Disruption of comprehension by the meaning of irrelevant sound

This study investigates the claim that the disruption of comprehension by irrelevant sound is qualitatively different from that of short-term memory for order. Both meaningful and meaningless speech disrupted the comprehensive aspect of the task, but the effect of meaningful speech was significantly greater. Both rehearsal and semantic processing, which are involved in reading comprehension, seem to be susceptible to disruption by irrelevant meaningful speech. The study provides some evidence to suggest that the presence of meaning in the irrelevant sound in creases disruption of performance in cognitive tasks that also call upon processing of meaning.     

Effect of Motivational Goals on the Causal Realism of Counterfactual Thoughts

Counterfactual thinking refers to mental comparisons of reality with imagined alternatives of it. The “functional view” of counterfactual thinking suggests that upward counterfactuals (which improve on reality) serve a preparative function and downward counterfactuals (which worsen reality) serve an affective function. This view presumes that people generate counterfactuals that focus on cause(s) that have actually produced the negative outcomes. The two experiments reported here demonstrate that people spontaneously manipulate the causal content of their counterfactuals, depending on their motivational goals. Specifically, it was found that when people aim to feel better about a poor decision they generate less realistic (upward) counterfactuals, experience less negative affect and tend to attribute the outcome to less controllable causes than when they aim to learn from their experience. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Successful or unsuccessful search for risk defusing operators: Effects on decision behaviour

In experiments with quasi-realistic risky scenarios instead of gambles, decision makers are less interested in probability information. Often, they actively search for a risk defusing operator (RDO; an action to be performed in addition to a specific alternative and expected to decrease the risk involved). Examples in daily life are insurance and vaccination. In our experiment, the central independent variable was the successful or unsuccessful RDO search. The central dependent variables were choices and information search behaviour. In order to get information about the applied heuristics, a concurrent Thinking Aloud procedure was employed in addition to the method of Active Information Search. Eighty subjects made a choice in two risky scenarios. The findings confirm that the successful search for an RDO for one of the alternatives is an excellent predictor of choice. If the subject does not search for an RDO or the search is unsuccessful, MAXIMIN was the most frequent heuristic.     

Gambles vs. quasi-realistic scenarios: expectations to find probability and risk-defusing information

The paper investigates predecisional information search in risky decisions, specifically information concerning the probability of a negative outcome and whether a risk-defusing operator (RDO) is available. Experiment 1 (54 participants) tested the hypothesis that search for such information is triggered by expectations that it can be obtained in the situation. Cues for the availability of information were manipulated. It was predicted that cues mentioning possible information sources raise expectations and consequently increase search activity. Furthermore, gambles were expected to differ from other real world contexts, with lower expectations for RDOs and higher ones for probabilities. The Method of Active Information Search was employed. The number of questions asked about probability and RDOs in different conditions confirmed the hypotheses. Experiment 2 (36 participants) ruled out the alternative interpretation that the expectation to actually find favorable probabilities or applicable RDOs respectively, rather than the expectation to obtain information, determined information search.     

Perceived fit with an academic environment: Attitudinal and behavioral outcomes

Because person–organization fit relates to important outcomes, and because fit is a time-dependent process, there exists a need to model longitudinal data related to fit. In a multi-university sample (N = 1174), we tested hypotheses concerning person–organization fit and various behavioral and attitudinal outcomes; correlations between changes in these variables over time, and the correlates of these changes. Using autoregressive modeling and latent growth curve modeling, results indicated that academic fit leads to academic satisfaction, which in turn leads to turnover intent, and to a lesser extent GPA and class absenteeism. Changes in academic fit correlated highly with similar changes in satisfaction and GPA and with opposite changes in turnover intent. Academic satisfaction did not correlate with subsequent organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as predicted; changes across these domains were significantly related, but were small. Consistent with our hypotheses, Realistic interests correlated negatively with changes in academic fit and satisfaction. Investigative interests were correlated positively with changes in fit and initial satisfaction levels. We conclude by discussing implications, limitations, and future research concerning the longitudinal analysis of person–organization fit.     

Using temporal order to identify spatial reference frames

A new method for identifying spatial reference frames is described and applied to the study of spatial span. In this method, a spatial sequence is displayed in relation to two reference frames that move relative to each other, so that different temporal orders are described in each reference frame. As applied to spatial span, a sequence of dots was displayed on a rectangular template that moved relative to the computer screen and the observer. Three experiments showed that the choice of reference frame is influenced by prior conditions, the size of the template, and the presence of an alternative stationary reference frame. Recall was impaired (1) when the template moved, suggesting that movement interference occurred, and (2) with increasing template size, but only if the template was used as the reference frame.     

Does variety seeking vary between hedonic and utilitarian products? The role of attribute type

The purpose of this paper is to consider attributes that stimulate variety seeking in hedonic and utilitarian product categories and examine the interaction of product category and attribute type on variety‐seeking behaviour. The results of 3 studies indicate that in hedonic product categories, consumers seek more variety in sensory attributes, whereas in utilitarian product categories, they seek more variety in functional attributes. This interaction effect is explained by the fact that the satiation rates of sensory and functional attributes depend on the nature of the product category. In product categories, which are not clearly hedonic or utilitarian, this interaction effect is not evident. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.