Impulsivity and Reward Sensitivity differentially influence affective and deliberative risky decision making

Abstract The present study aimed to explore specific personality traits that affect risky choices by using a relatively novel computerised card game, the Columbia Card Task, to dissociate the processes of emotional decision making (i.e., the Hot version of the task) and deliberative decision making (i.e., the Cold version). Participants were administered either the Hot or the Cold version of the task together with standard measures of personality traits that were hypothesised to be involved in completing the task (i.e., Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity, Sensitivity to Reward and Punishment). The results of the deliberative Cold version of the task revealed that participants who scored highly on the Impulsivity trait engaged in riskier decision-making. Participants who scored highly on the Reward Responsiveness trait were found to be sensitive to variations in gains and losses in the emotional Hot version of the task. These findings enhance the existing knowledge of risky decision-making by suggesting that personality traits can differentially alter decision-making behaviours due to interactions with the decision-making context.