Delusion‐proneness or miscomprehension? A re‐examination of the jumping‐to‐conclusions bias

Previous research has consistently shown that individuals with delusions typically exhibit a jumping‐to‐conclusions (JTC) bias when administrated the probabilistic reasoning ‘beads task’ (i.e., decisions made on limited evidence and/or decisions over‐adjusted in light of disconfirming evidence). However, recent work in this area has indicated that a lack of comprehension of the task may be confounding this finding. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of task administration, delusion‐proneness, and miscomprehension on the elucidation of the JTC bias. A total of 92 undergraduate university students were divided into one of two task conditions (i.e., non‐computerised and computerised) and were further identified as either delusion‐prone or non‐delusion‐prone and as comprehending or non‐comprehending the task. Overall, 25% of the sample demonstrated a JTC bias, and just over half made illogical responses consistent with a failure to comprehend the task. Qualitative evidence of comprehension revealed that these ‘illogical responses’ were being driven by a misunderstanding of task instructions. The way the task was administrated and levels of delusion‐proneness did not significantly influence JTC. However, miscomprehending participants were significantly more likely to exhibit the bias than those who did comprehend. These results suggest that miscomprehension rather than delusion‐proneness may be driving the JTC bias, and that future research should include measures of miscomprehension.     

A Meta‐Analytic Investigation of the Within‐Person Self‐Efficacy Domain: Is Self‐Efficacy a Product of Past Performance or a Driver of Future Performance?

We conducted a meta‐analysis to determine whether the within‐person self‐efficacy/performance relationship is positive, negative, or null and to compare the strength of the self‐efficacy/performance and past performance/self‐efficacy within‐person relationships. The self‐efficacy/performance within‐person corrected correlation was .23 but was weak and nonsignificant (ρ = .06) when controlling for the linear trajectory, revealing that the main effect was spurious. The past performance/self‐efficacy within‐person corrected correlation was .40 and remained positive and significant (ρ = .30) when controlling for the linear trajectory. The moderator results revealed that at the within‐person level of analysis: (a) self‐efficacy had at best a moderate, positive effect on performance and a null effect under other moderating conditions (ρ ranged from –.02 to .33); (b) the main effect of past performance on self‐efficacy was stronger than the effect of self‐efficacy on performance, even in the moderating conditions that produced the strongest self‐efficacy/performance relationship; (c) the effect of past performance on self‐efficacy ranged from moderate to strong across moderating conditions and was statistically significant across performance tasks, contextual factors, and methodological moderators (ρ ranged from .18 to .52). Overall, this suggests that self‐efficacy is primarily a product of past performance rather than the driving force affecting future performance.     

How strong is the comparison‐to‐the‐strongest heuristic?: An empirical test of the comparison‐ to‐the‐strongest heuristic in probability judgment1,2

Abstract: Windschitl and Wells (1998 ) proposed that the pairwise comparison between the focal and strongest alternative outcomes plays an important role in probability judgment. However, their studies did not control the effects of alternative outcomes other than the strongest one. This article tested whether only the strongest alternative outcome would affect probability judgment, using a variable selection method in a multiple regression analysis. Study 1 reanalyzed the results of Windschitl and Young (2001 ) and showed that only the strongest alternative outcome affects probability judgment. In Study 2, a new experiment was conducted to modify the methodological problems in Study 1. The results of Study 2 were identical to those of Study 1. All these results consistently supported the comparison hypothesis.     

Naturally better? A review of the natural‐is‐better bias

People are frequently exposed to products and services that are labeled natural (e.g., Nature Made Vitamins or GoJo Natural Orange Hand Cleaner). The frequency with which this label is used suggests that it delivers an advantage in marketing and sales. Our review examines the preference for and perception of naturalness and reveals that people have a bias for items described as natural in many domains including foods, medicine, beauty products, cigarettes, and lighting. These preferences abound even when the natural item is identical or not objectively better than the non‐natural or synthetic item. We believe this bias may be driven by a natural‐is‐better default belief as well as the belief that natural items are safer than non‐natural items. Although a bias for natural items is apparent, this literature is in its infancy, and we suggest three areas that will help build and refine the empirical research base and theory: the measurement of behavior, the examination of individual differences, and the development of methods for reducing the bias. A better understanding of the naturalness bias relevant to these areas will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the area, including factors that may cause and reduce it.     

True Context‐dependent Preferences? The Causes of Market‐dependent Valuations

A central assumption of neoclassical economics is that reservation prices for familiar products express people's true preferences for these products; that is, they represent the total benefit that a good confers to the consumers and are, thus, independent of actual prices in the market. Nevertheless, a vast amount of research has shown that valuations can be sensitive to other salient prices, particularly when individuals are explicitly anchored on them. In this paper, the authors extend previous research on single‐price anchoring and study the sensitivity of valuations to the distribution of prices found for a product in the market. In addition, they examine its possible causes. They find that market‐dependent valuations cannot be fully explained by rational inferences consumers draw about a product's value and are unlikely to be fully explained by true market‐dependent preferences. Rather, the market dependence of valuations likely reflects consumers' focus on something other than the total benefit that the product confers to them. Furthermore, this paper shows that market‐dependent valuations persist when – as in many real‐life settings – individuals make repeated purchase decisions over time and infer the distribution of the product's prices from their market experience. Finally, the authors consider the implications of their findings for marketers and consumers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wall‐to‐Wall or Patchwork? Linkages: Vehicles of Partnership

Career development services are often poorly interlinked. They overlap, yet they are can also be too far apart. They reach out, yet they do not always reach out to those who need the services the most. With examples from Denmark, this article indicates how and why career development services are linked in partnerships at different levels. Is a wall‐to‐wall carpet of career development services to be preferred over a patchwork quilt?     

Does Hub‐and‐Spoke organization of healthcare system promote workers' satisfaction?

The healthcare services network is a recent organizational structure of healthcare services that are interdependent and organized as a network on the basis of the Hub‐and‐Spoke model. This questionnaire‐based study analyzed socio‐psychological well‐being of health workers both in terms of team‐related experience and individual satisfaction and engagement with one's work in a Hub‐and‐Spoke healthcare service in comparison to non‐network healthcare service. Workers from two different public healthcare services involved in the treatment of the same skeletal rare diseases participated in the Study. We expected that working under a Hub‐and‐Spoke healthcare service—involving teamwork and cooperation among different healthcare services within the units, as well as among workers belonging to different units—would lead to greater psychological team‐related and individual benefits. In line with predictions, the findings showed that under a Hub‐and‐Spoke healthcare service, health workers felt highly interdependent by their team fellows and developed shared cognitions (i.e., team mental models) about their integration and their tasks to a higher extent than non‐network ones. They were also individually more satisfied of their job and displayed higher work engagement than non‐network workers. Beneficial team‐related dynamics, such as perceived interdependence, were responsible for the differences between the Hub‐and‐Spoke workers and non‐network ones. The implications of the present findings were discussed in terms of promotion of health workers' satisfaction and well‐being.     

Affective Synchrony in Dual‐ and Single‐Smoker Couples: Further Evidence of “Symptom‐System Fit”?

Couples in which one or both partners smoked despite one of them having a heart or lung problem discussed a health-related disagreement before and during a period of laboratory smoking. Immediately afterwards, the partners in these 25 couples used independent joysticks to recall their continuous emotional experience during the interaction while watching themselves on video. A couple-level index of affective synchrony, reflecting correlated moment-to-moment change in the two partners' joystick ratings, tended to increase from baseline to smoking for 9 dual-smoker couples but decrease for 16 single-smoker couples. Results suggest that coregulation of shared emotional experience could be a factor in smoking persistence, particularly when both partners in a couple smoke. Relationship-focused interventions addressing this fit between symptom and system may help smokers achieve stable cessation.     

Child care quality and Dutch 2‐ and 3‐year‐olds' socio‐emotional outcomes: Does the amount of care matter?

High amounts of early child care have sometimes been linked to higher levels of behaviour problems, while high‐quality child care has more often been related to fewer behaviour problems and more social competence. The current study investigated whether the level of centre emotional and behavioural support (child care quality) interacted with the amount of child care in predicting children's socio‐emotional behaviour. Participants were 417 children (mean age = 27 months) from 61 Dutch daycare centres. The amount of daycare ranged from 1 to 5 days per week (M = 2.3 days). Multi‐level analyses showed that, independent of the amount of daycare, high levels of centre emotional and behavioural support were related to more caregiver‐rated social competence 1 year later. In addition, children spending 3.5 days or more in highly supportive daycare centres showed the lowest levels of parent‐rated externalizing behaviour 1 year later. The findings emphasize (a) that the combined effects of the amount and quality of child care are important and (b) that high‐quality early child care is related to children's socio‐emotional development. Further policy, practice, and research implications are discussed.

Highlights

• We studied in a Dutch sample how the amount and quality of daycare interacted in relation to children's socio‐emotional outcomes.
• High levels of daycare quality were related to more teacher‐rated social competence.
• Children spending 3.5 days or more in highly supportive daycare centers showed less parent‐rated externalizing behavior.

     

Does method of acquisition affect the quality of expert judgment? A comparison of education with on‐the‐job learning

Expertise can be acquired through experience or through education, and many occupations demand a mixture of both. In this paper we evaluate the level of expertise acquired through these two routes by comparing credit decisions made by professional credit managers (who have learned through experience rather than education) and lecturers and students in management, (who have no experience but have learned the relevant concepts). We also tested a control group of laypeople with neither relevant formal education nor experience. Participants assumed the role of credit manager and made creditworthiness predictions and credit granting decisions for six companies with known performance. Lecturers and students generally outperformed credit managers on the prediction tasks, and the credit managers performed only slightly better than laypeople. In short, for at least one domain, it appears to be more efficient to learn from formal education than from experience. We argue that the prerequisites for successful learning are largely absent from the everyday experience of credit managers, but are present in an educational context.     

Are Chinese narcissists disagreeable? Evidence from self‐ and peer‐ratings of agreeableness

Many studies have found that narcissism is negatively related to agreeableness in Western samples. Four experiments explored this relationship in a Chinese population. In Study 1, 228 junior high school students reported their narcissism and Five Factor Personality traits. In Study 2, participants recruited through the internet completed the measures of narcissism and agreeableness. In Study 3, 145 college students completed the measures of narcissism and agreeableness, as well as self‐esteem and social desirability. In Study 4, 204 senior high school adolescents reported their own narcissistic and agreeableness personality traits. They also received peer‐ratings of agreeableness. We found that narcissism was positively related with self‐reported agreeableness (Study 1, 2 and 4), but not with other ratings of agreeableness (Study 4). Chinese narcissists perceived themselves as agreeable, and their self‐perceptions of agreeableness were more positive than their peers rated them. We discuss the current findings in relation to the Chinese cultural context and underscore cultural roots of narcissism.     

Can parent‐to‐parent consultation improve the effectiveness of the Maudsley model of family‐based treatment for anorexia nervosa? A randomized control trial

Objective: This paper describes a preliminary randomized control trial that explores the use of parent‐to‐parent consultations as a potential augmentation to the Maudsley model of family‐based treatment for anorexia. Method: Twenty families were randomized into two groups, ten receiving standard treatment and ten receiving an additional parent‐to‐parent consultation early on in treatment. Measures of parental efficacy (Parents versus Anorexia Scale), patient distress (Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale) and percentage ideal body weight were taken each week. The effects of parent‐to‐parent consultations on parental efficacy and weight were analysed by comparing data with random effects models. Results: A significant treatment effect was found, with parent‐to‐parent consultations leading to a small increase in the rate of weight restoration. Conclusion: This practice has the potential to enhance weight restoration when included in the Maudsley model of family‐based treatment for anorexia nervosa. Research that tests more potent forms of intervention may also have merit.     

What do bilingual infants actually hear? Evaluating measures of language input to bilingual‐learning 10‐month‐olds

Examining how bilingual infants experience their dual language input is important for understanding bilingual language acquisition. To assess these language experiences, researchers typically conduct language interviews with caregivers. However, little is known about the reliability of these parent reports in describing how bilingual children actually experience dual language input. Here, we explored the quantitative nature of dual language input to bilingual infants. Furthermore, we described some of the heterogeneity of bilingual exposure in a sample of French–English bilingual families. Participants were 21 families with a 10‐month‐old infant residing in Montréal, Canada. First, we conducted language interviews with the caregivers. Then, each family completed three full‐day recordings at home using the Language Environment Analysis recording system. Results showed that children’s proportion exposure to each language was consistent across the two measurement approaches, indicating that parent reports are reliable for assessing a bilingual child’s language experiences. Further exploratory analyses revealed three unique findings: (a) there can be considerable variability in the absolute amount of input among infants hearing the same proportion of input, (b) infants can hear different proportions of language input when considering infant‐directed versus overheard speech, (c) proportion of language input can vary by day, depending on who is caring for the infant. We conclude that collecting naturalistic recordings is complementary to parent‐report measures for assessing infant’s language experiences and for establishing bilingual profiles.     

Stealing or Sharing? Cross‐Cultural Issues of Plagiarism in an Open‐Source Era

More professors and institutions want to move from a detect‐and‐punish to an educate‐and‐prevent model for dealing with plagiarism. Understanding the causes of plagiarism, especially among international students, can aid in efforts to educate students and prevent plagiarism. Research points to a confluence of causal factors, such as time pressure, language differences, and unclear rules. Though not the primary factor, ethical differences between cultures are also germane. Overall, the plight of international students summons institutions to examine their ethical norms of attribution. Plagiarism has a cultural history tied to concepts of individual creativity, but its future may look quite different in an era with increased communal sharing of ideas and images.     

Can Self‐Determination Theory Explain the Self‐Perpetuation of Social Innovations? A Case Study of Slow Food at the University of Wisconsin—Madison

This case study of Slow Food at the University of Wisconsin—Madison (SFUW) examines the success of a volunteer social innovation that promotes sustainable food access. Using inductive thematic analysis of 19 in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews of past and current members, advisors, and collaborators, we find that the success of SFUW is consistent with Self‐Determination Theory. We find that among the participants, the organization satisfies the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which in turn support intrinsic motivation. In this way, volunteering tasks become interesting, fun, and are more likely to be performed over time. The findings suggest that needs fulfillment and intrinsic motivation are linked to creating a self‐propagating social innovation where volunteers generate new ideas and successfully transfer skills to others. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What Underlies Appraisals? Experimentally Testing a Knowledge‐and‐Appraisal Model of Personality Architecture Among Smokers Contemplating High‐Risk Situations

ABSTRACT We tested a theoretical model of personality structures underlying patterns of intra-individual variability in contextualized appraisals. The KAPA (Knowledge-and-Appraisal Personality Architecture) model was tested experimentally among smokers appraising their efficacy to resist the urge to smoke in high-risk situations. In a novel design, we assessed self-knowledge and situational beliefs idiographically and employed cognitive priming to manipulate the accessibility of self-knowledge experimentally. The results confirmed the unique KAPA-model prediction that priming would affect appraisals in a contextualized manner. Priming positively valenced self-knowledge enhanced self-efficacy appraisals specifically within that subset of situations that were relevant to the primed knowledge. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that systems of self- and situational knowledge underlie consistency and variability in appraisals.     

Cultural significance of leg‐to‐body ratio preferences? Evidence from Britain and rural Malaysia

The leg-to-body ratio (LBR) has been suggested as an under-researched aesthetic criterion in humans. In the present study, 54 rural Malaysians and 80 Britons rated for physical attractiveness a set of line drawings that varied in five levels of LBR. The results showed that, for British participants, a higher LBR was preferred in women but a lower LBR was preferred in men. Malaysian participants, in contrast, rated medium female LBR and low male LBR as the most attractive. These results are discussed in terms of cross-cultural differences in media exposure, which may moderate judgements of attractiveness of various body components.