An electrophysiological study of the insertion of overt response choice

Using electrophysiological measures, the authors studied changes in prestimulus state, stimulus identification, and response-related processing when, in a go/no-go task, forced choice between 2 overt go responses was inserted. The authors observed decreased prestimulus motor preparation (electromyogram), no change in stimulus identification time (selection negativity), a minor increase in response selection time (lateralized readiness potential), a large increase in response preparation time (lateralized readiness potential), a minor effect on response execution time (electromyogram), and a decrease in the activation of a response-inhibition process on no-go trials (frontal event-related potential). The existence of the response-inhibition process was verified by the presence of inverted lateralized readiness potentials on no-go trials. Pure insertion of response choice in a task seems impossible because the choice between activation and inhibition (go/no-go) always seems already present.     

Nonproportional sampling and the amplification of correlations

A theoretical analysis shows that sample correlations between two binary variables will be inflated when the frequency distributions of the two variables are flatter (i.e., closer to equal frequencies for the two values) in the sample than in the population. A correlation-assessment study in which participants were free to choose their own sample revealed an overwhelming preference for samples that included roughly the same number of observations for the two values of dichotomous variables, irrespective of their actual distribution in the population. Subjective estimates of observed correlations followed the sample correlations--which were inflated, as predicted--more closely than the true correlations. People's sampling behavior thus resembles that of a research designer who maximizes the chance of detecting a relationship, at the cost of diminished accuracy in estimating its strength.     

Does decision quality (always) increase with the size of information samples? Some vicissitudes in applying the law of large numbers

Adaptive decision making requires that contingencies between decision options and their relative assets be assessed accurately and quickly. The present research addresses the challenging notion that contingencies may be more visible from small than from large samples of observations. An algorithmic account for such a seemingly paradoxical effect is offered within a satisficing-choice framework. Accordingly, a choice is only made when the sample contingency describing the relative evaluation of the 2 options exceeds a critical threshold. Small samples, because of the high dispersion of their sampling distribution, facilitate above-threshold contingencies. Across a broad range of parameters, the resulting small-sample advantage in terms of hits is stronger than their disadvantage in false alarms. Computer simulations and experiments support the model predictions. The relative advantage of small samples is most apparent when information loss is low, when the threshold is high relative to the ecological contingency, and when the sampling process is self-truncated.     

Predicting outcome of military basic training for individuals referred for psychological evaluation.

We examined outcome data for 632 U.S. Air Force personnel who were referred for psychological evaluation during Basic Military Training (BMT) but who were subsequently returned to BMT to determine what proportion graduated. We analyzed motivational, biographical, and psychological testing variables, using logistic regression to develop a model predictive of training outcome. The results demonstrated that a relatively small number of variables could predict outcome with close to 70% accuracy. Level of optimism regarding training, history of physical abuse, and frequency of visits to the trainee health clinic were major contributors to the model. MMPI-2 (Hathaway & McKinley, 1989) Scales D and Sc also remained in the model but added little to its power. The findings are generally consistent with prior research on normal military populations, except that some factors previously linked to adjustment, such as sex and ethnicity, were found to be unrelated to training outcome in this population.     

Measuring reaction time with millisecond accuracy using the TRS-80 microcomputer

A machine language subroutine is proposed for measuring reaction time with millisecond accuracy using the TRS-80 microcomputer. This timer is accurate to 1 msec in the first 30,000 msec and to 5 msec in the first 65,000 msec (1 part in 10,000).     

On the origin of illusory correlations

Empirical attempts to explain the genesis of illusory correlations have been largely confined to the demonstration of biased recall processes, although it has been acknowledged that perception and encoding processes may also contribute to the illusion. In the present research, illusory correlations between person types (a student versus a clerk) and educational attitudes (liberal versus authoritarian statements) are demonstrated under conditions where selective recall processes are highly unlikely. The cognitive bias that gives rise to the illusion is shown to already be effective when the stimulus information is perceived. Interestingly, there are marked interindividual differences between experimental participants. The results are discussed in the context of the literature on illusory correlations.     

Behavioral routines in decision making: the effects of novelty in task presentation and time pressure on routine maintenance and deviation

This article examines the role of behavioral routines in decision making. In order to induce routines, participants were confronted with recurrent route decisions in a computer-controlled trucking game, which allows for manipulation of routine acquisition and strength. During the final round of the game, time pressure and novelty in task presentation were varied as between-factors. It was hypothesized that time pressure would increase the likelihood of routine maintenance and novelty would increase the likelihood of deviation. Besides individual choices, response latencies and self-reports were additionally assessed to measure the amount of deliberation during decision making. Results show that time pressure strongly increased the probability of routine maintenance, even though the situation indicated the inadequacy of the routine. In contrast, novelty in task presentation provoked routine deviation and increased deliberation, as evident from response latencies and self-reports. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Construal Level Theory as an Integrative Framework for Behavioral Decision‐Making Research and Consumer Psychology

In this comment to Trope, Liberman and Makslak's lead article, I refrain from any attempt to review or recapitulate the growing body of research in social psychology in general and in consumer science in particular that is explicitly devoted to construal level theory (CLT). Rather, granting the status of CLT as a leading contemporary theory, with rich implications and applications in consumer science, I concentrate on recent phenomena in judgment and decision making for which CLT provides an implicit account. Specifically, CLT affords an integrative framework for understanding a whole variety of preference reversals—a major challenge for students of consumer behavior.     

The impact of open and closed mindsets on evaluative priming

In the present research, we argue that open versus closed mindsets, accompanying ongoing versus completed mental jobs on the prime, determine the size of congruity effects in the evaluative priming paradigm. More specifically, we hypothesised that disfluent primes that resist an easily completed encoding process should induce an open mindset and thereby result in stronger congruity effects than fluent primes that induce closed mindsets. Across two experiments, we applied two different manipulations of prime fluency: gradual demasking (experiment 1) and colour contrast (experiment 2). As expected, in both experiments we found robust congruity effects, but only on trials with disfluent (vs. fluent) primes. Results of a follow-up experiment suggest that these effects are not due to attentional processes. We conclude that the mindsets resulting from individuals' activities during encoding are crucial in determining the outcome of evaluative priming effects.