Tactical anger in negotiation: The expresser's perspective

Presenting programmed angry messages to a negotiator has increased concession rates in a series of recent experiments. But observing responses to a computer or confederate counterpart cannot yield insight into the perceptions, reactions, and negotiation outcomes experienced by those who actually deploy anger as a tactic. We report five studies examining the anger expression decision using a range of different methods. In the fully interactive two-person integrative negotiation in Study 1, expressed anger generally degraded trust while damaging implementation of deals. That ultimately diminished value actually claimed by anger expressers. In the discrete choice experiment of Study 2, sending angry messages proved costly for expressers, who registered very high levels of measured disutility from using this tactic. In Study 3, survey respondents reported widespread unwillingness to misrepresent anger during negotiation. Recalling a past negotiation, anger correlated negatively with experienced success, indicating that disutility from expressing anger generalizes widely across different contexts. Study 4 revealed that negotiators generally consider the tactic to be unethical. More than just specific beliefs about the lack of efficacy, Study 5 revealed that the source of tactical disutility lies in generalized discomfort with the misrepresentation of anger. Implications for research, practice, and training are considered.     

A stochastic detection and retrieval model for the study of metacognition

We present a signal detection-like model termed the stochastic detection and retrieval model (SDRM) for use in studying metacognition. Focusing on paradigms that relate retrieval (e.g., recall or recognition) and confidence judgments, the SDRM measures (1) variance in the retrieval process, (2) variance in the confidence process, (3) the extent to which different sources of information underlie each response, (4) simple bias (i.e., increasing or decreasing confidence criteria across conditions), and (5) metacognitive bias (i.e., contraction or expansion of the confidence criteria across conditions). In the metacognition literature, gamma correlations have been used to measure the accuracy of confidence judgments. However, gamma cannot distinguish between the first 3 attributes, and it cannot measure either form of bias. In contrast, the SDRM can distinguish among the attributes, and it can measure both forms of bias. In this way, the SDRM can be used to test competing process theories by determining the attribute that best accounts for a change across conditions. To demonstrate the SDRM's usefulness, we investigated judgments of learning (JOLs) followed by cued-recall. Through a series of nested and non-nested model comparisons applied to a new experiment, the SDRM determined that a reduction in variance during the confidence process is the most likely explanation of the delayed-JOL effect, and a stronger relation between information underlying JOLs and recall is the most likely explanation of the testing-JOL effect. Following a brief discussion of implications for JOL theories, we conclude with a broader discussion of how the SDRM can benefit metacognition research.     

Dysfunctional Behavior among Sales Representatives: The Effect of Supervisory Trust,Participation, and Information Controls

This study investigates the efficacy of supervisory trust, participation, and information controls in curbing dysfunctional salesperson behavior so that salesperson actions are in line with organizational goals. Using a sample of 210 salespeople, we develop and test a model incorporating supervisory trust, participation, information controls (output information, activity information, and capability information), and dysfunctional behavior. Output and activity information controls directly affect dysfunctional behavior, whereas capability information controls work positively through trust in the supervisor to reduce dysfunctional behavior. Providing sales representatives with information about their capabilities appears to enhance the supervisor–salesperson trust relationship. Results also indicate that salespeople’s supervisory participation is an effective lever for reducing dysfunctional salesperson behavior through the intervening role of trust in the supervisor.     

An individual's work values in career development

This study examined the mediation effect of career decision self‐efficacy in relation to work values and career decision status. The authors surveyed 308 college students about their own intrinsic (e.g., helping others) and extrinsic (e.g., high income) work values and those of significant others, career decision self‐efficacy, and career decision status. The results indicated that the intrinsic and extrinsic work values of significant others were related to the intrinsic and extrinsic work values of the self and that intrinsic work values were more adaptive than extrinsic work values in career development.     

The relationship between premature birth and caregiver first concern in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: A brief report

The current study examines the relationship between premature birth and the age at which caregivers first become concerned with their child’s development in a sample of 84 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The participants were split into two groups: those born prematurely and those born full term. The results indicate that the age of caregiver first concern is significantly younger for those born prematurely than those born full term. The average age caregivers reported first becoming concerned about their child’s development was around 7 months for participants born prematurely and around 13 months for participants born full term. Possible explanations for the results and their implications are discussed.     

Religiousness,Spirituality, and Psychological Distress in Taiwan

Most of the previous research on religion and mental health has focused solely on Western, predominantly Christian societies. Using a 2004 national survey of 1,881 adults in Taiwan, this study investigates the relationships between multidimensional measures of religiousness/spirituality and psychological distress in an Eastern context. Our findings differ from previous studies in the West, showing that: (1) religious-based supernatural beliefs are associated with more distress; (2) daily prayer is associated with less distress; (3) engaging in secular-based supernatural activities like fortune-telling is related to more distress; and (4) the frequency of religious attendance is unrelated to levels of distress. Broader theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed.     

STABILIZING ALETHIC PLURALISM

Alethic pluralism is the view that the nature of truth is not uniform across domains. There are several ways of being true (T₁ ... T_n). A simple argument, the 'instability challenge', purports to show that this view is inherently unstable. One can simply say that something is uniformly true if and only if it is T₁ or ... or T_n. Being uniformly true is a single truth property that applies across the board, and so the nature of truth is uniform across domains, contra pluralism. I defend pluralism against the instability challenge. I show that the challenge bifurcates: one challenge is formulated in terms of predicates, and the other is formulated in terms of properties. The pluralist has the resources to defuse both of these. The sparse/abundant property distinction and considerations of explanatory asymmetry play a crucial role in my argument.     

Predicting binary choices from probability phrase meanings

The issues of how individuals decide which of two events is more likely and of how they understand probability phrases both involve judging relative likelihoods. In this study, we investigated whether derived scales representing probability phrase meanings could be used within a choice model to predict independently observed binary choices. If they can, this simultaneously provides support for our model and suggests that the phrase meanings are measured meaningfully. The model assumes that, when deciding which of two events is more likely, judges take a single sample from memory regarding each event and respond accordingly. The model predicts choice probabilities by using the scaled meanings of individually selected probability phrases as proxies for confidence distributions associated with sampling from memory. Predictions are sustained for 34 of 41 participants but, nevertheless, are biased slightly low. Sequential sampling models improve the fit. The results have both theoretical and applied implications.     

Word processing in the parafoveal region

This study examined the role of words viewed in the parafoveal region during reading. In contrast to previous work, the present experiments used a reading-aloud paradigm that was postulated to encourage letter-to-sound processing, as is typical for beginning readers and for skilled readers who are reading difficult material. The three experiments in this study examined the role of orthographic and semantic information in the parafoveal region on the processing of a word in the foveal region. For this, two words, one in the foveal region and the other in the parafoveal region, were presented side by side to resemble normal reading. Participants were instructed to read aloud the word on the left side, ignoring the word on the right side. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that the presence of a word in the parafoveal region slowed naming of target words, and that this delay was attributable to linguistic interference. This pattern indicates that the information in the parafoveal region affect the processing of the target. Experiment 3 showed an effect of parafoveal semantic information on processing of the target word. In sum the results of the current study suggest that information in the parafoveal region appears to be linguistically processed but to a weaker degree than the focused word. In sum, the results of the experiments in the current study indicate that the influence of parafoveal information is quite lexical and semantic information in the parafoveal region affects processing of the target in the foveal region.