Type indeterminacy: A model of the KT(Kahneman-Tversky)-man

In this paper, we propose to use elements of the mathematical formalism of Quantum Mechanics to capture the idea that agents’ preferences, in addition to being typically uncertain, can also be indeterminate. They are determined (i.e., realized, and not merely revealed) only when the action takes place. An agent is described by a state that is a superposition of potential types (or preferences or behaviors). This superposed state is projected (or “collapses”) onto one of the possible behaviors at the time of the interaction. In addition to the main goal of modeling uncertainty of preferences that is not due to lack of information, this formalism seems to be adequate to describe widely observed phenomena of non-commutativity in patterns of behavior. We explore some implications of our approach in a comparison between classical and type indeterminate rational choice behavior. The potential of the approach is illustrated in two examples.     

Effects of two levels of procedural fidelity with constant time delay on children's learning

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of constant time delay delivered with high procedural fidelity to constant time delay with high procedural fidelity on all variables except delivery of the controlling prompt (i.e., on a mean of 44% of the trials, the controlling prompt was not delivered when it should have been provided). Six preschool children with disabilities were taught to identify photographs in two alternating conditions (e.g., high procedural fidelity and low procedural fidelity). An adapted alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the instructional conditions on the effectiveness and efficiency of instruction. In addition, daily measures were taken of the teacher's implementation of each step of the constant time delay procedures which indicated that the two conditions were implemented as planned. The results indicate that both conditions were effective for four children; for three of these, the high procedural fidelity condition resulted in more efficient learning. For the fifth child, the high-fidelity condition resulted in criterion level responding, but the low fidelity condition did not. However, when the high fidelity procedure and trial-by-trial reinforcement were used for the low-fidelity stimuli, these also were acquired. For the sixth child, neither procedure was effective; thus, the high fidelity condition was used alone and resulted in learning. The results are discussed in terms of using the constant time delay procedure and studying the procedural fidelity of other strategies.     

Impact of symptoms and aging attribution on emotions and coping

Two experimental studies and a large field study were designed to examine how symptom severity, symptom duration, symptom ambiguity, and the association of symptoms with aging affected emotional responses and coping with illness threats. In Study 1, 280 respondents from the surrounding community reported the emotional and coping responses they would manifest to scenarios that varied the severity, duration, and ambiguity (i.e., labeled vs. unlabeled) of a common set of symptoms. Severity had more of an impact on coping strategies than did duration or illness label; severe symptoms elicited stronger emotional upset and a higher incidence of both self-care behaviors and seeking of medical care. Symptoms of longer duration also resulted in increased seeking of medical care. Responses of the 334 adults participating in Study 2 replicated and extended these findings: A closed-ended item asking participants whether the symptoms could be attributed to aging showed that attribution of symptoms to aging increased with age, was more frequent for mild symptoms, and was associated with reduced emotional response to symptoms and a tendency to delay seeking treatment. Participants in the field study (168 patients seeking medical care for a variety of symptoms) completed interviews tracing symptom processing and emotional and coping reactions. The results provided evidence for the external validity of the scenario studies, as the attribution of symptoms to aging was greater for older than younger patients and resulted in a significant tendency to delay seeking medical care. Results of these studies suggest that symptom experience and symptom interpretation must be considered in the study of coping responses to illness threats.     

Help Me Get Fat! Feederism as Communal Deviance on the Internet

Feederism involves the sexual attraction to weight gain. The behavior has received negative attention from scholars, but has yet to be analyzed empirically using a sexual deviance framework. In this article, I analyze websites that discuss feederism in order to categorize the behavior into a sexual deviance typology. Results reveal that feederism is a communal behavior, but it does not fit perfectly into either the normal or pathological deviance category. Inaccurate assumptions made about this group are based on societal norms about fat, beauty, and sexuality.     

Alpha synchronization as a brain model for unconscious defense: An overview of the work of Howard Shevrin and his team

Howard Shevrin and his team have developed a stringent subliminal priming methodology, which experimentally approximates a situation of an internal, mental triggering of unconscious defense. Through a series of four studies they thus are able to bring evidence for this type of unconscious defense. With event‐related potentials, three clinical studies show how synchronization of a specific brain wave, the alpha wave, known for its inhibitory function, is also induced by subliminally presented conflictual subject‐specific stimuli. Therefore, alpha synchronization could serve as the brain mechanism of unconscious defense. The results only make sense if we suppose the existence of a dynamic unconscious, which has inherited childhood conflicts, and with privileged connections to neurotic symptom characteristics. Moreover, by showing that the unconscious conflict phrases, inferred by clinicians from clinical interviews, have a similar brain behavior, Shevrin and his team provide evidence that these inferences are not simply clinician‐dependent subjective interpretations but also imply some form of independent mental reality. Finally, interpretation of the results has led us to propose two distinct physiological mechanisms for defense: one, unconscious defense, by alpha synchronization in connection with the drive derivatives, and another, repression, based on the indications of reality in connection with the ego.     

Work-Life Boundaries and Well-Being: Does Work-to-Life Integration Impair Well-Being through Lack of Recovery?

Against the backdrop of increasingly blurred boundaries between work and nonwork, the purpose of this study was to investigate the implications of employees’ work-to-life boundary enactment for well-being. Using border/boundary theory (as reported by Ashforth, Kreiner, & Fugate (Academy of Management Review 25(3):472–491, 2000) and Clark (Human Relations 54(6):747–770, 2000)) and the effort-recovery model (as reported by Meijman & Mulder (Handbook of work and organizational psychology vol. 2 55–53, 1998)), we developed a research model that links work-to-life integration enactment to exhaustion and impaired work-life balance via lack of recovery activities (as reported by Sonnentag, Journal of Applied Psychology 88(3):518–528, 2003). The model was tested using structural equation modeling. Our sample consisted of N = 1916 employees who were recruited via an online panel service. Results showed that employees who scored high on work-to-life integration enactment reported less recovery activities and in turn were more exhausted and experienced less work-life balance. Our study contributes to the existing literature on boundary management by investigating the well-being implications of work-to-life boundary enactment and by suggesting and testing recovery as an underlying mechanism. In doing so, we link boundary enactment with existing theory of the work-life interface. Based on our review of existent research on boundary management and well-being, we disentangle previous contradictory findings. Understanding of the well-being implications of boundary enactment and underlying mechanisms can help human resource professionals and practitioners to devise and implement organizational policies and interventions that enable employees to develop boundary management strategies that are sustainable in that they do not impair employees’ well-being.     

The role of mattering as an overlooked key challenge in retirement planning and adjustment

In an aging society, making a successful transition from work to retirement and achieving good quality of retirement adjustment become major concerns for individuals, organizations, and governments. This paper focuses on the particular role of mattering (i.e., individuals' perceptions that they make a difference in the world) as a critical self-concept dimension that may mediate the impact of social interactions on retirement process at two distinct phases. We conducted two studies using time lagged design (with one-year time interval) among older workers 55 years or older (N = 161; Study 1) and retirees (N = 186; Study 2). Study 1 found that mattering mediated the effects of social support at work on life satisfaction but not retirement planning. Study 2 found that mattering mediated the effects of general social support on positive affect but not life satisfaction. Contrary to our expectation, mattering also did not mediate effects of caregiving activities. Overall, our results suggest that mattering represents a critical mechanism that explains some of the positive associations between social support and retirement adjustment quality.     

Golden hamsters on the eight-arm maze in light and darkness: The role of dead reckoning

This paper examines whether golden hamsters can rely on dead reckoning (getting positional information from updated signals generated during locomotion) on an eight-arm maze. Two groups of hamsters were tested: Group L under ordinary room light, Group D in darkness. To enhance the role of dead reckoning, each subject could climb from its own home cage onto the central platform of the maze. In a first experimental phase (15 trials), the L subjects learned to master the maze through developing a locomotor rule (arm chaining) after three to four trials. The D subjects developed arm chaining less readily and fluctuated more in their performance than did the L subjects. In a second experimental phase (15 trials), four arms were blocked at the beginning of each trial. In both experimental groups the performance decreased, yet remained well above chance level. Success and arm chaining were positively correlated in Phase 1 and negatively correlated with success in Phase 2. We assume that in Phase 2 the L subjects switched to the predominant use of visual cues, and the D subjects to dead reckoning.