CardioAlert: A Heart Rate Based Decision Support System for Improving Choices Related to Negative or Positive Future Events

Abstract

With this study, we investigated the possibility of exploiting the psychophysiological predictive anticipatory activity to avoid random negative events by using a portable device we named CardioAlert. The device uses the heart rate to send an alert when a negative event is anticipated, thus giving the individual an opportunity to change his/her choice.

In an exploratory experiment, one-hundred participants were asked to choose between two alternatives which had a random chance of leading to a “winning” outcome. Participants obtained 52.5% of “winning” choices when using the CardioAlert and 48.2% when they were not using it (effect size = 0.18; 95% confidence interval -.02 to .38).

The results of a pre-registered confirmatory experiment confirmed the main findings of the exploratory one. The mean percentage of positive choices was 52.7% when using the CardioAlert with an effect size of 0.23, 95% confidence interval .03 to .43.

A conceptual replication experiment which used the heart rate PPAA to avoid the negative event automatically instead of voluntarily, correctly predicted the occurrence of 56.3% of negative events with an effect size of 0.69, 95% confidence interval .47 to .91.

These findings suggest that psychophysiological predictive anticipatory activity can be exploited for developing practical decision supporting systems.

Keywords: predictive anticipatory activity; random events; decision supporting systems; heart rate