Abstract

NUNEZ CARVALHO, Janaína Castro et al. Decision-making and other executive functions: A correlational study. Ciênc. cogn. [online]. 2012, vol.17, n.1, pp.94-104. ISSN 1806-5821.

The "executive functions" (EF) construct is a set of processes with many components, still insufficiently defined and operationalized. They can be considered, for the participation of emotional processing, "cold" and "hot"components. This study aimed to correlate the construct decision-making (DM), taken as a "hot" EF, as assessed by the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), together with other executive components, assessed by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WSCT),Trail Making Test (TMT) and Hayling Test. Regarding to the total performance in IGT, the only finding was an inverse correlation with the time score of Hayling's part B. It suggests that speed processing of inhibition can be directly related to an advantageous DM. Inverse correlations were found between the performance on the first block of IGT and the scores of other three EF tests, indicating a different processing in the beginning of this paradigm. It is possible that explicit mechanisms more necessary in other executive tasks might have a negative association with the performance in the earlier sections of the IGT, in which implicit and emotional processing is privileged. Studies about the relationship between the IGT's main construct and other "hot" EF should be conducted. © Cien. Cogn. 2012; Vol. 17 (1): 094-104.

Keywords : executive functions; Iowa Gambling Task; decision making; cognitive flexibility; inhibition.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )