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Neurological and personality basis of adolescent risky behavior in simulated real-life scenarios

Description of the project:
Risk behaviors are major contributors to physical and psychological problems during adolescence. The present project examines the neural correlates that underlie risk-taking decisions during the adolescent years using verbal scenarios that simulate real-life situations. Using this task provides a more ecologically valid setting for adolescents who would perceive that they were making meaningful decisions compared to free-content gambling tasks. In particular we examine decisions for risky options under peer pressure either when there is voluntary control over the outcomes (e.g., taking a drug) or not (e.g., accidental injury or illness). An emotional evaluation of the outcomes obtained (positive or negative) will also be included in the task, which in the case of voluntary control would correspond, respectively, to the counterfactual emotions of regret and relief whereas in the case of involuntary control would correspond to disappointment and elation Two related experiments are designed using the abovementioned task. The first experiment examines age and sex differences on choice behavior and its emotional outcomes. The second experiment uses fMRI to examine whether neural responses associated with the decision-making behavior and the counterfactual emotions of regret and relief differ for adolescents and adults. Personality traits (e.g., sensation seeking, susceptibility to peer pressure) as well as actual risk-taking behavior will be assessed to explore how they correlate with the pattern of results obtained in the two experiments. The results will be relevant to better understand the neurological and personality bases of risk taking behavior in adolescence.
Runtime:
Start of project: 12.10.2012
End of project: 12.10.2015
Project Management:
Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
Rodrigo, MJ, de Vega, M, Ferstl, EC
Institut für Psychologie
Abt. Kognitionswissenschaft und Genderforschung
Hebelstr. 10
79104 Freiburg i. Br.
Germany

Phone: 0761 / 2034933
Fax: 0761 / 2034938
Email: sekretariat@cognition.uni-freiburg.de
http://portal.uni-freiburg.de/cognition/
Actual Research Report

Contributors:
  • Padron Gonzales
  • Ivan
Financing:
  • Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Sonstiges
Keywords:
    Risiko-Verhalten, soziale Kognition, Adoleszenz, Geschlecht