Sequential search by groups with rank-dependent payoffs: An experimental study

In many sequential search situations, decisions are reached by groups. We examine behavior in such situations experimentally using an extension of the “secretary problem”. In our setup, group members (players) with non-aligned preferences inspect alternatives or “applicants” one at a time with no backward solicitation. A minimal information structure is assumed where players are only informed of the relative ranks of the alternatives as they inspect them sequentially. We present the equilibrium solution, and then use it as a benchmark for our analysis. We report the results from a controlled experiment showing that subjects over-searched relative to equilibrium. Decisions were affected by theoretically irrelevant observations including the relative rank of the previous alternative and the other player’s relative rank of the current alternative. For managers engaged in committee sequential search tasks, our findings highlight the importance of being aware to reach compromises early on, among other implications.     

On the controllability of evaluative-priming effects: Some limits that are none

Two experiments examined recent claims of uncontrollability of the evaluative-priming effect. According to these claims, imposing an adaptive 600 ms response deadline prevents successful faking (Degner, 2009). Furthermore, strategic control attempts have been argued not to reduce the priming measure's sensitivity to spontaneous evaluations so that correlations of evaluative-priming effects with external criteria are not affected by attempts to fake (Bar-Anan, 2010). Here, we show that faking is possible even with an adaptive 600 ms response deadline when faking instructions do not conflict with speed pressures imposed thereby (Experiments 1 and 2). In addition, suitable faking instructions substantially affect the predictive validity of priming effects in terms of their correlations with (non-faked) self-report measures and the Implicit Association Test (Experiment 2). The previous claims about the uncontrollability of the evaluative-priming effect may thus have been premature.     

Implicit and explicit components of dual adaptation to visuomotor rotations

Concurrent adaptation to two different visuomotor transformations has been shown to be possible as long as discriminative contextual cues are available. The authors examined explicit and implicit components of visually cued dual adaptation in younger and older adults. They found that only young adults, but not old adults, produced appropriate adaptive shifts of hand-movement direction to compensate for the visuomotor rotations. Aftereffects, conceived as a measure of implicit knowledge, were only poorly developed. Furthermore, only participants in the younger group exhibited systematic explicit knowledge of the visuomotor rotations. Subsequent analyses revealed strong correlations between the quality of explicit knowledge and the overall visuomotor adaptation. Thus, visually cued dual adaptation to two opposite visuomotor rotations is primarily mediated by conscious strategic corrections based on explicit knowledge of the transformations, a process, which is selectively impaired in older adults.     

Are you talking to me?! Separating the people from the problem when expressing emotions in negotiation

Emotions such as anger and happiness have pervasive interpersonal effects in negotiations. We propose that the nature of the effects depends on the target of the emotion, that is, whether the emotion is directed toward a person or a specific behavior. In a computer-mediated negotiation (N = 87), participants received either angry or happy messages from a simulated opponent, which were either behavior-oriented or person-directed. Behavior-oriented anger elicited larger concessions than behavior-oriented happiness, whereas person-directed anger elicited smaller concessions than person-directed happiness. This reversal could be attributed to the strategic value of the emotional expression, which was higher in the behavior-oriented condition than in the person-directed condition. These findings show that the interpersonal effects of anger and happiness depend critically on the target of the emotion.     

Strategic Maneuvering in Direct to Consumer Drug Advertising: A Study in Argumentation Theory and New Institutional Theory

New Institutional Theory is used to explain the context for argumentation in modern practice. The illustration of Direct to Consumer Drug advertising is deployed to show how communicative argument between a doctor and patient is influenced by force exogenous to the practice of medicine. The essay shows how strategic maneuvering shifts the burden of proof within institutional relations.     

Predicting Chinese human resource managers' strategic competence: Roles of identity,career variety,organizational support and career adaptability

Based on career construction theory, the predictors of human resource managers' strategic competence in the Chinese context were examined. Results from a survey administered to Chinese HR managers (N = 220) showed that professional identification, career variety and organizational support for strategic human resource management positively predicted Chinese human resource managers' strategic competence. In addition, career adaptability served as a significant mediator for the above relations. The results further showed that the effect of professional identification on career adaptability was stronger among employees who perceived a higher (vs. lower) level of organizational support for strategic human resource management. The corresponding moderated mediation model was also supported such that the indirect effect of professional identification on strategic competence was stronger among employees who perceived a higher (vs. lower) level of organizational support for strategic human resource management. These findings carry implications for career construction theory and human resource managers' career development in China.     

No pain no gain: The positive impact of punishment on the strategic regulation of accuracy

Previous studies have shown that punishing people through a large penalty for volunteering incorrect information typically leads them to withhold more information (metacognitive response bias), but it does not appear to influence their ability to distinguish between their own correct and incorrect answers (metacognitive accuracy discrimination). The goal of the current study was to demonstrate that punishing people for volunteering incorrect information—versus rewarding volunteering correct information—produces more effective metacognitive accuracy discrimination. All participants completed three different general-knowledge tests: a reward test (high points for correct volunteered answers), a baseline test (equal points/penalties for volunteered correct/incorrect answers) and a punishment test (high penalty for incorrect volunteered answers). Participants were significantly better at distinguishing between their own correct and incorrect answers on the punishment than reward test, which has implications for situations requiring effective accuracy monitoring.     

Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as Cultural Icons of U.S. Foreign Policy

The conventional account of American diplomacy in the modern era is marked by a cultural tension between realist and idealist themes symbolized by the statecraft of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. However, a revisionist account has emerged to challenge and even reverse the conventional account of Roosevelt and Wilson. This poses an intriguing empirical puzzle that is essentially psychological, as it pertains to the belief systems of these two presidents. In order to investigate this puzzle and its implications for U.S. strategic culture, we employ an automated content analysis of the public statements by the two leaders regarding their operational code beliefs about the nature of the political universe and the best approach to effective political action. The results reveal similarities and differences in their belief systems and illustrate how psychological models can provide insights into the psychocultural origins of U.S. diplomacy that remain relevant to the present day.     

On the futility of psychiatric diagnostic manuals (DSMs) and the return of personal agency

This article critiques the most recent version of the American Psychiatric Association's (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV). After pointing to the procedures employed in constructing the Manual, I note that unreliability of diagnosis is still a major problem and, more important, little attention has been paid to validity. Based on the mechanistic Kraepelinian model, the Manual contributes to the increasing medicalization of distress and directs clinicians to search for causes of unwanted behavior in biochemical anomalies. The person as agent is not part of the DSM diagnostic program. As an alternative to the DSM-IV, I propose a contextualist approach to understanding unwanted conduct. The person is treated as an agent who employs strategic actions to maintain a self-narrative. Strategic actions that fail to influence relevant others to supply warrants of social validation become the targets of clinical interventions.     

Get mad and get more than even: When and why anger expression is effective in negotiations

We hypothesized that anger expressions increase expressers’ ability to claim value in negotiations, but only when the recipients of these expressions have poor alternatives. This effect occurs because anger expression communicates toughness, and only recipients who have poor alternatives are affected by the toughness of their counterpart. In Experiment 1, participants read a scenario about a negotiator who either was angry or not. In Experiment 2, dyads negotiated face-to-face after one negotiator within each dyad was advised to show either anger or no emotion. In both studies, recipients of anger expressions who had poor alternatives conceded more. Experiment 2 also provided evidence that toughness ascribed to the expresser mediated the effect of anger expression on claiming value.