The role of preference in speed choice

Individual differences with regard to speed preference may be a source of speed heterogeneity and conflicts in traffic, such as tailgating and dangerous overtaking. The main aim of the current study was to explore drivers’ speed preferences when driving for different reasons (saving money on fuel, driving safely, driving for fun or driving as usual) and the relationship of these preferences to observed speeds and self-reported speed. 193 drivers were interviewed at five different locations, and were asked about their speeds on roads they had just travelled. Drivers’ speeds on these roads were also sampled with a speed gun. The results showed large differences between speeds chosen for different driving purposes; the lowest speeds were chosen when the goal was economy and the highest when driving for fun. In addition, there were individual differences in speed preferences such that some drivers indicated that their usual speed was above what they believed was a safe speed while others indicated that they usually drove even slower than what they thought was safe. These differences may account for much of the speed heterogeneity observed in on-road behaviour. The results also showed that drivers’ speed choices are highly influenced by their usual speeds, even more so than their beliefs regarding what constitutes a safe speed, which may help explain non-compliance with speed limits. No relationship was found between speed choice and risk perception.     

Posture and target location effects on manual preference

Twenty-nine right-handed participants made unimanual movements to 5 target locations while standing and while balancing on a rocker platform. Manual preference was affected by target location (p < .001; manual preference tended to be concordant with target hemispace) and posture (p < .05; responses from the rocker platform were associated with a lower level of right-hand responding). A location by posture interaction (p < .05) indicated that the effect of posture was present only for targets in left hemispace; the right hand was used less frequently in the rocker condition than simple standing. Manual preference is viewed as a process of response selection motivated by an effort to minimize neural processing and mechanical costs.     

Shift of manual preference in right-handers following unimanual practice

The effect of unimanual practice of the non-preferred hand on manual asymmetry and manual preference for sequential finger movements was evaluated in right-handers before, immediately after, and 30 days following practice. The results demonstrate that unimanual practice induced a persistent shift of manual preference for the experimental task in most participants, but no significant correlation between manual asymmetry and manual preference was detected. These findings are explained by proposing that manual preference is influenced by a task-specific confidence developed from the recent history of differential use of the limbs, in interaction with a generalized confidence on a single hand for performance of motor skills.     

The development of hand preference in children: The effect of task demands and links with manual dexterity

Lateralisation of hand preference and manual dexterity are known to develop over childhood, while in adulthood strength of hand preference has been shown to interact with extrinsic task demands. Some evidence exists to suggest that strength of hand preference and motor skill may be related. In the current study a handedness inventory, midline crossing (QHP) and peg-moving tasks were used to investigate: (1) the development of hand preference between 4 and 11 years; (2) whether extrinsic task demands affect strength of hand preference, and (3) whether strength of hand preference was associated with manual dexterity. Younger children (4–5 years) showed weak hand preference in comparison to older children (8–11 years), and extrinsic task demands influenced willingness to cross the body’s midline with the preferred hand. Age and peg-moving speed were associated with midline crossing in certain task conditions. Overall, results suggest a coupling between manual dexterity and brain maturation in typical development.     

Influences of lateral preference and personality on behaviour towards a manual sorting task

Differences in task behaviour between left- and right-handers and left- and right-eared individuals have been reported (e.g.  and ) with left-handers taking longer to begin a task and right-eared individuals having a more disinhibited approach. Personality measurements are also important when examining approach behaviour. Jackson (2008) reported that those with higher neuroticism levels and a right-ear preference react faster to tasks. The current study investigated the effects of lateral preference and personality on behaviour towards a manual sorting task. Eighty-five participants completed laterality and personality scales and a card-sorting task. Degree of hand preference was found to influence behaviour towards the task with strong left-handers taking longer to begin. Those with a left congruent lateral preference (left-hand, left-ear) took significantly longer to begin the task than those with a right congruent preference. Neither neuroticism nor extraversion influenced task approach. We concluded that hand preference, and more specifically a strong left-hand preference is a good predictor of a longer initiation time on a manual task. Ear preference on its own does not predict initiation time.     

Cultural influence on COVID-19 cognitions and growth speed: The role of collectivism

Major challenges faced by humans often require large-scale cooperation for communal benefits. We examined what motivates such cooperation in the context of social distancing and mask wearing to reduce the transmission intensity of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). We hypothesized that collectivism, a cultural variable characterizing the extent that individuals see themselves in relation to others, contributes to people's willingness to engage in these behaviors. Consistent with preregistered predictions, across three studies (n = 2864), including a U.S. nationally representative sample, collectivist orientation was positively associated with intentions, positive beliefs, norm perceptions, and policy support for the preventive behaviors. Further, at a country level, more collectivist countries showed lower growth rates in both COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths. Together, these studies demonstrate the role of collectivism in reducing COVID-19 transmission, and highlight the value of considering culture in public health policies and communications.     

The preference for potential

When people seek to impress others, they often do so by highlighting individual achievements. Despite the intuitive appeal of this strategy, we demonstrate that people often prefer potential rather than achievement when evaluating others. Indeed, compared with references to achievement (e.g., "this person has won an award for his work"), references to potential (e.g., "this person could win an award for his work") appear to stimulate greater interest and processing, which can translate into more favorable reactions. This tendency creates a phenomenon whereby the potential to be good at something can be preferred over actually being good at that very same thing. We document this preference for potential in laboratory and field experiments, using targets ranging from athletes to comedians to graduate school applicants and measures ranging from salary allocations to online ad clicks to admission decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The effect of speed limit credibility on drivers' speed choice

Credibility of speed limits is a key factor affecting drivers’ compliance with speed limits. Two experiments were conducted to investigate how credibility of speed limits affects judgments of appropriate speed. The first experiment aimed to establish speeds deemed appropriate by investigating Malaysians drivers’ judgments of the appropriate speed to drive based on photographs of roads with the speed limit sign erased. Drivers chose speeds which correlated with but were higher than the actual speed limits of the roads. Analysis of road characteristics suggested they based their decisions mainly on features of the road itself rather than of the roadside. The second experiment tested the impact of credibility of speed limit information on the speed drivers judged appropriate. Drivers judged the appropriate speed to drive for the same photographs as in Experiment 1 with speed limit information provided. Four conditions were included: two conditions where the speed limit posted was 10% higher or 10% lower than the appropriate speed established in Experiment 1 (credible speed limits), and two conditions where the posted speed limit was 50% higher or 50% lower than the appropriate speed (non-credible speed limits). Posted speed limits did affect drivers’ judgments about the appropriate speed to drive. Credibility also influenced judgments whereby drivers selected appropriate speeds consistent with the speed limits for the 10% lower condition, but not for speed limits that deviated highly from the appropriate speed judged in Experiment 1.     

The accuracy and speed of repeated responses

Summary Although experimental psychologists measure the quality of performance in terms of either terminal accuracy or latency, no clear theoretical link has been recently made between these measurements. This paper reports two experiments which show that a fundamental limitation to performance, either in terms of speed or accuracy, is the delay since a previous movement was made. Under circumstances where eye-movements are controlled, the ensemble size appears not to affect response latency directly, but response-to-stimulus interval (RSI) has a highly significant effect. Furthermore, the accuracy of responses is independent of either ensemble size or entropy, but is again directly related to RSI. These results are discussed in terms of the instability and lability of the spatial information upon which the operator must act, and it is hypothesized that a major contributing factor to performance in serial tasks is the state of the subject's knowledge about the spaces he or she operates in.     

The expected likelihood of transitivity of preference

May's model of pairwise preference determination is used to assess the expected likelihood that a subject's pairwise preference comparisons on three alternatives will be transitive. A closed form representation for this expected likelihood is obtained for each situation considered. When the subject is assumed to act precisely according to rankings on attributes with May's model, the computed expected likelihoods the relatively large. When the subject becomes a probabilistic chooser, as defined in a specific manner, expected likelihoods of transitivity decrease significantly from corresponding values with May's model. For a probabilistic Chooser, there is a significant likelihood that the subject might yield transitive pairwise preferences substantially different than the results suggested by May's model.This research was supported by a grant from the General University Research Program and through a fellowship from the Center for Advanced Study, both of the University of Delaware. Very helpful input from John H. Antil, Meryl P. Gardner, and James M. Munch is also acknowledged.     

The speed of free will

Do voluntary and task-driven shifts of attention have the same time course? In order to measure the time needed to voluntarily shift attention, we devised several novel visual search tasks that elicited multiple sequential attentional shifts. Participants could only respond correctly if they attended to the right place at the right time. In control conditions, search tasks were similar but participants were not required to shift attention in any order. Across five experiments, voluntary shifts of attention required 200–300 ms. Control conditions yielded estimates of 35–100 ms for task-driven shifts. We suggest that the slower speed of voluntary shifts reflects the “clock speed of free will”. Wishing to attend to something takes more time than shifting attention in response to sensory input.     

The selection of judges for preference testing

A scheme for choosing a few individuals whose preferences for given objects are most representative of those of a larger group of individuals is proposed. The method involves (a) quantifying the preferences of each individual so as to discriminate optimally among objects, (b) testing statistically whether or not a common preference continuum may be assumed for the quantified preferences, (c) constructing a linear estimator of values for the objects on this continuum, if it may be assumed, and (d) selecting as judges the least number of individuals whose quantified preferences, when used with this estimator, determine values for the objects with acceptable accuracy. A numerical example based on food preferences is presented. Preparation of this paper has been supported in part by the Quartermaster Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces. Views or conclusions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or indorsement of the Department of Defense.     

The development of infants' preference for motherese

Generally, infants prefer infant-directed (ID) to adult-directed (AD) speech. Mostly, researchers have used unfamiliar female voices in these studies. We investigated preferences for maternal ID speech in 1- and 4-month-olds. Using a procedure in which infants controlled access to voices by fixating a visual display, infants listened to recordings of natural female ID and AD speech. In Experiment 1, 1-month-olds heard recordings of maternal ID and AD speech, but these infants showed no preference for maternal ID speech. In Experiment 2, 1-month-olds heard the same ID and AD speech tapes but were not familiar with the speakers. Contrary to Experiment 1, these infants preferred ID speech. In Experiment 3, 4-month-olds heard recordings of maternal ID and AD speech and showed a significant preference for ID speech. Collectively, these results suggest that infant attention to ID speech depends on both speaker-general and speaker-specific characteristics, with interesting developmental changes occuring during early infancy.     

Fairness and preference

Two equity models were evaluated by fitting them to subjects' judgments of the fairness of payment distributions to “self” and “other” under hypothetical work situations. Neither the E. Walster, G. W. Walster, and E. Berscheid (Equity: Theory and Research, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1978) equity formulation nor Harris' (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1976, 12, 194–209) linear model adequately accounted for the fairness judgments regardless of whether self worked more or less than other. Subjects also were asked to indicate their most preferred payment distributions and these preferences were significantly different from the fairness judgments. Results suggested that fairness judgments were influenced by a bias in the direction of overpayment to self.