Affective bias through the lens of Signal Detection Theory Shannon M. Locke1 & Oliver J. Robinson2,3* 1 Laboratoire des Syst`emesPerceptifs, D´epartement d'Etudes´ Cognitives, Ecole´ Normale Sup´erieure,PSL University, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France 2 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK 3 Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK *Corresponding author:
[email protected] Abstract 1 Affective bias - a propensity to focus on negative information at the expense of positive in- 2 formation - is a core feature of many mental health problems. However, it can be caused by 3 wide range of possible underlying cognitive mechanisms. Here we illustrate this by focusing on 4 one particular behavioural signature of affective bias - increased tendency of anxious/depressed 5 individuals to predict lower rewards - in the context of the Signal Detection Theory (SDT) 6 modelling framework. Specifically, we apply this framework to a tone-discrimination task (Ayl- 7 ward et al., 2019a), and argue that the same behavioural signature (differential placement of 8 the 'decision criterion' between healthy controls and individuals with mood/anxiety disorders) 9 might be driven by multiple SDT processes. Building on this theoretical foundation, we propose 10 five experiments to test five hypothetical sources of this affective bias: beliefs about prior proba- 11 bilities, beliefs about performance, subjective value of reward, learning differences, and need for 12 accuracy differences. We argue that greater precision about the mechanisms driving affective 13 bias may eventually enable us to better understand and treat mood and anxiety disorders. 14 Author Summary 15 We apply the Signal Detection Theory framework to understanding the mechanisms behind 16 affective bias in individuals with mood and anxiety disorders.