Self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and behavioural decisions

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is a significant transdiagnostic risk factor for anxiety and depression.
• Existing research primarily uses self-report measures, with limited exploration of behavioral correlates.
• Behavioral tasks offer objective insights into decision-making under uncertainty.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) and performance on specific behavioral tasks.
• To investigate whether IU influences decisions in uncertainty-based tasks like the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, Risky Gains Task, and Modified Iowa Gambling Task.
• To explore potential differences in IU-behavior relationships between community and student samples.

Main Methods:

• Utilized self-report measures for Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU).
• Administered three distinct behavioral tasks: Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, Risky Gains Task, and Modified Iowa Gambling Task.
• Recruited two samples: compensated community members (n=108) and undergraduates (n=98), with differential compensation structures.

Main Results:

• Confirmed prior findings, showing small to moderate correlations between self-reported IU and behavioral task outcomes.
• Observed a general trend where higher IU was associated with more risk-averse decision-making.
• Found stronger relationships in the undergraduate sample, potentially influenced by performance-contingent compensation.

Conclusions:

• Self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is associated with risk-averse behaviors in decision-making tasks.
• The relationship between IU and behavior is complex and warrants further investigation.
• Additional research is crucial to understand the impact of clinically significant IU on pathology-related behaviors.