Cognitive Appraisal as a Predictor of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Choice

More attention has recently been focused on how a person may choose their emotion regulation strategies depending on the situation. The present research examined how people cognitively appraised a situation that they had actually encountered in their life and how this appraisal affected their subsequent cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Three hundred and twenty‐four participants were instructed to recall the most stressful situation in the last month, and to rate how they cognitively appraised the situation (threat, centrality, controllability, commitment, injustice/unfairness, expectedness, expectancy) and how they cognitively regulated their emotion (self‐blame, blaming others, acceptance, refocus on planning, positive refocusing, rumination, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective, catastrophizing). Multiple regression analysis revealed that even after control for other variables, such as age, sex, personality, the time when the situation occurred and the intensity of negative emotion, all criteria of cognitive appraisal except for expectedness predicted cognitive emotion regulation choice. Implications and limitations of this research are discussed.     

The role of ecological validity in hazard perception assessment

Hazard perception is one of the few quantifiable components of driving competency that can explain the high crash risk of novice drivers (see Horswill & McKenna, 2004). Some studies focused on investigating the stimulus part of hazard perception items by comparing several design features of the displayed traffic scenarios (e.g. Malone et al., 2012; Scialfa et al., 2013). Other empirical studies have been conducted to address the reaction part of hazard perception items (e.g. Vlakveld, 2014). Among others, existing hazard perception tests differ with respect to the ecological validity – the similarity to real-world demands – of the task that has to be completed by the participants (simple reaction, hazard localization, simulated driving, etc.). Based on the findings of general expertise research (see Glaser & Chi, 1988), the hypothesis of the present experiment was that an increased ecological validity of a hazard perception task has a positive effect on the magnitude of performance differences between more and less experienced drivers. 104 learner drivers and 51 experienced drivers were randomly assigned either to a less ecological valid version (multiple choice task) or a higher ecological valid version (reaction task) of a hazard perception test. In both conditions, the same 20 animated hazardous or non-hazardous traffic scenarios were presented. Overall, the experienced drivers outperformed the learner drivers. Principally, both of the applied versions of the test provided a criterion valid measure of driving expertise. However, increasing the ecological validity of the test by using a reaction task was especially beneficial for certain types of scenarios, leading to higher expertise-related differences. In addition, the reaction task provides response time measure as a further valid performance indicator. This allows the identification of those participants who are indeed able to detect a hazard in a certain scenario, but still have deficits in response time, compared to more experienced drivers. According to the present study, it is recommended to choose the reaction task over the multiple choice task to test hazard perception. Whether a further increase in ecological validity of the task would be useful, should be tested empirically in future research.     

Identity and travel behaviour: A cross-sectional study on commute mode choice and intention to change

IntroductionSocial and self-identities have been conceptualised to prevent travel behaviour change, as threats to one’s identity may cause resistance to change. This study focuses on the role of social, transport, place, and self-identities on commute mode choice and intention to change mode choice.MethodData were collected in June 2015 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Invitations to participate were distributed by mail using data from the municipality, resulting in 1062 adult participants.The outcome measures were the transport mode shares based on a 14-day travel-to-and-from-work record of trips (i) involving any car use, (ii) involving any bicycling, (iii) involving any walking, and (iv) involving any public transport use. The second series of outcome measures concerned the willingness to change the amount of car use, bicycle use and walking, determined by the question ‘to what extent do you intend to change the use of …?’. Identity was measured on a seven-point disagree/agree scale for 17 items by asking to what extent the respondent ‘sees him/herself as …’. Separate multinomial regression models were estimated stepwise adjusting for socioeconomic and transport characteristics.ResultsMultiple identity items were associated with the use of all commute modes. In the maximally adjusted models, identities associated with the respective modes remained significant. For example, whether someone identified themselves with being a cyclist corresponded with higher likelihood of cycling occasionally (relative risk ratio (RRR): 1.84; 95% confidence interval (CI):1.47–2.30), or always to work (RRR: 2.86; 95% CI: 2.16–3.79). In addition, we found that a family-oriented identity was negatively associated with occasional commuting by car, and a ‘sporty’ identity was negatively associated with always cycling to work.Transport identities were also associated with stated intentions to change as were several social, place, and self-identities. Identifying with being a car driver decreased the likelihood of intending to reduce car use, but it increased the likelihood of intending to increase car use, as did identifying with being career-oriented. Individuals that identified with being a cyclist were less likely to have an intention to reduce bicycle use, whereas countryside-lovers had greater intentions of increasing cycling. Individuals that identified themselves as pedestrians had a lower intention of decreasing their walking levels, and a higher intention of increasing them, as did those who identified themselves as being family-oriented.DiscussionThe results confirm limited previous findings that identifying with users of a transport mode correspond with its use. Nevertheless, questions around causality remain. The intention to change mode choice was associated with several identities, including transport-related identities, place-related identities, social/family-related identities, and self-identities. Future research should focus on the associations between identity and actual behaviour change to further our understanding of the effect of identity on travel behaviour.     

Candidate Voice Pitch Influences Election Outcomes

A growing literature in psychology shows that human voice pitch—perceived “highness” or “lowness” as determined by the physiology of the throat—influences how speakers are perceived. This leads to the prediction that candidate voice pitch influences voters. Here this question is addressed with two studies. The first is an experiment conducted with a large national sample of U.S. adults. The results show that men and women prefer to vote for male and female candidates with lower pitched voices. The second study examines the outcomes of the 2012 U.S. House elections. When facing male opponents, candidates with lower voices won a larger vote share. However, when facing female opponents, candidates with higher voices were more successful and particularly so in the case of male candidates. In synthesizing research on the human voice and voter behavior and triangulating evidence from a controlled experiment and a large observational study of actual elections, this article illustrates that candidate voice pitch influences election outcomes.     

Career Decision‐Making Self‐Efficacy Change in Italian High School Students

The authors explored the effects of a structured‐group career intervention among 280 Italian high school students. Hierarchical linear models indicated the intervention's effectiveness in increasing career decision‐making self‐efficacy and, consequently, career exploration, but not in decreasing career choice anxiety. In addition, partial confirmation was found for the moderating effects of participants' expectations and motivation to change on the relationship between career decision‐making self‐efficacy and career choice anxiety. The findings support the development of a systematic vocational guidance program in Italian schools.     

Now or Later? Attentional Processing and Intertemporal Choice

The tendency to discount future prospects in lieu of smaller immediate outcomes is known as temporal discounting. The current work used eye‐tracking methodology to examine attentional processing to different elements of choice during an intertemporal decision task. Our findings reveal that those who tend to prefer the immediate option demonstrate attentional biases that were predictive of choice. When losses were at stake, selective attention biases also predicted unique variance in self‐report measures of risk taking, impulsivity, and self‐control beyond what was accounted for by a discounting parameter (k), a typical method for summarizing intertemporal choice data. Overall, our findings suggest that eye‐tracking measures of selective attention may allow for a better theoretical understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in intertemporal choice. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anselm's Quiet Radicalism

It is characteristic of Anselm to adopt the formulations of his authorities while giving them meanings of his own, hiding conceptual disagreement by means of verbal echoes. Anselm's considerable originality sometimes goes unnoticed because readers see the standard Augustinian language and miss the fact that Anselm uses it to state un-Augustinian views. One striking instance of Anselm's quiet radicalism is his understanding of free choice and the fall. He seems to uphold standard Augustinian privation theory when he affirms that injustice is merely an absence of justice where justice should be; he seems also to be committed to the standard Augustinian view that everything that has being is created by God. A closer examination, however, shows that Anselm clearly has qualms about whether privation theory can do all of the work to which Augustine had tried to put it; and Anselm actually affirms that every free choice has being and yet is not created by God. I begin by showing that Anselm regards unjust acts as being ontologically on a par with just acts. Injustice itself is nothing, a privation; but an unjust volition is something, and indeed no less something than a just volition. Moreover, creatures have their volitions solely from themselves, not from God. So Anselm must deny that God is the creator of everything that has being: free choices have being, and creatures are the sole causes of those choices. Anselm explicitly draws this radical conclusion, but he does so quietly, without fanfare, taking care to provide ways in which he can still say all the traditional things but mean something radical.     

Does It Matter Whether One Takes a Test on an iPad or a Desktop Computer?

To investigate possible iPad related mode effect, we tested 403 8th graders in Indiana, Maryland, and New Jersey under three mode conditions through random assignment: a desktop computer, an iPad alone, and an iPad with an external keyboard. All students had used an iPad or computer for six months or longer. The 2-hour test included reading, math, and writing items adapted from released NAEP 8th grade tests. Overall, no significant difference was found on the reading, math, or writing section scores or section response time among the three mode conditions. Further, roughly comparable numbers of students reportedly favored testing using an iPad or a desktop computer, but using a preferred mode did not lead to significantly higher section scores. These findings suggest that there is no noticeable disadvantage associated with taking a test on an iPad than on a desktop computer for experienced users of these two studied devices.     

跨期决策是基于选项还是基于维度?

跨期决策有许多不同的理论模型,按其所指信息加工过程,可以分成基于选项的和基于维度的两类决策模型。前者认为各跨期选项被独立赋予一个主观价值,主观价值最大的选项被选择;而后者则认为选项是基于维度被比较的,比较中占优势的选项被选择。本文从行为结果、过程数据和对基于选项模型基本假设的质疑等角度综述了近来支持基于维度模型的证据;并提出未来需要进一步应用认知行为实验和眼动追踪技术对两类模型进行过程研究、在基于维度模型的指导下进行f MRI研究,以及加强损失领域的跨期决策研究以完善跨期决策模型。     

Indeterminism, Explanation, and Luck

I first adumbrate pertinent aspectsof Robert Kane's libertarian theory of free choice oraction and an objection of luck that has been levelledagainst the theory. I then consider Kane's recentresponses to this objection. To meet these responses,I argue that the view that undetermined choices (ofthe sort implied by Kane's theory) are a matter ofluck is associated with a view about actionexplanation, to wit: when Jones does A and hisdoing of A is undetermined, and when hiscounterpart, Jones*, in the nearest possibleworld in which the past and the laws are held constantuntil the moment of choice does B instead, thereis no explanation (deterministic or indeterministic)of the difference in outcome – Jones's A-ing butJones*'s B-ing – in terms of prior reasonsor motives of either agent. Absence of such anexplanation is one crucial factor that underliesthe charge that Jones's A-ing and Jones*'sB-ing are matters of luck. I argue that thissort of luck is incompatible with responsibility.