Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2014 Mar;45(1):74-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2013.08.001. Epub 2013 Aug 17.
It has been proposed that worry in individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder may be reinforced by a positive effect of worry on decision making, as reflected by a steeper learning curve on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). We hypothesized that this apparent positive effect of worry is dependent on the IGT parameters, in particular the absence of an opportunity to avoid decisions.
(1) To replicate previous findings on the effect of worry on IGT performance. (2) To examine the influence of avoidance opportunity on IGT performance. We hypothesized that the positive effect of worry on learning would be abolished or reversed by the opportunity to avoid.
A standard IGT and a new IGT version that includes a pass (avoidance) option were completed by 78 and 79 participants, respectively.
A beneficial effect of worry on learning in the standard version of the IGT was not observed. In the pass version of the IGT, worry status and avoidance were negatively associated with performance. Worry was not related, however, to pass usage. The hypothesized mediating effect of avoidance was non-significant.
It is unclear to what extent these findings generalize to real-life decision making and how clinical status affects results.
The possibility to avoid a decision results in poorer IGT performance in high relative to low trait worriers. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.
有人提出，广泛性焦虑障碍患者的担忧可能会通过担忧对决策产生积极影响而得到强化，这反映在爱荷华赌博任务（IGT）上学习曲线更为陡峭。我们假设这种担忧的明显积极影响取决于 IGT 参数，特别是缺乏避免决策的机会。
（1）复制以往关于担忧对 IGT 表现影响的研究结果。（2）检验避免机会对 IGT 表现的影响。我们假设，通过避免的机会，担忧对学习的积极影响将会被消除或逆转。
分别有 78 名和 79 名参与者完成了标准 IGT 和包含通过（避免）选项的新 IGT 版本。
在标准 IGT 版本中，没有观察到担忧对学习的有益影响。在 IGT 的通过版本中，担忧状态和避免与表现呈负相关。然而，担忧与通过的使用无关。回避的假设中介效应不显著。
目前尚不清楚这些发现在多大程度上适用于现实生活中的决策，以及临床状况如何影响结果。
在可以避免决策的情况下，相对高特质担忧者在 IGT 中的表现较差。对这些发现的可能解释进行了讨论。
