College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/8
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item Considering the Role of Physiological Rewards in the Relationship Between Impulsivity and Decision Making(2021) Jaw, Hsin; McGloin, Jean M; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Individual levels of impulsivity and anticipated physiological rewards (i.e., thrill) associated with offending have both been recognized as important aspects of the criminal decision-making calculus. However, the extant literature does not have a clear understanding of the dynamics between the two constructs and crime, specifically how physiological rewards matter in the impulsivity-offending relationship. Using the dual-process framework of decision making, this thesis explores first whether impulsivity influence offending indirectly through perceived physiological rewards, and second whether individuals are differentially susceptible to physiological rewards according to their levels of impulsivity (i.e. moderation). These hypotheses are tested using two waves of the Pathways to Desistance study. The results provide support that physiological rewards partially mediate the relationship between impulsivity and offending, yet there is no statistically significant moderating relationship.Item Conflict and Competition between Model-based and Model-free Control(2020) Lei, Yuqing; Solway, Alec; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)There are two learning systems behind human decision-making: the model-based (MB) system and the model-free (MF) system. While they both contribute to decision-making behaviors, it is not clear how the two systems interact to formulate a single decision, especially when they are in conflict. This present thesis defines decision conflict between the systems in two popular binary-choice tasks: Daw’s Two-step task and Kool’s Rocket Task. We used hierarchical modeling to identify conflict-related changes during decision process using the Drift-Diffusion Model (DDM). Evidence showed that the MB system compromises when there is a conflict with the MF system, whether the conflict is on the valuational level or action level. We also looked at how a key component of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the cognitive self-consciousness (CSC), affects the two learning systems during decision.Item The Valuation of Social Reinforcement in Schizophrenia(2015) Catalano, Lauren Theresa; Blanchard, Jack J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Facial affect perception impairments impede social functioning in schizophrenia. What remains unknown is how individuals with schizophrenia assign value to pleasant facial expressions that typically motivate social affiliation. The current study adapted a matching pennies game (Shore & Heerey, 2011) to assess the subjective value of social feedback in terms of money. Individuals with schizophrenia and controls were instructed to choose the same side of a coin as six computerized partners, each of whom provided different rates of monetary feedback and types of social feedback. In a later test phase, participants chose which partner to play from amongst pairs of partners. Among participants who appropriately learned task contingencies, individuals with schizophrenia failed to use genuine smiles to motivate choices to the same extent as controls; however, money was equally valued. These findings suggest that there is a reduced sensitivity to social rewards in schizophrenia.