Seminar: Steven J. Seay, Jr.

You are invited to the following public seminar:

Steven J. Seay, Jr. will speak on his dissertation research for the PhD in Psychology and Neural Science: "Information Search Behaviors Associated with Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder."

Thursday, August 13, 2009
1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Room 128, Psychology Building

Abstract:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been shown to be associated with abnormalities in decision making on simple choice tasks. In this study, we applied the framework of the “fast and frugal heuristics” to investigate differences in multiattribute decision making associated with symptoms of OCD. Participants with varying levels of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms completed a multiattribute decision making task in which they could purchase decision relevant information from 5 differentially-useful sources. Our findings suggest that OC symptoms were associated with differences in response quality, as well as differences in the process used to update cue orders. Higher OC symptoms were associated with a greater number of errors on the task. Moreover, higher OC symptoms were related to a greater tendency to make choices that were inconsistent with the available cue information and to more frequently terminate search prior to encountering a discriminating cue. With regard to the process used to update cue orders, higher OC symptoms predicted reduced cue order perseveration, increased search order reorganization, and poorer fit of the Simple Swap heuristic for characterizing information purchases during later decision trials. Finally, OC symptoms were correlated positively with indecision, intolerance of uncertainty, perfectionism, and tendencies to maximize ideal outcomes and avoid regret. This study advances our understanding of multiattribute decision making in OCD and provides some of the first evidence linking individual differences in information search behavior to psychopathology.

Committee in Charge
Professor Richard J. Viken, Chairperson
William P. Hetrick, Ph.D.
Brian F. O'Donnell, Ph.D.
Peter M. Todd, Ph.D.