行为决策中的默认效应

默认效应指的是当存在默认选项时, 人们决策时倾向于保留默认选项而不做出改变的一种现象。这种现象广泛存在于器官捐献政策、退休金储蓄计划和消费决策等领域并在这些领域中有巨大的应用价值。目前, 研究者主要从损失规避、质询理论、暗含的推荐和神经心理机制四个方面解释默认效应的形成机制。默认效应还受到努力成本、默认选项的框架和个人经验等因素影响。未来的研究可以从深入探讨默认效应的产生根源、加强其跨文化研究以及拓展其应用领域这三个方面来展开。     

The effects of tact and listener training on the emergence of bidirectional intra verbal relations

We evaluated the effects of 2 types of training on the emergence of bidirectional intraverbal relations with 4 typically developing children. Tact training involved reinforcing foreign-language vocalizations in the presence of visual stimuli, and listener training involved reinforcing selections of visual stimuli following vocal presentations of foreign-language words. Intraverbal relations were tested by instructing participants to vocalize native-language equivalents of foreign-language words or vice versa. Both types of training produced increases in intraverbal responding, but the emergent relations were not always bidirectional.     

Technical variation in a sample of high level judo players

Technical actions performed by two groups of judokas who won medals at World Championships and Olympic Games during the period 1995-2001 were analyzed. In the Super Elite group (n = 17) were the best athletes in each weight category. The Elite group (n = 16) were medal winners who were not champions and did not win more than three medals. Super Elite judokas used a greater number of throwing techniques which resulted in scores, even when expressed relative to the total number of matches performed, and these techniques were applied in more directions than those of Elite judokas. Further, the number of different throwing techniques and the variability of directions in which techniques were applied were significantly correlated with number of wins and the number of points and ippon scored. Thus, a greater number of throwing techniques and use of directions for attack seem to be important in increasing unpredictability during judo matches.     

Reinforcement of wheel running in BALB/c mice: role of motor activity and endogenous opioids

The authors investigated the effect of the opioid antagonist naloxone on wheel-running behavior in Balb/c mice. Naloxone delayed the acquisition of wheel-running behavior, but did not reduce the expression of this behavior once acquired. Delayed acquisition was not likely a result of reduced locomotor activity, as naloxone-treated mice did not exhibit reduced wheel running after the behavior was acquired, and they performed normally on the rotarod test. However, naloxone-blocked conditioned place preference for a novel compartment paired previously with wheel running, suggesting that naloxone may delay wheel-running acquisition by blocking the rewarding or reinforcing effects of the behavior. These results suggest that the endogenous opioid system mediates the initial reinforcing effects of wheel running that are important in acquisition of the behavior.     

Effects of social stress on tumor development in dominant male mice with diverse behavioral activity profiles

We examined the influence of individual psychological profile and social behavior on tumor development in dominant male mice. Male OF1 mice were subjected to an open field test (OFT) to observe their motor activity and latency. Subsequently, the animals were divided into three groups: Stress-Non-Inoculated (SNI), Stress-Inoculated (SI) and Control-Inoculated (CI). The SI and CI groups were inoculated with tumor cells and the SNI group with vehicle. SNI and SI were exposed to social stress with an anosmic intruder six (T1) and twenty one (T2) days after inoculation and their behavior was analyzed. After T2, subjects were put down and the pulmonary metastatic foci counted. SI developed greater pulmonary metastasis than CI, indicating an effect of stress despite the animal's dominant status. Active animals developed less pulmonary metastasis than their passive counterparts. No differences were found in social behavior at T1. Differences were found, however, in some behavioral categories at T2 between SI and SNI, and between active and passive animals. These differences indicate an effect of tumor development on social behavior that is more evident in passive subjects.     

Basic dimensions of work design: new inputs to functional flexibility

Although a lot of research has been developed during the last century in the field of human work design, the results seem to be unsatisfactory. Nowadays, there is renewed interest in this field but it is not producing any new results. This is the main reason why, in our investigation, we have tried to determine the real variables that truly affect the human work design. We have carried out two empirical researches involving 660 and 310 companies, obtaining from both exactly the same results, four factors that confirm the conclusions reached in previous research: demand-adaptation, flexibility-polyvalence, improvement-autonomy and conciliation-participation. We can add that these factors are independent from the environment and the type of technology used by the companies, which does not occur if the size of the enterprise is taken into account.     

Interpersonal relations as a source of risk of mobbing in the local police

Social relations in the workplace are one of the main sources of risk for the onset of mobbing. In this work, we analyzed, through the perceived social climate, the influence of interpersonal relations on the characterization of the processes of mobbing, in a sample of local police (N = 235). In particular, the policemen and women's opinions of the quality of the personal relations among the group members and the treatment they receive from the command posts were assessed. The results of the study show that the development of guidelines of social interaction based on discrimination and abuse of authority are predicting variables of mobbing in this group.     

Self-regulated profiles and academic achievement

To date, research on the relation between learning self-regulation and academic achievement has generally show disparate results. This work intends to look into this relation from a new perspective, which consists in classifying the students as more or less self-regulated depending on diverse indicators and using cluster analysis. The aim of this work was to identify the possible self-regulated learning profiles in a sample of university students. By means of stepwise linear regression analysis, we determined which of the selected variables better predicted metacognitive self-regulation. Then, three significantly different self-regulated learning profiles were obtained by two-step cluster analysis with those variables. Lastly, ANOVA was used to analyse the relation between the self-regulated learning profiles and academic achievement. The implications of these data for the educational practice at university are discussed.     

Personality variables, psychopathological alterations and personality disorders in alcohol-dependent patients according to Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse

In this paper, an evaluation of Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse in personality, psychopathology and personality disorders is carried out. The sample consisted of 158 alcoholics in treatment (56 Type I alcohol-dependent patients and 102 Type II alcohol-dependent patients). All subjects were assessed with diverse assessment tools related to personality (Impulsiveness Scale, Sensation Seeking Scale and STAI), psychopathology (SCL-90-R, BDI and Inadaptation Scale) and personality disorders (IPDE). The main findings were that Type II alcohol-dependent patients were more impulsive and sensation-seeking and they displayed more hostility and emotional distress than Type I alcohol-dependent patients. Personality disorders were not so prevalent in the case of Type I alcohol-dependent patients. The most specific personality disorders for Type II alcohol-dependent patients were narcissistic and paranoid. The implications of this study for further research are commented on.     

Reaction times as a measure of uncertainty

In this article, a method is presented to analyse relationships between detection or discrimination frequencies and reaction times in psychophysical tasks. It is shown in three empirical data sets that reaction time decreases as a linear function of the absolute value of the logit transforms of the response probabilities. Such a function stresses the characteristic uncertainty associated with subjects' responses and the relation between their response parameters and the response criterion used by the subjects.