Comparing perceptual and preferential decision making

Perceptual and preferential decision making have been studied largely in isolation. Perceptual decisions are considered to be at a non–deliberative cognitive level and have an outside criterion that defines the quality of decisions. Preferential decisions are considered to be at a higher cognitive level and the quality of decisions depend on the decision maker’s subjective goals. Besides these crucial differences, both types of decisions also have in common that uncertain information about the choice situation has to be processed before a decision can be made. The present work aims to acknowledge the commonalities of both types of decision making to lay bare the crucial differences. For this aim we examine perceptual and preferential decisions with a novel choice paradigm that uses the identical stimulus material for both types of decisions. This paradigm allows us to model the decisions and response times of both types of decisions with the same sequential sampling model, the drift diffusion model. The results illustrate that the different incentive structure in both types of tasks changes people’s behavior so that they process information more efficiently and respond more cautiously in the perceptual as compared to the preferential task. These findings set out a perspective for further integration of perceptual and preferential decision making in a single ramework.     

Cognitive style in attainment of an upside-down posture in water with and without vision

It is well known that adopting a posture required by the central nervous system takes into account a frame of reference. This frame of reference is built on sensory information and, more particularly, on vision, which is often considered to be the main input. The contribution of vision varies by participant and defines their cognitive style. This study investigates the contribution of visual information and cognitive style to postural strategy and, more precisely, to the construction of an upside-down posture in an underwater condition. Eight synchronized swimmers performed the Rod-and-Frame Test (RFT) to assess their cognitive style and practiced upside-down posture in water to measure their body inclination. The Rod-and-Frame Test scores did not distinguish the participants, as the results of the test showed that most of them were visual-field independent. However, in a closed-eyes condition, participants achieved a more precise vertical position than when using translucent goggles.     

Pressure to cooperate: Is positive reward interdependence really needed in cooperative learning?

Background. Despite extensive research on cooperative learning, the debate regarding whether or not its effectiveness depends on positive reward interdependence has not yet found clear evidence. Aims. We tested the hypothesis that positive reward interdependence, as compared to reward independence, enhances cooperative learning only if learners work on a ‘routine task’; if the learners work on a ‘true group task’, positive reward interdependence induces the same level of learning as reward independence. Sample. The study involved 62 psychology students during regular workshops. Method. Students worked on two psychology texts in cooperative dyads for three sessions. The type of task was manipulated through resource interdependence: students worked on either identical (routine task) or complementary (true group task) information. Students expected to be assessed with a Multiple Choice Test (MCT) on the two texts. The MCT assessment type was introduced according to two reward interdependence conditions, either individual (reward independence) or common (positive reward interdependence). A follow‐up individual test took place 4 weeks after the third session of dyadic work to examine individual learning. Results. The predicted interaction between the two types of interdependence was significant, indicating that students learned more with positive reward interdependence than with reward independence when they worked on identical information (routine task), whereas students who worked on complementary information (group task) learned the same with or without reward interdependence. Conclusions. This experiment sheds light on the conditions under which positive reward interdependence enhances cooperative learning, and suggests that creating a real group task allows to avoid the need for positive reward interdependence.     

Cognitive model decomposition of the BART: Assessment and application

The Balloon Analogue Risk Task, or BART, aims to measure risk taking behavior in a controlled setting. In order to quantify the processes that underlie performance on the BART, Wallsten, Pleskac, and Lejuez (2005) proposed a series of mathematical models whose parameters have a clear psychological interpretation. Here we examine a 2-parameter simplification of Wallsten et al.’s preferred 4-parameter model. A parameter recovery study shows that — with plausible restrictions on the number of participants and trials — both parameters (i.e., risk taking γ⁺ and response consistency β) can be estimated accurately. To demonstrate how the 2-parameter model can be used in practice, we implemented a Bayesian hierarchical version and applied it to an empirical data set in which participants performed the BART following various amounts of alcohol intake.     

The Motivation for Learning Music (MLM) questionnaire: Assessing children’s and adolescents’ autonomous motivation for learning a musical instrument

Motivation and Emotion - The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and construct validity of The Motivation for Learning Music (MLM) questionnaire, designed to measure...     

Penser autrement les difficultés scolaires : les apports du Rorschach en système intégré

This study examines school under-achievement from the perspective of clinical psychology. We compare 2 groups of children in the 3^rd grade (mean age 9) based on their results on a national test of French language and Mathematics. We present the Rorschach results of 7 high performers compared to 7 low performers, all of whom have IQ scores (K. ABC) that are in the average range (90 - 109). The Rorschach data (Comprehensive System) demonstrate no differences between these groups of children concerning affective functioning and stress tolerance. However, the quantitative and qualitative results are notably different concerning attitudes relative to complex situations, in the area of critical self-perception and conflict-resolution strategies.     

A diffusion model decomposition of the practice effect

When people repeatedly perform the same cognitive task, their mean response times (RTs) invariably decrease. The mathematical function that best describes this decrease has been the subject of intense debate. Here, we seek a deeper understanding of the practice effect by simultaneously taking into account the changes in accuracy and in RT distributions with practice, both for correct and error responses. To this end, we used the Ratcliff diffusion model, a successful model of two-choice RTs that decomposes the effect of practice into its constituent psychological processes. Analyses of data from a 10,000-trial lexical decision task demonstrate that practice not only affects the speed of information processing, but also response caution, response bias, and peripheral processing time. We conclude that the practice effect consists of multiple subcomponents, and that it may be hazardous to abstract the interactive combination of these subcomponents in terms of a single output measure such as mean RT for correct responses. Supplemental materials may be downloaded from http://pbr .psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

The Family Reconstruction Process and Its Evolution to Date: Virginia Satir's Transformational Process

This article presents the evolution of one of Satir's processes, namely family reconstruction, a psychodramatic reenactment of significant events in three generations of family life. Both the sameness and the differentness of the classical version as developed by Satir and the current shorter version are explored. The Satir model is a growth oriented approach based on the belief that people have the inner resources to resolve problem situations. Within this model, which focuses on what people can become, the therapist and the individual or family members join forces to move from a symptomatic base to wellness.     

Dimensionality and the dynamics of human unstable equilibrium

Maintaining an unstable equilibrium requires that multiple joints be coordinated so that the center of mass is kept above the base of support. The authors' aim in the present study was to discover the underlying dynamics of local (foot, hip, or head) and global (center of mass) components involved in balance control and how those dynamics are affected by changes in the available information. Participants (N = 6) had to maintain their balance on an unstable platform. Using dimensional analyses (largest Lyapunov exponent and correlation dimension), the authors examined the active degrees of freedom involved in balance control. Results indicated a similarity in dimension between local (joints) and global (center of mass) components, between a fixed point and a limit cycle. The behavior of the center of mass was found to be more predictable than the behavior of its local constituents. In addition, the available visual information affected the predictability of the postural behavior, which suggests that vision is used in the stabilization of the low-dimensional dynamics underlying balance control.