Contributions of Behavioural Decision Theory to Research in Political Science

Cet article aborde la question de l'application de la Théorie de la Décision Comportementale (BDT) à deux domaines de la recherche en Sciences-Politiques, le comportement électoral et les relations internationales. On commence par un bref survol de la BDT, puis on passe à ce qui n'est maintenant que l'amorce de l'exploitation de la BDT dans les Sciences-Politiques. Dans le premier exemple, notre intérêt est focalisé sur les décisions prises par le public et dans le second sur celles prises par les élites politiques, mais la distinction masse-élite peut se révéler secondaire par rapport aux situations dans lesquelles émergent les décisions électorales ou de politique étrangère. Dans la présentation de ces deux exemples, on tente de replacer l'investigation reposant sur les aperçus de la BDT dans le contexte plus vaste de la recherche dans ce secteur.
This paper discusses the application of behavioural decision theory (BDT) to two areas of political science research: voting behaviour and international relations. We begin with a brief overview of BDT, and then turn to what is now only the beginnings of the utilisation of BDT in political science. In the first instance we focus on decision making by the mass public, and in the second on decision making by political elites, but, as we shall see, the mass-elite distinction may not be as important as the different situations or contexts in which voting and foreign policy decisions are typically made. In both instances, we will try to put research relying on the insights of behavioural decision theory into a broader context of research in the field.     

Perceptual asymmetry for chimeric faces across the life span

Perceptual asymmetries for processing chimeric faces were investigated in dextral subjects, ranging in age from 5 years to elderly adults. The task involved deciding which member of a pair of face chimeras presented in free vision looks happier, the one with the smile to the left or its mirror image with the smile to the right (Levy, Heller, Banich, & Burton, 1983a, Brain and Cognition, 2, 404-419). A leftward bias was found for all age groups. However, kindergarteners' mean asymmetry score was lower than that of all other groups combined, most likely due to noise in their data. The direction in which subjects drew circles with their left and right hands was also observed as an index of interhemispheric communication. All groups showed a bias toward drawing the circles in concordant directions except the kindergarteners. The relation between subjects' performance on the circle drawing and facebook tasks is discussed.     

A right hemispatial field advantage on a verbal free-vision task

Within a fixed time limit for each stimulus item, right handers searched, in a top-to-bottom scan and from right to left for half the subjects and from left to right for the other half, among randomly placed and oriented words for target words that rhymed with a designated sound. A right hemispatial field advantage emerged, as well as an advantage for targets above as compared to below the horizontal meridian. A lateral X vertical location interaction showed a right-side advantage only for targets below the horizontal meridian and an upper target advantage only for targets on the left. Even though the task was presented in free vision, results were highly similar to prior findings with lateralized tachistoscopic presentation of verbal stimuli.     

A flexible and interactive software package for a laboratory in cognition and perception

This paper introduces the second edition of a software package for use in teaching cognitive psychology and research methods. Detailed are the distinctive features of the edition and how this courseware can be used effectively. Fifteen content programs were developed to provide multiple levels of use, ranging from simple demonstrations to sophisticated templates for designing complex independent research projects. Relative to its predecessor, data handling is greatly enhanced, the overall power of the programs to respond to a wider range of responses is increased, and the breadth of the content is expanded significantly.     

Nimodipine Counteracts Corticosterone-Induced Habituation Impairments

Corticosterone or placebo sustained-release pellets (4 pellets of 200 mg each, released over 90 days) were implanted subcutaneously in young Fischer-344 rats, fed with either regular food or with food containing 860 ppm of nimodipine. Following 2 weeks of treatment, the habituation of the rats to a new environment was studied. On the first test day, placebo-implanted rats explored the new environment and exhibited a characteristic habituation. On the second test day, 48 hr later, low activity was measured in the already familiar environment. This habituation was absent in corticosterone-implanted rats fed with regular food. However, corticosterone-implanted rats fed with food containing nimodipine behaved during the second test similarly to the placebo-implanted group. The data indicated that the behavioral deficit, induced in Fischer-344 rats by the high corticosterone levels, was reversed by the nimodipine treatment. Thus, nimodipine may be useful in counteracting certain prolonged stress-related cognitive impairments.     

Asymmetry of perception in free viewing of chimeric faces

We have devised a new free-vision task to index functional cerebral asymmetry for processing facial characteristics. Confirming its sensitivity to properties of lateralized hemispheric functions, left- and right-handers were clearly differentiated on this task with respect to several aspects of performance that conform with known differences between handedness groups in hemispheric asymmetry. Additionally, there were highly reliable and stable individual differences in perceptual asymmetries within handedness. Analyses of items in the task revealed that most of the differences between items in the asymmetries they elicited were random.