title: Decision-making for risky gains and losses among college students with Internet gaming disorder.
abstract: Individuals with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) tend to exhibit disadvantageous risky decision-making not only in their real life but also in laboratory tasks. Decision-making is a complex multifaceted function and different cognitive processes are involved in decision-making for gains and losses. However, the relationship between impaired decision-making and gain versus loss processing in the context of IGD is poorly understood. The main aim of the present study was to separately evaluate decision-making for risky gains and losses among college students with IGD using the Cups task. Additionally, we further examined the effects of outcome magnitude and probability level on decision-making related to risky gains and losses respectively. Sixty college students with IGD and 42 matched healthy controls (HCs) participated. Results indicated that IGD subjects exhibited generally greater risk taking tendencies than HCs. In comparison to HCs, IGD subjects made more disadvantageous risky choices in the loss domain (but not in the gain domain). Follow-up analyses indicated that the impairment was associated to insensitivity to changes in outcome magnitude and probability level for risky losses among IGD subjects. In addition, higher Internet addiction severity scores were associated with percentage of disadvantageous risky options in the loss domain. These findings emphasize the effect of insensitivity to losses on disadvantageous decisions under risk in the context of IGD, which has implications for future intervention studies.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yuan-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Pin-Ru
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Jiao
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Tao
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sarah W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.affiliation: Scientific and Statistical Computing Core, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lin-Yuan
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Qin-Xue
authors.initials: QX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yi
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult