Devaluation of Rewards for the Future Is Associated With Schizotypal Personality Features
Author(s)
Li, Zhi
Shi, Yan-Fang
Parker, Giverny J
Huang, Jia
Yan, Chao
Lui, Simon SY
Cheung, Eric FC
Neumann, David L
Shum, David HK
Chan, Raymond CK
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2016
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objective: Empirical evidence has suggested that schizophrenia is associated with dysfunctions in the reward system and working memory.
However, little is known about individuals at risk for schizophrenia. In particular, it is not known if those with schizotypal personality features will
show similar deficits in these two domains. This study examined whether individuals with schizotypal personality disorder features will subjectively
devalue potential rewards in the future and show changes in their decision-making behaviour, compared with healthy controls, and
whether this devaluation is inversely associated with working ...
View more >Objective: Empirical evidence has suggested that schizophrenia is associated with dysfunctions in the reward system and working memory. However, little is known about individuals at risk for schizophrenia. In particular, it is not known if those with schizotypal personality features will show similar deficits in these two domains. This study examined whether individuals with schizotypal personality disorder features will subjectively devalue potential rewards in the future and show changes in their decision-making behaviour, compared with healthy controls, and whether this devaluation is inversely associated with working memory performance. Method: A total of 44 participants with schizotypal personality features and 22 healthy control participants without schizotypal personality features completed the Monetary-Choice Questionnaire, the Cambridge Gambling Task, and number and letter span tasks, which assessed delay-discounting rate, decision-making behaviour, and working memory, respectively. Results: The results showed that participants with schizotypal personality features, especially those with negative features, valued delayed rewards in the future to a lesser extent than healthy control participants. However, there was no significant group difference in decision-making on the Cambridge Gambling Task. Moreover, the delay-discounting rate of individuals with schizotypal personality features correlated signifi- cantly with working memory performance. Conclusion: The findings suggest that people with schizotypal personality features may be impaired in future reward perception and that this impairment is related to their working memory ability, although their capacity to make decisions is not affected.
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View more >Objective: Empirical evidence has suggested that schizophrenia is associated with dysfunctions in the reward system and working memory. However, little is known about individuals at risk for schizophrenia. In particular, it is not known if those with schizotypal personality features will show similar deficits in these two domains. This study examined whether individuals with schizotypal personality disorder features will subjectively devalue potential rewards in the future and show changes in their decision-making behaviour, compared with healthy controls, and whether this devaluation is inversely associated with working memory performance. Method: A total of 44 participants with schizotypal personality features and 22 healthy control participants without schizotypal personality features completed the Monetary-Choice Questionnaire, the Cambridge Gambling Task, and number and letter span tasks, which assessed delay-discounting rate, decision-making behaviour, and working memory, respectively. Results: The results showed that participants with schizotypal personality features, especially those with negative features, valued delayed rewards in the future to a lesser extent than healthy control participants. However, there was no significant group difference in decision-making on the Cambridge Gambling Task. Moreover, the delay-discounting rate of individuals with schizotypal personality features correlated signifi- cantly with working memory performance. Conclusion: The findings suggest that people with schizotypal personality features may be impaired in future reward perception and that this impairment is related to their working memory ability, although their capacity to make decisions is not affected.
View less >
Journal Title
Australian Psychologist
Note
This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version.
Subject
Psychology
Cognitive and computational psychology
Cognition