@article{ref1,
title="Victims' time discounting 2.5 years after the Wenchuan earthquake: an ERP study",
journal="PLoS one",
year="2012",
author="Li, Jin-Zhen and Gui, Dan-Yang and Feng, Chun-Liang and Wang, Wen-Zhong and Du, Bo-Qi and Gan, Tian and Luo, Yue-Jia",
volume="7",
number="7",
pages="e40316-e40316",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Time discounting refers to the fact that the subjective value of a reward decreases as the delay until its occurrence increases. The present study investigated how time discounting has been affected in survivors of the magnitude-8.0 Wenchuan earthquake that occurred in China in 2008. METHODOLOGY: Nineteen earthquake survivors and 22 controls, all school teachers, participated in the study. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) for time discounting tasks involving gains and losses were acquired in both the victims and controls. FINDINGS: The behavioral data replicated our previous findings that delayed gains were discounted more steeply after a disaster. ERP results revealed that the P200 and P300 amplitudes were increased in earthquake survivors. There was a significant group (earthquake vs. non- earthquake) × task (gain vs. loss) interaction for the N300 amplitude, with a marginally significantly reduced N300 for gain tasks in the experimental group, which may suggest a deficiency in inhibitory control for gains among victims. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that post-disaster decisions might involve more emotional (System 1) and less rational thinking (System 2) in terms of a dual-process model of decision making. The implications for post-disaster intervention and management are also discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1932-6203",
doi="10.1371/journal.pone.0040316",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040316"
}