ABSTRACT
This study examined how socioeconomic status (SES) influences on decision-making processing. The roles of anticipatory/outcome-related cardiac activity and awareness of task contingencies were also assessed. One hundred twelve children (Mage = 5.83, SDage = 0.32; 52.7% female, 51.8% low-SES; data collected October-December 2018 and April-December 2019) performed the Children's Gambling Task, while heart rate activity was recorded. Awareness of gain/loss contingencies was assessed after completing the task. Distinct decision-making strategies emerged among low and middle/high-SES children. Despite similar awareness levels between SES groups, future-oriented decision-making was linked solely to the middle/high-SES group. Somatic markers did not manifest unequivocally. However, contrasting cardiac patterns were evident concerning feedback processing and the association between anticipatory activity and awareness (low: acceleration vs. middle/high: deceleration). Results are interpreted from an evolutionary-developmental perspective.
ABSTRACT
Future-oriented decision-making is an important adaptive behavior. In the present study, we examined whether decision-making varies as a function of socioeconomic status (SES) using the Children's Gambling task (CGT). We administered the CGT to 227 children (49% female, 48% low SES) between the ages of 5 and 7 years. After completing the CGT, we assessed children's knowledge of the reward/loss contingencies. Data analysis was conducted through multilevel modeling. Fluid intelligence, as measured by the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, was included as a covariate in the analysis. Overall performance differed between SES groups. Children from middle/high-SES backgrounds learned to choose more from the deck with higher future reward. In contrast, children in the low-SES group did not act in a full future-oriented manner. No differences were found in the level of explicit understanding of the task reached by the two SES groups. Whereas middle/high-SES children with higher knowledge of the game performed better on the last blocks of the task in comparison with their same-SES peers with no understanding, low-SES children with higher explicit knowledge did not exhibit an improvement in their decision-making strategy in comparison with their same-SES low-awareness counterparts. Fluid intelligence did not predict CGT performance, suggesting that SES differences were not mediated by reasoning capabilities. The finding that children from low-SES families continued exhibiting an immediate reward-oriented strategy despite being aware of deck contingencies fits with (although speculatively) the evolutionary-developmental framework. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
