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Can games tell if you are impulsive?

<div class="copy"> Using a series of Wild West style computer games, Australian researchers<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01127-3" target="_blank"> report</a> in the journal Nature Human Behaviour that they have developed a way to accurately assess how impulsive people are – an important attribute for mental health. Poor impulse control is a core feature of many different conditions such as addiction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, personality disorders, bipolar disorder and some dementias, as well as various risk-taking behaviours like reckless driving or unsafe sex. But until now, no comprehensive cognitive tests have been developed to measure impulsivity, or disinhibition, according to lead author Antonio Verdejo-Garcia from Monash University. Validating such a test would require large sample sizes. To address this, his team collaborated with game developers, Torus Games, to create an online test that could reach more people than is possible in the lab. They also realised they needed to make it engaging. “We created a gamified test battery in which cognitive tasks that measured different impulsive mechanisms were ‘disguised’ as fun and challenging games,” Verdejo-Garcia explains. The battery includes a bounty hunter game, where you have to shoot the bandit but not the sheriff; a spotter game, which involves guiding a caravan safely through dangers and obstacles and deciding what gradually emerging images are (such as a buffalo or cougar); and the prospector’s gamble, where you pick the luckiest prospector while fortunes are changing. <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <div class="entry-content-asset"> <div class="embed-wrapper"> <div class="inner"><iframe title="Cognitive Impulsivity Suite demo" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLs-GMH-Foyaz-UkhauX-uSCDBQkAM1sTv" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div> </div> </div> </div> An example of the video games used in the research. Credit: Verdejo-Garcia et al, Nature Human Behaviour. Behind the scenes, each task is designed to measure a distinct aspect of impulsive behaviour: attention lapses, acting before gathering enough information and limited use of feedback from previous choices. The team first delivered the “Cognitive Impulsivity Suite” online using the crowdsourcing platform MTurk with a community sample of more than 1000 people. Then they confirmed their findings with 63 people in the lab before delivering it online again with a sample of 578 people, including participants with alcohol and drug problems. Results showed the test is an accurate and reliable measure of the three different impulsivity features that can help identify the likely cognitive source of disinhibition. It was also accurate at predicting real-world addiction-related problems. Currently, the test provides a useful research tool for gaining further insights into mental and neurological disorders associated with impulsivity, but Verdejo-Garcia says it has the potential to be developed into a tool for clinicians and the general public. Image credit: Shutterstock </div> <div id="contributors"> This article was originally published on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/can-games-tell-if-you-are-impulsive/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Natalie Parletta. </div>

Technology

Marriage doesn’t cure reckless spending

People who tend to splash their cash are unlikely to become more prudent after marriage, new research shows. Hisaki Kono from Japan’s Kyoto University and Tomomi Tanaka of the World Bank in Washington DC, US, studied 134 married couples in a middle-class area in Vietnam to see if spendthrift behaviour before marriage was moderated after getting hitched. The answer, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217646">published</a> in the journal PLOS One, is a resounding “not really”. The habit of splurging on impulse purchases is known in the jargon as “present bias”, defined by Kono and Tanaka as “the overvaluation of an immediate payoff”. It is a habit that often results in both short- and long-term problems, because it negatively impacts household budgets and savings bases. To test whether being married reduced present bias behaviour, the researchers interviewed all the husbands and wives individually, and asked them, as couples, to participate in a series of experiments that required them to make decisions about the allocation of imaginary funds. On the good news side of the ledger, the results showed that spendthrifty partners were less likely to be swayed by present bias when making joint financial decisions than when asked to make decisions on their own. However, present biased spouses were also likely to contribute smaller sums from their income for combined household spending. In situations where the profligate partner was in charge of the financial planning – something that occurred unexpectedly often – the more prudent partner was likely to be asked to put a higher proportion of income into the common pot. “Present-biased individuals also receive larger amounts of money from their spouses’ incomes, indicating that marriage not only fails to function as a savings commitment device but also exacerbates the problem,” the researchers write. They also noted that when prudent partners were in charge of finances, they tended to allocate only small amounts of spending money to their spouses – but that the recipients also tended to “conceal money to counteract this strategy”. The researchers tentatively suggest that in at least some partnerships unequal spending between partners was tolerated because of “the affection and acceptance that form the basis of marriage”, and because the union brought other, non-financial benefits, such as emotional support and protection. It is perhaps not surprising, however, that Kono and Tanaka found that women were more likely than men to be disadvantaged by a present-biased partner – and that they were therefore more likely to use external money-management strategies such as talking to financial advisers and locking funds up in savings accounts. Image credit: Getty Images This article first appeared on <a rel="noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/behaviour/marriage-doesnt-cure-reckless-spending-researchers-find/" target="_blank">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Andrew Masterson.

Money & Banking

Are cats to blame for your impulsive behaviour?

Consider yourself a cat person? Be careful – your feline friend might make you more reckless. Cats are well-known carriers of Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that has been associated with a rise in adventurous and impulsive tendencies. People can pick up the parasite from cats’ feces as well as a variety of other sources, such as undercooked meat and gardening soil. According to a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24231154">study</a> published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, Toxo spreads across the brain and increases dopamine production. Because of this, the parasite has been found to have interesting effects on both animals and humans. Infected mice become more adventurous and less wary of cats – ironically, this is what increases rats’ likelihood to become prey and allow Toxo to reproduce in the cat’s body. Toxo also influences human behaviour. A <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/?single_page=true">study</a> by Charles University in Prague suggested that Toxo infection could lead to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/?single_page=true">heightened anxiety</a>. This manifests in different ways for men and women. Infected men tend to turn more suspicious, withdrawn, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/do-cats-control-my-mind/282045/">prone to breaking rules</a> and oblivious to how other people see them, while infected women have been found to be more outgoing, rule-abiding and image-conscious – for example, dressing up more or wearing expensive, designer brands. Another <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2018.0822">study</a> by the University of Colorado re-emphasised Toxo’s effect on risk taking behaviour. It found that infected students were 40 per cent more likely to study business – a relatively risky field – than other disciplines, and 70 per cent more likely to specialise in management and entrepreneurship over other related studies such as the more stable accounting. It has also been shown that infected men and women are also more likely to get in traffic accidents, develop schizophrenia and engage in self-directed violence. The way that Toxo influences our brain responses <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1635495/#bib29">led researchers at the University of California to conclude</a> that “parasite’s subtle effect on individual personality appears to alter the aggregate personality at the population level”. While humans on average would not be seriously harmed by Toxo infection, the parasite can cause serious illness in those who are pregnant or have weakened immune systems – such as the sick or the elderly – as it can attack their brain, eyes and other organs. To prevent getting infected, <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/toxoplasmosis">healthdirect</a> recommends cooking meat and poultry well as well as maintaining hygiene – for example, washing hands after handling food or wearing gloves when changing the cat litter.

Mind

Are you an impulse buyer? Here’s how to stop!

If you’ve been drawn into the online shopping vortex, lured by countdown sales and urgent clearance specials, chances are you’ve made an impulse purchase. You’ve probably experienced “the guilts” after giving the credit card a belting at the local shopping centre, but at what point does the odd impulse buy become a serious problem? Let us take a closer look.Why do we do it? In the fast-paced world of internet shopping and same-day delivery, 24-hour sales and one-off offers, Paypass and Paypal, our needs and wants can be instantly gratified. The increasing need for instant gratification is the main contributing factor to making an impulse purchase, along with an inability to control emotion. This lack of impulse control seems to disrupt normal decision-making processes in consumers’ brains.There are also targeted marketing campaigns: those sneaky ads that aim for those who easily succumb to making quick and uninformed decisions. Marketers cleverly utilise tools with a lot of hype and sizzle to entice an emotional rather than a rational response to the purchase. Not surprisingly, sale events are also designed to cause a frenzy of impulse buying. The chaotic environment of a sale can lead to a lack of personal control, which can result in a wardrobe full of unworn clothes. Sound familiar?<a href="/Related%20link:%205%20things%20money-wise%20people%20never%20do" target="_blank">Related link: 5 things money-wise people never do</a>What happens when it becomes a serious problem? While it’s easy to joke about impulse buying, it can become addictive, causing serious problems. Impulse buyers can run up huge debts and compromise relationships with others. Their behaviour can lead to lowered levels of confidence and self-control and heightened levels of depression and anxiety.So, how does one put a lid on it? Luckily, there are steps that can be taken to curb the urge to buy impulsively. These include:<ul><li>Setting a budget before you shop.</li><li>Leaving credit cards at home and only taking a certain amount of cash with you to the shops.</li><li>Learning to slow down and take time to consider purchases.</li><li>Seeing a psychologist to develop a set of behavioural and attitudinal techniques involving a) awareness, b) acceptance and c) action. This involves gaining awareness into why you buy impulsively, accepting this is a problem and then taking action to develop good impulse control strategies.</li></ul>Whether it’s a real problem or just an occasional brain snap, there’s no harm in learning a little self-control, especially leading into the many seasonal sales there are each year. Your wallet will thank you for it.If you have impulse-happy shopping buddies, it can be easy to let them convince you that all the outfits you just tried on look great, and you should definitely buy them. If you want to shop socially, do it with people who also have frugal spending habits.You should also keep a list of things you justifiably want or need. That way, if you do see them on sale, you can buy them with confidence.Related links:<a href="/finance/money/2015/02/best-things-to-spend-money-on/" target="_blank">The best ways to make $200 go as far as possible</a><a href="/finance/money/2014/11/tips-for-smarter-shopping-online/" target="_blank">Tips for smarter online shopping</a><a href="/finance/money/2014/12/money-mistakes-to-avoid/" target="_blank">5 money lies we all tell ourselves that are bleeding us dry</a>

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