title: Interoceptive Ability Predicts Survival on a London Trading Floor.
abstract: Interoception is the sensing of physiological signals originating inside the body, such as hunger, pain and heart rate. People with greater sensitivity to interoceptive signals, as measured by, for example, tests of heart beat detection, perform better in laboratory studies of risky decision-making. However, there has been little field work to determine if interoceptive sensitivity contributes to success in real-world, high-stakes risk taking. Here, we report on a study in which we quantified heartbeat detection skills in a group of financial traders working on a London trading floor. We found that traders are better able to perceive their own heartbeats than matched controls from the non-trading population. Moreover, the interoceptive ability of traders predicted their relative profitability, and strikingly, how long they survived in the financial markets. Our results suggest that signals from the body - the gut feelings of financial lore - contribute to success in the markets.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Metabolic Science and National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Narayanan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kandasamy
authors.affiliation: Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RR UK.
authors.forename: Sarah N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Garfinkel
authors.affiliation: Queensland University of Technology, Business School, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia.
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Page
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, Cambridge CB2 1AG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.affiliation: Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RR UK.
authors.forename: Hugo D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Critchley
authors.affiliation: Institute of Metabolic Science and National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gurnell
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, Cambridge CB2 1AG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Coates
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005376:Financial Management; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D065812:Interoception / Q000502:physiology*; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking