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Using cognitive models to map relations between neuropsychological disorders and human decision-making deficits
Eldad Yechiam1, Jerome R Busemeyer, Julie C Stout
1Indiana University, IN, USA. yeldad@tx.technion.ac.il
Psychological Science
|November 30, 2005
Summary
Individuals with neuropsychological disorders exhibit decision-making deficits, leading to risky behavior. A cognitive model reveals these deficits stem from issues in evaluating options and learning from rewards and punishments.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Neuropsychological disorders often involve decision-making deficits.
- The Iowa Gambling Task is a complex task used to assess decision-making.
- Maladaptive risk-taking behavior is a common characteristic.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe a cognitive model for decision-making deficits in neuropsychological disorders.
- To analyze performance in the Iowa Gambling Task.
- To bridge neuroscience and behavior through cognitive modeling.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a cognitive model to distill Iowa Gambling Task performance into three psychological components.
- Analyzed findings from 10 studies.
- Mapped neuropsychological disorders onto a component space representing decision-making.
Main Results:
- Decision-making deficits were distilled into three components: reward/punishment impact, learning rate, and learning-response consistency.
- A cluster of populations exhibited risky choices despite high attention to losses.
- Difficulties in creating emotive representations may underlie these risky choices.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive models can effectively explain decision-making deficits in neuropsychological disorders.
- The model provides a framework for understanding the relationship between neuroscience and behavior.
- Findings highlight the role of emotive representations in decision-making.
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