A decision model for steady-state choice in concurrent chains

Grace and McLean (2006) proposed a decision model for acquisition of choice in concurrent chains which assumes that after reinforcement in a terminal link, subjects make a discrimination whether the preceding reinforcer delay was short or long relative to a criterion. Their model was subsequently extended by Christensen and Grace (2008, 2009a, 2009b) to include effects of initial- and terminal-link duration on choice. We show that an expression for steady-state responding can be derived from the decision model, which enables a model for choice that provides an account of archival data that is equal or superior to the contextual choice model (Grace, 1994) and hyperbolic value-added model (Mazur, 2001) in terms of goodness of fit, parsimony, and parameter invariance. The success of the steady-state decision model validates the strategy of understanding acquisition phenomena as a bridge toward explaining choice at the molar level.     

It's All Relative: The Distinction and Prediction of Political Perceptions Across Levels

The current study was designed to extend previous research by determining whether individuals discriminated political activity at 3 organizational levels (at the highest level in the organization, at the level of one's immediate supervisor, and at one's current level). Further, it was hypothesized that levels of political activity would predict work outcomes differentially. Data gathered from 181 police officers provide strong results. Specifically, findings indicate that respondents discriminated political activity at each level and that differential prediction existed. Implications of these findings, strengths and limitations, and avenues for future research are provided.     

To Be or Not Be? The Influence of Dissociative Reference Groups on Consumer Preferences

The current research explores the effects of dissociative reference groups on consumer preferences. Males had more negative evaluations of, and were less inclined to choose, a product associated with a dissociative (i.e., female) reference group than a neutral product (Study 1). This finding was moderated by whether the product was consumed in public or private (Study 2) and public self‐consciousness (Study 3). We suggest the mechanism underlying our effects is a desire to present a positive self‐image to others. The role of dissociative reference groups in marketing communications is discussed.     

ILAB: A program for postexperimental eye movement analysis

The recording and analysis of eye movements are fundamental to a diverse set of research applications, including studies in which reading, visual search, and both overt and covert visuospatial attention are examined. Software tools supplied with commonly available eye-tracking equipment have generally been limited in functionality and nonextensible. Because of this dearth of available software, ILAB was createdto provide an extensible frame workfor analyzing various aspects of eye movements. The program consists of a series of open-source MATLAB functions. The program’s data structures keep raw data, analysis preferences, and analyzed data separate, thus maintaining data fidelity and promoting extensibility.     

The Formation of Political Sub-Climates: Predictions from Social Identity,Structuration, and Symbolic Interaction

Merging the climate and politics literatures, this study evaluates whether organizations have a singular, shared political climate or whether sub-climates, “pockets of politics,” exist. Sub-climate formation is investigated by utilizing both political and climate explanations to determine the level of formation. The sample consisted of 891 employees of a retail services firm and the results of the study indicate that political climates do exist and may be best distinguished by defining the employee’s interactional patterns.     

Sparing of written production of proper nouns and dates in aphasia

Aphasia is a total or partial loss of the ability to produce or understand language, usually caused by brain disease or injury. In this case study, the aphasic patient (BMW) has a profound impairment of oral production and a very moderate impairment in comprehension. Several years of informal observation lead to the current study that contrasts written naming of common nouns to written naming of proper nouns and dates. BMW named professional ice hockey players, team logos, and provided birthdays of players with near perfect accuracy and normal rates of production. In contrast, his performance on naming common nouns was only 50% accurate and appeared very laborious. The results of this study thus show a clear preservation of date and proper noun production in contrast to common nouns.     

Coping with condom embarrassment

This study assesses the embarrassment associated with purchasing, carrying, storing, using and disposing of condoms. It incorporates coping theory into the investigation of embarrassment by analysing the strategies individuals use to cope with embarrassment during condom purchase. The results of a survey show that individuals are embarrassed at various stages related to condom use. Purchasing condoms elicits the most embarrassment, followed by carrying and disposing, while using and storing are the least embarrassing. To cope with their embarrassment while purchasing condoms, people use multiple cognitive and behavioural coping strategies, with embarrassed people using more strategies. Both embarrassment and the number of strategies used decrease with age and experience. It appears that embarrassment associated with condoms remains a barrier to condom acquisition and consistent condom use, particularly among young adult populations. Coping strategies help individuals to bridge the gap between embarrassment and use.     

Coherent perspective jitter induces visual illusions of self-motion

Palmisano et al (2000 Perception 29 57-67) found that adding coherent perspective jitter to constant-velocity radial flow improved visually induced illusions of self-motion (vection). This was a surprising finding, because unlike pure radial flow, this jittering radial flow should have generated sustained visual--vestibular conflicts--previously thought to always reduce/impair vection. We attempted to ascertain the essential stimulus features for this jitter advantage for vection by examining three novel types of jitter display. While adding incoherent jitter to radial flow was found to impair vection, adding coherent non-perspective jitter had little effect on this subjective experience (contrary to the notion that jitter improves vection by reducing adaptation to radial flow). Importantly, we found that coherent perspective jitter not only improves the vection induced by radial flow, but it also appears to induce modest vection by itself (demonstrating that vection can still occur when there is an extreme mismatch between actual and expected vestibular activity). These results suggest that the previously demonstrated advantage for coherent perspective jitter was due (in part at least) to jittering vection combining with forwards vection in depth to produce a more compelling overall vection experience.     

Comparison of single and multiple functional communication training responses for the treatment of problem behavior

Two functional communication training (FCT) conditions without extinction were compared to treat the problem behavior of a child with developmental disabilities. The individual was taught to emit a single FCT response to obtain one of six items delivered in a randomized order or multiple FCT responses that specified the exact item. Results showed that only the FCT-multiple condition reduced problem behavior and maintained alternative mands.