Decision-making in adolescents with profound hearing loss

Abstract

People with profound hearing loss show differences in language-related cognitive functions that may affect decision-making processes, but few studies have examined their decision-making behavior. The current study used the Iowa Gambling Task and the Game of Dice Task to explore the decision-making characteristics of adolescents with profound hearing loss. In the Iowa Gambling Task, deaf adolescents were more inclined to choose from the deck of infrequent losses with large immediate gains and larger future losses. In the Game of Dice Task, the deaf adolescents showed a preference for high-risk choices with high gains and high losses. These results suggest that deaf adolescents show a stronger preference for choices with immediate high gains and underestimate the potential risks, which may be related to differences in executive function or utilization of feedback.