title: Always gamble on an empty stomach: hunger is associated with advantageous decision making.
abstract: Three experimental studies examined the counterintuitive hypothesis that hunger improves strategic decision making, arguing that people in a hot state are better able to make favorable decisions involving uncertain outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that participants with more hunger or greater appetite made more advantageous choices in the Iowa Gambling Task compared to sated participants or participants with a smaller appetite. Study 3 revealed that hungry participants were better able to appreciate future big rewards in a delay discounting task; and that, in spite of their perception of increased rewarding value of both food and monetary objects, hungry participants were not more inclined to take risks to get the object of their desire. Together, these studies for the first time provide evidence that hot states improve decision making under uncertain conditions, challenging the conventional conception of the detrimental role of impulsivity in decision making.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Ridder
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Floor
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kroese
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adriaanse
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Catharine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Evers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013334:Students; D055815:Young Adult