Investigating social decision-making in severe alcohol use disorder using the Prisoner's Dilemma

Details

Supervisors

Maurage, Pierre ; Gautier, Mado Constance

Faculty

Faculté de psychologie, logopédie, sexologie et des sciences de la famille

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences psychologiques, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

Severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD) is one of the most widespread psychiatric disorders, causing numerous social and interpersonal difficulties for sufferers. The origin of these difficulties could be linked to deficits in social cognition, particularly in the area of social decision-making. Although deficits in social cognition have been identified in people with SAUD, the underlying mechanisms involved in social decision-making remain to be explored. The use of neuroeconomic tasks, such as the prisoner's dilemma, has been shown to be relevant to the study of social decision-making in severe alcohol use disorder. This study aims to explore differences in social decision-making between individuals with SAUD and a control group, examining several components using the prisoner's dilemma task and controlling for a variety of psychological factors. Forty participants with Alcohol Use Disorder (SAUD group) and forty individuals who consume little to no alcohol (control group) were recruited to participate in the study. The aim is to improve understanding of the mechanisms underlying social decision-making and the associated interpersonal difficulties. To do this, we will use the prisoner's dilemma, a behavioural task based on cooperation and competition, to assess social decision-making. This approach will enable us to analyse differences in social decision-making in patients with SAUD, in particular by examining their reaction to various adversary strategies, as well as the nature of this adversary (human or computer). In addition, several questionnaires will assess various psychological dimensions, providing data that can be related to social decision making and interpersonal difficulties. Our results indicate a bias in social decision-making among individuals with SAUD, characterised by increased competitiveness compared to the control group, particularly when the opponent's strategy was cooperative or random. However, these individuals retain their ability to distinguish between social and non-social situations. We also highlighted the importance of certain factors in people with SAUD, such as depressive and anxious affect, as well as greater interpersonal difficulties. However, we did not observe any significant difference in empathy scores. Although we were unable to establish a direct link between deficits in social decision-making, social cognition, and interpersonal difficulties, we recommend further research into this subject.