About this Research Topic

Background

Decision-making, a ubiquitous process in our daily lives, is intricately influenced by a myriad of factors encompassing social, economic, individual, psychological, and biological dimensions. This multidisciplinary phenomenon has garnered attention from various fields such as marketing, psychology, and neuroscience. While the existing body of research delves into the complex interplay of these factors, a significant yet underexplored dimension emerges – the impact of chronotypes on professional decision-making.
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Chronotypes, or individual differences in circadian rhythm preferences, dictate one's peak periods of alertness and cognitive functioning throughout the day, based on the individuals’ preferences for waking up and going to sleep, alongside peaks and ditches in arousal (optimal and non-optimal performance respectively) according to the time of day. Emerging evidence suggests that chronotypes may influence decision-making processes depending on individual daily rhythm preferences and influencing the patterns of arousal tied to the performance of cognitive, attentional, and emotional tasks. For instance, early-type/morning-type vs. late-type/evening-type individuals can exhibit significant variations in their decision-making performance and efficacy based on the time of day in which decisions are made.

This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between chronobiology and decision neuroscience, unraveling how professional decisions may be intricately linked and influenced by individual chronotypes and the time of day of decision-making.

Research will focus on tasks that measure different facets of decision-making:
a) impulsivity (e.g., delay discounting task, Go/No-Go Task),
b) risk propensity (e.g., Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), Iowa Gambling Task),
c) intolerance of uncertainty (risk-avoidance when high),
d) intolerance to delay
e) timing of decisions,
f) temporal perspective of consequences, etc.

To investigate personal variations in circadian rhythms, along with declared circadian preferences (chronotype), we will evaluate distinct neurobiological measures and techniques for understanding decision-making processes: fMRI, EEG, eye-tracking, biomarkers (e.g., dim light melatonin onset tool, DLMO).
Moreover, this topic extends beyond business and market decisions to include other critical areas such as the medical clinical setting, broader politics, and studies performed on animal models. These areas are crucial as they involve high-stakes decision-making that can benefit from insights into how circadian preferences affect performance and outcomes.

To gather further insights into the influence of chronotypes on decision-making, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following:

• Integrating chronobiological insights with decision neuroscience tools: exploring applications and challenges in studying decision processes.
• Methodological challenges in gathering chronobiological data in business, medical, and real-world contexts.
• Integrating chronobiological insights for enhanced professional decision-making: exploring potential approaches and solutions.
• Managerial benefits of chronobiological data collection: enhancing offerings and bolstering marketing efforts through insightful analysis.
• The significance of assessing circadian preferences in understanding consumer and user behavior.
• Evaluating circadian preferences for organizational well-being: understanding its importance and impact.
• The role of chronotypes in high-stakes medical and surgical decisions: implications.
• Chronotypes and strategic/emergency decision-making in political contexts.
• Chronotypes and cognitive performance in animal models.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Registered Report
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Chronotypes, Circadian Rhythms, Decision-making, Decision Neuroscience, Business Implications, animal models, cognitive performance, professional decision-making, consumer behavior, medical decisions

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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