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How cognitive biases can distort environmental statistics: introducing the rough estimation task.

Thomas D W Wilcockson1, Emmanuel M Pothos

  • 1aDepartment of Psychology, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster bDepartment of Psychology, City University, London, UK.

Behavioural Pharmacology
|February 12, 2016
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Summary

This study introduces the Rough Estimation Task to measure cognitive biases related to appetitive stimuli. Overestimating appetitive words correlated with behaviors like alcohol consumption and eating patterns, validating the task.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Behavioral Science
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Cognitive biases are implicated in substance use and eating disorders.
  • Existing methods for assessing these biases may have limitations.
  • Understanding attentional and estimation biases is crucial for intervention development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a novel behavioral method, the Rough Estimation Task (RET).
  • To explore individual differences in cognitive biases related to appetitive stimuli.
  • To assess the task's association with behavioral measures and attentional bias.

Main Methods:

  • Participants were presented with word lists containing appetitive, neutral related, and neutral unrelated words.
  • Participants estimated the percentage of words in each category.
  • The study correlated overestimation of appetitive words with measures of alcohol consumption, BMI, and eating behaviors.
  • An eye-tracking attentional bias measure was also utilized.

Main Results:

  • Individual differences in overestimating appetitive words were significantly associated with higher alcohol consumption, hazardous drinking, BMI, external eating, and restrained eating.
  • The Rough Estimation Task demonstrated evidence of validity through these associations.
  • The task also showed a correlation with an eye-tracking measure of attentional bias.

Conclusions:

  • The Rough Estimation Task is a valid and novel behavioral method for assessing cognitive biases towards appetitive stimuli.
  • The task's findings align with theories of cognitive biases in substance use and eating behaviors.
  • This task offers a new tool for research in addiction, eating disorders, and related fields.