Free Choice

In everyday language, the central question raised by “free choice” is not causation but whether I do what I want. We can, however, grant that our wants are caused. We commonly fail to appreciate this because there is no consciousness of these causal processes. Nevertheless a question about the causation of my want may on occasion become relevant to the freedom of my choice. Thus one may ask if my want is caused by my knowledge and values, or by causes alien to these. This is not a question about the truth, or implications, of the theory of universal determinism.     

Dimension integration: Testing models without trade-offs

This paper tests a behavioral property called dimension integration. The test evaluates models, such as lexicographic semi-orders and the priority heuristic, which assume that a person uses only one dimension at a time. It provides a way to compare such models against those that assume a person combines information from different dimensions. The test allows one to test the hypothesis that different people use different lexicographic semi-orders with different threshold parameters. In addition, by use of a “true and error” model, it is possible to “correct” for unreliability of choice in order to estimate the proportions of participants who show different response patterns that can be classified as integrative or not integrative. An experiment with 260 participants was conducted in which people made choices between two-branch gambles. The aggregate results violate the priority heuristic and six lexicographic semi-orders. The data also refute the theory that people use a mixture of these lexicographic semi-orders. In addition, few individuals appear to show response patterns consistent with non-integrative models. Instead, they show that most individuals show patterns consistent with the hypothesis that they combine information between dimensions.     

Neophilia in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and its implication for studies of dog cognition

This study examined novel-object preference in dogs. In a free choice test 17 dogs were presented with a novel toy in a line up with two familiar toys. The unfamiliar object was chosen first in 38 out 50 tests suggesting a strong preference for novel over familiar items. Neophilia may be an adaptive trait for domestic dogs that has helped their adaptation towards man.     

Quantum dynamics of human decision-making

A quantum dynamic model of decision-making is presented, and it is compared with a previously established Markov model. Both the quantum and the Markov models are formulated as random walk decision processes, but the probabilistic principles differ between the two approaches. Quantum dynamics describe the evolution of complex valued probability amplitudes over time, whereas Markov models describe the evolution of real valued probabilities over time. Quantum dynamics generate interference effects, which are not possible with Markov models. An interference effect occurs when the probability of the union of two possible paths is smaller than each individual path alone. The choice probabilities and distribution of choice response time for the quantum model are derived, and the predictions are contrasted with the Markov model.     

Math Preference and Mastery Relationship in Middle School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

We conducted this study to determine the relationship between math preference and mastery for five middle school students with autism spectrum disorders. We randomly presented several math addition and subtraction problem formats to determine the students’ preferences. Results indicated that preference was idiosyncratic across students. In addition, preference was not related to mastery in some students. Results are discussed within a theoretical framework of matching law. Implications for practitioners are discussed.

自传记忆事件聚集现象中的组织和提取特点

事件聚集是在事件水平上组织自传记忆的结构,是一种反映自传记忆组织的提取现象.在利用矫正后的事件追随任务对62名成人进行测试后发现:①事件之间各种组织信息并不是分离的,而是以整合的方式来组织事件聚集结构,这些信息不仅包含客体的信息,更包含主观的感受.②自我在自传记忆组织中的作用是强化事件聚集本身所具有的联系.③自传记忆的提取中首先要满足当前自我的要求;进行直接提取失败后,被试根据自传记忆的层级关系进行生成搜索;生成提取策略也失败后,个体则会根据事件线索中任何可以利用的细节来完成回忆任务.     

The Separate, relative, and joint effects of employee job performance domains on supervisors’ willingness to mentor

The purpose of our study was to further elucidate how employees should behave at work to increase their chances of being mentored by their immediate supervisor. To that end, we experimentally tested how three domains of employee performance [task performance (TP), organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) targeting the supervisor, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) targeting coworkers] affect supervisors’ willingness to mentor. Each performance domain affected willingness to mentor. OCB had the weakest of the three main effects. Finally, the positive effect of TP was stronger when employees displayed less CWB.     

The dynamics of the stream of behavior

Motivational psychology and ethology conceive of behavior as a continuous stream of activities, a conceptualization that is taken up formally in the present paper. Modeling the stream of behavior, unlike modeling an individual activity selected out of the stream, requires processes of data generation that govern the repeated overt appearances of activities through time. To this end the motivation theory of the dynamics of action, with its self-contained data generating process, is employed as a mathematical framework. The resulting theory, modeled as a continuous succession of mutually exclusive and exhaustive activities driven by the countdown of activation times, yields expectations for the relative frequencies of transitions and the distributions of transition times in a stream segment. Results supporting the theory were obtained in a series of critical tests using a unique data set provided by the artist Morgan O’Hara who has made extensive recordings of her stream of behavior.     

Emotionally controlled decision-making and a gene variant related to serotonin synthesis in women with borderline personality disorder

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was used to examine (i) social decision-making in women with borderline personality disorder (BPD), and (ii) the relationship between impaired decision-making and the tryptophan hydroxylase-1 (TPH-1) gene, involved in serotonin synthesis. Forty-two women with BPD and a history of suicide attempts were genotyped, and the frequency of a TPH-1 haplotype previously uniquely associated with BPD was calculated. The BPD group scored significantly lower than a control group in the IGT. Furthermore, the TPH-1 haplotype displayed a significantly higher frequency in BPD participants with impaired decision making, compared to BPD participants with normal scores. These findings suggest that impaired decision-making as determined by the IGT is a feature of BPD and may be (i) associated with serotonin dysfunction, and (ii) possibly relevant for suicidal behavior.     

Neural correlates of Traditional Chinese Medicine induced advantageous risk-taking decision making

This fMRI study examined the neural correlates of the observed improvement in advantageous risk-taking behavior, as measured by the number of adjusted pumps in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), following a 60-day course of a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recipe, specifically designed to regulate impulsiveness in order to modulate risk-taking behavior. The 14 participants recruited for this study were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups and the TCM recipe (Panax, 520 mg; Astragalus membranaceous Bunge, 520 mg; Masnetitum, 840 mg; Ostrea gigas Thumb, 470 mg; Thinleaf Milkwort Root Radix Polygalae, 450 mg; and Os Draconis, 470 mg) was administered, as a diet supplement, to the seven participants in the experimental group. The neural activity of the two groups was monitored by a 3T MRI scanner, before and after the 60-day treatment. Associated with the improved advantageous risk-taking behavior seen in the experimental group, significantly stronger blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses were observed in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), left putamen, left thalamus, right insula, and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), regions which have previously been reported as being involved in risk-taking decision making. The effect of the TCM in improving advantageous risk-taking decision making appears to have been related to the enhanced efficiency of the cognitive affective system, the PFC–ACC–insula–striatum network, which functions to inhibit impulsiveness, to sensitize reward-related information, and to allow the opportunity, during risk estimation, to evaluate potential gains and losses. The findings of this study suggest that interventions acting on factors modulating risk-taking decision making could have a beneficial effect in terms of optimizing risk-taking behavior.