The mentioned study was conducted by McGill University in cooperation with the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital. To receive their conclusion, the researchers surveyed 1,500 Americans online starting from April till June 2020.
Based on acquired results, the authors came to the conclusion that people more worried about COVID-19 and its influence performed worse at information processing tests and had a wry view of risk levels.
Except for that, it was discovered that people polled and tested in June 2020 showed lower results than pre-pandemic groups and demonstrated 'slower processing speed, lower task-switching accuracy, and were more sensitive to risk.' According to the statement given by Kevin da Silva Castanheira, one of the study’s authors and McGill graduate student:
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“The basic cognitive abilities measured here are crucial for healthy daily living and decision-making. The impairments associated with worry observed here suggest that under periods of high stress, like a global pandemic, our ability to think, plan, an evaluate risks is altered. Understanding these changes are critical as managing stressful situations often relies on these abilities.”
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The research was published in the open access journal called PLOS ONE on the 18th of November. In the process of questioning, participants were asked to rate their own level of anxiety and then complete an information processing test, where they had to match pairs of digits and symbols in accordance with a fixed rule.
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In order to measure risk preferences, the researchers used a 'classic economic choice task,' where participants had to make a series of hypothetical choices between a 'certain' option, for instance, winning $75, and a ‘risky’ option, like a 25% chance of winning $0 and a 75% chance of winning $100. The study says:
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“Individuals reporting greater pandemic-related worry appeared more sensitive to described risk level. As with the analysis of cognitive task performance, this relationship between sensitivity to outcome probabilities and individual worry remained after controlling for demographic variables, and perceived risk of contracting COVID-19”
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“ However, we failed to find any evidence that greater worry was associated with risk aversion, nor loss aversion. Instead, we found that pandemic worry predicted individuals' tendency to distort described risk levels: underweighting likely probabilities and overweighting unlikely probabilities regardless or valence.”
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The researchers presumed that the more worried respondents with higher anxiety levels may be more sensitive to risk due to the fact that they are more likely to search for information, which results in greater exposure to the media, discussing risks and dangers. All the information collected at the time of the pandemic was then compared to results from the same tests performed by different people before the pandemic.
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With the progression of the pandemic, the surveyed individuals in the third wave, who participated in the study in June 2020, demonstrated slower processing speeds, a lower ability to maintain goals in mind, and were more sensitive to risk than people, who were tested in the first wave, as reported by McGill. The study says:
“The persistently impaired task performance may reflect the impact of prolonged (i.e., chronic) exposure to stress or a shift in the sources of worry.”
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