An investigation into the jumping-to-conclusions bias in social anxiety

Johnstone, Kristy M.; Chen, Junwen; Balzan, Ryan

doi:10.1016/j.concog.2016.10.012

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Because emotions play a substantial role in judgment formation, auditors may neglect important information that is more rational. This pattern of jumping to conclusion bias in the judgments of auditors are similar to findings of previous behavioural studies (e.g., Jaspersen and Aseervatham, 2017;Johnstone et al, 2017;Lee et al, 2011) which demonstrate that jumping to conclusion bias is quite common among individuals with anxiety or certain other emotions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A Qualitative Exploration of Heuristics and Cognitive Biases in Auditor Judgements

Maradona

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Professional judgement is inherent in financial statement audits because various methods, techniques, or approaches prescribed in auditing standards do not provide auditors with detailed guidance or specific audit criteria. While auditors are expected to exercise their judgements based on careful reasoning, there is a possibility that they do not always follow such an approach and instead make their judgements using heuristics. This study aims to penetrate and reveal whether there are cognitive biases in the judgements of auditors and what heuristics lead to these biases. This study employs a qualitative research design and uses ethnomethodology as a research approach. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 auditors who were either partners, managers, seniors, or juniors at a public accounting firm. Using the heuristic-bias framework as a theoretical lens and based on an analysis involving data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification, this study identifies five types of biases that auditors can experience: jumping to conclusions, groupthink, representativeness, availability, and anchoring biases. The results of this study present practical implications for auditors, accounting professional associations, public accounting firms, and academic institutions. That is, the findings provide insights for formulating strategies aimed at raising auditors’ awareness about possible systematic errors, or biases, in professional judgements when auditors rely on heuristics as a simplifying judgement-making strategy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A Qualitative Exploration of Heuristics and Cognitive Biases in Auditor Judgements

Maradona

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Notably, while average depression scores remained below the standard clinical cutoff for a depression diagnosis [15], the average anxiety score at the first time point (40±13.23) matched a widely-used clinical cutoff of 40, indicating that the average participant in our study was clinically anxious in early April 2020 (t(536)=0.006, p=.99, one sample t-test against 40) [17]. Moreover, anxiety at week one was higher than previously reported community averages (37.28±11.24) [16], and decreased to match pre-pandemic averages within three weeks (t1: t(720)=2.5, p=.01; t2: t(720)=2.48, p=.01; t3: t(720)=1.4, p=.12; Figure 2D). Depression (week one: 39.3±10.7) followed a similar pattern (community average: 38.10±9.45) [15], albeit not statistically significant (t1: t(707)=1.3; t2: t(707)=0.27; t3: t(707)=0.43; all p>.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 66%

“…Error bars indicate standard error of the mean. Community averages were obtained from previously reported depression (light blue) [15] and state-anxiety (pink) [16] scores in healthy adults, with standard error of the mean.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To address the lack of pre-pandemic baseline levels of depression and anxiety, we relied on previously reported community means [15,16]. We took the reported mean, standard deviation, and sample size (Depression: M=38.1, SD=9.45, N=172; Anxiety: M=37.28, SD=11.24, N=185), and conducted 2-sample t-tests with the first three time points, for each respective score.…”

Section: Comparison With Past Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Emotional Adaptation During A Crisis: Decline in Anxiety and Depression After the Initial Weeks of COVID-19 in the United States

Shuster

O’Brien

Luo

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveCrises such as the COVID-19 pandemic are known to exacerbate depression and anxiety, though their temporal trajectories remain unclear. The present study aims to investigate fluctuations in depression and anxiety using COVID-19 as a model crisis.Methods1,512 adults living in the U.S. enrolled in this online study on April 2nd, 2020 and were assessed weekly for 10 weeks (until June 4th, 2020; final n=537). Depression and anxiety were measured using the Zung Self-Rating Depression scale and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (state subscale), respectively, along with demographic and COVID-related questions. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to examine factors contributing to longitudinal changes in depression and anxiety.ResultsDepression and anxiety levels were high in early April, but declined over time (F(9,4824)=17.53, p<.001 and F(9,4824)=23.35, p<.001, respectively). In addition to demographic factors such as sex, age, income, and psychiatric diagnoses, we identified some overlapping and some distinct dynamic factors contributing to changes in depression and anxiety: worsening of weekly individual economic impact of COVID-19 increased both depression and anxiety, while increased seven-day change in COVID-19 cases, social media use, and projected pandemic duration were positively associated with anxiety, but not depression.ConclusionsAlongside evidence for overall emotional adaptation, these findings highlight overlapping (economic), yet distinct (change in COVID-19 cases, social media use, and projected COVID-19 duration) factors contributing to fluctuations in depression and anxiety throughout the first wave of COVID-19. These results provide insight into socioeconomic policies and behavioral changes that can increase emotional adaptation in times of crisis.

show abstract

“…This suggests a similar cognitive mechanism as that expressed in delusional ideation. Indeed, while the literature is mixed, studies have shown that anxiety may influence probabilistic reasoning ( Garety et al., 2005 ; Johnstone et al., 2017 ; Lincoln, 2010 ; Mujica-Parodi et al., 2002 ), and can be directly linked to belief in conspiracy theories ( Green and Douglas, 2018 ). This relationship has been explained as a drive to collect information in order to reduce cognitive uncertainty at the cost of accuracy when making decisions ( Bensi and Giusberti, 2007 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Data gathering ability contributes to visual organization and probabilistic reasoning

Bernadyn

Feigenson

2018

Heliyon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Individuals use data gathering methods to inform judgments and behaviors. Effective interaction with the environment depends on these having high accuracy and low noise, but when they become abnormal, aberrant thoughts and perceptions can occur. In this study, we examined if data gathering methods were consistent across tasks that relied on different cognitive abilities, specifically visual perception and probabilistic reasoning. Thirty-four non-clinical participants engaged in the Ebbinghaus Illusion and the Jumping to Conclusions tasks, while also completing questionnaires concerning aspects of delusion formation. A significant, positive correlation was observed between performance on the Ebbinghaus Illusion and the Jumping to Conclusions tasks. Both tasks were negatively correlated with the General Conspiracy Belief Scale. The results suggest an underlying mechanism for data gathering that is consistent across behavioral domains and exists on a continuum in the general population.

show abstract

An investigation into the jumping-to-conclusions bias in social anxiety

Cited by 6 publications

References 59 publications

A Qualitative Exploration of Heuristics and Cognitive Biases in Auditor Judgements

A Qualitative Exploration of Heuristics and Cognitive Biases in Auditor Judgements

Emotional Adaptation During A Crisis: Decline in Anxiety and Depression After the Initial Weeks of COVID-19 in the United States

Data gathering ability contributes to visual organization and probabilistic reasoning

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About