Year of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Major

Psychology

Directing Professor

Dr. Alex Wooten

Abstract

Gambling disorder is described as a persistent and reoccurring behavior that leads to distress and significant impairments in relationships, jobs, or career opportunities in the DSM V (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). With gambling behaviors on the rise, it is crucial to understand what makes one individual more likely than another to develop a gambling disorder. Impaired decision-making has been associated with problematic gambling behaviors, and delay discounting has been related to multiple behaviors such as alcohol use, drug use, and gambling. This study investigates the relationship between delay discounting and performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a commonly used decision-making task in the field of psychology. Delay discounting refers to the tendency to devalue rewards as the delay in receiving them increases. The hypothesis is that individuals who exhibit high levels of delay discounting may be more likely to perform poorly on the IGT, which requires participants to make decisions based on long-term outcomes rather than immediate rewards. However, studies have observed reflective feedback can improve decision-making. The participants were assessed for delay discounting using a standard questionnaire and then performed the IGT with or without reflective feedback. The results of the study provide support for the hypothesis, as those with higher levels of delay discounting exhibited poorer performance on the IGT. This study highlights the importance of cognitive operations and feedback during complex tasks such as the IGT.

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