Working Memory Affects Attention to Loss Value and Loss Frequency in Decision-Making under Uncertainty

Decision-making under uncertainty is pervasive. This worksought to understand the role of working memory (WM) in losssensitivity by utilizing two widely used tasks, the IowaGambling Task (IGT) and the Soochow Gambling Task (SGT),and manipulating WM with a dual-task paradigm. Wehypothesized that WM load would reduce attention to both lossvalue and frequency in the decision-making tasks. To betterdelineate the psychological processes underpinning choicebehavior, we developed an Expectancy-Frequency-Perseveration (EFP) model which parsimoniously capturesthree critical factors driving choices: expected value,frequency of gains and losses, and perseveration. Behavioraland computational modeling results indicate that WM loadcompromised performance in the IGT due to reduced attentionto loss value but enhanced performance in the SGT because ofdiminished attention to loss frequency. Our findings suggestthat WM heightens attention to losses, but that greater attentionis given to loss frequency than loss value