There exist large individual differences in students' willingness to invest cognitive effort within the academic domain. In a preregistered study, we investigated whether individual differences in... Show moreThere exist large individual differences in students' willingness to invest cognitive effort within the academic domain. In a preregistered study, we investigated whether individual differences in adolescents' willingness to invest cognitive effort, as assessed by an experimental effort discounting task, were related to need for cognition, academic motivation and cognitive capacity. We found that adolescents' willingness to invest cognitive effort was related to need for cognition and cognitive capacity as indexed by task-performance. Our results demonstrate that individual differences in need for cognition and cognitive capacity contribute to differences in adolescents' cognitive effort-investment, but academic motivation does not. Show less
Adolescents with ADHD demonstrate increased risk-taking behavior (RTB) like substance abuse and dangerous traffic conduct. RTB in adolescence is more likely under peer influence. The current... Show moreAdolescents with ADHD demonstrate increased risk-taking behavior (RTB) like substance abuse and dangerous traffic conduct. RTB in adolescence is more likely under peer influence. The current investigation (1) tests the hypothesis that adolescents with ADHD are particularly susceptible to such influence and (2) tests whether groups differed in autonomic reactivity to peer influence. Adolescent boys between 12 and 19 years with (n = 81) and without (n = 99) ADHD performed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task twice. In the peer condition, a highly credible virtual peer manipulation that encouraged risk taking was added, in the solo condition this was absent. Autonomic reactivity was indexed by heart rate (HR), pre-ejection period (PEP) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA).Alladolescents engaged in more risk taking in the peer condition relative to solo condition. Autonomic differences between groups were only found on PEP: a stronger sympathetic response to peer influence was observed in typically developing adolescents relative to adolescents with ADHD. Increased physiological stress (as indexed by PEP) in the peer relative to the solo condition predicted peer-induced risk taking in all adolescents. We conclude that susceptibility to peer influence is not exaggerated in ADHD but rather reflects a general tendency of adolescents. As adolescents experiencing peer influence as stressful are most susceptible to peer influence, we suggest that increasing resistance to peer influence may be an important treatment aim for these adolescents specifically. Show less
Kramer, A.; Huizenga, H.M.; Krabbendam, L.; Duijvenvoorde, A.C.K. van 2020
Everything you do requires you to exert effort. For instance, basic things like walking or cycling require physical effort and have to do with using your body. Another type of effort is cognitive... Show moreEverything you do requires you to exert effort. For instance, basic things like walking or cycling require physical effort and have to do with using your body. Another type of effort is cognitive effort, which has to do with thinking and using your brain. For instance, think about trying to master a Rubik’s cube. Would you want to put in your effort here? The pleasure of finding a solution might outweigh the effort of thinking hard. Or you may decide that finding a solution is not worth your effort. Why and when would you decide to think hard? In this article, we will explain how you decide to exert cognitive effort and what is happening in your brain while you make this decision. Show less
Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) demonstrate increased levels of real-life risk-taking behavior like substance abuse and reckless behavior in traffic, which... Show moreAdolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) demonstrate increased levels of real-life risk-taking behavior like substance abuse and reckless behavior in traffic, which potentially originates in decision-making deficits. Using experimental gambling tasks, the current study investigated three potential underlying mechanisms: (1) risky vs. suboptimal decision making, (2) the complexity of decision-making strategies and (3) the influence of feedback. Participants were 181 male adolescents (81 ADHD, 100 Typically Developing (TD); Mage = 15.1 years). First, we addressed a common confound in many gambling tasks by disentangling risk seeking from suboptimal decision making, and found that ADHD-related decision-making deficits do not originate in increased risk seeking but in suboptimal decision making. Second, we assessed decision-making strategies with a Bayesian latent mixture analysis and found that ADHD-related decision-making deficits are characterized by the use of less complex strategies. That is, adolescent boys with ADHD, relative to TD adolescent boys, less often adopted strategies in which all characteristics relevant to make an optimal decision were integrated. Third, we administered two gambling task conditions with feedback in which adolescents experience the outcomes of their decisions and found that adolescents with ADHD performed worse relative to TD adolescents on both conditions. Altogether, this set of studies demonstrated consistent decision-making deficits in adolescent boys with ADHD: The use of less complex decision-making strategies may cause suboptimal decision making, both in situations with and without direct feedback on performance. Show less
Adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) show more daily life risk taking than typically developing adolescents. To obtain insight in when these "risk-taking adolescents"... Show moreAdolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) show more daily life risk taking than typically developing adolescents. To obtain insight in when these "risk-taking adolescents" especially take risks, we investigated main and interaction effects of (a) MBID, (b) sex, and (c) type of peer influence on risk taking. The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) was used as a proxy of real-life risk taking. 356 adolescents (12-19 years, 51.7% MBID, 63.4% boys) were randomly assigned to one of three BART peer-influence conditions: solo (no peers), positive risk encouragement (e.g., 'You are cool if you continue') or negative risk encouragement (e.g., 'You are a softy if you do not continue'). The main finding was that boys with MBID took more risks than typically developing boys in the negative risk encouragement condition. Boys with MBID also took more risks in the negative risk encouragement condition compared to the solo condition, whereas typically developing boys did not. There were no such effects for girls. Surprisingly, boys with MBID took less risks in the solo condition than typically developing boys. We conclude that boys with MBID especially show high risk taking when peers belittle or threat with exclusion from the peer group. Prevention and intervention programs should specifically target boys with MBID to teach them to resist negative risk encouragement by peers. Show less
Items of the Resistance to Peer Influence Questionnaire (RPIQ) have a tree-based structure. On each item, individuals first choose whether a less versus more peer-resistant group best describes... Show moreItems of the Resistance to Peer Influence Questionnaire (RPIQ) have a tree-based structure. On each item, individuals first choose whether a less versus more peer-resistant group best describes them; they then indicate whether it is “Really true” versus “Sort of true” that they belong to the chosen group. Using tree-based item response theory, we show that RPIQ items tap three dimensions: A Resistance to Peer Influence (RPI) dimension and two Response Polarization dimensions. We then reveal subgroup differences on these dimensions. That is, adolescents with mild-to-borderline intellectual disability, compared with typically developing adolescents, are less RPI and more polarized in their responses. Also, girls, compared with boys, are more RPI, and, when high RPI, more polarized in their responses. Together, these results indicate that a tree-based modeling approach yields a more sensitive measure of individuals’ RPI as well as their tendency to respond more or less extremely. Show less
In cognitive neuroscience there is a growing interest in individual differences. We propose the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model of combined behavioral and fMRI data to determine... Show moreIn cognitive neuroscience there is a growing interest in individual differences. We propose the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model of combined behavioral and fMRI data to determine whether such differences are quantitative or qualitative in nature. A simulation study revealed the MIMIC model to have adequate power for this goal, and parameter recovery to be satisfactory. The MIMIC model was illustrated with a re-analysis of Van Duijvenvoorde et al. (2016) and Blankenstein et al. (2018) decision making data. This showed individual differences in Van Duijvenvoorde et al. (2016) to originate in qualitative differences in decision strategies. Parameters indicated some individuals to use an expected value decision strategy, while others used a loss minimizing strategy, distinguished by individual differences in vmPFC activity. Individual differences in Blankenstein et al. (2018) were explained by quantitative differences in risk aversion. Parameters showed that more risk averse individuals preferred safe over risky choices, as predicted by heightened vmPFC activity. We advocate using the MIMIC model to empirically determine, rather than assume, the nature of individual differences in combined behavioral and fMRI datasets. Show less
Bexkens, A.; Huizenga, H.M.; Neville, D.A.; d'Escury-Koenigs, A.L.C.; Bredman, J.C.; Wagemaker, E.; Van der Molen, M.W. 2019
This study aimed to disentangle the effects of Mild-to-Borderline Intellectual Disability (MBID) and Behavior Disorders (BD)on risk taking in circumstances where peer influence was absent or... Show moreThis study aimed to disentangle the effects of Mild-to-Borderline Intellectual Disability (MBID) and Behavior Disorders (BD)on risk taking in circumstances where peer influence was absent or present. We studied 319 adolescents in four groups: MBID-only, MBID+BD, BD-only, and typically developing controls. The Balloon Analogue Risk-Task (BART), in a solo or peer condition, was used as a proxy of real-life risk-taking. Results show a significant main effect of BART condition. Post-hoc tests indicated higher risk-taking in the peer compared to the solo condition in all groups except BD-only. Moreover, risk taking was increased in adolescents with MBID compared to adolescents without MBID, but only under peer-influence. No main or interaction effects with BD were observed. Model based decomposition of BART performance in underlying processes showed that the MBID related increase in risk-taking under peer-influence was mainly related to increased risk-taking propensity, and in the MBID-only group also to increased safety estimates and increased confidence in these safety estimates. The present study shows that risk-taking in MBID may be better explained by low intellectual functioning than by comorbid BD, and may not originate in increased risk taking per se, but may rather be related to risk-taking under peer-influence, which is a complex, multifaceted risk-taking context. Therefore, interventions to decrease risk-taking by adolescents with MBID that specifically target peer-influence may be successful. Show less
