(PS4-6) Development of a Novel Task for Investigating Insensitivity to Future Consequences

We present two studies that aimed to develop and validate a novel task for investigating insensitivity to future consequences (IFC), defined as neglecting to attend to and account for future consequences. Previous research on IFC has predominantly relied on a gambling task, which limits the consequences of decision-making to monetary gain and loss (Bechara et al., 1994). In contrast, disorders of emotion tend to be characterized by avoidance behaviors that provide immediate relief, but neglect long-term outcomes. To create a more ecologically valid task better aligned with clinical observations, we devised the Scenario Task (ST). This task involves making decisions regarding approach vs. avoidance behavior in hypothetical day-to-day scenarios with the critical experimental manipulation being the presence or absence of information regarding long-term consequences. Study 1 involved a focus group compromising 21 (76% female, 52% white) psychology undergraduates to gather quantitative and qualitative feedback on an initial version of the ST, which included 30 scenarios. Based on participant input, we made appropriate modifications to the task. Study 2 involved an experiment with 208 (80% female, 89% white) Research Match volunteer participants to (1) select the most effective scenarios based on their psychometric properties, (2) validate the final version of the ST by testing the effectiveness of the manipulation, and (3) explore potential moderators, including certain scenario characteristics and individual differences in imagination vividness. We removed 12 scenarios that were not significantly impacted by the manipulation, 2 scenarios that were potentially biased toward certain populations, and 2 scenarios that failed to demonstrate sufficiently high item-total correlations, leading to the final ST composed of 14 scenarios. The validity of the final ST was supported by a significant effect of Condition on decision-making when controlling for age (beta = 0.68, 95% CI [0.58, 0.79], t(2749) = 12.89, p < .001), suggesting that the inclusion of long-term consequences significantly increased approach decisions and decreased avoidance decisions. We did not find any significant moderation effects, suggesting that the manipulation was equally effective across different scenario characteristics, as well as across participants who varied in terms of vividness of imagination. Importantly, Study 2’s findings provided evidence for the validity of the ST as a research instrument for investigating the construct of insensitivity to future consequences, supporting its use in future studies in broader contexts.