Uncertainty in ethical consumer choice: a conceptual model

The market place has seen significant growth in the demand for ‘ethical’ products and services. Yet, consumers often experience knowledge, evaluation and choice uncertainties in decision‐making processes, particularly in relation to products such as ethical clothing. The authors explore this pertinent form of consumer uncertainty through three qualitative studies of ethical consumers that examine their approaches to clothing consumption. In‐depth interviews and focus groups confirm uncertainty arises; the results also identify the causes and consequences of consumer uncertainty in this context. The causes of uncertainty pertain to issues surrounding complexity, ambiguity, conflict and credibility that give rise to uncertainties that result in delaying purchase decisions, compromising beliefs and negative emotions. This study contributes to literature by offering a holistic understanding of the challenges facing consumers when making ethical choices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Continuity in Representation Between Children and Adults: Arithmetic Knowledge Hinders Undergraduates' Algebraic Problem Solving

This study examined if solving arithmetic problems hinders undergraduates' accuracy on algebra problems. The hypothesis was that solving arithmetic problems would hinder accuracy because it activates an operational view of equations, even in educated adults who have years of experience with algebra. In three experiments, undergraduates (N = 184) solved addition facts or participated in one of several control conditions. Those who solved addition facts were less likely to solve prealgebra equations (e.g., 6 + 8 +4 = 7 + __) correctly under speeded conditions. In a fourth experiment, the negative effects of solving arithmetic problems extended to undergraduates (N = 74) solving algebra problems with no time pressure. Taken together, results suggest that arithmetic activates knowledge that hinders performance on algebra problems. Thus, an operational view of equations, which is prevalent in children, does not seem to be revised or abandoned, even after years of experience with algebra.     

Going Home Again: Transitioning Youth to Families After Group Care Placement

This paper presents results from the transitioning youth to families intervention, which aimed to promote family care for youth served in group care programs in the child welfare system. The intervention was conducted in two counties in a Mid-Atlantic state. The effort encompassed administrative case review and family involvement meetings. We assessed the effect of the intervention in promoting placement in family settings within 12 months. We also explored other effects of the intervention identified by participants. Using propensity score matching with administrative data to compare one-year placement settings for the intervention counties and non-intervention counties, a higher rate of family reunification was identified for youth in the treatment counties. To provide a richer contextual understanding of the effects of the intervention, thematic analysis of open-ended comments from youth and caregiver participants was conducted. These resulting themes provided further understanding of the value of the intervention especially in the areas of planning for the transition, improving youth insight about placement options, and the importance of family involvement. Participants also made recommendations for how to enhance the intervention and promote the transition of youth from group care to family settings. Overall, the effect of the intervention in transitioning youth to family settings was nominal; however unanticipated benefits of engaging youth and family in the transition process were noted. From this evaluation, we provide suggestions for future research and the development of effort to transition youth from group care settings.     

How people think “if only …” about reasons for actions

When people think about how a situation might have turned out differently, they tend to imagine counterfactual alternatives to their actions. We report the results of three experiments which show that people imagine alternatives to actions differently when they know about a reason for the action. The first experiment (n = 36) compared reason – action sequences to cause – effect sequences. It showed that people do not imagine alternatives to reasons in the way they imagine alternatives to causes: they imagine an alternative to an action more than an effect, and to a cause more than a reason. The second experiment (n = 214) and the third experiment (n = 190) both show that different sorts of reasons have different sorts of effects on how people imagine alternatives to actions. People imagine an alternative to an action (the protagonist went to a ball) less often when they know the reason for the action was an obligation (he had to participate in fundraising) compared to when they know about a weaker reason (he wanted to meet a famous violinist) or no reason. The second experiment shows the effect for a social obligation and the third experiment replicates and extends it to a health obligation. We interpret the results in terms of the possibilities that people keep in mind about actions and their reasons.     

Time: the back-door of perception

Fifty years ago the neurologist MacDonald Critchley observed that parietal cortex damage impaired temporal as well as spatial experience. Whereas the physiological understanding of space has since advanced, the same cannot be said of time. However, in a novel study, recording from single neurons in the macaque, Leon and Shadlen show that a region of the parietal cortex appears to encode time. The area in which these neurons reside also contains spatially selective neurons and overlaps with the area recently reported to contain number neurons.     

The problem of unconsciousness in qualitative research

Although reflexivity is critical to the practice of qualitative research, the problem of unconsciousness seems to stand in its way. If aspects of lived experience are unconscious to an engaged participant, then how can one become reflexive? This paradox, and the problems it poses for qualitative research, are discussed. Varying conceptualisations of unconsciousness are presented. Unconsciousness can be understood as revealed through language, as primarily non-verbal, or as ultimately irrelevant to human experience. In addition, the source of unconscious material can be conceptualised as internal and subjective, or as contextual and direcdy observable. From these assumptions follow diverse approaches to qualitative research. If unconsciousness is structured via language, then research must focus on the words through which participants describe their experience. If, however, unconsciousness is distinct from language, then qualitative methods must incorporate non-verbal data. The presumed locus of unconsciousness will also affect one's research methods. Internal explanations require querying the subject, and external explanations entail scrutinising context. Examples of qualitative methods and the diverse approaches from which they proceed are presented It is argued that reflexivity demands scrutiny and articulation of the verbal, non-verbal and contextual components that define a particular research project. The author details his own experiences in this regard, and outlines areas in need of further methodological development.     

Dynamic Motivational Processing of Antimarijuana Messages: Coactivation Begets Attention

In the theoretical framework of dynamic motivational activation, this study reveals the dynamics of antimarijuana public service announcement (PSA) processing, especially the processing of co‐occurring positive and negative content. It specifies the important role of endogenous feedback dynamics of the information processing system and teases them apart from exogenous message effects. As suggested by real‐time psychophysiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance level, and facial electromyography), the copresence of positive and negative content is most attention eliciting and is not moderated by individuals' marijuana experience. Marijuana experience, however, increases attention to arousing content in the PSAs, increases smiling responses to positive content, and escalates arousal to the PSAs in general. Implications for designing and evaluating PSAs and health campaigns are discussed.