NCT02271685

Sound Estimation and Accuracy Task

Estimation and Accuracy in Sound Task Perceived to be Medically Diagnostic

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 600 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Carnegie Mellon University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

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.

Detailed 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.

Conditions

• Parkinson's
• Alzheimer Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Instructions about Overestimates	Participants are told that overestimating the duration of sounds are associated with low disease risk.
OTHER	Instructions about Parkinson's	Participants are told that the task is about risk of Parkinson's disease.
OTHER	Instructions about Underestimates	Participants are told that underestimating the duration of sounds are associated with low disease risk.
OTHER	Instructions about Alzheimers	Participants are told that the task is about risk of Alzheimers disease.

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-02-01
• Primary completion: 2015-05-01
• Completion: 2015-05-01
• First posted: 2014-10-22
• Last updated: 2015-05-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States