Discounting: A practical guide to multilevel analysis of choice data

Multilevel modeling provides the ability to simultaneously evaluate the discounting of individuals and groups by examining choices between smaller sooner and larger later rewards. A multilevel logistic regression approach is advocated in which sensitivity to relative reward magnitude and relative delay are considered as separate contributors to choice. Examples of how to fit choice data using multilevel logistic models are provided to help researchers in the adoption of these methods.     

“Inside out”: Appraisals for achievement emotions from constructive,positive, and negative feedback on writing

Even with the recent surge of research on achievement emotions, few studies have investigated emotions in feedback situations and the appraisals associated with such emotions. The purpose of this study was to examine emotion appraisals of constructive criticism, negative, and positive feedback, to aid us in determining whether these appraisals differed by feedback type. In a task asking them to provide open-ended responses as they imagined receiving feedback on a writing task, undergraduates (N?=?270) gave reasons for why they might experience unpleasant emotions from positive feedback and pleasant emotions from negative feedback along with reasons for both pleasant and unpleasant emotions emanating from constructive feedback. Open coding of responses yielded categories for each emotion-feedback pairing that, across all emotions, were collapsed into five appraisal categories: feedback suggests ways to improve, a mismatch between feedback and task exists, feedback targets the self or one’s ability, feedback says something about the relationship between feedback giver and receiver, and the task is judged for its value. Distributions of appraisal categories distinguished constructive feedback from positive and negative feedback. Implications are drawn for control-value theory and for classroom feedback practices.     

An Indecent Proposal: The Dual Functions of Indirect Speech

People often use indirect speech, for example, when trying to bribe a police officer by asking whether there might be “a way to take care of things without all the paperwork.” Recent game theoretic accounts suggest that a speaker uses indirect speech to reduce public accountability for socially risky behaviors. The present studies examine a secondary function of indirect speech use: increasing the perceived moral permissibility of an action. Participants report that indirect speech is associated with reduced accountability for unethical behavior, as well as increased moral permissibility and increased likelihood of unethical behavior. Importantly, moral permissibility was a stronger mediator of the effect of indirect speech on likelihood of action, for judgments of one's own versus others' unethical action. In sum, the motorist who bribes the police officer with winks and nudges may not only avoid public punishment but also maintain the sense that his actions are morally permissible.     

Counseling Multiple‐Heritage Couples

Multiple‐heritage couples are one of the fastest growing client populations in the United States. These partnerships are defined by intersecting ethnic, racial, linguistic, and religious differences. They are challenged by societal perceptions, stereotypes, and other pressures associated with being in a multiple‐heritage pairing. This article discusses strengths in the multiple‐heritage union brought about by the understanding of diverse viewpoints. Finally, the article identifies specific strategies, such as couples relationship education, to resolve and confront inherent differences. Las parejas multiculturales son uno de los grupos demográficos de clientes de mayor crecimiento en los Estados Unidos. Este tipo de parejas se define por la intersección de diferencias étnicas, raciales, lingüísticas y religiosas. Sus miembros enfrentan desafíos a causa de las percepciones sociales, los esterotipos y otras presiones asociadas con tener una pareja multicultural. Este artículo discute los puntos fuertes en una unión multicultural, facilitados por la comprensión de puntos de vista diversos. Finalmente, el artículo identifica estrategias específicas, como por ejemplo la educación en relaciones de pareja, para resolver y afrontar las diferencias intrínsecas.     

Relations between virtues and positive mental health in a Korean population: A Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model approach

A Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) approach was applied to investigate the relationship between virtues and positive mental health as determined using the Character Strength Test and the Mental Health Continuum‐Short Form. The study participants were 876 college students (54% women; overall mean age [SD] 21.50 years [2.35]) recruited from introductory psychology courses at two universities in Seoul. Findings revealed that the intellectual virtues of college students predicted subjective well‐being according to all emotional, social and psychological measures. Results are discussed in the context of previous work using the Values in Action classification of virtues and character strengths. In addition, implications regarding understanding the nature and possible origins of positive mental health are outlined.     

Impulsive behaviour in interpersonal encounters: Associations with quarrelsomeness and agreeableness

Associations between impulsivity and interpersonal behaviours have rarely been examined, even though impulsivity may disrupt the flow of social interactions. For example, it is unknown to what extent the commonly used Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS‐11) predicts impulsive behaviour in social situations, and how behaving impulsively during interpersonal encounters might influence levels of quarrelsomeness and agreeableness. In this study, 48 healthy working individuals completed the BIS‐11 and recorded their behaviour in social situations using event‐contingent recording. Record forms included items representing quarrelsome, agreeable, and impulsive behaviours. BIS‐11 motor impulsiveness scores predicted impulsive behaviour in social situations. Impulsive behaviour was associated, in different interactions, with both agreeableness and quarrelsomeness. Behaving impulsively in specific interactions was negatively associated with agreeableness in participants with higher BIS‐11 motor impulsiveness and positively associated with agreeableness in participants with lower BIS‐11 motor impulsiveness. Impulsive quarrelsome behaviour may cause interpersonal problems. Impulsive agreeable behaviour may have positive effects in individuals with low trait impulsivity. The idea that there are between‐person differences in the effects of state impulsivity on the flow of social interaction deserves further study.     

A Qualitative Study of Health Professionals' Views Regarding Provision of Information About Health-Protective Behaviors During Genetic Consultation for Breast Cancer

This study aimed to explore health professionals' views and practice regarding the provision of information about health-protective behaviors (e.g., exercise, alcohol consumption, diet) during genetic consultation for breast cancer. Ten genetic counselors participated in three focus groups, and seven medical specialists were interviewed in a focus group or individually. Data was analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings suggested that health professionals held differing, often opposing, views about the value of health-protective behaviors for women at increased risk of breast cancer. The content and extent of information provided about health-protective behaviors varied widely, and participants expressed a need to form consensus regarding information provision both within and across clinics. The main barriers to providing information regarding health-protective behaviors included the lack of research evidence regarding the impact of these factors and higher priority of other information need to be provided in the limited consultation time. Participants generally did not consider it their role to promote health-protective behaviors, and were concerned about the psychological impact of providing information about behavioral risk factors during genetic consultations.     

Effects of number of items and visual display variability onsame-different discrimination behavior

We explored college students' discrimination of complex visual stimuli that involvedmultiple-item displays. The items in each of the displays could be all the same, all different, or diverse mixtures of some same and some different items. The participants had to learn which of two arbitrary responses was correct for each of the displays without being told about the sameness or differentness of the stimuli. We observed a general improvement in discrimination performance--a rise in choice accuracy and a fall in reaction time-as the number of icons in the display was increased, even when the participants had been trained from the outset with displays containing different numbers of items and when smaller numbers of items were not randomly distributed but grouped in the center of the display. The participants' discrimination behavior also depended on the mixture of same and different items in the displays. Striking individual differences in the participants' discrimination behavior disclosed that people sometimes respond as do pigeons and baboons trained with a similar task. This and previous related research suggest that variability discrimination may lie at the root of same-different categorization behavior.