Alexithymia, Cumulative Feedback, and Differential Response Patterns on the Iowa Gambling Task

ABSTRACT Although the role of emotional processing is central to contemporary models of risky decision making, to date the role of trait emotional understanding has not been explored experimentally in this context. The current experiment ( N =326) explores the role of alexithymia with respect to performance on the standard Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and a version where cumulative financial feedback is obscured. Standard learning on the IGT was observed for those low in alexithymia. Those high in alexithymia learned to avoid disadvantageous decks over the first half of the task. However, over the later trials they showed a change in performance, shifting from advantageous to disadvantageous and back to advantageous decks again (termed an "explore-learn-change-return" strategy). It is argued that this is due to an inability to fully consolidate earlier learning and reduced sensitivity to losses. The absence of cumulative feedback independently resulted in reduced performance.     

A high implicit affiliation motive does not always make you happy: A corresponding explicit motive and corresponding behavior are further needed

Satisfaction of the implicit affiliation motive is known to be positively related to emotional well-being, whereas the frustration of the implicit affiliation motive leads to impairment of well-being. In the present research we specified two conditions that are responsible for the satisfaction and frustration of the implicit motive. Referring to research on the congruence of implicit and explicit motives, we assumed that a corresponding explicit affiliation motive leads to satisfaction of the implicit motive. Corresponding affiliation behavior constitutes the second condition. Three studies confirmed the hypothesis that both conditions must be fulfilled in order to positively connect the implicit affiliation motive to emotional well-being. Participants with high implicit and explicit affiliation motives and who additionally showed a large amount of affiliation behavior reported the lowest negative affectivity and the highest life satisfaction compared to participants who lacked one of the conditions.

Perceptual Implicit Memory for Trauma-related Information in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

We used a perceptual identification paradigm to investigate whether Vietnam combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to healthy combat veterans, exhibit an implicit memory bias for trauma-related information. Subjects viewed a series of trauma, positive, and neutral words, and subsequently saw these "old" words intermixed with an equivalent number of "new" distractor words of the same types. During this test phase, each word appeared for 100 milliseconds and was replaced by a visual mask. Although both groups exhibited implicit memory by accurately identifying more old words than new words, this priming effect was not enhanced for trauma words in the PTSD group. Tasks that primarily tap perceptual implicit memory may be relatively insensitive to emotional variables.     

Intelligence,but not emotional intelligence,predicts Iowa Gambling Task performance

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is a famous and frequently-used neuropsychological task that is thought to reflect real-world decision-making. There has been some debate, however, about the degree to which the IGT involves cold (cognitive) versus hot (emotional) processing. The present study incorporated 68 healthy individuals and used measures of cognitive intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EIQ) to predict IGT performance. Higher IQ scores significantly predicted better IGT performance, whereas no EIQ–IGT relationship was observed. The implications of this research on clinical and experimental use of the IGT are outlined.     

Emotionally controlled decision-making and a gene variant related to serotonin synthesis in women with borderline personality disorder

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was used to examine (i) social decision-making in women with borderline personality disorder (BPD), and (ii) the relationship between impaired decision-making and the tryptophan hydroxylase-1 (TPH-1) gene, involved in serotonin synthesis. Forty-two women with BPD and a history of suicide attempts were genotyped, and the frequency of a TPH-1 haplotype previously uniquely associated with BPD was calculated. The BPD group scored significantly lower than a control group in the IGT. Furthermore, the TPH-1 haplotype displayed a significantly higher frequency in BPD participants with impaired decision making, compared to BPD participants with normal scores. These findings suggest that impaired decision-making as determined by the IGT is a feature of BPD and may be (i) associated with serotonin dysfunction, and (ii) possibly relevant for suicidal behavior.     

Transfer of newly acquired stimulus valence between identities in dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Patients with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) frequently report episodes of interidentity amnesia, that is amnesia for events experienced by other identities. The goal of the present experiment was to test the implicit transfer of trauma-related information between identities in DID. We hypothesized that whereas declarative information may transfer from one identity to another, the emotional connotation of the memory may be dissociated, especially in the case of negative, trauma-related emotional valence. An evaluative conditioning procedure was combined with an affective priming procedure, both performed by different identities. In the evaluative conditioning procedure, previously neutral stimuli come to refer to a negative or positive connotation. The affective priming procedure was used to test the transfer of this acquired valence to an identity reporting interidentity amnesia. Results indicated activation of stimulus valence in the affective priming task, that is transfer of emotional material between identities.     

情绪、态度与行为的关系：基于APE模型

以Gawronski & Bodenhausen（2006）提出的联结性-推理性评价模型（associative-propositional evaluation model, APE）为基础,分析情绪在内隐态度向外显态度转化过程中的作用,以及情绪、态度与行为的关系。研究通过操纵被试的情绪状态（积极或消极）,分析了不同情绪下个体对薯片的外显态度、内隐态度对其在五分钟内食用薯片数量的预测作用。研究发现,外显态度可以预测行为结果;而内隐态度对行为结果的预测受到情绪的调节,积极情绪下内隐态度能够预测行为结果,消极情绪下内隐态度不预测行为结果。因此,与消极情绪相比,积极情绪降低了个体对内隐态度进行修正的可能性,促使个体基于内隐态度直接构建外显态度,从而使得内隐态度能够预测行为结果。研究最后分析了情绪影响内隐态与行为之间关系的心理机制、本研究的理论价值及未来的研究方向。     

The uncertainty appraisal enhances the prominent deck B effect in the Iowa gambling task

The Iowa gambling task (Bechara et al., Cognition 50:7–15, 1994) is designed to simulate a decision making problem under ambiguity, in which the degree of reliance on emotional cues arising from previous experiences contributes to perform advantageously. Recent studies based on the appraisal tendency framework demonstrated that emotional certainty (associated with intuitive strategies) leads to a more advantageous decision pattern, whereas emotional uncertainty (associated with deliberative strategies) impairs the performance in the IGT (Bagneux et al., Motivation and Emotion 37(4):818–827, 2013; Bollon and Bagneux, Cognition and Emotion 27(2):376–384, 2013). Due to the problems in the IGT (Dunn et al., Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 30:239–271, 2006; Steingroever et al., Psychological Assessment 25(1):180–193, 2013), however, it is an open question to what extent the disadvantageous IGT performance in the uncertainty conditions was based on risky decision making. Addressing the main criticisms on the IGT, the primary aim of the present study is to provide a further explanation for the underlying source of the IGT impairment led by uncertainty appraisals. In line with previous research, we found that participants in the certainty-associated emotion condition (disgust) outperformed those in uncertainty-associated conditions (fear, sadness) in the gambling game. Detailed four-deck format analyses on decision patterns and knowledge levels provided supporting evidence for our main hypothesis that the weak IGT scores in the uncertainty conditions can be summarized as a failure to anticipate the badness and the goodness of the most difficult decks, and a dominant preference for a risky option with high immediate gains and infrequent losses.     

Planned Versus Unplanned Risks: Evidence for Subtypes of Risk Behavior in Adolescence

Risk behavior escalates during adolescence, contributing to substantial morbidity and mortality. This study examined whether individual differences in personality and neurocognitive function previously shown to be associated with overall frequency of risk behavior are differentially related to two proposed subtypes of adolescent risk behavior: planned and unplanned. Adolescents (N = 69, 49% male, M = 15.1 years, SD = 1.0), completed a battery of self-report measures and neurocognitive tasks. Several personality and neurocognitive variables predicted membership in the planned versus unplanned risk group: perceiving the benefits of risk behaviors to outweigh risks, more accurately identifying beneficial choices in a modified Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), and performing more advantageously on the IGT and the Game of Dice Task. This study supports the hypothesis that planned versus unplanned risk behavior comprise distinct subtypes in adolescence. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these subtypes may inform prevention programs targeting specific contributors to adolescent risk behavior.     

Estimating the valence of single stimuli: a new variant of the Affective Simon Task

In this article, a modified variant of the Affective Simon Task (AST; De Houwer & Eelen, 1998) is presented as a measure of implicit evaluations of single stimuli. In the AST, the words "good" or "bad" have to be given as responses depending on the color of the stimuli. The AST was combined with an evaluation task to increase the salience of the valence of the presented stimuli. Experiment 1 investigated evaluations of schematic faces showing emotional expressions. In Experiment 2 we measured the valence of artificial stimuli that acquired valence in a game context during the experiment. Both experiments confirm the validity of the modified AST. The results also revealed a dissociation between explicit and implicit evaluations.     

Stress and Risky Decision Making: Cognitive Reflection,Emotional Learning or Both.

Stressful situations hinder judgement. Effects of stress induced by anticipated public speaking on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) were examined. The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) was used to examine the relationship between reflective thinking and IGT performance. The stress manipulation increased blood pressure and was associated with poorer IGT and CRT performance. Stressed participants were slower to avoid the disadvantageous decks. Moreover, CRT scores correlated with optimal deck selections indicating the importance of reflective thinking for good performance on the IGT. These correlations were observed in relatively early trials, which challenges the view that analytic thinking is not important when card contingencies are being learned. Data revealed that IGT performance in healthy individuals is not always optimal; stress levels impair performance. A mediation analysis was consistent with the proposal that the stress manipulation reduced IGT performance by impeding reflective thinking. Thus, reflective processing is an important explanation of IGT performance in healthy populations. It was concluded that more reflective participants appear to learn from the outcomes of their decisions even when stressed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Judgements of Deontic Relevance in Reasoning: A Reply to Jackson and Griggs

Facilitation on abstract versions of the selection task can be produced by deontic content. Jackson and Griggs (1990) claimed that this finding depends on the presence of an explicit negative on the not-q card. We hypothesized that the removal of the explicit negative from this card made its deontic status ambiguous. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a not-q card presenting implicit negative is not selected, and most subjects select the only card that appears to be relevant from a deontic point of view (i.e. the p card). Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the presence of the explicit negative on the not-q card is not necessary for producing facilitation, provided that the form of this card makes it clear that the not-q individual is a potential violator. Experiment 4 showed that a high success rate can be obtained even with a not-q card presenting an implicit negative. The results are discussed in terms of the specificity of reasoning in the deontic domain.     

Age-related variance in decisions under ambiguity is explained by changes in reasoning,executive functions,and decision-making under risk

Previous literature has explained older individuals’ disadvantageous decision-making under ambiguity in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) by reduced emotional warning signals preceding decisions. We argue that age-related reductions in IGT performance may also be explained by reductions in certain cognitive abilities (reasoning, executive functions). In 210 participants (18–86 years), we found that the age-related variance on IGT performance occurred only in the last 60 trials. The effect was mediated by cognitive abilities and their relation with decision-making performance under risk with explicit rules (Game of Dice Task). Thus, reductions in cognitive functions in older age may be associated with both a reduced ability to gain explicit insight into the rules of the ambiguous decision situation and with failure to choose the less risky options consequently after the rules have been understood explicitly. Previous literature may have underestimated the relevance of cognitive functions for age-related decline in decision-making performance under ambiguity.     

内隐/外显不同水平攻击者的注意偏向：行为和ERP证据

通过行为实验（点探测）和ERP实验（情绪Stroop）两个实验任务,考察了内隐/外显不同水平攻击者的注意偏向及其脑机制。结果表明：高外显攻击者对愤怒面孔存在注意偏向;高外显攻击者在愤怒面孔上的N100波幅显著低于中性面孔,表明其注意分配和调节能力较弱;高外显攻击者较之低外显攻击者的P300波幅更小表明其存在注意等方面的认知加工缺陷,N400波幅更小表明其对愤怒面孔进行语义编码时加工更为流畅;外显攻击组与内隐攻击组在FCz和Cz电极点上不同。这为内隐/外显攻击二者有着独立结构提供了行为与认知神经科学的证据。     

Childhood physical and emotional abuse by a parent: transference effects in adult interpersonal relations

Extending research on transference and the relational self (Andersen & Chen, 2002), female undergraduates with or without a history of physical and emotional abuse by a loved parent participated in an experiment manipulating parental resemblance and threat-relevant interpersonal context in a new person. Transference elicited differences not evident in the control condition between abused and nonabused participants' responses, with greater rejection expectancy, mistrust, dislike, and emotional indifference reported by abused participants. Immediate implicit affect was more positive in transference than in the control condition regardless of abuse history. Yet, abused participants in transference also reported increased dysphoria that was markedly attenuated when interpersonal threat was primed, and no such pattern occurred among nonabused participants. Evidence that interpersonally guarded and affectively complex responses are triggered in transference among previously abused individuals suggests that this social-cognitive process may underlie long-term interpersonal difficulties associated with parental abuse.     

Gender differences in implicit and explicit processing of emotional facial expressions as revealed by event-related theta synchronization

Emotion information processing may occur in 2 modes that are differently represented in conscious awareness. Fast online processing involves coarse-grained analysis of salient features and is not represented in conscious awareness; offline processing takes hundreds of milliseconds to generate fine-grained analysis and is represented in conscious awareness. These processing modes may be studied using event-related electroencephalogram theta synchronization as a marker of emotion processing. Two experiments were conducted that differed on the mode of emotional information presentation. In the explicit mode, subjects were explicitly instructed to evaluate the emotional content of presented stimuli; in the implicit mode, their attention was directed to other features of the stimulus. In the implicit mode, theta synchronization was most pronounced in the early processing stage, whereas in the explicit mode, it was more pronounced in the late processing stage. The early processing stage was more pronounced in men, whereas the late processing stage was more pronounced in women. Implications of these gender differences in emotion processing for well-documented differences in social behavior are discussed.     

Coping Styles,Pain Expressiveness,and Implicit Theories of Chronic Pain

Whereas some individuals use active coping strategies and are able to adaptively cope with their pain, others use passive strategies and catastrophic appraisals, which are often associated with increased displays of pain behavior and negative pain-related outcomes. To investigate attribution-based implicit theories as a potential underlying mechanism that might affect coping success, we hypothesized that pain patients with an incremental implicit theory of pain (i.e., view pain as malleable) would have more active coping strategies, lower levels of pain expressiveness, and better pain-related outcomes than those with an entity implicit theory of pain (i.e., view pain as nonmalleable). Patients with chronic back pain undergoing a functional assessment completed a variety of self-report measures and participated in a pain-inducing physiotherapy procedure. The results revealed those with an incremental theory of pain used more active coping strategies, displayed less pain behavior, and reported better pain-related outcomes (e.g., lower levels of depression) than individuals with an entity theory of pain. The findings suggest implicit theories of pain may represent an underlying social-cognitive mechanism linked to important coping, emotional, and expressive reactions to chronic pain. Identifying such a mechanism may provide valuable information for the assessment and treatment of chronic pain.     

The role of urgency and its underlying psychological mechanisms in problematic behaviours

The urgency facet of impulsivity, that is, the tendency to act rashly in response to intense emotional contexts [Cyders, M. A., & Smith, G. T. (2008). Emotion-based dispositions to rash action: positive and negative urgency. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 807-828], has been related to a wide range of maladaptive behaviours. The present study further investigates the role of urgency in problematic behaviours by considering distinct psychological mechanisms that may underlie this component of impulsivity. With this aim, 95 volunteer participants were screened with self-reported questionnaires assessing urgency and three problematic behaviours (compulsive buying, excessive mobile phone use, excessive Internet use). They performed two laboratory tasks: a stop-signal task designed to assess the capacity to inhibit prepotent responses in response to both neutral and emotional stimuli; and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) measuring the ability to take into account the future consequences of an action. A poor ability to inhibit prepotent responses in the emotional condition of the stop-signal task was found to predict more disadvantageous choices in the IGT, which ultimately results in higher urgency and more problematic behaviours. These findings shed new light on the construct of urgency, its related psychological mechanisms, and its role in problematic behaviours.     

Expectations about the short-term functional role played by defensive behavior in interpersonal interactions

Based on the theory of interpersonal defense (Westerman, 1998, Westerman, 2005 and Westerman and Steen, 2005), an interpersonal conceptualization of defense processes, we conducted a set of studies to investigate (a) implicit lay beliefs (i.e., implicit beliefs widely held by people in our culture) about the effects of defensive behavior on short-term interaction events, and (b) individual differences in implicit beliefs about the costs and benefits of defensive behavior and their relation to behaving defensively. In these studies, participants imagined themselves in several interpersonal situations presented in a paper-and-pencil protocol and responded to questions about what they expected would happen after they behaved defensively or nondefensively. As predicted, results indicated that, according to participants’ implicit lay beliefs, defensive behavior as compared to nondefensive behavior makes short-term clear-cut feared occurrences less likely, reduces the likelihood of clear-cut wished-for short-term outcomes, and affects how these outcomes will be experienced when they do take place. Also, findings indicated that there was an inverse association between self-reports of behaving defensively and the extent to which participants appreciated the short-term costs of defensive behavior. Alternative models for explaining this association are considered, including the idea that expectations minimizing the costs of defensive behavior develop because they support previously established, emotionally charged interpersonal behavior patterns.     

Religious Appeals and Implicit Attitudes

This article explores the effects of religious appeals by politicians on attitudes and behavior. Although politicians frequently make religious appeals, the effectiveness of these appeals and the mechanisms of persuasion are unknown. This article explores the possibility that religious language can affect political attitudes through implicit processes. Because religious attachments are formed early in the lives of many Americans, religious language may influence citizens without their awareness. Implicit and explicit attitudes are related but distinct constructs, and implicit attitudes may have behavioral implications in the political realm. I test these hypotheses experimentally, relying on a widely used implicit measure, the Implicit Association Test. I find that a Christian religious appeal affects implicit attitudes and political behavior among people who currently or previously identify as Christian. Furthermore, an explicit preference for less religion in politics does not moderate implicit effects.