DECISION AFFECT THEORY:

Abstract— How do people feel about the outcomes of risky options? Results from two experiments demonstrate that the emotional reaction to a monetary outcome is nor a simple function of the utility of that outcome Emotional responses also depend on probabilities and unobtained outcomes Unexpected outcomes have greater emotional impact than expected outcomes Furthermore any given outcome is lets pleasant if an unobtained outcome is better We propose an account of emotional experiences associated with outcomes of decisions called decision affect theory. It incorporates utilities expectations and counterfactual companions into hedonic responses. Finally, we show that choices between risky options can be described as the maximization of expected emotional experiences as predicted by decision affect theory That is people choose the risky option for which they expect to feel better on average.     

A significant "dream within a dream"

This brief clinical note is an attempt to clarify Freud's remarks regarding the significance of real occurrences of the "dream within a dream". There is affirmation of the reality of an actual event in the manifest dream (the "tickling" in adolescence). Certain representations regarding real events are alluded to in the manifest dream and are confirmed by the latent dream thoughts (the underlying homosexual theme involving the patient's mother and herself). Within the ongoing transference neurosis, a new understanding led this patient to experience intense sexual affects which were recalled for the first time during the course of an analytic session. The analyst's attention to this "dream within a dream" led to a facilitating active interpretation of the repressed sexual feelings. At the same time it was possible to observe a developmental arrest which had interfered with the consolidation of the patient's adolescent maturation begin to be undone by interpretation. The process of disengaging the patient from her unconscious bond with her mother (the undoing of the negative oedipal involvement) had been set in motion. The "dream within a dream" seems to represent a special defensive effort of the dream work to encapsulate the memory of one or more related actual events and the intense affects associated with them--affects whose pressure for discharge threaten to arouse the sleeper. The form the dream assumes is related to its hidden sexual origins and engages the active participation of both patient and analyst.     

Achievement motivation in college women revisited: Implications for women,men, and the gathering of coconuts

An attempt was made to replicate the findings of French and Lesser (1964) within one university on the effects of value-appropriate arousal conditions on achievement motivation scores and motivation performance relationships in women. The findings of this study do not uphold those previously reported. There were no significant differences on either achievement motivation scores or task performance under value-appropriate versus -inappropriate arousal conditions. In the present study there were two innovations — performance criteria were extended to include academic performance, and scoring procedures were developed to give equal weight to achievement imagery in areas defined as traditionally feminine. The principle findings concern the importance of the scoring procedures. Intellectual (classic) N Ach does not relate to value orientation, task performance, or grade point average. Women's Role N Ach, however, is significantly related to task performance and to grade point average. This motivation-performance relationship exists despite differences in value orientation among women. It is suggested that when scoring procedures allow subjects, male or female, to express achievement strivings in areas of value to them, then performance may be morc sensitive to motivational variables.This article is based on research supported by Grant 1 RO1 HD-02403-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health to Lynette K. Friedrich and John S. Harding and by funds from the College Committee on Research, New York State College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, to Lynette K. Friedrich. The author is deeply indebted to Dr. John Harding for faculty support in securing the grant and for his invaluable participation as consultant. Dr. Doris B. Rosen and Dr. Elizabeth Anisfeld made significant contributions to the study. In addition, the assistance of Serena Weaver, Helen Grebow, Bruce Ambler, and Jansis Smithels is gratefully acknowledged. Further acknowledgment is made to Dr. Elizabeth G. French for her advice and generous cooperation.     

Kommunikationsstruktur und Gruppenleistung

Zusammenfassung Vierergruppen von Vpn arbeiteten in Kommunikationsnetzen, in denen es infolge des Fehlens einer (direkten oder indirekten) Wechselseitigkeit gewisser Verbindungen einigen Vpn — nämlich denjenigen, die ganz bestimmte (ungünstige) Positionen innerhalb des Netzes einnahmen — verwehrt war, die Lösung eines Problems durch Austausch von Informationen zu finden. Den Vpn-Gruppen wurde diese Eigenschaft der Kommunikationssysteme bei Beginn der Versuche nicht mitgeteilt. In einer derartigen Lage suchen jene Vpn den Grund für den unbefriedigenden Informationsaustausch (zumindest zunächst) nicht in der Struktur des Kommunikationsnetzes, sondern unterstellen den anderen Gruppenmitgliedern mangelnde Loyalität oder/und mangelndes Verständnis. Die Folge sind starke affektive Spannungen, die zur Verschlechterung der Kooperation und zur Verringerung der Gruppenleistung führen. Die kognitive Seite des Erlebens der Vpn wurde u. a. mit Hilfe der Begriffe phänomenale Variabilität und phänomenale Konstanz näher analysiert.     

Der Einfluß eines kaleidoskopischen Figurwandels auf das Erkundungsverhalten

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit den vorliegenden Untersuchungen zum Erkundungsverhalten waren vielfältige technische Probleme aufgegeben. Ich danke dem Werkstattleiter des Psychologischen Instituts der Universität Münster, Herrn Menke und seinen Lehrlingen U. Spielbusch und M. Gerdes für ihre tatkräftige Hilfe bei der Herstellung der Versuchsapparatur. Herrn Franck danke ich für die Anfertigung von Befundbögen und Fotografien sowie Herrn Höner vom Verkaufsbüro Essen der Firma Kalle & Co. A.G., Wiesbaden-Bieberich, für die Beschaffung von Kunststoffolien, ohne die die kaleidoskopischen Bildvorlagen nicht hätten hergestellt werden können.Die Stiftung Volkswagenwerk unterstützte mich mit einem Jahresstipendium.Mein besonderer Dank gilt meinen verehrten Lehrern, Herrn Prof. Dr. H. Heckhausen, der mich in das Rahmenthema der Wahrnehmungsneugier einführte und die vielfältigen Probleme laufend mit mir diskutierte, und nicht zuletzt Herrn Prof. Dr. Dr. W. Metzger, der mir wertvolle Hinweise für die Anlage der Versuchsanordnung und die Entwicklung und Auswahl der kaleidoskopischen Bildvorlagen gab.Von der philosophischen Fakultät der Universität Münster angenommene Dissertationsarbeit.     

Spiritual and religious concerns of the hospitalized adolescent

One of the tasks of adolescence is the development of a value system. The way in which these values are expressed in relationship to illness in adolescence, however, has not been studied. The authors conducted a social science survey to study the spiritual concerns of hospitalized adolescents. One hundred and fourteen hospitalized adolescents, ranging in age from 11 to 19, answered a Likert scale questionnaire on Spiritual and Religious Concerns (SRQ). Analysis of variance was performed to correlate responses with sex, race, religion, type of school, and severity of illness. A subgroup of hospitalized adolescents, those with more serious disease, experienced intensified spiritual and religious concerns. In response to the questionnaire, over 15% of the patients requested further help. Our findings suggest that training in adolescent health care and the provision of services to teenagers ought to include teaching in the area of spiritual and religious values of teenagers, with emphasis on the hospitalized adolescent.