Stress and Anxiety Effects on Valuation

Conditions

• Reward Value Level

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 65 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Accepted

Interventions

• Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Task (SECPT) — BEHAVIORAL
  The SECPT is a validated laboratory stressor that combines physiological stress with social evaluative components; it is widely used to elicit acute stress responses in controlled settings. Participants are asked to submerge their nondominant hand into an ice-cold water (0-4°C) for 3 minutes, while videotaped and observed by one neutral-faced experimenter.
• Non-Stressful Control Task — BEHAVIORAL
  Participants assigned to the warm water control condition will perform a non-evaluative task with warm water.

Study Details

The purpose of this study is to understand how stress, anxiety, and negative affect change learning and decision-making processes. The primary objective is to assess two forms of decision-making-reward adaptation and emotion prediction errors-differ as a function of stress and anxiety. The secondary objectives are to assess how individual differences measured in our studies relate to these decision variables.

Key Dates

Start date

Dec 18, 2025

Status verified

Dec 2025

Primary completion

Nov 7, 2028

Completion

Nov 7, 2028

Study Design

Enrollment

200 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

OTHER

Arms

• Experimental: Aim 1: Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Task (SECPT)
  Participants will be randomly assigned to complete the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Task (SECPT). Cortisol samples will be collected throughout the study session. All participants will then complete a Food Value Task, during which they will view a series of reward stimuli (snack foods) over alternating task blocks.
• Active Comparator: Aim 1: Non-Stressful Control Task
  Participants will be randomly assigned to complete a non-stressful control task. Cortisol samples will be collected throughout the study session. All participants will then complete a Food Value Task, during which they will view a series of reward stimuli (snack foods) over alternating task blocks.
• Experimental: Aim 2: Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Task (SECPT)
  Participants will be randomly assigned to complete the SECPT. Cortisol samples will be collected throughout the study session. Participants will then complete the Image Value Task, during which they will view a series of positive, negative or neutral images over alternating task blocks.
• Active Comparator: Aim 2: Non-Stressful Control Task
  Participants will be randomly assigned to complete a non-stressful control task. Cortisol samples will be collected throughout the study session. Participants will then complete the Image Value Task, during which they will view a series of positive, negative or neutral images over alternating task blocks.
• Experimental: Aim 3: Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Task (SECPT)
  Participants will first complete demographic and self-report measures, followed by random assignment to complete the SECPT. Cortisol samples will be collected throughout the study session to measure neuroendocrine response to the stress/control task. Participants will then complete the Affective Prediction Error Task.
• Active Comparator: Aim 3: Non-Stressful Control Task
  Participants will be randomly assigned to complete a non-stressful control task. Cortisol samples will be collected throughout the study session. Participants will then complete the Affective Prediction Task.
• No Intervention: Aim 4: Behavioral Task
  Participants with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) will complete a two-session behavioral task examining how clinical anxiety affects value and affective predictions.

Primary Outcome Measure

Subjective Value Assigned to Food Stimuli [ Time Frame: Study Visit (Day 1 - Approx. 2 Hours) ]

Central Contacts

• Candace Raio, PhD
  212-404-4223
  [email protected]
• Ariana Wahab
  212-404-3850
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

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