Recent research suggests that fear may have a different impact on decision-making for women and men when it comes to choosing between short-term and long-term rewards. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Padua, Italy, found that women in a state of fear were more likely to opt for immediate, smaller rewards over larger delayed ones, while men’s decisions appeared to be unaffected by their emotional state.
The study, published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, delved into the complexities of decision-making, particularly in the context of weighing short-term gains against long-term benefits or costs. The phenomenon of ‘delay discounting,’ which refers to the tendency to favor immediate rewards over delayed but greater ones, served as a focal point for the investigation.
To explore the influence of emotions and gender on decision-making, the researchers recruited 308 participants (63% women, 37% men) through a social media survey. The participants were exposed to emotionally charged stimuli, including fear-inducing movie clips, joyful documentary clips, and neutral footage, after which they were presented with hypothetical reward scenarios, such as choosing between receiving €20,000 immediately or €40,000 after three years.
The results revealed that women in the fear group were notably more inclined to opt for immediate rewards, demonstrating a higher tendency towards ‘delay discounting,’ compared to men in the fear group or women in the joy or neutral movie groups. Conversely, no significant gender disparities were observed in the decision-making processes of the joy or neutral movie groups, and men’s choices regarding monetary rewards seemed to be uninfluenced by their emotional state.
According to the researchers, these findings indicate that fear may elicit distinct temporal decision-making patterns in women and men. The authors postulate that these differences could stem from varying evolutionary strategies related to safety and risk, or divergent approaches to emotion regulation in stressful circumstances.
While the study’s sample size and the range of emotions examined are relatively limited in comparison to real-world scenarios, the implications suggest that emotions, particularly fear, may play a significant role in shaping decision-making processes, with potential gender-specific effects.
