Problematic Internet Users Show Impaired Inhibitory Control and Risk Taking with Losses: Evidence from Stop Signal and Mixed Gambles Tasks.

Qi Li,Weizhi Nan,Weine Dai,Xun Liu,Ya Zheng,Jamie Taxer

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00370

Abstract

According to the balance model of self-regulation, dysfunction of the inhibitory control and reward processing might be a behavioral marker for addiction and problematic behaviors. Although several studies have separately examined the inhibitory control or reward processing of individuals exhibiting problematic Internet use (PIU), no study has explored these two functions simultaneously to examine the potential imbalance of these functions. This study aimed to investigate whether the self-regulatory failure of PIU individuals results from deficits in both inhibitory control [indexed with the stop signal reaction time (SSRT) in a stop signal task] and risk taking with losses (measured as the acceptance rates of risky gables or the ratio of win/loss in a mixed gambles task). The results revealed that PIU individuals, compared with controls, showed decreased SSRT and increased error rates as well as reduced risk taking with losses. Correlational analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between the SSRT and risk taking with losses. These findings suggest that both the inhibitory control and reward functions are impaired in PIU individuals and reveal an association between these two systems. These results strengthen the balance model of self-regulation theory’s argument that deficits in inhibitory control and risk taking with losses may assist in identifying risk markers for early diagnosis, progression, and prediction of PIU.

Highlights

The Internet plays a vital communication and social interaction role in modern life (Tonioni et al, 2012)
Our study showed that problematic Internet use (PIU) individuals, compared with controls, displayed an inability to inhibit responses and a diminished sensitivity to risk taking with losses
These results strengthen the argument that deficits in inhibitory control and risk taking with losses may offer promising opportunities to identify the underlying of excessive Internet use observed in PIU individuals

Summary

Introduction

The Internet plays a vital communication and social interaction role in modern life (Tonioni et al, 2012). Some individuals are unable to control their Internet use, which can eventually cause serious mental health problems and a variety of negative psychosocial consequences (Ko et al, 2013b). This behavioral phenomenon is commonly referred to as problematic Internet use (PIU; Tsitsika et al, 2011). According to the balance model of self-regulation, dysfunction of inhibitory control and reward processing might be a behavioral marker for addiction and problematic behaviors (Heatherton and Wagner, 2011). Examining inhibitory control and reward processing in people with PIU might be an effective and useful way to understand their difficulty with self-regulation

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Conclusion