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The impact of pandemic-related worry on cognitive functioning and risk-taking

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  • Kevin da Silva Castanheira
  • Madeleine Sharp
  • A Ross Otto

Abstract

Here, we sought to quantify the effects of experienced fear and worry, engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic, on both cognitive abilities—speed of information processing, task-set shifting, and proactive control—as well as economic risk-taking. Leveraging a repeated-measures cross-sectional design, we examined the performance of 1517 participants, collected during the early phase of the pandemic in the US (April–June 2020), finding that self-reported pandemic-related worry predicted deficits in information processing speed and maintenance of goal-related contextual information. In a classic economic risk-taking task, we observed that worried individuals’ choices were more sensitive to the described outcome probabilities of risky actions. Overall, these results elucidate the cognitive consequences of a large-scale, unpredictable, and uncontrollable stressor, which may in turn play an important role in individuals’ understanding of, and adherence to safety directives both in the current crisis and future public health emergencies.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin da Silva Castanheira & Madeleine Sharp & A Ross Otto, 2021. "The impact of pandemic-related worry on cognitive functioning and risk-taking," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0260061
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260061
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