Individual differences in decision-making

Behavioral decision-making as measured with a gambling task has been found to be impaired in several pathological conditions such as brain lesions, addiction, and personality disorders. It is not known how individual differences influence performance on behavioral decision-making. The goal of the present study was to examine to what extent performance on behavioral measures of decision-making is predicted by self-reported personality traits of sensitivity for punishment and reward, impulsivity, and decision-making styles. For this goal, performance on the IOWA gambling task was related to the BIS/BAS questionnaire, the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory, and the Adolescent Decision Making Questionnaire in a sample of students (n = 44). The results showed that behavioral decision-making was to some extent predicted by individual differences in sensitivity for reward and self-reported decision-making style. However, behavioral decision-making was not predicted by impulsive personality traits.