Context Matters: Emotional Sensitivity to Probabilities and the Bias for Action in Cancer Treatment Decisions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Past studies have shown a commission bias for cancer treatment, a tendency to choose active treatment even when watchful waiting is less risky. This bias suggests motivations for action beyond mortality statistics, but recent evidence suggests that individuals differ in their emotional sensitivity to probabilities (ESP), the tendency to calibrate emotional reactions to probability. The current study aims to examine the role of ESP in the commission bias, specifically whether those higher in ESP are more likely to choose watchful waiting when risk probabilities align with that choice.

Methods

Participants (N = 1,055) read a scenario describing a hypothetical cancer diagnosis and chose between surgery and watchful waiting, with random assignment between versi

SUBMITTER: Lacey HP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10595072 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature