Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia
Abstract Background Alexithymia is characterised by difficulties identifying and describing emotions. Few studies have investigated how alexithymia influences decision-making under different conditions (ambiguity and risk). This study aimed to examine whether alexithymia contributes to impairment in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2017-11-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-017-1537-2 |
| _version_ | 1818146422905634816 |
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| author | Lei Zhang Xue Wang Yu Zhu Hongchen Li Chunyan Zhu Fengqiong Yu Kai Wang |
| author_facet | Lei Zhang Xue Wang Yu Zhu Hongchen Li Chunyan Zhu Fengqiong Yu Kai Wang |
| author_sort | Lei Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Alexithymia is characterised by difficulties identifying and describing emotions. Few studies have investigated how alexithymia influences decision-making under different conditions (ambiguity and risk). This study aimed to examine whether alexithymia contributes to impairment in decision-making. Method This study included 42 participants with high scores in the Chinese version of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (alexithymia group), and 44 matched subjects with low scores (control group). Decision-making was measured using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Game of Dice Task (GDT). Results The main findings of this study revealed selective deficits in IGT performance for the alexithymia group, while GDT performance was unimpaired when compared with the control group. In IGT, total netscores were lower for the alexithymia group compared to the control group, particularly with regard to block 5. Moreover, the alexithymia individuals selected significantly more adverse cards than the controls, indicating significant decision-making impairments. Conclusion Alexithymia selectively influences decision-making under ambiguity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:19:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-51aca3afe4b4403f81a798899c9bb53e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-244X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:19:06Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-51aca3afe4b4403f81a798899c9bb53e2022-12-22T01:07:34ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2017-11-011711810.1186/s12888-017-1537-2Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymiaLei Zhang0Xue Wang1Yu Zhu2Hongchen Li3Chunyan Zhu4Fengqiong Yu5Kai Wang6Department of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical UniversityDepartment of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical UniversityDepartment of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical UniversityDepartment of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical UniversityDepartment of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical UniversityDepartment of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical UniversityDepartment of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical UniversityAbstract Background Alexithymia is characterised by difficulties identifying and describing emotions. Few studies have investigated how alexithymia influences decision-making under different conditions (ambiguity and risk). This study aimed to examine whether alexithymia contributes to impairment in decision-making. Method This study included 42 participants with high scores in the Chinese version of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (alexithymia group), and 44 matched subjects with low scores (control group). Decision-making was measured using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Game of Dice Task (GDT). Results The main findings of this study revealed selective deficits in IGT performance for the alexithymia group, while GDT performance was unimpaired when compared with the control group. In IGT, total netscores were lower for the alexithymia group compared to the control group, particularly with regard to block 5. Moreover, the alexithymia individuals selected significantly more adverse cards than the controls, indicating significant decision-making impairments. Conclusion Alexithymia selectively influences decision-making under ambiguity.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-017-1537-2AlexithymiaDecision makingTAS-20AmbiguityRisk |
| spellingShingle | Lei Zhang Xue Wang Yu Zhu Hongchen Li Chunyan Zhu Fengqiong Yu Kai Wang Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia BMC Psychiatry Alexithymia Decision making TAS-20 Ambiguity Risk |
| title | Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia |
| title_full | Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia |
| title_fullStr | Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia |
| title_short | Selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia |
| title_sort | selective impairment of decision making under ambiguity in alexithymia |
| topic | Alexithymia Decision making TAS-20 Ambiguity Risk |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-017-1537-2 |
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