title: The genetic and environmental etiology of decision-making: a longitudinal twin study.
abstract: The present study examined the genetic and environmental etiology of decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task; Bechara, Damásio, Damásio, & Anderson, 1994), in a sample of twins at ages 11-13, 14-15, and 16-18 years. The variance across five 20-trial blocks could be explained by a latent "decision-making'' factor within each of the three times of IGT administration. This latent factor was modestly influenced by genetic factors, explaining 35%, 20% and 46% of the variance within each of the three times of IGT administration. The remaining variance was explained by the non-shared environment (65%, 80% and 54%, respectively). Block-specific non-shared environmental influences were also observed. The stability of decision-making was modest across development. Youth showed a trend to choose less risky decks at later ages, suggesting some improvement in task performance across development. These findings contribute to our understanding of decision-making by highlighting the particular importance of each person's unique experiences on individual differences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061, USA. Tuvblad@usc.edu
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tuvblad
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Pan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raine
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Botwick
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000235:genetics; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors