Disentangling Components of Suboptimal Risky Decision Making in Affective Distress

This study examined components of risky decision making in a large sample of adults with varying degrees of affective distress (N = 526, ages 18-60). Using principal component analysis, five widely used measures of anxiety and depression were dimensionally reduced into a single component representing affective distress. A modified version of an established decision-making task was used to assess whether risky decision making was associated with general intolerance of uncertainty, sensitivity to negative outcomes, or a combination of the two. Distinct choice behavior was observed for lotteries with and without the potential for loss, with loss resulting in choice behavior that was more influenced by whether an option was optimal in terms of expected value rather than degree of uncertainty. This optimal choice preference was attenuated for individuals with higher affective distress. In the absence of loss, choice behavior was less influenced by gain maximization, and sensitivity to high variance options was diminished, regardless of affective distress. These results highlight that decision-making under uncertainty aligns with psychological conceptualizations of risk, where individuals prioritize optimal choices based on expected value rather than strictly avoiding high variance as economic theories of risk suggest, particularly in the context of potential loss. This study clarifies current understanding of how affective factors influence decision-making in the general population.