Abstract
Recent research has identified a number of factors that can influence performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) when it is used in clinical or research settings. The current studies examine the effects of construal level theory (CLT) on the IGT. Study 1 suggests that when primed with a high construal mindset (i.e., thinking abstractly vs. concretely), individuals learned to avoid Deck A more than those primed with a low construal mindset. Study 2 suggests that when construal level is manipulated through psychological distance (i.e., selecting for a close vs. distant friend), individuals in a high construal mindset instead showed a preference for Deck A compared to individuals in a low construal mindset or a control group. Taken together, these studies suggest that IGT performance is impacted by the manner in which one construes the task. Implications for decision making research and use of the IGT as a clinical and research instrument are discussed.
Highlights
People make decisions daily, from seemingly mundane choices like what to wear to major life decisions like who to marry or what career path to take
Recent research has called into question the utility of using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in isolation as a clinical measure of decision making, as significant fluctuations in performance occur in a healthy control populations and the precise decision making measured by the task is still debated
Learning occurred on the IGT, as participants shifted their decisions away from the most disadvantageous deck
Summary
From seemingly mundane choices like what to wear to major life decisions like who to marry or what career path to take. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara et al, 1994) is widely used by clinicians and researchers alike, and examines both advantageous and disadvantageous selections under ambiguity and risk. Recent research has called into question the utility of using the IGT in isolation as a clinical measure of decision making, as significant fluctuations in performance occur in a healthy control populations and the precise decision making measured by the task is still debated (for review, see Steingroever et al, 2013). The IGT scoring criteria can affect interpretation of selections on the task (see below for additional detail). Taken together, these contextual and scoring factors can affect performance on behavioral measures of decision making.
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