Psychology Commons^™

The Assessment Of Physical Risk Taking: Preliminary Construct Validation Of A New Behavioral Measure, Edward A. Smith, Stephen D. Benning

Psychology Faculty Research

Risk taking is a complex heterogeneous construct that has proven difficult to assess, especially when using behavioral tasks. We present an exploratory investigation of new measure–the Assessment of Physical Risk Taking (APRT). APRT produces a variety of different outcome scores and is designed as a comprehensive assessment of the probability of success and failure, and magnitude of reward and punishment of different types of simulated physically risky behaviors. Effects observed on the simulated behaviors are hypothesized to reflect similar effects on real world physical risks. Participants (N = 224) completed APRT in a laboratory setting, half of whom had a …

Preliminary Psychometrics For The Executive Function Challenge Task: A Novel, “Hot” Flexibility, And Planning Task For Youth, Lauren Kenworthy, Andrew Freeman, Allison Ratto, Katerina Dudley, Kelly K. Powell, Cara E. Pugliese, John F. Strang, Alyssa Verbalis, Laura G. Anthony

Psychology Faculty Research

Objective: Executive functions (EF) drive health and educational outcomes and therefore are increasingly common treatment targets. Most treatment trials rely on questionnaires to capture meaningful change because ecologically valid, pediatric performance-based EF tasks are lacking. The Executive Function Challenge Task (EFCT) is a standardized, treatment-sensitive, objective measure which assesses flexibility and planning in the context of provocative social interactions, making it a “hot” EF task. Method: We investigate the structure, reliability, and validity of the EFCT in youth with autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder; n = 129), or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with flexibility problems (n = 93), and typically developing …

How Modifiable Is Behavior? Factors Of Influence For Adherence To Provisions To Protect Minors In The Sale Of Gambling Products., Doris Malischnig

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

A major challenge for lottery operators worldwide lies in motivating sales partners to check whether customers meet the minimum age requirement for the purchase of lottery products and thus use this control measure to prevent their sale to minors. Measures used by Austrian Lotteries to raise awareness of this topic range from responsible gaming (RG) training for sales partners and the provision of information materials for staff and customers to restrictive procedures like warnings and contract termination when a sales partner is caught repeatedly selling lottery products to minors.

A recent study based on 1,421 mystery shopping tests and on …

The Cost Of Getting Lost: Measuring The Slot Machine ‘Zone’ With Attentional Dual Tasks, W. Spencer Murch

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

A contemporary stance on regular and problematic electronic gaming machine (EGM) gamblers argues that these individuals use machine gambling as a means of escaping aversive feelings rather than as a means of seeking out excitement. Often called “The Slot Machine Zone,” this hypothesis currently rests on qualitative and anecdotal data suggesting that machine gamblers are somehow lost in the game (Schüll, 2012). Conceptually similar to work on flow and dissociation, the zone hypothesis predicts that problematic EGM play is associated with 1) increased self-reported dissociation / immersion, 2) attenuated peripheral attention, and 3) a positive physiological state as a result. …

Decoding The Neural Circuitry Of Reward Behavior, Ernesto H. Bedoy, James M. Hyman

McNair Poster Presentations

Classical conditioning demonstrates that rewards can be used to train behavior by pairing a stimulus, known as a prompt, with reinforced behavior. At a neuronal level, this association strengthens the connections between the neurons involved, making communication easier the next time. Enhanced communication is identified with learning, allowing an organism to anticipate a reward with a prompt so that it can perform the desired behavior to successfully obtain the reward (Noonan et al., 2011). In this study, we created a computational model to represent a neural circuit with synaptic plasticity during reward, no-reward and anticipation states. Our results confirmed our …