Complex decision making: A longitudinal study of process and performance

Two studies using a computer-simulated, strategy-formulation game and business students were conducted using simultaneous verbal protocols. It was found that a number of information-processing and information-evaluation thought processes were significantly related to game performance. Consistent with what is known about individual decision making, the present results suggest that, for the task used in this study, individuals who engage in causal analysis perform better than those who do not. But those who focus on negative emotions, blindly repeat previously successful decisions, and engage in illogical through processes perform more poorly than those who do not. Causal replication using real managers within organizational settings, however, is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn from this research.     

The why,when, and how of cognitive simulation: A tutorial

Practical advice is given on cognitive simulation modeling; information is provided on why a simulation effort is worthwhile, when it should be undertaken, and how to do it. A cognitive simulation model is defined as a computer program that represents a hypothetical mental process that operates on symbolic structures.     

The physician as priest,revisited

Despite much resistance from the medical profession, the notion persists in our culture that the physician plays a priestly role. Medical resistance must be taken seriously. It stems from legitimate concerns that the priestly role implies an unwelcome broadening of medical responsibilities, expectations of moral expertise, and being on the receiving end of people's most intense existential hopes. On the other hand, the nature of illness and healing makes it inevitable that physicianswill take on ministerial functions in their medical work. This essay attempts to recover the notion of the physician as priest on the basis of theological and religious reflection on the nature of ministry and pastoral care.     

Cognitive mechanisms mediating the biasing effects of leader sex on ratings of leader behavior

The present study examined the effects of the sex of the leader, the sex of the rater, and the temporal position of leader performance information on ratings of leader behavior. Male and female subjects listened to an audiotape of a male or female leader and then rated the leader's initiating structure and consideration behaviors. The position of the leader performance information was manipulated by describing the leader as successful before or after raters listened to the audiotape or not presenting raters with the performance information. Analyses indicated that the sex of the leader and/or sex of the rater biased ratings of initiating structure when the performance information was presented after the audiotape and when no leader performance information was presented. Consideration ratings were affected only by the position of the leader performance information. The results are interpreted within a cognitive/implicit sex theory framework. Implications for leadership research are also discussed.Portions of the data analyzed in this study were collected by the second author as part of a master's thesis directed by Joseph A. Sgro.     

A logic of message and reply

In this paper we sketch a logic of message and reply. The logic is intended for application in a wide variety of situations, not restricted to the two-person, turn-taking situation. Each message has a body and a vector; the vector specifies the from, to, and the like. To reply to a message, it suffices to give either (1) a complete reply to the body or (2) a corrective reply to at least one presumption derivable from the vector. We discuss the problems of achieving effectiveness and completeness with respect to certain aspects of communication. The results are mixed. In section 9 we argue semi-formally that, in a certain sense, dialogue is necessary. Finally we note that this logic is not a rival of other approaches but may be combinable with them.     

Estimating social and nonsocial utility functions from ordinal data

This paper reports an experiment testing two hypotheses. The first is that the value or utility associated with a payment to one's self and a payment to a co-worker can be represented as an additive function of a utility for own payment (nonsocial utility) and a utility for the difference between own and other's payment (social utility). The second hypothesis is that changes in the amount of work accomplished by one's self and/or the other should influence the social, but not the the nonsocial utilities. Support for both hypotheses is reported.     

Syllogistic reasoning in varied narrative contexts: Aspects of logical and linguistic development

This experimental study examined the effects on syllogistic reasoning in grades 6 and 12 of certain contextual narrative variables. The experimental task consisted of 27 varied syllogistic problems based on information contained in three narrative texts—a fantasy passage, a realistic passage, and a contractual passage. Versions of these texts were constructed for each group reading level. Analysis of the data revealed several significant interactions between subject groups and treatment variables. In particular, younger subjects performed better than grade 12 subjects on problems following the fantasy narrative, while the older subjects did better with the other two passages. The results suggest that some orthodox views about concrete-versus formal-operational reasoning abilities and about the distinction between abstract and concrete materials need to be reassessed within a discourse-processing framework that is sensitive to the discourse worlds in which problems are embedded.The author wishes to acknowledge the support of an Isaak Walton Killam Doctoral Scholarship for this research.     

Self-labeling by educably mentally retarded high school students in their mainstream and special education classes

Educably mentally retarded (EMR) students and nonhandicapped students from their mainstream classes completed semantic differential ratings of a stereotypic popular teen-ager, juvenile delinquent, and special education student. Subjects also rated their global self-concepts and situation-specific self-concepts within the mainstream and the special class settings. Ratings were done at the beginning (Time 1) and the end (Time 2) of a semester. Results showed that mainstream classes did not "de-label" EMR students. Within the mainstream class, the number of EMR students who saw themselves as similar to a special education student significantly increased over time. Moreover, at Time 2, EMR students were more likely to think of themselves as similar to a special education student in their mainstream class than in their special education class. However, EMR subjects' global self-concepts did not change. Implications for mainstreaming are discussed.     

Continuous monitoring of human contingency judgment across trials

Recent evidence suggests that people are sensitive to the degree of contingency between their actions and ensuing outcomes, but little is known about the way in which such contingency judgments develop as more and more information about the contingency is provided. Three experiments examined this issue in the context of a video game. In Experiment 1, it was found that contingency judgments follow growth functions: When the contingency was positive, judgments increased toward a positive asymptote, and when the contingency was negative, judgments decreased toward a negative asymptote. When the contingency was zero, judgments themselves remained close to zero but were biased by the overall frequency with which the outcome occurred. In Experiment 2, it was shown that the growth function was not the result of the anchoring of early judgments at the zero point. The bias in judgments when the contingency is zero was investigated in Experiment 3. The results are discussed in terms of rule-based analyses and contemporary theories of conditioning.