Effects of outcomes and random arbitration on emotions in a competitive gambling task

Article Article scientifique Article Effects of outcomes and random arbitration on emotions in a competitive gambling task eng 2011 author Bediou Benoît 666038 author Mohri Christelle 642560 author Lack Jérémy 758117 author Sander David 558712 213 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00213 22007177 1664-1078 Research on self-serving biases in judgments and decision-making suggests that individuals first evaluate the outcomes they get, and then the procedures by which these outcomes were obtained. Evidence also suggests that the appraisal of the former (outcome favorability) can bias the appraisal of the latter (procedural fairness). We investigated the nature of the emotions that are elicited by these appraisals by using a new paradigm in which participants performed a choice task between pairs of competing gambles against a virtual opponent. Conflicts (when the participant selected the same gamble as his virtual opponent) were resolved by a neutral arbitrator who either confirmed the participant's choice ("pro-self") or attributed his gamble to the virtual opponent ("pro-competitor"). Trials in which the participant and his virtual opponent selected different gambles ("no-conflict") served as a control condition. In order to validate this new task, emotional reactions to the outcomes of the gambles were measured using self-reports, skin conductance responses, and facial electromyography (zygomaticus, corrugator, and frontalis). In no-conflict trials, effects of counterfactual thinking and social comparison resulted in (i) increased happiness as well as SCR and zygomaticus activity for wins compared to losses (valence effect) and for high compared to low gains (magnitude effect), and (ii) increased anger, regret, disappointment, and envy for losses compared to wins (valence effect). More importantly, compared to no-conflict trials and to pro-self awards with similar outcomes, pro-competitor awards increased subjective reports of anger for unfavorable outcomes, and increased happiness and guilt for favorable outcomes. Although the outcomes were independent from the arbitrators' decisions, and both the arbitrators' decisions and the outcomes were kept equally likely, individuals tended to attribute their outcomes to unfair arbitrators, reacting emotionally, especially when the modification of their initial choice for a gamble led to a negative outcome. Dewey 128.37 Dewey 150 15 Centre interfacultaire en sciences affectives 0D8 108 Section de psychologie 71 false 1241 Affective sciences Frontiers in Psychology 2 894ee41f-0340-4768-8899-43176118ed39 Article (Published version) Public EFFECTS2011.pdf 644273 application/pdf OA OTHER openAccess Centres et instituts / Centre interfacultaire en sciences affectives Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation / Section de psychologie

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Effects of outcomes and random arbitration on emotions in a competitive gambling task	Frontiers in Psychology			2011	546	181

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