EFFECT OF DECISION RELATED FACTORS ON THE LOGICAL INFERENCES OF DEPRESSIVE EARLY ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT BRAIN DAMAGES

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the effect of effect of decision related factors (including decision framing, decision situations, and decision time and decision structure) on the logical inferences of depressive adults with and without brain damages. The study is based on experimental vignette methodology (EVM). Sample of the study consisted of early adults with clinically significant depressive symptoms (N = 100), specifically under treatment, with age range of 19 to 23 years. Adults were divided into two groups adults with brain damages (n = 50, 50%) and adults without brain damages (n = 50, 50%). Data were collected from different health institutions of Sargodha city. Already diagnosed depressive adults were selected from hospitals. Stroop test was applied for their neurological screening and experimental vignettes were developed for measuring decisions on decision related factors. The findings of Chi-Square Test revealed significant differences in the patterns of mediate and immediate inferences of early adults with and without brain damages. Findings can help in understanding the decision patterns of early adults specifically with reference to their brain functioning.

Keywords: Decision Framing, Decision Situations, Decision Time, Decision Structure, Brain Damages, Logical Inferences