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Corser_Ryan Dissert Final.pdf (1.21 MB)

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The Effect of Reduced Self-Control Resources on Risk Preferences Depends on Task Characteristics

Corser, Ryan J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1437719472

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, Psychology.
Previous exertions of self-control can affect subsequent risk preferences usually resulting in risk-seeking tendencies. A few studies, however, have found that reductions in self-control resources (i.e., “ego depletion”) can decrease risk-taking resulting in relative risk-aversion compared to non-depleted controls. In efforts to explain these contradictory results, three experiments examined whether certain task features predicted when ego depletion would lead to increased or decreased risk-taking. Across different variations of the Columbia Card Task (CCT), the ego depleted risked less than their non-depleted counterparts when task features promoted feelings of perceived control (Experiments 1-3). Manipulations aimed at reducing perceived control eliminated this depletion effect and descriptively reversed the trend, such that the ego depleted were risking more than the controls. Ego depletion also affected some aspects of participant’s information use on the CCT. While both the ego depleted and the non-depleted were sensitive to changes in gain amount and probability, the ego depleted were insensitive to changes in loss amount (Experiment 1). Experiment 2 also showed that trait self-control moderated the ego depletion effect under conditions of low, but not high perceived control. Results of Experiment 3 suggested that the previous inconsistencies in the literature were not due to differences in risk-taking tasks requiring experienced-based learning. Together these results provide a more nuanced account for the effect of ego depletion on risk preferences and offer potential explanations for previous inconsistencies reported in the literature.
John Jasper, PhD (Advisor)
Stephen Christman, PhD (Committee Member)
Andrew Geers, PhD (Committee Member)
Jason Rose, PhD (Committee Member)
Michael Dowd, PhD (Committee Member)
111 p.
Cognitive Psychology; Experimental Psychology; Psychology; Social Psychology
risk-taking; ego depletion; self-control; perceived control; Columbia Card Task; decisions from experience

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Corser, R. J. (2015). The Effect of Reduced Self-Control Resources on Risk Preferences Depends on Task Characteristics [Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1437719472

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Corser, Ryan. The Effect of Reduced Self-Control Resources on Risk Preferences Depends on Task Characteristics. 2015. University of Toledo, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1437719472.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Corser, Ryan. "The Effect of Reduced Self-Control Resources on Risk Preferences Depends on Task Characteristics." Doctoral dissertation, University of Toledo, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1437719472

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

toledo1437719472
656
© 2015, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License The Effect of Reduced Self-Control Resources on Risk Preferences Depends on Task Characteristics by Ryan J Corser is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.