Prospect Theory in Political Science: Gains and Losses From the First Decade

Prospect theory offers a number of advantages that justify its use in the analysis of political behavior, but it also has some aspects that limit its wider applicability in political contexts. This article reviews recent research highlighting these successes and limitations. Future research on the incorporation of prospect theory into models of political behavior should focus on such areas as group decision-making, reference point specification, and emotion.     

Are bad experiences stronger than good ones in mentoring relationships? Evidence from the protégé and mentor perspective

Two studies examined the relative importance of good versus bad mentoring experiences in predicting subjective states associated with the mentoring relationship. Study 1 examined the protégé perspective and found general support for the proposition that, on average, bad is stronger than good in predicting protégé outcomes. Study 2 adopted the mentor perspective and found mixed support for the prediction that, on average, bad is stronger than good. The results are discussed in terms of advancing research and theory on the relational processes associated with mentoring in the workplace and the need to consider the relational context to more fully understand the relative predictive power of good and bad mentoring experiences.     

Peck tracking: a method for localizing critical features within complex pictures for pigeons

The pigeon is a standard animal in comparative psychology and is frequently used to investigate visuocognitive functions. Nonetheless, the strategies that pigeons use to discriminate complex visual stimuli remain a difficult area of study. In search of a reliable method to identify features that control the discrimination behaviour, pecking location was tracked using touch screen technology in a people-absent/people-present discrimination task. The correct stimuli contained human figures anywhere on the picture, but the birds were not required to peck on that part. However, the stimuli were designed in a way that only the human figures contained distinguishing information. All pigeons focused their pecks on a subarea of the distinctive human figures, namely the heads. Removal of the heads significantly impaired performance, while removal of other distinctive parts did not. Thus, peck tracking reveals the location within a complex visual stimulus that controls discrimination behaviour, and might be a valuable tool to reveal the strategies pigeons apply in visual discrimination tasks.     

Too cheap to chug: frugality as a buffer against college‐student drinking

• Beyond its probable effect on preventing financial problems, frugality may contribute to consumer well‐being in other ways. Using survey data collected from American undergraduates, in this paper we demonstrate that frugality is negatively associated with several types of alcohol use. These relationships hold even when sex and impulsivity are controlled. To further substantiate the link between frugality and college‐student drinking, we confirmed that typical amount spent on alcohol mediates the relations between frugality and each type of drinking we assessed. These results are consistent with suggestions that young adults' drinking‐related choices are subject to price considerations and that policy makers may be able to leverage such considerations to prevent excessive drinking.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Report on a Four-Year Longitudinal Study of Intellectual Development of Engineering Undergraduates

As part of an investigation into the effects of curricular reforms in the undergraduate program in the College of Engineering, a series of Perry-style interviews were conducted over a 4-year period. The study was undertaken in an attempt to assess the impact of collaborative design-based engineering courses that were being implemented. Students who completed the collaborative design course in their first year were higher on the Perry scale than their peers who did not. However, this effect was not sustained through the rest of the curriculum, as more traditional courses dominated. No statistically significant change in Perry position was observed for students in their 1st and 3rd years; however, a growth of approximately one Perry position was observed between the 3rd and 4th years. The relationship of current curricula to this pattern of intellectual development is discussed, and arguments for altering the curriculum to support intellectual development are made.     

Exploring the neurocognitive basis of episodic recollection in autism

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Increasing evidence indicates that the subjective experience of recollection is diminished in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to neurotypical...     

Reorganization of Equivalence Classes: Evidence for Contextual Control by Baseline Reviews Before Probes

The Psychological Record - Two experiments investigated baseline reviews as a relevant variable in reorganization of equivalence classes. After formation of three 4-member classes, participants...     

Breadth and intensity: Salient,separable, and developmentally significant dimensions of structured youth activity involvement

In recent years, an impressive volume of evidence has accumulated demonstrating that youth involvement in structured, organized activities (e.g. school sports, community clubs) may facilitate positive youth development. We present a theory‐based framework for studying structured activity involvement (SAI) as a context for positive youth development based on two key dimensions: breadth and intensity of involvement. Our main goal is to demonstrate the separability, salience, and developmental significance of these two dimensions. We review three developmental theoretical approaches (identity development, life‐span selection–optimization–compensation theory, and affordances) that support our conceptualization of breadth and intensity as salient and significant dimensions of SAI. We also summarize our recent program of research on SAI demonstrating the separability of breadth and intensity dimensions, which shows links between these dimensions and indicators of positive development. Finally, we discuss how the proposed breadth‐intensity approach could be used to extend research on the linkage between youth SAI and successful development.