Numeracy Predicts More Effortful and Elaborative Search Strategies in a Complex Risky Choice Context: A Process‐Tracing Approach

The goal of the current study was to explore information search and processing differences between individuals who are less and more numerate in an attempt to better understand the mechanisms that might differentiate the choices they make. We did so using a computerized process‐tracing system known as MouseTrace, which presented monetary gambles in an alternative × attribute matrix with outcome (dollar amount) and probability information as attributes. This information was initially occluded but could be revealed by clicking on the cell that contained the desired information. Beginning with nine gambles offering the chance of gaining or losing a specified amount, participants (N = 110) narrowed down the options (to three and then one) using an inclusion or exclusion strategy. Consistent with previous research, inclusion was a more effortful strategy, and individuals who were higher in numeracy were more likely to select prospects with the highest expected value. Process measures revealed these individuals expended more effort (i.e., attended to and sought out more information and processed it in greater depth) and exhibited more compensatory processing than those who were lower in numeracy, but this sometimes depended on whether one was asked to include or exclude. These results serve as further evidence that individuals with higher levels of numeracy often engage in more elaborative processing of the decision task, which tends to lead to more optimal choices. However, they also suggest that individuals are adaptive and that the specific situation can matter. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Visuo-spatial path learning,stress, and cortisol secretion following military cadets’ first parachute jump: the effect of increasing task complexity

The present field experiment examined how multi-trial visuo-spatial learning and memory performance are impacted by excessive arousal, instigated by a potentially life-threatening event (i.e., a first parachute jump). Throughout a parachute training activity, subjective and neuroendocrine (i.e., cortisol) stress levels were assessed of 61 male military cadets who were randomly assigned to a control (n = 30) or a jump stress condition (n = 31). Post-stress learning and memory capacity was assessed with a 10-trial path-learning task that permitted emergence of learning curves. Pre-activity cortisol concentrations indicated a significant neuroendocrine anticipatory stress response in the stress group. Following parachuting, subjective stress levels and salivary cortisol reactivity differed significantly between groups. Visuo-spatial path-learning performance was impaired significantly after jump stress exposure, relative to the control group. Moreover, examination of the learning curves showed similar learning and memory performance at onset of the trials, with curves bifurcating as the task became more complex. These findings are in accordance with leading theories that acknowledge a moderating effect of task complexity. In sum, the present study extends knowledge concerning anticipatory stress effects, endogenously instigated cortisol reactivity, and the influence of extreme arousal on visuo-spatial path learning.     

Individual differences in information order effects: The importance of right-hemisphere access in belief updating

The order in which information is received alters the evaluation of causal hypotheses. Specifically, research suggests that the last piece of information oftentimes has the greatest impact on the evaluation and that the difference in subjective value between two pieces of information is an important factor influencing the magnitude of this recency effect. The present paper extends this line of work by exploring individual differences in this phenomenon via one's degree of handedness. Two hundred and five participants were given two hypothetical scenarios and related causal hypotheses accompanied by two pieces of additional information and asked to revise their belief in each hypothesis as information accumulated. Results confirmed predictions that 1) inconsistent/mixed-handers (those who use their non-dominant hand for at least some activities) show a larger effect with two pieces of inconsistent weak or strong information, and 2) neither mixed-handers nor consistent/strong-handers (those who use their dominant hand for almost all activities) show an effect with strong and weak pieces of consistent information. Mixed-handers' susceptibility to persuasive arguments and Ramachandran’s (1995; Ramachandran and Blakeslee, 1998) belief-updating theory centered around communication between the two halves of the brain and functional access to the right hemisphere are used to account for these data.     

Concurrent associations between anxiety sensitivity and perceived health and health disability among young adult daily smokers

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the incremental validity of anxiety sensitivity (fear of arousal-related physical and psychological sensations) relative to health factors (smoking variables, alcohol use and exercise level), in predicting perceived health and disability among a sample of 225 young adult daily smokers (102 females; M(age) = 23.9 years, SD = 8.8). Consistent with prediction, anxiety sensitivity, relative to smoking-relevant variables, alcohol consumption (a single frequency by quantity composite) and exercise activity, predicted lower perceived general health and impairments in mental health and social functioning; no incremental effects were evident for anxiety sensitivity for predicting impairments in physical functioning, role functioning, or increased healthcare usage. These findings are discussed with respect to better understanding cognitive factors that affect perceptions of health status and functioning among daily smokers.     

Personality and modulation of the startle reflex by emotionally-toned filmclips

Several researchers have found that pleasant foreground stimuli attenuate the eyeblink component of the startle reflex while unpleasant foreground stimuli potentiate it. The effects of personality factors on such modulation of the eyeblink response, as measured by electromyographic (EMG) activity in reaction to loud acoustic startle probes, were examined in subjects viewing emotionally-toned (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral) filmclips. During the main part of the experiment, introverts had higher baseline EMG activity and lower response probability than extraverts; no differences were observed at the beginning of the experiment, during an acclimatization session. Reflex modulation, as measured by response latency, was influenced by the Psychoticism (P) factor of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: subjects high on P showed longer latencies to eyeblink onset when probed during viewing of pleasant filmclips than subjects low on this dimension; no significant differences were observed between subjects low and high on P for neutral and unpleasant filmclips. No influence of personality factors was found on affective modulation as measured by response amplitude/magnitude. The results are discussed in relation to Gray's and Eysenck's theories of personality.     

The role of physical appearance in managerial decisions

This study was designed to examine stereotypical beliefs about the physical appearance of employees and the effects of these beliefs on decision-making. Current stereotypes about obese and very thin people were assessed, and the effect of beliefs about obese and very thin people on subjects' evaluations of employee performance was measured. The findings indicated that subjects used information about employees' weight and body build differently, depending on whether they were responding to questions about discipline, the likelihood of recurrence of behavior, or their desire to work with certain employees. Overall, the results suggest that subjects exclude nondiagnostic aspects of employees (e.g., weight and body build) in some types of work decisions.