| By: |
Dickinson, David (Appalachian State University);
Norwood, Jacob (Appalachian State University) |
| Abstract: |
Food insecurity affects roughly 18 million people in the United States and 2.3
billion globally. Given its prevalence, this study aims to examine how food
insecurity and resulting anxiety affect cognitive control and decision-making.
Samples of n=102 food-insecure and n=102 food-secure individuals were
recruited from the Prolific online subject pool to complete an incentivized
Stroop Task and a Monetary Risk Taking task. Randomized treatment assignments
administered either a High or Low Cognitive Load manipulation prior to
decision making by prompting participants to consider a more or less expensive
unexpected financial expense. While food insecurity did not impact cognitive
control and risky choices as hypothesized, it may indirectly affect outcomes
via anxiety. And, exploratory analysis of response times data suggest food
insecurity may promote some increased risk taking due to less deliberative
decision processing. The role of anxiety and its effect on choice process
among the food-insecure likely merits further investigation. |
| Keywords: |
food insecurity, cognitive load, anxiety, cognitive control, risky-choice |
| JEL: |
D00 D91 I30 |
| Date: |
2026–07 |
| URL: |
https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18841 |