Asking sensitive questions in conservation using Randomised Response Techniques

Conservation increasingly seeks knowledge of human behaviour. However, securing reliable data can be challenging, particularly if the behaviour is illegal or otherwise sensitive. Specialised questioning methods such as Randomised Response Techniques (RRTs) are increasingly used in conservation to provide greater anonymity, increase response rates, and reduce bias. A rich RRT literature exists, but successfully navigating it can be challenging. To help conservationists access this literature, we summarise the various RRT designs available and conduct a systematic review of empirical applications of RRTs within (n = 32), and beyond conservation (n = 66). Our results show increased application of RRTs in conservation since 2000. We compare the performance of RRTs against known prevalence of the sensitive behaviour and relative to other questioning techniques to assess how successful RRTs are at reducing bias (indicated by securing higher estimates). Findings suggest that RRT applications in conservation were less likely than those in other disciplines to provide prevalence estimates equal to, or higher than those derived from direct questions. Across all disciplines, we found reports of non-compliance with RRT instructions were common, but rarely accounted for in study design or analysis. For the first time, we provide conservationists considering RRTs with evidence on what works, and provide guidance on how to develop robust designs suitable for conservation research contexts. We highlight when alternate methods should be used, how to increase design efficiency and improve compliance with RRT instructions. We conclude RRTs are a useful tool, but their performance depends on careful design and implementation

Disadvantageous decision-making as a predictor of drop-out among cocaine-dependent individuals in long-term residential treatment

Background: The treatment of cocaine-dependent individuals (CDI) is substantially challenged by high drop-out rates, raising questions regarding contributing factors. Recently, a number of studies have highlighted the potential of greater focus on the clinical significance of neurocognitive impairments in treatment-seeking cocaine users. In the present study, we hypothesized that disadvantageous decision-making would be one such factor placing CDI at greater risk for treatment drop-out. Methods: In order to explore this hypothesis, the present study contrasted baseline performance (at treatment onset) on two validated tasks of decision-making, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Cambridge GambleTask (CGT) in CDI who completed treatment in a residentialTherapeutic Community (TC) (N=66) and those who dropped out ofTC prematurely (N=84). Results: Compared to treatment completers, CDI who dropped out ofTC prematurely did not establish a consistent and advantageous response pattern as the IGT progressed and exhibited a poorer ability to choose the most likely outcome on the CGT. There were no group differences in betting behavior. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that neurocognitive rehabilitation of disadvantageous decision-making may have clinical benefits in CDI admitted to long-term residential treatment programs

Developmental trends in the effects of irrelevant information on speeded classification.

No study using visual stimuli has unequivocally demonstrated that irrelevant information interferes more with childrens 1 performances . than it does with those of adults. Eighteen Ss in each of four age groups (six-, nine-, twelve-year olds and adults) each sorted, as quickly as possible, thirteen decks of twenty four cards apiece into two predetermined, clearly marked piles. Each deck was defined by one relevant dimension; and zero, one, or two irrelevant dimensions. Three binary dimensions were used: form, line orientation and position of a star. Additional Ss —ages seven, eight, ten and eleven—sorted decks with zero and two irrelevant dimensions. The temporal magnitude of the interference effect decreased nearly uniformly as a function of increasing age. The percent of cases of interference, however, remained high (70-80#) until age twelve, then fell to the low adult level (4-8$). There were significant age x relevant dimension and relevant dimension x amount of irrelevant information interaction effects. The results support the hypothesis that children younger than age twelve process more information than is necessary for task performance; with increasing age they process the information more quickly. After age twelve children are able to block out irrelevant information so that it no longer interferes with their performances

Disadvantageous decision-making as a predictor of drop-out among cocaine-dependent individuals in long-term residential treatment

Background: The treatment of cocaine-dependent individuals (CDI) is substantially challenged by high drop-out rates, raising questions regarding contributing factors. Recently, a number of studies have highlighted the potential of greater focus on the clinical significance of neurocognitive impairments in treatment-seeking cocaine users. In the present study, we hypothesized that disadvantageous decision-making would be one such factor placing CDI at greater risk for treatment drop-out. Methods: In order to explore this hypothesis, the present study contrasted baseline performance (at treatment onset) on two validated tasks of decision-making, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Cambridge GambleTask (CGT) in CDI who completed treatment in a residentialTherapeutic Community (TC) (N D66) and those who dropped out ofTC prematurely (N D84). Results: Compared to treatment completers, CDI who dropped out of TC prematurely did not establish a consistent and advantageous response pattern as the IGT progressed and exhibited a poorer ability to choose the most likely outcome on the CGT. There were no group differences in betting behavior. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that neurocognitive rehabilitation of disadvantageous decision-making may have clinical benefits in CDI admitted to long-term residential treatment programs

Cognitive and emotional aspects of children's decision-making under risk

Un aspetto importante del processo decisionale riguarda la capacità di effettuare una scelta tra un'opzione sicura e un'opzione rischiosa. Quando gli individui tendono a prediligere opzioni rischiose, mettono in atto comportamenti associati con una certa probabilità a risultati non prevedibili ed incerti. In tempi recenti, la propensione al rischio è stata indagata anche nei bambini con lo scopo di individuare i meccanismi di tipo cognitivo, sociale ed emotivo coinvolti nello sviluppo di tale abilità e determinare l’età di insorgenza di comportamenti potenzialmente rischiosi. In situazioni in cui c'è una piccola probabilità di una grande perdita, i bambini di scuola elementare sono più propensi a scegliere l'opzione rischiosa che l'opzione sicura, a differenza degli adulti (Harbaugh et al. 2002), per cui la propensione al rischio cambia in funzione dell’età e questo dato è in linea con la maturazione della corteccia orbito-frontale e delle funzioni esecutive che avvengono durante i primi anni di vita. Recentemente, un grande interesse è stato rivolto allo studio dell’influenza delle emozioni sulla propensione al rischio nei bambini. Gli studi hanno messo in evidenza come sperimentare un’emozione negativa come il rimpianto, a seguito di scelte sbagliate effettuate in condizioni di incertezza, , possa influenzare e guidare le decisioni dei bambini, già dall’età di 6-7 anni, portandoli a compiere successivamente scelte più vantaggiose. Sfortunatamente, la traiettoria evolutiva dell’abilità di affrontare situazioni che richiedono una scelta tra un’opzione sicura e una rischiosa non è ancora del tutto compresa, né quali siano i meccanismi e i fattori cognitivi, sociali o emotivi alla base di questo costrutto. Obiettivo dello studio è stato valutare la propensione al rischio in 183 bambini di 4, 5, 6, 7 e 8 anni, ai quali è stata somministrata una batteria di prove comprendente: (i) un compito di scelta probabilistica (in tre condizioni sperimentali: Neutra, Vantaggiosa, Svantaggiosa), utilizzato per la prima volta in letteratura con bambini e adattato dal paradigma utilizzato con alcune specie di primati non umani (Heilbronner et al., 2008; De Petrillo et al., 2015); (ii) il Children’s Gambling Task (Kerr e Zelazo, 2004); (iii) una prova di scommessa; (iv) un test di controllo del livello di conoscenza numerica, la batteria BIN 4-6 (Molin, Poli e Lucangeli, 2007); (v) un test di controllo del livello di comprensione linguistica, il Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (edizione italiana, Stella, Pizzoli e Tressoldi, 2000). Un secondo obiettivo è stato quello di valutare le risposte emotive dei bambini visti gli esiti delle loro scelte e come queste possano influenzare le scelte successive che i bambini compiono in condizioni di rischio. A questo scopo, dopo che i bambini avevano effettuato ciascuna scelta, veniva loro chiesto di indicare l’emozione provata, tramite una scala con delle faccine che rappresentavano un continuum dalla felicità alla tristezza, la ‘5-point rating scale’ (Weisberg e Beck, 2011), e per un sotto campione di bambini sono state anche registrate delle immagini termiche tramite termografia ad infrarossi con la finalità di indagare le risposte fisiologiche del bambino agli stimoli proposti. La termografia ad infrarossi è una tecnica assolutamente non invasiva, che non prevede il contatto diretto col corpo del bambino e che permette di osservare, durante il gioco spontaneo, eventuali variazioni di temperatura che rappresentano indici di valenza emozionale. I risultati di questo studio hanno dimostrato che, nel compito di scelta probabilistica, in cui i bambini dovevano scegliere tra un’opzione sicura, corrispondente alla vincita di 4 ricompense, e una rischiosa, che gli poteva far ottenere con diverse probabilità o 1 o 7 ricompense, i bambini sono in grado di compiere le loro scelte tenendo conto delle probabilità: è emerso che hanno preferito l’opzione rischiosa quando a questa era associata la probabilità più alta di ottenere la ricompensa maggiore. I bambini di 5 anni hanno inoltre compiuto un maggior numero di scelte vantaggiose, rispetto sia ai bambini più piccoli (confermando i dati presenti in letteratura) che a quelli più grandi. Questa differenza potrebbe essere attribuita: (i) al livello di istruzione genitoriale del gruppo dei bambini di 6-7-8 anni, che è inferiore a quello dei genitori dei bambini di 5 anni; (ii) al fatto che il gruppo di bambini più grandi, che frequenta la scuola elementare, potrebbe essere più esposto del gruppo dei bambini più piccoli ad attività di ‘gambling’ in assenza della supervisione parentale, ed avere quindi più familiare con le dinamiche del gioco e maggiore propensione al rischio; (iii) al fatto che i bambini di 6-7-8 anni si sono rivelati meno sensibili alle differenze tra le ricompense. Considerando le risposte emotive date dai bambini con la ‘5-point rating scale’, non sono emersi segni di rimpianto per le scelte effettuate e questo dato è avvalorato dall’analisi dei dati termici, da cui non si evince un’attivazione del sistema simpatico in seguito ad un esito non favorevole. I bambini sembrano concentrarsi su cosa hanno vinto, piuttosto che su cosa avrebbero potuto ottenere e questo è probabilmente dovuto al fatto che il compito non prevede una perdita. Nel Children’s Gambling Task l’intero campione ha mantenuto un andamento favorevole nella scelta tra i due mazzi, mentre nella prova di scommessa, di nuovo, il gruppo dei bambini più grandi si è rivelato più propenso al rischio rispetto ai bambini più piccoli. Il livello di comprensione linguistica non ha influito sulle prestazioni dei bambini nei tre compiti di ‘gambling’, mentre il livello di conoscenza numerica ha influenzato le scelte effettuate nel compito di scelta probabilistica e la sua comprensione, valutata tramite due domande di consapevolezza della prova che sono state poste al bambino al termine del compito. Infine, le prestazioni nelle tre prove di ‘gambling’ non sono risultate correlate fra loro, e questo è probabilmente dovuto al fatto che esse misurano componenti diverse della propensione al rischio, come suggeriscono molti studi recenti condotti in questo ambito, avvalorando l’idea che la propensione al rischio sia un costrutto altamente sfaccettato e multideterminato. Futuri sviluppi di questa ricerca potranno riguardare l’approfondimento dell’analisi delle risposte emotive tramite termografia in tutti e tre i compiti, e, inoltre, sarebbe raccomandabile integrare la procedura con test e questionari per la valutazione del funzionamento emotivo-adattivo dei bambini e dei loro genitori. Considerato il sempre più precoce coinvolgimento dei bambini in attività di ‘gambling’, grazie alla massiccia diffusione di videogiochi via internet facilmente accessibili anche ai bambini, sarebbe importante continuare ad indagare questo argomento fin dalla prima infanzia, possibilmente con un approccio multidisciplinare, fornendo interessanti elementi per applicazioni future sia in campo clinico che educativo, per la messa a punto di programmi di prevenzione e di intervento precoci

Timing of descriptions shapes experience‐based risky choice

Risky decisions based on the combination of different sources of information (e.g., decisions from description‐plus‐experience) have mostly been ignored, as research has focused on examining each source separately. Across three experiments, we explore the intricate relationship between experience and description by manipulating when descriptive information about risky options is made available during an experience‐based task. The results show that the amount of prior experience moderates the way that descriptive information is considered and integrated in the decision‐making process: Descriptions affected behavior more when participants had little experience with the task, whereas their effect was less pronounced with extended experience. This relationship reversed when participants had access to foregone payoffs, with descriptions being considered more when participants had more time to interact with the task. Potential mechanisms and theoretical accounts are discussed with an emphasis on how the results and conclusions of the present work can be applied to the effective design of warning labels

From the Cell to the Brain –Fear and Anxiety across the Levels of Neuroscience

The four studies presented in this thesis independently provided support for a dynamic multilevel account for anxiety-related phenomena (see Table 2). Study 1 showed how medial prefrontal cortex activity (i.e., Structure Level) measured with EEG was related to heart rate (PNS Level) and provided some evidence that this association was dynamically linked to trait anxiety: in conditions of negative but not positive feedback did trait anxiety increase the link between cortical and cardiac activity. This modulation is consistent with the functional definition of anxiety given that negative but not positive feedback is normally associated with increased danger in the future. Study 2 showed how dopaminergic genes (Molecule Level) and manipulations of dopamine (Synapse Level) presumably affected network states (Network Level), which then influenced brain activity at the AMC (Structure Level) and error-related behavior (Whole System Level). The unexpected finding that trait-anxiety was not related to error monitoring in that study can be explained post hoc by task characteristics (Olvet & Hajcak, 2009), again suggesting that some patterns of multilevel interactions are dynamically linked to anxiety. Study 3 tested individuals with GAD (manifest at the Whole System Level) using a neuropsychological test designed to measure future-orientation in patients with damage of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (Structure Level) and resulting impairments in neurovisceral connectivity (Bechara et al., 1997) thus affecting the CNS and PNS-Levels. Consistent with (a) the assumed future-orientation of anxiety and (b) increased neurovisceral connectivity in anxiety (Study 1) individuals with GAD performed better in the IGT than non-anxious control participants. Finally, Study 4 manipulated intracellular signalling cascades (Molecule Level), thereby modulating synaptic learning and extinction learning (Synapse Level), which then affected fear-related reflex potentiation (CNS-Level and Whole Systems Level). In contrast to prior studies that found improved extinction learning of hippocampus-dependent fear memory (e.g., fear conditioned to a place), Study 4 found that rolipram disturbed extinction learning of presumably hippocampus independent fear-memory (e.g., fear conditioned to a sound). Together with these other studies, Study 4 thus provides further evidence that situational characteristics (place vs. sound as cue for present danger) may influence various levels (including the Molecule Level) with regard to fear processing. As can be seen in Table 2, some studies covered different levels than others. Of course, the herein proposed subdivision into eight levels of organization should be seen as a flexible framework used for illustrating the multilevel perspective rather than as a rigid model. Future research may uncover that much more levels of organization are needed to explain certain phenomena, and there may also be cases when good predictions can be made based on fewer than eight levels. However, Table 2 also shows that guesses for most empty cells can be made based on existing theories and research findings. A critical exception may be the network level, and it has been noted by others that this level is underrepresented in cognitive neuroscience research. However, the network level may be particularly critical for linking what we know about substances, cells, synapses and neurons (mostly based on in vitro work) to what we know about anxiety relevant structures (based on neuroimaging, EEG and lesion studies). From this perspective, future studies that include the neural network levels when investigating danger-reduction phenomena may be indispensable stations for achieving a wholistic understanding of fear and anxiety

Let’s Play Cards: Multi-Component Cognitive Training With Social Engagement Enhances Executive Control in Older Adults

Cognitive training and social engagement are two of the routes that potentially improve cognitive functions in older adults. The former targets specific functions so that an intervention can trigger the plasticity and efficiency of the underpinning neural systems, and the latter also provides an environment supportive of social and emotional needs. We investigated whether an integration of the two routes could enhance cognitive functions related to executive control, because no prior research has adopted a theory-driven approach to design a group-based cognitive training program for executive control. Forty-six healthy and active older adults living in community settings were randomly assigned to a group-based training program or a group-based active control program. Twenty-three volunteers in a community center were recruited for the waitlist control group. A battery of card games was designed for the cognitive training program based on three theoretical models of executive functions. A set of commercial board games were run in the active control program. Using untrained tests as the outcome measures, we found significant improvement on executive control in the cognitive training group compared with the active and waitlist control groups while the two control groups did not differ in performance. The cognitive training group did not outperform the two groups on a test of reasoning or on a test of delayed episodic memory. The results support the idea that cognitive training with social interaction can improve performance on untrained tests that share overlapping cognitive processes. Despite the inability to adapt to each person’s performance, integrating the two routes is beneficial for improving cognitive functions in older adults