Risk of bias in trial-based economic evaluations: Identification of sources and bias-reducing strategies

Objective: The objectives of this article are first to give an overview of the risks of bias in trial-based economic evaluations and, second, to identify how key sources for bias can be revealed and overcome (i.e. what bias-reducing strategies might be employed) in future trial-based economic evaluations in the field of health psychology.

Design: Narrative review discussing sources of bias in trial-based economic evaluations and bias-reducing strategies.

Results: We identified 11 biases and assigned them to a particular trial phase. A distinction is made between pre-trial biases, biases during the trial and biases that are relevant after the actual trial. All potential forms of bias are discussed in detail and strategies are shown to detect and overcome these biases.

Conclusion: In order to avoid bias in trial-based economic evaluations, one has to be aware of all the possible forms of bias. All stakeholders have to examine trial-based economic evaluations in a rigorous and stringent manner. This article can be helpful in this examination as it gives an overview of the possible biases which researchers should take into account.     

Dissociation of rapid response learning and facilitation in perceptual and conceptual networks of person recognition

Repetition priming is a prominent example of non‐declarative memory, and it increases the accuracy and speed of responses to repeatedly processed stimuli. Major long‐hold memory theories posit that repetition priming results from facilitation within perceptual and conceptual networks for stimulus recognition and categorization. Stimuli can also be bound to particular responses, and it has recently been suggested that this rapid response learning, not network facilitation, provides a sound theory of priming of object recognition. Here, we addressed the relevance of network facilitation and rapid response learning for priming of person recognition with a view to advance general theories of priming. In four experiments, participants performed conceptual decisions like occupation or nationality judgments for famous faces. The magnitude of rapid response learning varied across experiments, and rapid response learning co‐occurred and interacted with facilitation in perceptual and conceptual networks. These findings indicate that rapid response learning and facilitation in perceptual and conceptual networks are complementary rather than competing theories of priming. Thus, future memory theories need to incorporate both rapid response learning and network facilitation as individual facets of priming.     

Disclosure Experiences of Sexual Minority College Student Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Although research on disclosure following intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is burgeoning, sexual minority young adults’ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning, etc.; LGBQ+) experiences have not received equal attention. The current study employed the minority stress framework to examine disclosure experiences of LGBQ+ college students across the United States reporting physical IPV victimization within their current relationship (n = 77). Participants completed measures assessing minority stress and IPV disclosure, and answered open‐ended questions regarding the most and least helpful persons/responses to disclosure or reasons for non‐disclosure. Results indicated that approximately one‐third (35 %) of victims disclosed to at least one person, with friends being the most common recipients. Thematic analyses indicated that talking or listening to the victim was considered the most helpful response and not understanding the situation least helpful. Reasons for non‐disclosure centered on themes of the victims’ perception that the IPV was not a big deal. Quantitative findings regarding physical IPV disclosure indicated that non‐disclosers experienced greater minority stress than disclosers. The current study suggests the presence of differences between sexual minority (i.e., LGBQ +persons) and non‐sexual minority persons, as well as between LGBQ+ young adults/college students and older adults and presents a theoretical structure (i.e., minority stress framework) through which these differences may be understood.     

Managing information overload in virtual teams: Effects of a structured online team adaptation on cognition and performance

Information overload (IO) indicates the exchange of too much low-quality information in virtual teams. When being overloaded with information, teams need to adapt and to change communication behaviour. This study introduces and tests a structured online team adaptation (STROTA) procedure that enables virtual teams to reduce IO by improving their team mental model quality. STROTA, built from team adaptation models, is a moderated intervention consisting of three stages: (1) individual situation awareness, (2) team situation awareness, and (3) plan formulation. STROTA was tested in the context of an experimental problem-solving task. Participants (N = 363) worked in virtual teams of three and were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: no STROTA, incomplete STROTA (step 1, steps 1–2), and complete STROTA (steps 1–2–3). We found teams that followed a complete STROTA procedure experienced lessened IO over time. Teams with complete STROTA showed the largest development of TMM immediately after STROTA. Finally, multilevel mediation analyses showed that TMM are mediators that explain the influence of STROTA on IO.     

Demystifying social cognition: a Hebbian perspective

For humans and monkeys, understanding the actions of others is central to survival. Here we review the physiological properties of three cortical areas involved in this capacity: the STS, PF and F5. Based on the anatomical connections of these areas, and the Hebbian learning rule, we propose a simple but powerful account of how the monkey brain can learn to understand the actions of others by associating them with self-produced actions, at the same time discriminating its own actions from those of others. As this system appears also to exist in man, this network model can provide a framework for understanding human social perception.