What the study found
Symptoms and traits linked to mental health and neurodevelopment were associated with how people used goal-directed decision-making in a complex threat inference task. Higher inattentive/neurodevelopmental symptoms were linked to better prediction of the predator's behaviour, while higher externalising symptoms were linked to more incorrect inferences.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that symptoms and traits that appear in real-world settings may reflect changes in the use of complex computational mechanisms. The study suggests that flexible, goal-directed decision-making may be one process relevant to complex inference and decision problems.
What the researchers tested
The researchers had 1,025 participants complete a validated, naturalistic threat inference task and a battery of self-report measures of mental health symptoms and neurodevelopmental characteristics. They also used computational modelling to examine how goal-directed decision-making related to participants' inferences about the predator's behaviour.
What worked and what didn't
Participants with higher inattentive/neurodevelopmental symptoms were better able to predict the predator's behaviour. Participants with higher externalising symptoms made more incorrect inferences, and the pattern of variation was better explained by these specific symptom dimensions than by more general factors. The modelling suggested that these associations were mediated by the degree of goal-directed decision-making used in the task.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not describe detailed limitations beyond the study's focus on one task, self-report symptom measures, and the participant sample tested. The findings are based on associations and mediation analysis, so the abstract does not by itself establish causation.
Key points
- Inattentive/neurodevelopmental symptoms were linked to better prediction of the predator's behaviour.
- Externalising symptoms were linked to more incorrect inferences.
- Specific symptom dimensions explained the pattern better than broader factors.
- Computational modelling suggested the associations were mediated by goal-directed decision-making.
- The study used a validated naturalistic threat inference task with 1,025 participants.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Mental health symptoms predict flexible inference use
- Authors:
- Toby Wise, Sirichat Sookud, Giorgia Michelini, Dean Mobbs
- Institutions:
- King's College London, Queen Mary University of London, California Institute of Technology
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-07
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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