Testing a Shortened Version of the AlAn's Game
Condition: Psychopathic Personality Trait
MeSH terms: Antisocial Personality Disorder
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      It has been demonstrated that behavior on the AlAn's (altruism-antisocial) game is related to
      Moral Elevation response. Moral Elevation is a positive response to another's act of
      generosity "of charity, gratitude, fidelity, generosity or any other strong display of
      virtue". The constellation of emotional, physical and psychological aspects of a Moral
      Elevation response have been well described. Moral Elevation can be elicited with stimulus
      stories or videos and measured with self-report questionnaires. The experience of Moral
      Elevation is associated with subsequent prosocial and affiliative behaviors. Additionally,
      the research has linked Moral Elevation response with behavior on the AlAn's game. This study
      will test whether behavior on the AlAn's Short Game v.2 is related to Moral Elevation
      response and extend prior work by testing whether viewing the Moral Elevation stimulus prior
      to playing the AlAn's Short Game v.2 is associated with differences in game behavior. The
      study will also test whether psychopathic traits will correlate with game behavior.
    

Detailed description: 
      Hypotheses and Specific Aims:

      Aim 1: Examine the similarities and differences in behaviors on the AlAn's Short Game v.2
      seen with the two Active Trial (AT) types (where Red Cross donation will be reduced and
      subject will gain money (AT1) vs. where the Red Cross donation will increase and study
      participants will lose money (AT2).

      Hypothesis 1: Number of accepted trials of AT1 and AT2 from session 1 will significantly
      correlate.

      Aim 2: Test the effects of Elevation vs. Nature video on change in AlAn's Short Game v.2
      behavior between sessions 1 and 2.

      Hypothesis 2: Subjects who view the Elevation stimulus video (study Arm 1) will show
      increases in prosocial behavior while those watching the Nature video will not.

      Aim 3: Test the association between psychopathic traits and Costly Helping and determine
      whether the influence of Elevation on Costly Helping dissipates with increasing levels of
      psychopathic traits.

      Hypothesis 3: Psychopathic traits, as measured by the Levenson Self Report Psychopathy Scale,
      will significantly and negatively correlate with the amount of prosocial behavior in session
      1.

      Hypothesis 4: Using subjects from study Arm 1, change in AlAn's Short game v.2 behavior
      (session 2 minus session 1) will be negatively correlated with psychopathic trait scores.
    

Intervention name(s): Arm 1 - Elevation Stimulus Video; Arm 2 - Control Stimulus Video
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Subjects will watch a video that has been shown in previous studies to elicit an elevation response. This video shows a news story about a man saving the life of another man who falls onto the subway tracks.; Subjects will watch a nature video.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Study participants will be randomly assigned to receive one of two possible orders of administration. All subjects will first complete the Levenson Psychopathy Scale. Then Arm 1 presents the Moral Elevation stimulus after playing the first AlAn's Short Game v.2 (session 1), while Arm 2 presents the control stimulus (nature video). Subjects in both arms will then play AlAn's game again. After playing the game for a second time, subjects in both arms will fill out an Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACES), Social Connectedness survey, and Demographics form.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other
Keywords: psychopathic traits; moral elevation; prosocial behavior