title: How is the Beads Task related to intolerance of uncertainty in anxiety disorders?
abstract: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a cognitive bias associated with anxiety disorders that has only been reliably measured using self-report instruments. The current study investigated relationships between a probabilistic inference task - the Beads Task - and self-report IU. Individuals with anxiety disorders (ANX) and non-anxious controls (NAC) completed self-report measures as well as the Beads Task at three levels of difficulty. The Beads Task successfully induced task-related uncertainty as the decision became more difficult. While the two groups did not differ on the observable performance related measures, the ANX group was significantly more distressed during the task than were the NACs. Moreover, among the ANX group, self-reported IU was correlated with draws to decision and distress during the task. The Beads Task appears to provoke distress associated with uncertainty for anxious individuals, rather than altering their behavioral responses; thus, clinical implications and avenues for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Davie Hall, Campus Box 3270, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States. Electronic address: rjjacoby@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Ryan J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Jacoby
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Davie Hall, Campus Box 3270, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States. Electronic address: jabramowitz@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Abramowitz
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Davie Hall, Campus Box 3270, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States. Electronic address: bebuck@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Benjamin E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Buck
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Davie Hall, Campus Box 3270, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States. Electronic address: laurafab@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Fabricant
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035501:Uncertainty
keywords: Anxiety disorders; Behavioral assessment; Decision making; Generalized anxiety disorder; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Uncertainty