Did you know anxious people are better at decision making?
| Jun 22, 2018, 17:35 IST
Highly anxious people tend to overanalyse everything and apply more cognitive control when they make risky decisions as compared to less anxious individuals. During a recently conducted study, 20 anxious people and 20 people who hardly suffered from anxiety played a high-risk game while researchers recorded their brain responses. The researchers found that the anxious individuals used more cognitive thinking while making their decisions and in turn predicted less risky outcomes.
"We showed that high anxious individuals also perceived risky situations as riskier, which is in line with the higher amount of cognitive control during their risk choices in the game. Obviously, they try to avoid negative outcomes," said the lead author. She further added that the study provides a link between anxiety, using cognitive ability and risky decisions. This is also interesting as it proves that cognitive ability directly affects behaviour. So, looks like being anxious isn't that bad after all.
"We showed that high anxious individuals also perceived risky situations as riskier, which is in line with the higher amount of cognitive control during their risk choices in the game. Obviously, they try to avoid negative outcomes," said the lead author. She further added that the study provides a link between anxiety, using cognitive ability and risky decisions. This is also interesting as it proves that cognitive ability directly affects behaviour. So, looks like being anxious isn't that bad after all.