Decision-making under Stress A new review based on a research shows that acute s

Decision-making under Stress

A new review based on a research shows that acutestress affects the way the brain considers the advantages and disadvantages,causing it to focus on pleasure and ignore the possible negative (负面的) consequences of a decision.

The research suggests that stress may change the waypeople make choices in predictable ways. “Stress affects how people learn,”says Professor Mara Mather. “People learn better about positive than negativeoutcomes under stress.”

For example, two recent studies looked at how peoplelearned to connect images(影像) with either rewards orpunishments. In one experiment, some of the participants were first stressed byhaving to give a speech and do difficult math problems in front of an audience;in the other, some were stressed by having to keep their hands in ice water. Inboth cases, the stressed participants remembered the rewarded material moreaccurately and the punished material less accurately than those who hadn’t gonethrough the stress. This phenomenon is likely not surprising to anyone who hastried to resist eating cookies or smoking a cigarette while under stress –atthose moments, only the pleasure associated with such activities comes to mind.But the findings further suggest that stress may bring about a double effect.Not only are rewarding experiences remembered better, but negative consequencesare also easily recalled.

The research also found that stress appears to affectdecision-making differently in men and women. While both men and women tend tofocus on rewards and less on consequences under stress, their responses to riskturn out to be different. Men who had been stressed by the cold-water tasktended to take more risks in the experiment while women responded in theopposite way. In stressful situations in which risk-taking can pay off big, menmay tend to do better, when caution weighs more, however, women will win.

This tendency to slow down and become more cautiouswhen decisions are risky might also help explain why women are less likely tobecome addicted than men: they may more often avoid making the risky choicesthat eventually harden into addiction.

1.We can learn from the passage that people underpressure tend to ______.

A. keep rewards better in their memory

B. recall consequences more effortlessly

C. make risky decisions more frequently

D. learn a subject more effectively

2. According to the research, stress affects peoplemost probably in their ______.

A. ways of making choices          B.preference for pleasure

C. tolerance of punishments      D.responses to suggestions

3.The research has proved that in a stressfulsituation, ______.

A. women find it easier to fall into certain habits

B. men have a greater tendency to slow down

C. women focus more on outcomes

D. men are more likely to take risks

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.A

3.D

【解析】

试题