Myopic perception of having a deadline in negotiations: An anchoring effect due to question order

In negotiations, people tend to perceive a deadline as more detrimental to themselves than to their opponents. This phenomenon is termed myopic perception. The present research proposes that myopic perception can be understood as a result of an anchoring effect due to the question order used in probing the perception of a deadline. When people estimate deal prices before rating the influence of a deadline, their judgements are anchored on their negotiation outcomes, making their perception egocentric, which leads to myopic perception. As a result, myopic perception was hypothesized to be reduced by reversing the above question order to change the respondents' judgement anchor from negotiation outcomes to negotiation procedures. In Study 1, myopic perception disappeared when participants rated the general influence of a deadline before estimating deal price in a negotiation scenario. In Study 2, pairs of participants negotiated under a tight deadline. Myopic perception of a deadline was manipulated before the negotiation. Dyads without myopic perception had a smaller discrepancy in reservation price. However, myopic perception had no effect on impasse rates or final deal prices. The results are discussed with respect to behavioural forecasting and practical implications of myopic perception.     

Treatment Fidelity of a Randomized Controlled Trial for Suicidal Risk

Treatment fidelity is a crucial consideration within randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The present study relies on data from a feasibility RCT conducted with 62 treatment-seeking suicidal college students. Issues of experimental fidelity were germane in this investigation because the same clinicians provided both the experimental (the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality—CAMS) and the control (treatment as usual—TAU) care. The first aim of the current study was to determine adherence to the CAMS model within the experimental (CAMS) and control (TAU) treatment conditions. A second exploratory aim was included to examine how treatment fidelity impacted treatment outcomes (i.e., depression, suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and potential treatment moderators). The CAMS Rating Scale (CRS.3-R) was used to determine treatment adherence to the CAMS model and to ensure between-group fidelity within the trial. The CRS.3-R was completed throughout the course of care based on reviews of a selected number of video recordings of both CAMS and TAU sessions to measure treatment fidelity. Mean CRS.3-R scores revealed differences across treatment conditions such that clinicians were successfully able to provide each treatment separately without contamination. Further, higher CRS.3-R scores in CAMS sessions resulted in decreased hopelessness over the treatment period. Higher CRS.3-R scores in TAU sessions resulted in an increased likelihood of suicidal ideation and less reduction in hopelessness over the treatment period. Overall, clinicians can serve as their own controls in a RCT and levels of adherence to the CAMS model have different effects on suicidal ideation and hopelessness.

     

Cross‐sectional study on the relationship between music training and working memory in adults

Learning to play musical instruments has been shown to enhance a wide variety of cognitive domains. The present study investigated the specific aspects of working memory (WM) that differed between adult musicians and non‐musicians. Twenty‐four musicians and 30 non‐musicians matched for age, gender, years of formal education, and verbal intelligence performed several WM tasks. A multivariate analysis of covariance, wherein family income was controlled, revealed that musicians outperformed non‐musicians in tasks related to visual–motor coordination, visual scanning ability, visual processing speed, and spatial memory. However, no significant differences were found in phonological and visual memory capacity. This study supports the view that music training is associated to specific (and not general) WM skills.     

An Agonistic Model of Dialogue

In this article, Schellhammer's statements that learning is only possible in tension and that difference and diversity are prerequisites for tension are discussed in light of a certain event that occurred at a Summer School on Pluralism, Development, and Social Change. The article aims to explore Bildung, and especially learning in tension, through a concrete case study in which cultural diversity is a key issue. Reflecting on the case, psychological, philosophical, and sociopolitical perspectives are presented, each of which casts a different light on what happened. In the final reflection, we turn to the question of what dialogical self theory (DST) can offer when it comes to learning in tension, and how DST can be enriched and challenged by other approaches. We argue that DST facilitates the development of intercultural competence through dialogue with the unknown other in the self. Philosophical notions of cosmopolitanism and Socratic self-examination can shed further light on resistance to and conditions for transformative dialogues. They also place these in a historical and global perspective. We introduce an agonistic model of dialogue, in which the structural power inequalities and privileges people bring into dialogical spaces are explicitly addressed, thereby sowing the seeds of postdialogue transformative action in a personal and professional sense—for example, in transformative justice initiatives.     

Interactional justice and the fair process effect: The role of outcome uncertainty

This paper reconciles the inconsistent findings on the interactive effect of interactional justice and social comparison information on outcome evaluation. We distinguish two different effects of interactional justice and examine outcome uncertainty as a qualifying factor. Three hundred and fifty-seven undergraduates participated in a scenario experiment. It is found that, due to the functional quality effect, interactional justice significantly influences outcome evaluation, regardless of the social comparison information that is available, in situations of low outcome uncertainty. However, due to the fair process effect, interactional justice, as with procedural justice, interacts with social comparison information to influence outcome evaluation in situations of high outcome uncertainty. Implications for comparison referents and social comparison motives in social justice research are discussed.     

Exploring the developmental changes in automatic two-digit number processing

Even when two-digit numbers are irrelevant to the task at hand, adults process them. Do children process numbers automatically, and if so, what kind of information is activated? In a novel dot-number Stroop task, children (Grades 1-5) and adults were shown two different two-digit numbers made up of dots. Participants were asked to select the number that contained the larger dots. If numbers are processed automatically, reaction time for dot size judgment should be affected by numerical characteristics. The results suggest that, like adults, children process two-digit numbers automatically. Based on the current findings, we propose a developmental trend for automatic two-digit number processing that goes from decomposed sequential (activation of decade digit followed by that of unit digit) to decomposed parallel processing (simultaneous activation of decade and unit digits).     

Developing equivalent Chinese and English scale‐point labels for rating scales used in survey research

Rating scales are the most frequently‐used response tool in surveys, and the scale levels are commonly described with words [verbal scale‐point labels (VSPL)]. In this study, Chinese VSPL were identified which employ five‐point scales that are psychometrically equivalent to English VSPL. In several bilingual studies, a total of 61 Chinese and 44 English items addressing intensity, frequency, and agreement rating modalities were tested. For each VSPL, three aspects were measured: position between minimum and maximum, familiarity, and appeal. The correspondence between pertinent Chinese and English words was also assessed. Based on these findings, we recommend specific VSPL that are best‐suited for achieving equivalence between Chinese and English in rating scales.     

Provision of Genetics Services on Guam

Guam’s geographic isolation and lack of community resources have resulted in unique healthcare needs. In 2006, the Western States Genetic Services Collaborative (WSGSC) conducted a genetics needs assessment and found that professional development is limited, families lack access to genetic services, and improved coverage of genetic testing is needed. With funding from the WSGSC, a Guam genetics outreach clinic was established and staffed by genetic counselors and a medical geneticist from Hawaii. Four clinics have been held to date. Although several challenges have been encountered, including minimal coverage of genetic testing by Guam insurance companies, limited referrals for families with private insurance, and inappropriate referral indications, the outreach clinic has been successful at increasing access to genetic services and improving professional development. With more collaborative work by staff from Guam, Hawaii, and the WSGSC, provision and reimbursement of genetic services and testing will continue to improve.     

Spatial distortion induced by imperceptible visual stimuli

Previous studies have explored the effects of attention on spatial representation. Specifically, in the attentional repulsion effect, a transient visual cue that captures attention has been shown to alter the perceived position of a target stimulus to the direction away from the cue. The effect is also susceptible to retrospective influence, that attention appears to attract the target when the cue appears afterwards. This study examined the necessity of visual awareness of the cue in these phenomena. We found that when the cues were rendered invisible by backward visual masks, both repulsion and attraction effects were weakened but still observed. The results suggest that the effects possibly depend on processes that are not necessarily associated with conscious visual awareness of the cues. We conjecture that attentional shift produced by the weak, invisible cues may play a role in spatial distortion; but other possible accounts including non-attentional ones are also discussed.