gut instinct
System 2
Slow, analytical and reflective thinking
Intuitive answer: „The ball costs
10 Cents“
Answer after some deliberation:
„The ball costs 5 Cents“
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Sophisticated rational beliefs?
We are not always reflective, sophisticated thinkers
Does it get worse under stress?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making10
Stress
Cognitive Reflection Tasks
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Sophisticated rational beliefs?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making11
StressCortisol +
Noradrenaline Only CortisolTime
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Sophisticated rational beliefs?
We are not always reflective, sophisticated thinkers
Does it get worse under stress?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making12
Cognitive Reflection Tasks
Stress
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Sophisticated rational beliefs?
We are not always reflective, sophisticated thinkers
Does it get worse under stress?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making13
HydrocortisoneCortisol
YohimbineNoradrenaline
Placebo
Cognitive Reflection Tasks
www.hhu.de
Margittai et al., PNEC, 2016
Sophisticated rational beliefs?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making14
This means:An increase in cortisol action, but not in noradrenaline, results in... ...more intuitive, automatic responses ...less reflective thinking
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Sophisticated rational beliefs?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making15
We rely more on intuitive judgments at the expense of deliberative reasoning under the influence of the stress hormon Cortisol
Margittai et al., PNEC, 2016
www.hhu.de
How do we make decisions?
Sophisticated rational beliefs
Stable preferences
Maximizes own-payoff
Disregards other peoples‘ well-being
How stress influences thinking and decision-making16
Rational own-payoff maximizer
www.hhu.de
How do we make decisions?
Sophisticated rational beliefs
Stable preferences
Maximizes own-payoff
Disregards other peoples‘ well-being
How stress influences thinking and decision-making17
Rational own-payoff maximizer
www.hhu.de
Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making18
Would you play this gamble?
-€100 €100
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Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making19
Would you play this gamble?
-€100 €150
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Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making20
Would you play this gamble?
-€100 €200
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Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making21
Would you play this gamble?
-€100 €250
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Loss Aversion
Most subjects reject a 50/50 gamble in which the prospective gains are equal to the prospective losses
They accept a mixed gamble only when the gains are approximately 2x as high as the losses
Losing amount X is more painful than winning amount X is joyful.
Subjects are more sensitive to the possibility of losing money than they are to the possibility of gaining the same amount of money.
Loss AversionHow stress influences thinking and decision-making22
Would you play this gamble?
€100-€100
€200-€100
Tversky & Kahneman, J Risk Uncert, 1992
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Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making23
Cortisol, noradrenaline, loss aversion and risk attitude
HydrocortisonCortisol
YohimbineNoradrenaline
Placebo
€100-€100
€200-€100
Margittai et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017
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Loss Aversion
40 choices between receiving amount (x) for sure and a lottery with a .5 probability of either winning amount (y) or losing amount (z).
, ,
How stress influences thinking and decision-making24
Cortisol, noradrenaline, loss aversion and risk attitude
= measure of loss aversion loss aversion
loss neutral
= measure of risk attitude
> 1: risk aversion
< 1: risk seeking
Value function: u w w,oru w‐ ‐ w
Margittai et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017
www.hhu.de
Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making25
2,1
2,3
2,5
2,7
2,9
3,1
3,3
No Cortisol Cortisol
Lam
bda
No Yohimbine
Yohimbine
Loss Aversion ()
***
Remember:
• Smaller = less loss aversion
• Concurrent action of cortisol and noradrenaline makes subjects less loss-averse
Cortisol, noradrenaline, loss aversion and risk attitude
Margittai et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017
www.hhu.de
Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making26
2,1
2,3
2,5
2,7
2,9
3,1
3,3
No Cortisol Cortisol
Lam
bda
No Yohimbine
Yohimbine
Loss Aversion ()
***
1,5
1,7
1,9
2,1
2,3
2,5
No Cortisol Cortisol
Mu
No Yohimbine
Yohimbine
Risk Attitude ()
n/s
Cortisol, noradrenaline, loss aversion and risk attitude
Margittai et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017
www.hhu.de
Loss Aversion
How stress influences thinking and decision-making27
The combined action of Cortisol and Noradrenaline (cf. acute stress) reducesloss aversion, but does not change risk attitude
Margittai et al., Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017
www.hhu.de
How do we make decisions?
Sophisticated rational beliefs
Stable preferences
Maximizes own-payoff
Disregards other peoples‘ well-being
How stress influences thinking and decision-making28
Rational own-payoff maximizer
www.hhu.de
How do we make decisions?
Sophisticated rational beliefs
Stable preferences
Maximizes own-payoff
Disregards other peoples‘ well-being
How stress influences thinking and decision-making29
Rational own-payoff maximizer
www.hhu.de
Are We Own-Payoff Maximizing Egoists?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making30
Another question You have €15
Your best friend needs some money
How much of your €15 would you give him?
And how much of €15 would you give to your neighbor if she asked you for financial help?
And how much would you give to an unknown stranger on the street?
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Are We Own-Payoff Maximizing Egoists?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making31
Social Distance
% m
oney
sha
red
Strombach et al., PNAS, 2015; Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
Social Discounting:
Generosity towards others decreases hyperbolically as a function of social distance between donor and recipient
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Stress and Social Discounting
What is the effect of stress on social discounting?
How stress influences thinking and decision-making32
Stress?
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Stress and Social Discounting
Individuals cope with stress by investing into social relationships during stress
Offer costly help to a delimited group of people
Expect receiving guard from them in return
But: it would be maladaptive and unrealistic to befriend everyonealike
Help can only be expected from socially close group of people
Hypothesis: Altered social discountingStress amplifies generosity towards socially close, but not distantothers
How stress influences thinking and decision-making33
The tend-and-befriend hypothesis
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making34
Stressor: Group Trier Social Stress Test
Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making35
Task
Social distance is a measure of how close someone feels to someone else
Dictator game: „You have €15? How much do you want to share with a person on social distance 50?“
3x repeated for social distances 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100
Main readout: amount shared at each social distance level
Measure of social-distance-dependent generosity
Subject (donor) Recipient (here: someone on social distance 50)
Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making36
Effects of psycho-social stress on social discounting
Stress Group
Control Group
Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making37
Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
Effects of psycho-social stress on social discounting
v: value/utility of increasing the well-being of another person on social distance D here: % money shared
k: discount parameter determines how steeply
generosity decreases across social distance
V: height of the discount function can be interpreted as
level of generosity towards socially close people
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making
Effects of psycho-social stress on V(generosity towards socially close others)
Control Stress
Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making39
Effects of psycho-social stress on k(steepness of the discount function)
n/s (p=.08)
Control Stress
Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making40
After psychosocial stress, people become more generous towards socially close people… Friends, family, significant
others… …but not necessarily towards
socially distant people Neighbours, teachers,
strangers…
Margittai et al., Hormones Behav, 2015
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Stress and Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making41
What is driving the stress-effects on social discounting?
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Psychopharmacology of Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making42
Hydrocortisone:Cortisol
Yohimbine:Noradrenaline
Placebo
Margittai et al., PNEC, in revision
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Psychopharmacology of Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making43
Results
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Social Distance
% A
mou
nt S
hare
d
PlaceboCortisol
Margittai et al., PNEC, in revision
www.hhu.de
Psychopharmacology of Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making44
Results
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Social Distance
% A
mou
nt S
hare
d
PlaceboYohimbineCortisolYohimbine + Cortisol
Margittai et al., PNEC, in revision
www.hhu.de
Psychopharmacology of Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making45
***
Effects of pharma administration on V(generosity towards socially close others)
0,6
0,7
0,8
0,9
1
No Hydrocortisone Hydrocortisone
V
No Yohimbine
Yohimbine
Margittai et al., PNEC, in revision
www.hhu.de
Psychopharmacology of Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making46
Effects of pharma administration on V(generosity towards socially close others)
Cortisol increases generosity towards close others
But yohimbine offsets the increase in generosity caused by cortisol
Margittai et al., PNEC, in revision
www.hhu.de
Psychopharmacology of Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making47
Effects of pharma administration on log(k)(steepness of the discount function)
n.s.
-2,7
-2,5
-2,3
-2,1
-1,9
-1,7
-1,5
No Hydrocortisone Hydrocortisone
log(
k)
No Yohimbine
Yohimbine
Margittai et al., PNEC, in revision
www.hhu.de
Psychopharmacology of Social Discounting
How stress influences thinking and decision-making48
Conclusions
1. Cortisol action boosts generosity...
...but only towards an inner circle of friends and family
...and not towards socially distant individuals
2. The generosity-boosting effects of cortisol are offset by noradrenergic action
Cortisol promotes tend-and-befriend, but noradrenaline inhibits thoseprosocial tendencies
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1000
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Social Distance
% A
mou
nt S
hare
d
PlaceboCortisol
www.hhu.de
How do we make decisions?
Sophisticated rational beliefs
Stable preferences
Maximizes own-payoff
Disregards other peoples‘ well-being
How stress influences thinking and decision-making49
Rational own-payoff maximizer
Censored
www.hhu.de
Stress, Thinking and Decision-Making
After enhancing cortisol action, people rely more on intuitive judgments at the expense of deliberative reasoning
But the combined action of the stress- neuromodulators cortisol and noradrenaline reduces one of the most prominent decision-biases –loss aversion...
...while leaving risk-attitude unaffected
How stress influences thinking and decision-making50
Summary 1/2
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Stress, Thinking and Decision-Making
After psycho-social stress, we become more generous towards socially close others (friends, family...)...
...but not towards socially-distant recipients (strangers...)
Cortisol alone boosts generosity towards socially close others
But noradrenergic action offsets the generosity-effects of cortisol
How stress influences thinking and decision-making51
Summary 2/2
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Stress, Thinking and Decision-Making
Stress and stress neuromodulators affect our thinking anddecision-making in bi-directional and time-dependent ways
Relevance for policy making: knowledge of theneurohormonal stress composition allows better and moreaccurate predictions of choice and judgment thanbehavioral observation alone (revealed preferences)
How stress influences thinking and decision-making52
Take Home Message
Stress
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Acknowledgments
How stress influences thinking and decision-making53
Gideon Nave
Zsofia Margittai
Marian Joels
Lars Schwabe Marijn van Wingerden
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The Team
How stress influences thinking and decision-making54
Special thanks to the Comparative Psychology team!
Many thanks for your attention!