16 research outputs found
Non-Clinical Autistic Traits Correlate With Social and Ethical but Not With Financial and Recreational Risk-Taking
Previous research into uncertain and risky decision-making in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been inconclusive, with some studies reporting less uncertain and risky decisions by persons with ASD compared to neurotypicals, but other studies failing to find such effects. A possible explan
Burst Beliefs – Methodological Problems in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task and Implications for Its Use
Studies in the field of psychology often employ (computerized) behavioral tasks, aimed at mimicking
real-world situations that elicit certain actions in participants. Such tasks are for example used to
study risk propensity, a trait-like tendency towards taking or avoiding risk. One of the most popular
tasks for gauging risk propensity is the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART; Lejuez et al., 2002), which
has been shown to relate well to self-reported risk-taking and to real-world risk behaviors. However,
despite its popularity and qualities, the BART has several methodological shortcomings, most of which
have been reported before, but none of which are widely known. In the present paper, four such
problems are explained and elaborated on: a lack of clarity as to whether decisions are characterized
by uncertainty or risk; censoring of observations; confounding of risk and expected value; and poor
decomposability into adaptive and maladaptive risk behavior. Furthermore, for every problem, a
range of possible solutions is discussed, which overall can be divided into three categories: using a
different, more informative outcome index than the standard average pump score; modifying one or
more task elements; or using a different task, either an alternative risk-taking task (sequential or
otherwise), or a custom-made instrument. It is important to make use of these solutions, as applying
the BART without accounting for its shortcomings may lead to interpretational problems, including
false-positive and false-negative results. Depending on the research aims of a given study, certain
shortcomings are more pressing than others, indicating the (type of) solutions most needed. By
combining solutions and openly discussing shortcomings, researchers may be able to modify the BART
in such a way that it can operationalize risk propensity without substantial methodological problems
Evidence for a Broad Autism Phenotype
The broad autism phenotype implies the existence of a continuum ranging from individuals displaying almost no autistic traits to severely impaired diagnosed individuals. Recent studies have linked this variation in autistic traits to several domains of functioning. However, studies focusing on social–communicational traits associated with autism often suffer from two problems. First, they examine very specific behaviours, not taking the broad range of behaviours social functioning is comprised of into account. Second, most studies compare individuals scoring at the upper and lower extremes of the continuum, neglecting the natural range of autistic trait scores. The present study accommodates for these limitations by examining the link between self-reported autistic traits and a broad self-report measure of social functioning across individuals exhibiting a natural range of autistic traits. The results show that after tackling the discussed limitations, autistic traits still predict the amount of social behaviour people exhibit and the level of discomfort they experience when doing so. The amount of social behaviour and the experienced discomfort were especially related to autistic traits in the social and attention switching domains. The findings were still significant after controlling for the conceptual overlap with the social domain of the autism measure. These findings support the broad autism phenotype by showing how a continuous measure of autistic traits is related to a continuous measure of social functioning
Disentangling risk and uncertainty: When risk-taking measures are not about risk
Many studies claim to measure decision-making under risk by employing the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT) scale, a self-report measure, or the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), a behavioural task. However, these tasks do not measure decision-making under risk but decision-making under uncertainty, a related but distinct concept. The present commentary discusses both the theoretical and empirical basis of the distinction between uncertainty and risk from the viewpoint of several scientific disciplines and reports how many studies wrongfully employ the DOSPERT scale and BART as risk-taking measures. Importantly, we call for proper distinguishing between (tasks measuring) decision-making under uncertainty and decision-making under risk in psychology, and related fields. We believe this is vital as research has shown that people's attitudes, behaviour, and brain activity differ between both concepts, indicating that confusing the concepts may lead researchers to erroneous conclusions
Event‐related potentials in response to feedback following risk‐taking in the hot version of the Columbia Card Task
Abstract
Given the importance of risk‐taking in individuals’ personal and professional life,
several behavioral tasks for measuring the construct have been developed. Recently,
a new task was introduced, the Columbia Card Task (CCT). This task measures participants’ risk levels and establishes how sensitive participants are to gains, losses,
and probabilities when taking risk. So far, the CCT has been examined in behavioral
studies and in combination with several (neuro)biological techniques. However, no
electroencephalography (EEG) research has been done on the task. The present study
fills this gap and helps to validate this relatively new experimental task. To this end,
n = 126 students were asked to complete self‐reports (reward responsiveness, impulsiveness, and sensation‐seeking) and to perform the CCT (and other risk tasks) in
an EEG setup. The results show that feedback appraisal after risky decision‐making
in the CCT was accompanied by a feedback‐related negativity (FRN) and a P300,
which were stronger in response to negative than positive feedback. Correlations
between the FRN and P300 difference wave on the one hand and risk‐related self‐
reports and behavior on the other were nonsignificant and small, but were mostly in
the expected direction. This pattern did not change after excluding participants with
psychiatric/neurological disorders and outliers. Excluding participants with reversed
(positive > negative) difference waves strengthened FRN correlations. The impact
such individuals can have on the data should be taken into account in future studies.
Regarding the CCT in particular, future studies should also address its oddball structure and its masking of true values (censoring
Spontaneous resting-state gamma oscillations are not predictive of autistic traits in the general population
The autism spectrum hypothesis states that not only diagnosed individuals but also individuals from the general population exhibit a certain amount of autistic traits. While this idea is supported by neuroimaging studies, there have been few electrophysiological studies. In particular, there have been no spontaneous resting-state studies yet. In order to examine the autism spectrum hypothesis, the present study tried to predict the level of autistic traits typically developing young adults (n = 93) exhibit from spontaneous resting-state gamma power, a measure that has been linked to social functioning impairments seen in autism. The influence of age and gender was controlled for by employing regression. It was expected that enhanced gamma activity would be predictive of self-reported autistic traits. The model with only age and gender included reached significance, with higher age within this student population being related to more autistic traits. However, no relationship between either low (30–50 Hz) or high (50–70 Hz) gamma power and autistic traits was found. Models with eyes closed low gamma asymmetry and eyes closed high gamma asymmetry included did reach sign
Birds of a feather flock together: Evidence of prominent correlations within but not between self-report, behavioral, and electrophysiological measures of impulsivity
Despite many studies examining a combination of self-report, behavioral, and neurophysiological measures, only
few address whether these different levels of measurement indeed reflect one construct. The present study aids in
filling this gap by exploring the association between self-report, behavioral, and electrophysiological measures of
impulsivity and related constructs such as sensation seeking, reward responsiveness, and ADHD symptoms.
Individuals across two large samples (n = 133 and n = 142) completed questionnaires and performed behavioral tasks (the Eriksen Flanker task, the Go/No-Go task, the Reward task, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task)
during which brain activity
Association of Risk Variants in the <i>CFH </i>Gene With Elevated Levels of Coagulation and Complement Factors in Idiopathic Multifocal Choroiditis
Importance: Idiopathic multifocal choroiditis (MFC) is poorly understood, thereby hindering optimal treatment and monitoring of patients. Objective: To identify the genes and pathways associated with idiopathic MFC. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a case-control genome-wide association study (GWAS) and protein study of blood plasma samples conducted from March 2006 to February 2022. This was a multicenter study involving 6 Dutch universities. Participants were grouped into 2 cohorts: cohort 1 consisted of Dutch patients with idiopathic MFC and controls, and cohort 2 consisted of patients with MFC and controls. Plasma samples from patients with idiopathic MFC who had not received treatment were subjected to targeted proteomics. Idiopathic MFC was diagnosed according to the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) Working Group guidelines for punctate inner choroidopathy and multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis. Data were analyzed from July 2021 to October 2022. Main outcomes and measures: Genetic variants associated with idiopathic MFC and risk variants associated with plasma protein concentrations in patients. Results: This study included a total of 4437 participants in cohort 1 (170 [3.8%] Dutch patients with idiopathic MFC and 4267 [96.2%] controls; mean [SD] age, 55 [18] years; 2443 female [55%]) and 1344 participants in cohort 2 (52 [3.9%] patients with MFC and 1292 [96.1%] controls; 737 male [55%]). The primary GWAS association mapped to the CFH gene with genome-wide significance (lead variant the A allele of rs7535263; odds ratio [OR], 0.52; 95% CI, 0.41-0.64; P = 9.3 × 10-9). There was no genome-wide significant association with classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles (lead classical allele, HLA-A*31:01; P = .002). The association with rs7535263 showed consistent direction of effect in an independent cohort of 52 cases and 1292 control samples (combined meta-analysis OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38-0.77; P = 3.0 × 10-8). In proteomic analysis of 87 patients, the risk allele G of rs7535263 in the CFH gene was strongly associated with increased plasma concentrations of factor H-related (FHR) proteins (eg, FHR-2, likelihood ratio test, adjusted P = 1.1 × 10-3) and proteins involved in platelet activation and the complement cascade. Conclusions and relevance: Results suggest that CFH gene variants increase systemic concentrations of key factors of the complement and coagulation cascades, thereby conferring susceptibility to idiopathic MFC. These findings suggest that the complement and coagulation pathways may be key targets for the treatment of idiopathic MFC.</p
The Relationship Between Autism Symptomatology, Performance, Experienced Problems and Benefits in Problem-Based Learning Curricula.
The attention for supporting students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at university has recently grown. However, no research to date has looked into the fit between autism symptomatology and a specific form of education, problem-based learning (PBL). To examine the fit between individuals scoring high on the autism spectrum and the characteristics of PBL, a new questionnaire was developed that focuses on the core elements of PBL: learning as a constructive, self-directed, collaborative, and contextual process. This new questionnaire and an ASD symptomatology questionnaire, the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), were filled out online by university social sciences and humanities students. The findings show that higher ASD symptomatology predicted experiencing more problems (F(3, 103) = 15.24, p < .001, R 2 = .31) and fewer benefits (F(3, 103) = 10.28, p < .001, R 2 = .23) of PBL. However, these experiences were not accompanied by lower grades (F(3, 103) = 0.36, p = .784, R 2 = .01). These results are in contrast with previous findings from traditional, lecture-based curricula, in which students scoring high on the autism spectrum perform worse than students scoring low on the autism spectrum. The discrepancy between experiencing more problems and less benefits but no effect on performance is explained by accommodation and desirable difficulties, stating that the characteristics offered by PBL might help students scoring high on the spectrum develop the skills necessary to succeed in (university) education
Corrigendum to “Birds of a feather flock together: Evidence of prominent correlations within but not between self-report, behavioral, and electrophysiological measures of impulsivity” [Biol. Psychol. 145 (2019) 112–123]
The authors regret that the durations of the tasks from sample 1, collected by Rietdijk et al. (PLoS ONE 9, e102672, 2014), were reported incorrectly. Specifically, the Eriksen Flanker task actually had a fixation cue of 250 ms (not 150 ms) and an intertrial interval of 500 ms (not 100 ms). The Go/No-Go task consisted of a vowel that was presented for 700 ms (not 200 ms), followed by a fixation cue (‘+’) of 300 ms (and not an empty screen for 1020-1220 ms). Rietdijk et al. (2014) have been informed about these errors and have themselves informed PLoS ONE. The different durations are not expected to impact the present paper's findings or conclusions, as it primarily focuses on the relations between different measurements (and not on their exact values). As long as these measurements gauge impulsivity, they suffice. Still, the authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused