The effects of social ties on coordination: conceptual foundations for an empirical analysis

This paper investigates the influence that social ties can have on behavior. After defining the concept of social ties that we consider, we introduce an original model of social ties. The impact of such ties on social preferences is studied in a coordination game with outside option. We provide a detailed game theoretical analysis of this game while considering various types of players, i.e., self-interest maximizing, inequity averse, and fair agents. In addition to these approaches that require strategic reasoning in order to reach some equilibrium, we also present an alternative hypothesis that relies on the concept of team reasoning. After having discussed the differences between the latter and our model of social ties, we show how an experiment can be designed so as to discriminate among the models presented in the paper.     

Validation of the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale in Spanish Samples

The aim of this study was to validate the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS; Kalichman, 2011) in Spanish samples. Two independent studies were conducted. In Study 1, we examined the factor structure of the SSSS in a sample of 1,272 heterosexual undergraduate students (40.0% men, 60.0% women). Results revealed a 2-factor structure. Factor 1 was related to physical sexual sensations and risky sexual behaviors and Factor 2 was related to exploratory or novel sex. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed this factor structure in a sample of 373 community adults (33.8% men, 66.2% women). Two items were deleted, resulting in a final version composed of 8 items. This version showed good test–retest reliability and evidence of its concurrent validity. In Study 2, the factor structure was further confirmed in a sample of 1,596 university students (28.8% men, 71.2% women). More evidence of construct validity was provided, which revealed that higher levels of sexual sensation seeking were associated with more frequent sexual risk behaviors and poorer sexual health. Internal consistency reliability did not reach acceptable levels on all of the subscales. Results suggest that, although it has been used before, this scale needs a revision before its use in Spanish-speaking contexts.     

The structure of frontoparallel haptic space is task dependent

In three experiments, we investigated the structure of frontoparallel haptic space. In the first experiment, we asked blindfolded participants to rotate a matching bar so that it felt parallel to the reference bar, the bars could be at various positions in the frontoparallel plane. Large systematic errors were observed, in which orientations that were perceived to be parallel were not physically parallel. In two subsequent experiments, we investigated the origin of these errors. In Experiment 2, we asked participants to verbally report the orientation of haptically presented bars. In this task, participants made errors that were considerably smaller than those made in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, we asked participants to set bars in a verbally instructed orientation, and they also made errors significantly smaller than those observed in Experiment 1. The data suggest that the errors in the matching task originate from the transfer of the reference orientation to the matching-bar position.     

Outcome interdependence shapes the effects of prevention focus on team processes and performance

Although the effects of regulatory focus on individual-level performance have often been studied, relatively little is yet known about team-level effects. Filling this void, we integrate the notion that promotion-focused individuals are concerned with progress and achievement, whereas prevention-focused individuals are concerned with security and vigilance, with the insight that team processes and performance depend on outcome interdependence (individual versus team rewards). The hypothesis that prevention-focused teams react more strongly than promotion-focused teams to differences in outcome interdependence was tested among 50 teams performing an interactive command-and-control simulation. Regulatory focus and outcome interdependence were both manipulated. The results showed that prevention-focused teams working for team rather than individual rewards reported higher work engagement and less error intolerance, coordinated more effectively, and performed better. Promotion-focused teams were not influenced by outcome interdependence. We discuss the implications of our results for theory and effective team management.     

How highlighted utensils influence consumption in a dark setting

Abstract

Objective: Previous research has shown that people consume less food in the dark compared to normal vision conditions. While this effect is commonly attributed to increased attention to internal cues, it could also be caused by increased difficulty to maneuver in a dark setting. This study investigated this potential alternative explanation.

Design: A 2 (dark versus normal vision setting)?×?2 (highlighted versus non-highlighted utensils) between-subjects design was employed.

Main outcome measures: Perceived difficulty of maneuvering and consumption of yoghurt were assessed as main outcome measures.

Results: Participants consumed marginally less in dark compared to normal vision conditions, and experienced higher difficulty of maneuvering. Importantly, both effects were qualified by a significant interaction with highlighting, which increased consumption and reduced perceived difficulty compared to no highlights. Difficulty of maneuvering did not mediate the interactive effect of vision and highlighting on consumption.

Conclusion: Difficulty to maneuver should be considered when investigating eating behaviour under dark conditions. In line with an embodied cognition account, results also reveal the necessity of visual information for interaction with objects in the environment and imply that detail-deprived object information may be sufficient for activation of the motor system.     

Sources of politico-economic attitudes: students’ introspections

Our aim is to shed more light on university students’ sources of attitudes towards the market economy, social inequality, and the responsibilities of the state. Analyzing survey data of almost 500 students at a German university, we identify those sources the subjects report to be important in the process of forming their politico-economic attitudes. We explore the differences between our sample of local students and the German General Social Survey, as well as the characteristics of subjects expressing no opinion. We also examine whether the sources which were reported to be important significantly contribute to the prediction of conservative political attitudes, concentrating specifically on the attitude effects of economic education.     

Haptic perception of parallelity in the midsagittal plane.

Previous studies [Perception 28 (1999) 1001; Perception 28 (1999) 781] on the haptic perception of parallelity on a horizontal plane showed that what subjects haptically perceive as being parallel deviates considerably from what is physically parallel. The deviations could be described with a subject-dependent orientation gradient in the left-right direction. The gradients found in the bimanual conditions were significantly larger (about 70%) than those in the unimanual conditions. The questions to be answered in the present study are the following: (1) Does the haptic perception of parallelity in the midsagittal plane also show systematic deviations from veridicality? (2) Are the unimanual and bimanual performances again quantitatively but not qualitatively different? The set-up consisted of a plate positioned in the midsagittal plane of the subject. The subject touched the right side of the plate with his/her right hand and the left side with the left hand. The results show again large systematic deviations. The major part of the deviations can be described by means of a subject-dependent orientation gradient in the vertical direction. The quantitative (but not qualitative) difference between the unimanual and the bimanual conditions is much larger in the midsagittal plane than in the horizontal plane.