Ecological Momentary Assessment of State-Dependent Decision-Making and Metacognition Across a Psychopathology Continuum

Summary

Background: Life experiences could impact how one feel, and in turn alter how decisions are made. For example, an argument with a loved one might lead to frustration that drives one to seek alcohol or engage in other riskier decision-making. By tracking not only how life experiences might change feelings but also the decision-making tendencies assessed by behavioral tasks, researcher aimed to better understand naturalistically how life experiences might shape behaviors through feelings. This could lead to a better understanding, identification and treatment for people with mental disorders. Objective: Naturalistically track how life experiences change self-reported mental states, such as emotions or mood, as well as decision-making tendencies. Eligibility: Individuals aged 18 to 55 years, who are either healthy or with varying degrees of depressive, anxious or addictive symptom severity. Design: Participants in the study will complete the following activities: 1) complete an initial assessment of their medical, mental health and personal history; 2) complete a set of behavior tasks; 3) for 12 weeks, complete surveys, tasks and audiovisual diary on a smart phone while they go about their life; 4) for 12 weeks, continuously wear an smartwatch-like device to track physiological signals; 5) every 2 weeks for 12 weeks, complete a set of surveys on mental health conditions; and 6) complete an end-of-study debriefing session to discuss their experience in the study.

Description