Effects of Participation in Decision Making on Performance and Employee Attitudes: A Quality Circles Meta-analysis

This study explores the effects of a participative technique, quality circles (QCs), on several employee attitudes and performance. The sample included 36 studies with 42 independent samples. Mean effect sizes were small for employee attitudes and moderate for job performance suggesting QCs affected job performance to a greater degree than employee attitudes. For organizations involved in quality management these results seem to suggest that quality interventions have a stronger impact on job performance than on employee attitudes. The study conclusions provide a positive outlook on the effects of total quality management interventions on productivity.     

Clouds make nerds look good: field evidence of the impact of incidental factors on decision making

Abundant experimental research has documented that incidental primes and emotions are capable of influencing people's judgments and choices. This paper examines whether the influence of such incidental factors is large enough to be observable in the field, by analyzing 682 actual university admission decisions. As predicted, applicants' academic attributes are weighted more heavily on cloudier days and non‐academic attributes on sunnier days. The documented effects are of both statistical and practical significance: changes in cloud cover can increase a candidate's predicted probability of admission by an average of up to 11.9%. These results also shed light on the causes behind the long demonstrated unreliability of experts making repeated judgments from the same data. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Stimulus-Oriented Approach to Memory

ABSTRACT— Our understanding of short-term recognition memory can be enhanced by careful choice and control of test materials. Theory-driven manipulation of memory test stimuli, including visual textures, human faces, and complex sounds, minimize individual differences and make it possible to predict recognition performance for specific combinations of stimulus items. This stimulus-oriented approach to memory reveals that stimulus similarity plays two different important roles in recognition memory. By exploiting tools used in psychophysics, it is possible to generate mnemometric functions—detailed "snapshots" that capture key features of subjects' memory strength.     

临床决策：医患交流与合作的过程

一切医学实践活动都是从决策问题开始。由于我们的决策面对的是需要治疗的患者,而患者的价值观是不一样的;同时,医学知识和技术是在不断发展和进步的,所以医生需要改变传统的决策方式,重视医学证据、可用资源和患者的价值取向。医患之间的相互信任是合理决策的前提。这种信任需在充分沟通的基础上达到互相认可。促进医患共同决策,将成为21世纪医疗服务的努力方向。     

医患关系不和谐的原因

由于政府监管部门的缺位与越位导致医疗市场混乱,医疗资源配置不合理与效率低下,医院为了自身利益而鼓励医务人员多收费,医务人员成了给钱治病的经济人,再加上舆论的推波助澜,社会保障体系不健全,以及医疗需求的刚性,医患间的信息不对称,患者对医疗预期值超越了当今的科技水平,导致医患矛盾越演越烈.     

外科决策：险中求胜

外科决策是一项高风险的事情,在当前医患关系紧张的环境下,尤其突出。如何险中求胜,具有重要的现实意义。本文提出科际整合,将军事学、谋略学、决策学、管理学在哲学层面有机地结合在一起,将做人、做事、做决策与临床密切联系在一起,开创一个全新的决策思路、方法和技巧,在实践中已突显其优越性。     

医学职业潜规则的颠覆与“伦理生态”的营造——论医学职业精神重构的第一要务

我国的医学职业精神重构是一项庞大的系统工程,目前的第一要务是营造良好的医学伦理生态,而要达到上述近远期目标,则必须从颠覆医学职业潜规则起步。颠覆是破,营造是立,二者相辅相成,而且都需要从认识的困惑与误区中走出来,都需要政府、卫生行政管理部门及其官员、医院院长和一线医务人员的同心协力。其中,政府、卫生行政管理部门及其官员合乎医学职业精神的积极作为是最为关键的首要环节。     

无意识研究新进展:无意识思维理论述评

无意识思维理论(UTT)是近期对无意识思维研究的最新成果。该文主要从无意识思维原理、容量原理、自下而上对自上而下加工原理、权重原理、规则原理、聚合对发散原理等6个方面对UTT进行了详细阐述。在此基础上,简评了UTT的理论特点及存在问题,并进一步从信息编码、目标和无意识思维加工机制等三个方面提出了今后的研究方向。     

5-6岁儿童多单位量比较能力的发展特点

通过计算机呈现任务和记录反应,对5岁、5岁半和6岁儿童解决多单位量比较问题的正确率和反应时进行了考察。研究结果表明:(1)6岁之前的儿童难以正确解决多单位量比较问题,从6岁开始,儿童开始逐渐掌握这种问题的解决方法;(2)在解决多单位量比较问题时,儿童采用了比较较高级单位的策略,而没有对每个单个物体进行计算;(3)进位规则没有对儿童解决多单位量比较问题的正确率和反应时产生显著影响。     

Compulsive perseveration: empirical criticism on the mood-as-input model

It has been proposed that the "Mood as Input" model provides an explanation of the perseverative nature of Obsessive Compulsive (OC) behaviour (MacDonald, B. C., & Davey, G. C. L. (2005). A mood-as-input account of perseverative checking: The relationship between stop rules, mood and confidence in having checked successfully. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 69-91). The model implies that task perseveration occurs when individuals (a) experience a bad mood and (b) ask themselves "did I do as much as I can?" In two earlier experiments with healthy participants (MacDonald, B. C., & Davey, G. C. L. (2005). A mood-as-input account of perseverative checking: The relationship between stop rules, mood and confidence in having checked successfully. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 69-91) it was found that when the allegedly critical conditions were met (negative mood and "did I as much as I can?" stop rule) perseveration occurred on a complex text-correction task. This finding was held to support a "mood as input" explanation of compulsive perseveration. It is important to note, however, that perseveration in clinical samples occurs for very simple "tasks" (e.g. closing a door or washing ones hands) and perseveration does not increase efficacy of performance. In the present study we compared the effects of the original task to effects of text correction tasks that were simpler and more OCD-like. The original effects were replicated: the combination of negative mood and the "did I do as much as I can" stop rule provoked perseveration. Meanwhile, "perseveration" was highly functional: the more "perseveration" the more text-errors were detected. Secondly, to the degree that tasks became simpler and more OCD-like, less checking occurred and the effects of the "did I do as much as I can?" stop rule on detection of errors became smaller. The findings raise questions about the validity of the paradigm as a model of OC perseveration.