Averaging processes in ratings and choices based on numerical information

Ss were presented sets of numbers said to represent sample price information from grocery stores. Ss rated the relative desirability of shopping at each of a series of stores and were also asked to make paired-comparison preference choices. In Experiment I, some sets contained favorable information, some contained unfavorable information, and some contained neutral information added to the favorable or unfavorable information. The addition of neutral information led to a decrease in the polarity of responses. This is consistent with an averaging, but not an adding, formulation of how the information is integrated. In Experiment II, sets of favorable or unfavorable information varied in size and a set-size effect was obtained. The greater the amount of favorable or unfavorable information, the more extreme the response. This was accounted for by assuming that an initial neutral expectancy is averaged with the information presented.     

Integration and segregation of prior outcomes in risky decisions

Two experiments were conducted to test if a prior outcome influences the likelihood to accept a current gamble. Undergraduate students participating as subjects imagined that they on a fictitious betting day at a horse-race track did not gamble in the prior race, that they gambled and won, or that they gambled and lost. Subjects rated in one session the likelihood of gambling in the current race. In another session they rated how satisfied they would be with not gambling, with winning, and with losing, respectively. The results of Experiment 1 showed that as compared to no prior outcome the ratings of likelihood of gambling increased after a gain and decreased after a loss. This was explained by the assumption, supported by the ratings of satisfaction, that the prior outcome only affected the satisfaction with the expected loss of the current choice, making it less negative after a gain and more negative after a loss. These results were replicated in Experiment 2. In addition, if subjects did not know with certainty the outcome of a previous choice to gamble, the likelihood to accept the current gamble and the ratings of the satisfaction with its expected outcomes were largely unaffected.     

Spill‐over effects of intermittent costs for defection in social dilemmas

This research investigates the role of intermittent monetary costs in restraining individuals from defection in social dilemmas. In Experiment 1, 104 car owners made fictitious choices between a slow and a fast travel mode in the context of a continuous social dilemma. There were four different conditions of monetary costs for choosing the fast mode (defection): no cost, low cost, high cost to self, or high cost to others. Participants defected most when there was no cost and least when they themselves were charged a high cost. A spill‐over effect was obtained such that when others were charged a high cost to defect, defection rates were lower than under no cost. Experiment 2 used 36 undergraduates as participants in an iterated decision task with real groups. The results replicated the major results of Experiment 1. Furthermore, whereas prosocials were strongly affected by intermittent costs for defection (i.e. showed large spill‐over effects), proselfs seemed to be unaffected. Possible explanations of this interaction effect between social value orientation and intermittent punishment for defection are provided. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multifinality in implicit choice

This research examines the possibility that people's choices in the service of an explicit focal goal may also reflect their tendency to fulfill implicit background goals and in that sense are multifinal. We carried out 5 experimental studies to investigate this notion. In Experiment 1, a primed implicit goal affected individuals' choices even when those avowedly served an explicit "focal" goal. Experiment 2 replicated this finding with a different type of implicit goals. Experiment 3 found that primed implicit goals had no effect on choices where the options that served them undermined the explicit goal. Experiment 4 found that a primed implicit goal served by a multifinal option does not privilege it over a unifinal option if that goal had been already attained by a different means. Finally, Experiment 5, via 3 types of control groups, showed that choices were affected by both the explicit and implicit goals in isolation, and they shifted toward multifinality when these goals were conjointly present. The discussion considers the integrative potential of the multifinality framework and its implications for a variety of phenomena in the domain of motivated cognition.     

Communication With Older Adults The Influence of Age Stereotypes,Context, and Communicator Age

Forty young, 40 middle-aged, and 40 older adults rated their beliefs about the vocal style that they would use in addressing two older targets—one fitting a negative (Despondent) and one a positive (Golden Ager) stereotype. Participants also gave oral messages to the two targets in either a hospital or community context. Supporting a stereotype-sensitive model of the communication and aging process, participants' beliefs and messages revealed a greater tendency to use patronizing talk with the Despondent target than with the Golden Ager. In addition, the extent and type of patronizing talk (overly nurturing or directive) to the targets was affected by the context in which the target was presented and the age of the communicator. In particular, the number of directive/patronizing messages to Golden Ager targets increased significantly in the hospital context. Finally, older participants were less likely to give patronizing messages to all targets than were younger participants.     

Impact of material vs. experiential purchase types on happiness: The moderating role of self‐discrepancy

Most literature suggests that consumers are happier when they spend their money on experience, rather than material purchases, on the premise that consumers may evaluate material possessions largely on the basis of their functional utility and ability to fulfill basic human needs; experiential consumption reportedly fulfills mainly psychological needs. The present research addresses material purchases that fulfill not only functional but also psychological needs (e.g., status purchase). The results reveal that consumers with high self‐discrepancy are more apt to derive happiness from material status purchases than those with low self‐discrepancy (Experiments 1 and 2); this effect is mediated by the motives for goal pursuit (Experiment 3), as triggered by the desire to narrow the gap between the actual self and an ideal self. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sequencing actions: an information-search study of tradeoffs of priorities against spatiotemporal constraints

How people choose between sequences of actions was investigated in an everyday errandplanning task. In this task subjects chose the preferred sequence of performing a number of errands in a fictitious environment. Two experiments were conducted with undergraduate students serving as subjects. One group searched information about each alternative. The same information was directly available to another group. In Experiment 1 the results showed that for two errands subjects took into account all attributes describing the errands, thus suggesting a tradeoff between priority, wait time, and travel distance with priority being the most important. Consistent with this finding predominantly intraalternative information search was observed. These results were replicated in Experiment 2 for three errands. In addition choice outcomes, information search, and sequence of responding suggested that for more than two actions sequence choices are made in stages.     

How do shoppers behave online? An observational study of online grocery shopping

The pace of online shopping revenue growth means it is important for retailers and manufacturers to understand how consumers behave online compared with their behaviour in brick and mortar stores. We conducted a study in which the detailed behaviour of 40 shoppers was screen recorded while they each undertook an online shopping ‘trip’. The shopping trip comprised purchasing a basket of 12 commonly bought grocery categories at one of two major retailers. The shoppers were all inexperienced in online grocery shopping. Results show that online grocery shopping is fast, even for these consumers who were new to it – half of the online shoppers spent less than 10 seconds purchasing from a category. This result is very similar to that of past studies in physical stores. Indeed, half of all the 12 item‐shopping trips took less than 10 minutes. Also, most purchases were made from the first category page displayed in the retailer's online store. Shoppers also consistently used the default display options chosen by the retailers but used a combination of navigational tools to find their products. We conclude that online shoppers do not behave differently from those offline in terms of time spent or effort expended. Online shopping, in the grocery context at least, seems to primarily reflect a desire for time efficiency on the part of the shopper. In that regard, online shopping seems very similar to in‐store shopping. The study begins the job of documenting shopper behaviour into this new channel and provides practical knowledge for retailers and manufacturers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effect of Patronizing Behavior and Control on Men and Women’s Performance in Stereotypically Masculine Domains

The purpose of the present research was to examine whether contextual cues related to control contribute to gender differences in math performance that emerge from patronizing behavior. Specifically, in two experiments, men and women received patronizing behavior (i.e., praise paired with a devalued position that did not provide an opportunity for monetary rewards) from a male leader in a stereotypically masculine domain. In this context, we manipulated contextual control cues and measured math performance. In Experiment 1, 113 undergraduates (60 women, 53 men) from a Midwestern University in the United States received the patronizing behavior and all position assignments were made either at the outset (no control) or multiple times (ambiguous control) from one patronizing leader. In Experiment 2, 132 undergraduates (53 women, 79 men) from a U.S. Midwestern University received patronizing behavior and position assignments were made by one leader (ambiguous control) or multiple leaders (enhanced control). Consistent with Hypothesis 1, women had lower performance expectations than men, but no reliable gender differences emerged for desire to succeed. Consistent with Hypothesis 2, gender differences in math performance only emerged in the ambiguous control conditions in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 with men performing better than women. Finally, consistent with Hypothesis 3, women performed better in the enhanced control (vs. ambiguous control), despite receiving patronizing behavior. Implications for research on patronizing behavior, subtle sexism, and stereotype threat, as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

The Unconscious Consumer: Effects of Environment on Consumer Behavior

In this article, we argue that consumer behavior is often strongly influenced by subtle environmental cues. Using grocery shopping as an example (or a “leitmotif,” if you wish), we first argue that the traditional perspective on consumer choice based on conscious information processing leaves much variance to be explained. Instead, we propose that many choices are made unconsciously and are strongly affected by the environment. Our argument is based on research on the perception–behavior link and on automatic goal pursuit.     

The role of impulse variability in manual-aiming asymmetries

Summary Two experiments are reported in which we examined the hypothesis that the advantage of the right hand in target aiming arises from differences in impulse variability. Subjects made aiming movements with the left and right hands. The force requirements of the movements were manipulated through the addition of mass to the limb (Experiments 1 and 2) and through control of movement amplitude (Experiment 1). Although the addition of mass diminished performance (i. e., it increased movement times in Experiment 1 and increased error in Experiment 2), the two hands were not differently affected by the manipulation of required force. In spite of the fact that the right hand exhibited enhanced performance (i. e., lower movement times in Experiment 1 and greater accuracy in Experiment 2), these advantages were not reflected in kinematic measures of impulse variability.We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for clarification of this distinction.     

Estimating national populations: cross‐cultural differences and availability effects

Estimates of national population were studied in two experiments. In Experiment 1, Canadian and Chinese undergraduates rated their knowledge of 112 countries and then estimated the population of each. In Experiment 2, Canadians rated their knowledge of 52 countries and then provided population estimates for these primed countries and for a comparable set of 52 unprimed countries. In Experiment 1, participants from both nations produced estimates that resembled those obtained from Americans in prior studies (Brown and Siegler, 1992 , 1993 , 1996 , 2001 ). However, there were several reliable cross‐national differences in performance which appear to reflect cross‐cultural differences in task‐relevant naive domain knowledge. In addition, both experiments produced findings consistent with the claim that availability‐based intuitions play an important role in this task. In Experiment 1, cross‐national differences in rated knowledge predicted cross‐national differences in estimated population; in Experiment 2, primed country names elicited larger population estimates than unprimed country names. We conclude by arguing for the general utility of this hybrid approach to real‐world estimation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Well Do We Know Our Inner Daredevil? Probing the Relationship Between Self‐Report and Behavioral Measures of Risk Taking

To measure a person's risk‐taking tendency, research has relied interchangeably on self‐report scales (e.g., “Indicate your likelihood of engaging in the risky behavior”) and more direct measures, such as behavioral tasks (e.g., “Do you accept or reject the risky option?”). It is currently unclear, however, how the two approaches map upon each other. We examined the relationship between self‐report likelihood ratings for risky choice in a monetary gamble task and actual choice, and tested how the relationship is affected by task ambiguity (i.e., when part of the information about risks and benefits is missing) and age. Five hundred participants (aged 19–85 years) were presented with 27 gambles, either in an unambiguous or an ambiguous condition. In a likelihood rating task, participants rated for each gamble the likelihood that they would accept it. In a separate choice task, they were asked to either accept or reject each gamble. Analyses using a signal‐detection approach showed that people's likelihood ratings discriminated between accept and reject cases in their choices rather well. However, task ambiguity weakened the association between likelihood ratings and choice. Further, older adults' likelihood ratings anticipated their choices more poorly than younger adults'. We discuss implications of these findings for existing approaches to the study of risk‐taking propensity, which have often relied on self‐reported risk tendency for ambiguous activities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What Are the Nutrition Education Needs of Refugees: Assessment of Food Choices,Shopping and Spending Practices of South-Asian Refugees in the USA

This study was designed to assess food choices, shopping, and spending practices among the Southeast Asian refugee group of “Montagnards” resettled in the USA. A convenience sample of 12 Montagnard refugee women, fluent in Rhade and/or Jarai, was recruited and asked to provide all the grocery food receipts for a 1-month period. At the end of the 1-month period, participants were interviewed to collect information on socio-demographics and general food shopping practices. On average, participants had lived in the USA for 6 years, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (commonly known as Food Stamps) benefits accounted for approximately 55% of total grocery food purchases. The analyses of food receipts showed that a major proportion of the food budget was spent on rice and meat. The lowest proportion of the food budget was spent on dairy or dairy products. Making a grocery list or the use of coupons was not common among participants. Nutrition education for refugees upon resettlement is vital. In particular, topics such as food budgeting and the importance of a well-balanced diet should be covered to promote a healthy lifestyle among resettled refugees.     

Sex stereotypes and implicit personality theory. II. A trait-inference approach to the assessment of sex stereotypes

Two experiments were conducted to assess sex stereotypes using the trait-inference method originated by Asch (1946). In both, subjects were asked to make inferences about the personality of a male or a female stimulus target who was introduced by a brief list of traits. In Experiment 1 this trait list described the target as either good or bad in intellectual activities and as either warm or cold while in Experiment 2 the introductory list comprised traits which are relatively neutral in terms of evaluation. Subjects rated the stimulus persons on adjective scales selected to reflect dimensions of personality perception reported in previous research. In both studies, male targets were rated significantly higher than females in terms of the Intellectual Desirability dimension. In addition, female targets tended to be rated higher on Communion in Experiment 1 (p<.06), and lower than males on Potency in Experiment 2 (p<.07). No differences as a function of stimulus sex were obtained for Social Desirability, Activity, and Agency. The results suggest that the dimension of implicit personality theory most closely associated with perceived sex differences is a combination of Intellectual Desirability and Potency. The male end of this dimension is relatively well defined by traits which convey a hard-headed, rational approach to problem solving. The female end is much less elaborated and consists of traits reflecting soft-heartedness.     

Carding for the Purchase of Alcohol: I'm Tougher Than Other Clerks Are1

The present research examined whether clerks believed themselves to be more likely to card customers than “other” clerks. Store clerks (N= 121) from 23 stores of a major grocery chain rated 4 person‐product profiles of hypothetical shoppers each representing distinctive lifestyle groups. Embedded within a series of items were key questions that asked how likely it was that they and other clerks would ask for identification from the shopper for the purchase of alcohol. Across all conditions, data revealed a significant positivity bias suggesting that the clerks felt that they were much better than other clerks at determining who should be asked for identification. The data are discussed in terms of their motivational implications for the false uniqueness bias.     

Effects of active information processing on the understanding of risk information

Two experiments investigated effects of active processing of risk information on participants' understanding and judgments. It was hypothesized that more active processing would lead to better understanding and differences in affective judgments (e.g. increased satisfaction and reduced perceived risk to health). In both experiments participants were given a written scenario about their being prescribed a fictitious medication. This medication was said to cause side effects in 2% of people who took it. Before answering a series of written questions, participants in the active conditions of both experiments were asked to carry out a reflective task (portraying the size of risk on a bar chart in Experiment 1 and answering a reflective question in Experiment 2). The results showed that active participants rated the likelihood of experiencing possible side effects significantly lower than passive participants (Experiment 1), and that active participants were significantly more satisfied with the information and judged perceived risk to health from taking the medication significantly lower than passive participants (Experiment 2). In both experiments, active participants were significantly more correct in their probability and frequency estimates. The studies demonstrate that active processing of risk information leads to improved understanding of the information given. This has important implications for risk communication. In the context of health, better understanding should lead to improved decision‐making and health outcomes. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How to bring the news … peak-end effects in children’s affective responses to peer assessments of their social behavior

The retrospective evaluation of an event tends to be based on how the experience felt during the most intense moment and the last moment. Two experiments tested whether this so-called peak-end effect influences how primary school students are affected by peer assessments. In both experiments, children (ages 7–12) assessed two classmates on their behaviour in school and then received two manipulated assessments. In Experiment 1 (N ?=?30), one assessment consisted of four negative ratings and the other of four negative ratings with an extra moderately negative rating added to the end. In Experiment 2 (N ?=?44), one assessment consisted of four positive ratings, and the other added an extra moderately positive rating to the end. Consistent with the peak-end effect, the extended assessment in Experiment 1 and the short assessment in Experiment 2 were remembered as more pleasant and less difficult to deal with, which shaped children’s peer assessment preferences and prospective choices of which assessment to repeat. These findings indicate that the process of peer assessment can be improved by ending the feedback with the most positive part of the assessment.     

The Deliberation-Without-Attention Effect: Evidence for an Artifactual Interpretation

ABSTRACT— Proponents of unconscious-thought theory assert that letting the unconscious "mull it over" can enhance decisions. In a series of recent studies, researchers demonstrated that participants whose attention was focused on solving a complex problem (i.e., those using conscious thought) made poorer choices, decisions, and judgments than participants whose attention was distracted from the problem (i.e., those purportedly using unconscious thought). We argue that this finding, rather than establishing the existence of a deliberation-without-attention effect, is explained more compellingly in terms of the well-established distinction between on-line and memory-based judgments. In Experiment 1 , we reversed the recent finding by simply changing participants' on-line processing goal from impression formation to memorization. Experiment 2 provided a replication and further established that some cognitive effort appears necessary to produce both the original pattern of results and its reversal, suggesting that such judgments are ultimately a product of conscious, rather than unconscious, thinking.