Preference-based serial decisions are influenced by emotion regulation and conscientiousness

Abstract

Most of our decisions have a temporally distributed order, and different choice orders can lead to vastly different experiences. Previously, we found two dominant strategies (favorite-first and favorite-last) in a preference-based serial choice setting. However, the reason why these two opposite behavioral patterns arise remains unclear. Here we developed a novel serial-choice task, using pictures based on attractiveness, to test for a possible shared mechanism with delay discounting, the ‘peak-end’ bias or working-memory capacity. We collected the magnetoencephalography data while serial choice behavior, also collected psychological and clinical metric data on personality, depression, anxiety, and emotion regulation. Again, we found the two dominant selection strategies. However, the results of the delay discounting, peak-end bias, and memory capacity tasks were not related to serial choice, while two key psychological metrics were: emotion regulation and conscientiousness. Favorite-first strategists actually regulated emotions better, suggesting better tolerance of negative outcomes. Whereas participants with more varied strategies across trials were more conscientious, suggesting that they were less willing to settle for a single, simpler strategy. We also found the neural evidence, which indicates the critical role of the first choice in serial choice setting, with the specific frequency, time and area of the MEG signal. Our findings clarify the mechanisms underlying serial choice and show that it may reflect a unique ability to organize choices into sequences of events.