Female first,leader second? Gender bias in the encoding of leadership behavior

In the current paper we investigate whether gender affects the encoding of leadership behavior. In three studies we found evidence that perceivers had difficulty encoding leadership behaviors into their underlying prototypical leadership traits when the behavior implied an agentic trait and the behavior was enacted by a female. Using a lexical decision making task, in Study 1 we demonstrated that agentic leadership traits were less accessible than communal leadership traits when the leader was female. Additionally, Study 1 also demonstrated that agentic traits were less accessible when the leader was female versus male. In Studies 2a and 2b, we replicated the differences we found for agentic leadership behaviors using perceiver’s self-ratings as the dependent variable. Results are discussed both in terms of their implications for future research on gender bias in leadership and their practical implications for eliminating gender bias against females who aspire to leadership positions.     

Integrating Theories of Psychological Needs‐as‐Requirements and Psychological Needs‐as‐Motives: A Two Process Model

Two conceptions of psychological needs predominate within contemporary motivational science. Motive disposition theory conceives of needs as behavioral motives which direct behavior (needs‐as‐motives), while self‐determination theory conceives of needs as universally required experiences for optimal functioning (needs‐as‐requirements). Until recently, these perspectives on psychological needs have proceeded without much intersection, despite the fact that they address the same fundamental concept. Here we summarize the Two Process Model of Psychological Needs, which attempts to bridge these two conceptions. We argue that psychological needs are best defined as tendencies to seek out certain basic types of psychosocial experiences, to a somewhat varying extent across individuals, and to feel good and thrive when those basic experiences are obtained, to the same extent across individuals. We suggest that this definition allows a reconciliation of needs‐as‐motives and needs‐as‐requirements perspectives and a more consilient science of human motivation. Empirical support for the TPM is also summarized.     

Integrating behavioral-motive and experiential-requirement perspectives on psychological needs: a two process model

Psychological need theories offer much explanatory potential for behavioral scientists, but there is considerable disagreement and confusion about what needs are and how they work. A 2-process model of psychological needs is outlined, viewing needs as evolved functional systems that provide both (a) innate psychosocial motives that tend to impel adaptive behavior and (b) innate experiential requirements that when met reinforce adaptive behavior and promote mental health. The literature is reviewed to find support for 8 hypotheses derived from this model: that certain basic psychosocial motives are present at birth; that successful enactment of these motives supports the functioning and wellness of all humans; that individual differences in these motives develop in childhood; that these strong motive dispositions tend to produce the satisfying experiences they seek; that motive dispositions do not moderate the effect of motive-corresponding need satisfaction on well-being but do moderate the effect of assigned goal-type on rated self-concordance for those goals; that need dissatisfaction and need satisfaction correspond to the separable behavioral-motive and experiential-reward aspects of needs; and that motives and needs can become decoupled when chronic dissatisfaction of particular requirements warps or depresses the corresponding motives, such that the adaptive process fails in its function. Implications for self-determination theory and motive disposition theory are considered.     

Fundamental motives: How evolutionary needs influence consumer behavior

Can we better understand modern consumer behavior by examining its links to our ancestral past? We consider the underlying motives for consumption and choice from an evolutionary perspective. We review evidence that deep-seated evolutionary motives continue to influence much modern behavior, albeit not always in obvious or conscious ways. These fundamental motives include: (1) evading physical harm, (2) avoiding disease, (3) making friends, (4) attaining status, (5) acquiring a mate, (6) keeping a mate, and (7) caring for family. We discuss how, why, and when these motives influence behavior, highlighting that many consumer choices ultimately function to help fulfill one or more of these evolutionary needs. An important implication of this framework is that a person's preferences, behaviors, and decision processes change in predictable ways depending on which fundamental motive is currently active. We discuss how consideration of evolutionary motives provides fertile ground for future consumer research, while also helping build bridges between consumer behavior, evolutionary biology, and other social sciences.     

How Do Perceptions of God as Autonomy Supportive or Controlling Relate to Individuals' Social-Cognitive Processing of Religious Contents? The Role of Motives for Religious Behavior

Using self-determination theory as a guiding framework, this study examined whether perceptions of God as autonomy supportive and controlling were related to individuals' belief in a transcendent reality and to their social-cognitive style of approaching religious contents (i.e., literal and rigid vs. symbolic and flexible). Further, we examined whether individuals' motives for religious behavior (i.e., autonomous vs. controlled) would mediate these associations. In a sample of 267 religiously active participants, we found that the two types of perceptions of God were positively related to belief in transcendence but were differentially related to a symbolic approach. Specifically, a perception of God as autonomy supportive related positively and a perception of God as controlling related negatively to a symbolic approach. Some evidence was obtained for a mediating role of motives for religious behavior in these associations. Discussion focuses on how self-determination theory can contribute to research on the psychology of religion.     

Cooperation Versus Competition Effects on Information Sharing and Use in Group Decision‐Making

Information processing in groups has long been seen as a cooperative process. In contrast with this assumption, group members were rarely found to behave cooperatively: They withhold unshared information and stick to initial incorrect decisions. In the present article, we examined how group members' cooperative and competitive motives impact on group information processing and propose that information sharing and use in groups could be seen as strategic behavior. We reviewed the latest developments in the literature investigating different forms of strategic information processing and their underlying mechanisms. This review suggests that explicit cooperative goals are needed for effective group decision‐making.     

Unraveling the Aging Skein: Disentangling Sensory and Cognitive Predictors of Age‐related Differences in Decision Making

Age‐related differences in sensory functioning, processing speed, and working memory have been identified as three significant predictors of the age‐related performance decline observed in complex cognitive tasks. Yet, the assessment of their relative predictive capacity and interrelations is still an open issue in decision making and cognitive aging research. Indeed, no previous investigation has examined the relationships of all these three predictors with decision making. In an individual‐differences study, we therefore disentangled the relative contribution of sensory functioning, processing speed, and working memory to the prediction of the age‐related decline in cognitively demanding judgment and decision‐making tasks. Structural equation modeling showed that the age‐related decline in working memory plays an important predictive role, even when controlling for sensory functioning, processing speed, and education. Implications for research on decision making and cognitive aging are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why individuals want money is what matters: Using self-determination theory to explain the differential relationship between motives for making money and employee psychological health

Researchers have debated for years whether money can lead to happiness. Indeed, the findings to date are contradictory in regard to the impact of individuals’ motives for making money on their psychological well-being. This study aimed to reconcile these findings and show that certain motives for making money can be beneficial to individuals’ psychological health, while others can be detrimental, not only by reducing well-being, but also by increasing ill-being. Based on self-determination theory, basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) were hypothesized to be the psychological mechanism explaining these differential effects. More precisely, need satisfaction and need frustration were hypothesized to mediate the relationship between employees’ money motives and psychological health (well-being and ill-being). Our findings suggest that self-integrated motives for making money lead to greater well-being and lesser ill-being by positively predicting need satisfaction and negatively predicting need frustration. On the other hand, non-integrated motives for making money appear to result in lesser well-being and greater ill-being by being negatively associated with need satisfaction and positively associated with need frustration. Together, these findings suggest that money motives can have differential effects on employees’ psychological health depending on whether these underlying reasons are need-satisfying or need-frustrating life goals.     

Different confidence-accuracy relationships for feature-based and familiarity-based memories

Participants studied naturalistic pictures presented for varying brief durations and then received a recognition test on which they indicated whether each picture was old or new and rated their confidence. In 1 experiment they indicated whether each "old"/"new" response was based on memory for a specific feature in the picture or instead on the picture's general familiarity; in another experiment, we defined pictures that tended to elicit feature versus familiarity responses. Thus, feature/familiarity was a dependent variable in 1 experiment and an independent variable in the other. In both experiments feature-based responses were more accurate than those that were familiarity based, and confidence and accuracy increased with duration for both response types. However, when confidence was controlled for, mean accuracy was higher for familiarity-based than for feature-based responses. The theoretical implication is that confidence and accuracy arise from different underlying information. The applied implication is that confidence differences should not be taken as implying accuracy differences when the phenomenal basis of the memory reports differ.     

Emotional Separation,Autonomy in Decision-Making,and Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescence: A Proposed Typology

Adolescence is critical for learning autonomous behavior; however, little research is available on the most appropriate balance of the emotional and behavioral dimensions of autonomy for psychosocial adjustment during this period. In this study we present a novel autonomy typology that combines both these aspects, which can be implemented as autonomy in decision-making and emotional separation. Specifically, examined age differences in emotional separation and autonomy in decision-making during adolescence. We also assessed differences in psychosocial adjustment associated with profiles of autonomy typology, sex, and age. The participants were 567 adolescents (296 males and 271 females), aged between 12 and 18 years (M?=?14.48; SD?=?1.69), recruited in Spanish high schools. Each participant filled out questionnaires on identity commitment, self-esteem, emotional separation and autonomy in decision-making. The results showed that the most advantageous autonomy profile is ‘autonomous in decisions’ (those showing low emotional separation combined with autonomous behavior in decisions) which was associated with higher levels of self-esteem and occupational and ideological identity commitment. In addition, we also concluded that the balance of autonomy affects adjustment throughout adolescence, although early adolescence may be an especially critical period.     

Sign on the Dotted Line: The Informed Consent Process (ICP) as Induced Compliance1

We investigated the social implications of signing an informed consent form (ICF) on participant behavior. ICF research fails to consider that the decision to participate in research is a process that occurs in a social and cultural context. Understanding the meaning of giving consent in this social context is critical. In separate experiments, we found significantly greater agreement to return to complete a study and persistence at a task in participants who signed the ICF versus those who did not. Signing the ICF may be putting participants at risk of induced compliance with study protocols, rather than empowering them to withhold consent or withdraw. Future research should investigate the psychosocial factors affecting participants' decision making in the informed consent process.     

Humor as aggression: effects of motivation on hostility expressed in humor appreciation

In 4 studies, the authors examined the hypothesis that relative to primed autonomy motivation, primed control would increase enjoyment of hostile (compared with nonhostile) humor as assessed by self-reported enjoyment and aversiveness and by nonverbal behavior. Results confirmed the hypothesis. Furthermore, initial state hostility moderated the effect such that high-hostility participants who were primed with control motivation especially enjoyed hostile humor. The 2 final studies showed that the effect was mediated by implicit aggression such that the combination of high initial state hostility and control priming led to implicit aggression, which in turn resulted in hostile humor enjoyment. Results are interpreted in terms of the effects of autonomy versus control motivation on intrapersonal self-regulatory processes, which influence interpersonal functioning.     

行人过街的认知心理过程和模型

随着交通系统的复杂化,行人安全受到的威胁日益增加。本文以行人穿过马路的心理步骤为切入点,对行人观察感知、判断决策方面的研究进行综述。在观察感知方面,主要分析了观察内容、策略及注意失误的原因,在判断决策方面,介绍了内部心理机制中相关的理论模型,包括效用理论、计划行为理论,以及具体行为机制中的可接受间隙理论,并重点分析了具体行为机制里闯红灯行为的影响因素。最后,本文提出了行人过街的认知心理模型,为以后的行人研究提供理论借鉴,为交通安全提供实践依据。     

When should I trust my gut? Linking domain expertise to intuitive decision-making effectiveness

Despite a growing body of scholarship on the concept of intuition, there is a scarcity of empirical research spotlighting the circumstances in which intuitive decision making is effective relative to analytical decision making. Seeking to address this deficiency, we conducted two laboratory studies assessing the link between domain expertise (low versus high) and intuitive decision-making effectiveness. These studies involved non-decomposable tasks across divergent expertise domains: basketball in Study 1 and designer handbag authentication in Study 2. Across both studies, and consistent with our overarching hypothesis, we found that the effectiveness of intuition relative to analysis is amplified at a high level of domain expertise. Taken together, our results demonstrate the importance of domain expertise in intuitive decision making and carry a number of theoretical and practical implications.     

A cross-cultural comparison of the coexistence and domain superiority of individuating and relating autonomy

The consensus definition of autonomy in the psychological literature emphasizes self-governance through free volition, not separation or independence from others. Since the concept of self may differ cross-culturally, several researchers have tried to incorporate types of self into the notion of autonomy; however, only the dual model of autonomy has been able to do this while retaining an emphasis on volition. The dual model describes two distinct forms of autonomy-individuating and relating-each with superior function in a specific domain of individual functioning. Individuating autonomy represents a volitional capacity to act against social constraints and offers a route to achieve an independent self-identity by expressing individualistic attributes and distinctions. Relating autonomy represents a volitional capacity to act by emphasizing the harmony of self-in-relation-to-others, the quality of interpersonal relationships, and self-transcendence. These two forms of autonomy have been shown to coexist at the individual level in a Taiwanese sample. This study takes the next step, with a cross-cultural test of the coexistence and domain superiority hypotheses of individuating and relating autonomy. Participants included 306 college students from Taiwan and 183 college students from the United States. Structural equation modelling by multigroup analyses confirmed the cross-cultural equivalence of the two-factor individuating autonomy and relating autonomy measurement model. Across both samples the two forms of autonomy were shown to be mutually inclusive and not exclusive or independent. The domain-superior function of each form of autonomy was also confirmed cross-culturally; each form of autonomy has a dominant, but not necessarily exclusive, domain of functioning. Specifically, individuating autonomy was more associated with intrapersonal than interpersonal domain dependent variables, while relating autonomy was more associated with interpersonal than intrapersonal domain dependent variables. Limitations of the study and considerations for future research are discussed.     

Individual differences in the response to forgone payoffs: an examination of high functioning drug abusers

This study evaluates the effect of forgone payoffs in decision‐making tasks used for studying individual differences. We investigate whether the disclosure of forgone payoffs (defined as payoffs associated with un‐chosen alternatives) has selective effects for drug abusers. Evidence suggests that drug abusers are hypersensitive to signals of positive reward. Accordingly, because the forgone payoffs of risky high‐variability options include rewarding outcomes, this may create a distraction and lead drug abusers to make more risky choices. In a controlled experiment, we examined the behavior of high‐functioning drug abusers and healthy controls using the Iowa gambling task. The results showed that in a forgone payoff condition, drug abusers made more risky choices. The results demonstrate that adding information about forgone payoffs can be useful for studying individual differences, and that studying individual differences can be valuable in evaluating the effects of forgone payoffs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Child Psychosocial Functioning and Parent Quality of Life Among Clinically Referred Children

We examined factors that account for quality of life among parents of clinically referred children. Families (N = 201) of children (ages 3-14) referred for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior participated. Parent and family contextual factors and child psychosocial functioning (symptoms and impairment) were predicted to influence parents' quality of life. As predicted, socioeconomic disadvantage, parent stress and psychopathology, poor interpersonal relations, and limited social support were related to lower levels of quality of life. Once these factors were controlled, child psychosocial functioning also contributed positively to quality of life. Further research on quality of life in the family can have important implications for understanding the context of both child and parent functioning.     

Advice as a form of social influence: Informational motives and the consequences for accuracy

In this article, we ask how well people fulfill informational motives by using the judgments of others. We build on advice‐taking research from the judgment and decision making literature, which has developed a distinct paradigm to test how accurately people incorporate information from others. We use a literature review to show that people have mixed success in fulfilling informational motives—they increase their accuracy through the use of advice, but not as much as they could. We develop insights about how people perceive advisors and try to pursue advice—and where their perceptions may lead them astray. We conclude by proposing that future work further investigate the reasons people fail to use advice by building on the current advice taking paradigm used in judgment and decision making, but with a richer understanding of advice taking as a dynamic process that often entails complex decisions and normative motives.