The DOI matches its Crossref record; 69 of the 69 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A computational modeling approach to brief slow-paced breathing and mental health moderators of decision-making under uncertainty in college students
Open accessAbstract
Decision-making is a critical cognitive function that can be significantly impacted by stress and other mental health factors. While interventions such as slow-paced breathing (SPB) have been shown to reduce stress and enhance executive functioning, their effects on decision-making under uncertainty remain poorly understood. This study examined the effect of a brief SPB intervention on Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) performance and assessed whether individual differences in mental health symptoms differentially impacted such effects. College students (n = 216) were randomized into an SPB intervention or mind-wandering control condition. Participants completed mental health and state surveys, the assigned manipulation, and the IGT. Expectancy valence and prospect valence learning (PVL) computational models were fit to the data to assess specific decision-making strategies. Mixed ANOVA results showed that the SPB intervention reduced self-reported stress and arousal (ps < 0.05). Critically, regression results demonstrated a significant interaction between condition and perceived stress for IGT performance (β = 0.858, p = 0.034) and the PVL model recency (β = -0.507, p = 0.037) and consistency (β = 0.638, p = 0.010) parameters. This key finding revealed that higher perceived stress was associated with worse decision-making in the control but better decision-making in the SPB intervention. The control's IGT data were best fit by higher recency and lower choice consistency parameter values than the SPB condition. Higher stress in the control condition was linked to more random, short-sighted choices, while SPB mitigated these suboptimal strategies. This study is among the first to demonstrate that perceived stress impairs decision-making in college students, but a brief slow-paced breathing intervention can mitigate these negative effects.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Citations
Cites
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267
Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979) · Econometrica · doi:10.2307/1914185 · Cited by 48,524
Statistical power analyses using G∗Power 3.1: tests for correlation and regression analyses
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/brm.41.4.1149 · Cited by 37,615
A Global Measure of Perceived Stress
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136404 · Cited by 32,807
A Brief Measure for Assessing Generalized Anxiety Disorder: The GAD-7
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092 · Cited by 31,765
Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction
Sutton, R. S., & Barto, A. G. (1998) · IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks · doi:10.1109/tnn.1998.712192 · Cited by 27,225
Rescorla, R. A. (1972) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 7,268
Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex
Bechara, A., Damasio, A. R., Damasio, H., & Anderson, S. W. (1994) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/0010-0277(94)90018-3 · Cited by 6,128
Löwe, B., Decker, O., Müller, S., Brähler, E., Schellberg, D., Herzog, W., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2008) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0b013e318160d093 · Cited by 4,527
Classical conditioning II: Current research and theory.
Black, A. H., & Prokasy, W. F. (1972) · Appleton-Century-Crofts eBooks · Cited by 4,449
Model-based influences on humans’ choices and striatal prediction errors
Daw, N. D., Gershman, S. J., Seymour, B., Dayan, P., & Dolan, R. J. (2011) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.02.027 · Cited by 1,779
Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Biswas‐Diener, R., Tov, W., Kim‐Prieto, C., Choi, D., & Oishi, S. (2009) · Social indicators research series · doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4_12 · Cited by 1,354
Decision making under stress: A selective review
Starcke, K., & Brand, M. (2012) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.02.003 · Cited by 997
Heart rate variability biofeedback: how and why does it work?
Lehrer, P. M., & Gevirtz, R. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00756 · Cited by 883
Zaccaro, A., Piarulli, A., Laurino, M., Garbella, E., Menicucci, D., Neri, B., & Gemignani, A. (2018) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353 · Cited by 820
Qin, S., Hermans, E. J., van Marle, H. J. F., Luo, J., & Fernández, G. (2009) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.03.006 · Cited by 675
Busemeyer, J. R., & Stout, J. C. (2002) · Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1037/1040-3590.14.3.253 · Cited by 493
Working-memory capacity protects model-based learning from stress
Otto, A. R., Raio, C. M., Chiang, A., Phelps, E. A., & Daw, N. D. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1312011110 · Cited by 490
DYNAMIC RESPONSE-BY-RESPONSE MODELS OF MATCHING BEHAVIOR IN RHESUS MONKEYS
Lau, B., & Glimcher, P. W. (2005) · Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior · doi:10.1901/jeab.2005.110-04 · Cited by 485
Psychosocial stress induces working memory impairments in an n-back paradigm.
Schoofs, D., Preuß, D., & Wolf, O. T. (2008) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.02.004 · Cited by 483
Acute Stress Modulates Risk Taking in Financial Decision Making
Porcelli, A. J., & Delgado, M. R. (2009) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02288.x · Cited by 346
Yechiam, E., Busemeyer, J. R., Stout, J. C., & Bechara, A. (2005) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01646.x · Cited by 331
Cortisol-Induced Impairments of Working Memory Require Acute Sympathetic Activation.
Elzinga, B. M., & Roelofs, K. (2005) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.119.1.98 · Cited by 301
Stress and decision making: effects on valuation, learning, and risk-taking
Porcelli, A. J., & Delgado, M. R. (2016) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.11.015 · Cited by 273
Van Diest, I., Verstappen, K., Aubert, A. E., Widjaja, D., Vansteenwegen, D., & Vlemincx, E. (2014) · Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback · doi:10.1007/s10484-014-9253-x · Cited by 249
Anxiety impairs decision-making: psychophysiological evidence from an Iowa Gambling Task
Miu, A. C., Heilman, R. M., & Houser, D. (2008) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.11.010 · Cited by 249
Steffen, P. R., Austin, T. A., DeBarros, A., & Brown, T. (2017) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2017.00222 · Cited by 240
Looking Up: Mindfulness Increases Positive Judgments and Reduces Negativity Bias
Kiken, L. G., & Shook, N. J. (2011) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/1948550610396585 · Cited by 239
Comparison of basic assumptions embedded in learning models for experience-based decision making
Yechiam, E., & Busemeyer, J. R. (2005) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03193783 · Cited by 239
Comparison of Decision Learning Models Using the Generalization Criterion Method
Ahn, W., Busemeyer, J. R., Wagenmakers, E., & Stout, J. C. (2008) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1080/03640210802352992 · Cited by 239
Effects of anticipatory stress on decision making in a gambling task.
Preston, S. D., Buchanan, T. W., Stansfield, R. B., & Bechara, A. (2007) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.121.2.257 · Cited by 224
Validation and Findings Comparing VAS vs. Likert Scales for Psychosocial Measurements
Hasson, D., & Arnetz, B. B. (2005) · The international electronic journal of health education · Cited by 221
Neural aspects of immunomodulation: Focus on the vagus nerve
Thayer, J. F., & Sternberg, E. M. (2010) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2010.07.247 · Cited by 212
Psychometric evaluation of perceived stress scale for Turkish university students
Örücü, M. Ç., & Demir, A. (2008) · Stress and Health · doi:10.1002/smi.1218 · Cited by 208
Temporal discounting in major depressive disorder
Pulcu, E., Trotter, P. D., Thomas, E. J., McFarquhar, M., Juhász, G., Sahakian, B. J., Deakin, J. F. W., Zahn, R., Anderson, I. M., & Elliott, R. (2013) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291713002584 · Cited by 205
Decision-making and risk aversion among depressive adults
Smoski, M. J., Lynch, T. R., Rosenthal, M. Z., Cheavens, J. S., Chapman, A. L., & Krishnan, R. R. (2008) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2008.01.004 · Cited by 198
A model-based fMRI analysis with hierarchical Bayesian parameter estimation.
Ahn, W., Krawitz, A., Kim, W., Busemeyer, J. R., & Brown, J. W. (2011) · Journal of Neuroscience Psychology and Economics · doi:10.1037/a0020684 · Cited by 172
Stress and decision making: A few minutes make all the difference
Pabst, S., Brand, M., & Wolf, O. T. (2013) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2013.04.046 · Cited by 172
Noble, D. J., & Hochman, S. (2019) · Frontiers in Physiology · doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.01176 · Cited by 160
de Visser, L., van der Knaap, L. J., van de Loo, A. J. A. E., van der Weerd, C. M. M., Ohl, F., & van den Bos, R. (2010) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.01.027 · Cited by 147
Effects of Acute Stress on Decision Making
Wemm, S. E., & Wulfert, E. (2017) · Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback · doi:10.1007/s10484-016-9347-8 · Cited by 115
Short-term gains, long-term pains: How cues about state aid learning in dynamic environments
Gureckis, T. M., & Love, B. C. (2009) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2009.03.013 · Cited by 98
Worthy, D. A., Pang, B., & Byrne, K. A. (2013) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00640 · Cited by 89
Self-citationAbsolute performance of reinforcement-learning models for the Iowa Gambling Task.
Steingroever, H., Wetzels, R., & Wagenmakers, E. (2013) · Decision · doi:10.1037/dec0000005 · Cited by 82
Age-Based Differences in Strategy Use in Choice Tasks
Worthy, D. A., & Maddox, W. T. (2012) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2011.00145 · Cited by 77
The Influence of Slow-Paced Breathing on Executive Function
Laborde, S., Allen, M. S., Borges, U., Hosang, T. J., Furley, P., Mosley, E., & Dosseville, F. E. M. (2021) · Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1027/0269-8803/a000279 · Cited by 75
Couck, M., Caers, R., Musch, L., Fliegauf, J., Giangreco, A., & Gidron, Y. (2019) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.02.011 · Cited by 74
Bae, D., Matthews, J. J. L., Chen, J. J., & Mah, L. (2021) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.13905 · Cited by 66
Performance Under Stress: An Eye-Tracking Investigation of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT)
Simonovic, B., Stupple, E. J. N., Gale, M., & Sheffield, D. (2018) · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00217 · Cited by 61
Decision making and heart rate variability: A systematic review
Forte, G., Morelli, M., Grässler, B., & Casagrande, M. (2021) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.3901 · Cited by 55
Influence of Slow-Paced Breathing on Inhibition After Physical Exertion
Laborde, S., Lentes, T., Hosang, T. J., Borges, U., Mosley, E., & Dosseville, F. E. M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01923 · Cited by 49
Toward a mechanistic account of gender differences in reward-based decision-making.
Byrne, K. A., & Worthy, D. A. (2016) · Journal of Neuroscience Psychology and Economics · doi:10.1037/npe0000059 · Cited by 46
Self-citationSympathetic and hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal asymmetry in generalized anxiety disorder
Reeves, J. W., Fisher, A. J., Newman, M. G., & Granger, D. A. (2016) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.12634 · Cited by 45
Steingroever, H., Wetzels, R., & Wagenmakers, E. (2013) · The Journal of Problem Solving · doi:10.7771/1932-6246.1150 · Cited by 43
Engelmann, J. B., Maciuba, B., Vaughan, C., Paulus, M. P., & Dunlop, B. W. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0078292 · Cited by 41
Byrne, K. A., Norris, D. D., & Worthy, D. A. (2015) · Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.3758/s13415-015-0377-0 · Cited by 38
Self-citationDai, J., Kerestes, R., Upton, D. J., Busemeyer, J. R., & Stout, J. C. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00229 · Cited by 36
Keeping the pace: The effect of slow-paced breathing on error monitoring
Hoffmann, S. F., Jendreizik, L. T., Ettinger, U., & Laborde, S. (2019) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.10.001 · Cited by 32
Loe, B. S., Stillwell, D. J., & Sidey-Gibbons, C. J. (2017) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.7453 · Cited by 28
Effects of dilemmas and aromas on performance of the Iowa Gambling Task
Overman, W., Boettcher, L., Watterson, L. R., & Walsh, K. (2010) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2010.11.015 · Cited by 27
Short-Term Effects of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback on Working Memory
Bahameish, M., & Stockman, T. (2024) · Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback · doi:10.1007/s10484-024-09624-7 · Cited by 23
Blaser, B. L., Weymar, M., & Wendt, J. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1292983 · Cited by 21
Unhappiness Intensifies the Avoidance of Frequent Losses While Happiness Overcomes It
Yechiam, E., Telpaz, A., Krupenia, S. S., & Rafaeli, A. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01703 · Cited by 19
Kim, J., Foo, J. C., Murata, T., & Togo, F. (2024) · Stress and Health · doi:10.1002/smi.3447 · Cited by 13
Tian, Q.-Q., Cheng, C., Liu, P., Yin, Z.-X., Zhang, M.-K., Cui, Y.-P., Zhao, R., Deng, H., Lu, L., Tang, C., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1133964 · Cited by 12
Brief slow-paced breathing improves working memory, mood, and stress in college students
Pilcher, J. J., Byrne, K. A., Weiskittel, S. E., Clark, E. C., Brancato, M. G., Rosinski, M. L., & Spinelli, M. R. (2025) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615806.2025.2505897 · Cited by 10
Self-citationAndrews, R., Melnychuk, M. C., Moran, S., Walsh, T., Boylan, S., & Dockree, P. M. (2025) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.70003 · Cited by 9
Molins, F., Hassen, N. B., & Serrano, M. Á. (2024) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115279 · Cited by 6
Pilcher, J. J., Byrne, K. A., Wilkinson, A. A., Pontiakos, M. A., Weiskittel, S. E., & Clark, E. C. (2025) · Advances in Mental Health · doi:10.1080/18387357.2025.2485919 · Cited by 5
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Laborde, 2021, The influence of slow-paced breathing on executive function, Journal of Psychophysiology
- Sutton, 1998, Vol. 1
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A Fuzzy-based Decision Model for Predicting Academic Success in Informatics Student Candidates
Utama, D. N., & Witarsyah, D. (2025) · International Conference on Computer System, Information Technology, and Electrical Engineering (COSITE) · doi:10.1109/cosite68330.2025.11414299
Byrne, K. A., Pilcher, J. J., Rosopa, E. B., Daughenbaugh, D., Jackson, O., Liu, Y., Dean, D., & Srikanth, S. (2026) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2026.113437
Self-citationEvery (slow) breath you take, every choice you make
Kwon, S.-J., Dennis, N. J., & Delgado, M. R. (2026) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2026.09.006
Green scenes, simpler choices: Nature contact reduces the tendency to maximize in decision making
黄河清, & Wang, T. (2026) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2026.105201
Metadata
- Authors
- Byrne, K. A., Pilcher, J. J., Liu, Y., Spinelli, M. R., Rosinski, M. L., Brancato, M. G., Daughenbaugh, D., & Batres, A. A.
- Affiliations
- Clemson University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Byrne, Kaileigh A.
- Venue
- Acta Psychologica
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2025-08
- Volume
- 258
- Pages
- 105222
- ISSN
- 0001-6918 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4411986031
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 69
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 3.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Acta Psychologica (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Clemson University (1267)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- slow-paced breathing, decision making under uncertainty, perceived stress, Iowa Gambling Task, computational modeling, mind wandering, university students, stress arousal, decision consistency
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Breathing Exercises, Computer Simulation, Decision Making, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Stress, Psychological, Students, Universities, Uncertainty, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
