The Simulated Gambling Paradigm Applied to Young Adults: An Examination of University Students' Performance.

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Title:	The Simulated Gambling Paradigm Applied to Young Adults: An Examination of University Students' Performance.
Authors:	Caroselli, Jerome Silvio, Hiscock, Merrill, Scheibel, Randall S., Ingram, Fred
Source:	Applied Neuropsychology. 2006, Vol. 13 Issue 4, p203-212. 10p.
Subjects:	Gambling, Decision making, Prefrontal cortex, College students, Young adults, Cognitive ability
Abstract:	Simulated gambling tasks have become popular as sensitive tools for identifying individuals with real-time impairment in decision making. Various clinical samples, especially patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, perform poorly on these tasks. The patients typically persist in choosing risky (disadvantageous) card decks instead of switching to safer (advantageous) decks. In terms of Damasio's (1994) somatic marker hypothesis, the poor performance stems from defective integration of emotional and rational aspects of decision making. Less information is available about performance in healthy populations, particularly young adults. After administering a computerized gambling task to 141 university students, we found that individuals in this population also tend to prefer disadvantageous decks to advantageous decks. The results indicate that performance is governed primarily by the frequency of positive outcomes on a trial-by-trial basis rather than by the accumulation of winnings in the longer term. These findings are discussed in light of the cognitive literature pertaining to the simulated gambling paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
	Copyright of Applied Neuropsychology is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database:	Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection

Description
Abstract:	Simulated gambling tasks have become popular as sensitive tools for identifying individuals with real-time impairment in decision making. Various clinical samples, especially patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, perform poorly on these tasks. The patients typically persist in choosing risky (disadvantageous) card decks instead of switching to safer (advantageous) decks. In terms of Damasio's (1994) somatic marker hypothesis, the poor performance stems from defective integration of emotional and rational aspects of decision making. Less information is available about performance in healthy populations, particularly young adults. After administering a computerized gambling task to 141 university students, we found that individuals in this population also tend to prefer disadvantageous decks to advantageous decks. The results indicate that performance is governed primarily by the frequency of positive outcomes on a trial-by-trial basis rather than by the accumulation of winnings in the longer term. These findings are discussed in light of the cognitive literature pertaining to the simulated gambling paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	09084282
DOI:	10.1207/s15324826an1304_1