Exploration vs Exploitation choices: The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Sex Differences

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health disorders, resulting in high individual and societal costs. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of anxiety disorders is critical for therapy, as they reveal how these disorders develop and persist over time. Individual characteristics like Intolerance of Uncertainty (IOU) increase susceptibility to anxiety disorders. How IOU relates to exploration-exploitation choices; balancing trying new options vs familiar ones, is still underresearched. Over-exploration and over-exploitation are maladaptive behaviors that contribute to anxiety; thus, balancing these choices is critical for effective decision-making. We investigated whether the higher levels of IOU the higher the tendency to exploitation compared to exploration choices (hypothesis 1) and whether there are sex differences in exploration-exploitation choices (hypothesis 2). A sample of 76 healthy individuals were recruited from Utrecht University and took part in a laboratory study. Participants completed an n-Bandit task of two main phases, each consisting of 40 trials. Participants chose between one yellow and one blue square to avoid painful stimuli and get closer to a reward, with the probabilities of receiving electrical stimulation reversed between the two phases. Results revealed no evidence that IOU influences exploration-exploitation choices, and this pattern remained consistent throughout time. Similarly, no evidence was found that sex differences exist in exploration-exploitation choices. A limitation of the study is the imbalance in sample since fewer males (N = 21) participated compared to females (N = 55). Future research should explore other individual characteristics beyond IOU and sex variations that can influence exploration-exploitation choices.