Sound Estimation and Accuracy Task

Carnegie Mellon University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Alzheimer Disease; Parkinson's

Treatments: Other: Instructions about Underestimates; Other: Instructions about Overestimates; Other: Instructions about Alzheimers; Other: Instructions about Parkinson's

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02271685

HS14-553

Details and patient eligibility

About

Participants will be assigned to complete computerized estimation tasks for which there is a component of accuracy, such as estimating the duration of sounds. Participants will be told that the task is used as an early diagnostic tool to detect those at risk for a medical condition (e.g., Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease). Instructions will be given to participants telling them that accuracy on the task is associated with the disease, whereas those who are not at risk of the disease tend to either overestimate or underestimate the duration of the sounds. The investigators examine whether such instructions about the purpose and diagnosticity of the tasks biases participants' responses to the tasks, leading them to purposefully be more inaccurate in their estimates.

Full description

Participants will be assigned to complete computerized tasks for which there is a component of accuracy, such as estimating the length, in time, of sounds. Participants will be told that the task is used as an early diagnostic tool to detect those at risk for a medical condition (e.g., Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease). Instructions will be given to participants telling them that accuracy on the task is associated with the disease in question, whereas those who are not at risk of the disease tend to either overestimate or underestimate the duration of the sounds. The investigators examine whether such instructions about the purpose and diagnosticity of the tasks biases participants' responses to the tasks. The investigators collect additional survey measures as statistical controls and potential explanatory variables for variation in the performance on the tasks, and also test whether financial incentives for accuracy on these tasks improve the accuracy of responses to these tasks.

Following the task, all participants will be told that the tasks used are actually NOT diagnostic of the diseases in question, and that deception was used to learn how people respond to instructions about how a task can be used for diagnostic purposes.

Enrollment: 600 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 18 or older
• Able to access tasks on computer
• Able to hear sounds played on computer

Exclusion criteria

• Computer speakers absent or not functioning

Trial design

Primary purpose: Screening

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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600 participants in 4 patient groups

Overestimate Parkinson's

Experimental group

Description:

People are told that overestimates on the sound estimation task are associated with being healthy and having a low risk of Parkinson's disease, whereas those who are accurate are more likely to develop the disease later in life.

Treatment:

Other: Instructions about Overestimates

Other: Instructions about Parkinson's

Overestimate Alzheimers

Experimental group

Description:

People are told that overestimates on the sound estimation task are associated with being healthy and having a low risk of Alzheimers disease, whereas those who are accurate are more likely to develop the disease later in life.

Treatment:

Other: Instructions about Overestimates

Other: Instructions about Alzheimers

Underestimate Parkinson's

Experimental group

Description:

People are told that underestimates on the sound estimation task are associated with being healthy and having a low risk of Parkinson's disease, whereas those who are accurate are more likely to develop the disease later in life.

Treatment:

Other: Instructions about Underestimates

Other: Instructions about Parkinson's

Underestimate Alzheimers

Experimental group

Description:

People are told that underestimates on the sound estimation task are associated with being healthy and having a low risk of Alzheimers disease, whereas those who are accurate are more likely to develop the disease later in life.

Treatment:

Other: Instructions about Alzheimers

Other: Instructions about Underestimates