Knowing when to hold ‘em: regret and the relation between missed opportunities and risk taking in children,adolescents and adults

Regret over missed opportunities leads adults to take more risks. Given recent evidence that the ability to experience regret impacts decisions made by 6-year-olds, and pronounced interest in the antecedents to risk taking in adolescence, we investigated the age at which a relationship between missed opportunities and risky decision-making emerges, and whether that relationship changes at different points in development. Six- and 8-year-olds, adolescents and adults completed a sequential risky decision-making task on which information about missed opportunities was available. Children also completed a task designed to measure their ability to report regret when explicitly prompted to do so. The relationship between missed opportunities and risky decision-making did not emerge until 8 years, at which age it was associated with the ability to explicitly report regret, and was stronger in adults than in adolescents. These novel results highlight the potential importance of the ability to experience regret in children and adolescents’ risky decision-making.     

Media’s Influence on Self-Image and Romantic Relationship Decision-Making in College-Age Clients: What Mental Health Counselors Should Know

Research indicates that media-influenced decisions potentially assist in leading college-aged students to make negative interpersonal choices, resulting in poor intimate relationships (Storey and McDonald, 2013). However, many mental health counselors inadvertently ignore the effect of media when they work with college-aged clients. To speak to the need for mental health counselors to become aware of the issue, this study examined the phenomenological perspective of eight students. This qualitative study’s results indicate that media portrayal of successful couples and unrealistic expectations affect intimate relationship decision-making.     

戒烟社会支持与吸烟者戒烟意向的关系：亲友认同的调节作用和吸烟危害认识的中介作用

研究旨在考察吸烟者的亲友认同和吸烟危害认识在亲友戒烟社会支持与戒烟意向关系中的作用。对340名吸烟者被试进行问卷调查,结果表明：（1）戒烟社会支持显著正向预测戒烟意向;（2）吸烟危害认识对社会支持和戒烟意向的关系起完全中介作用;（3）亲友认同对戒烟社会支持和戒烟意向的关系起显著调节作用。研究拓展了压力缓冲模型,说明了戒烟社会支持的认知功能,且支持了社会认同在社会支持发挥作用过程中的重要性。     

Lottery judgments: A philosophical and experimental study

In this paper, we present the results of two surveys that investigate subjects’ judgments about what can be known or justifiably believed about lottery outcomes on the basis of statistical evidence, testimonial evidence, and “mixed” evidence, while considering possible anchoring and priming effects. We discuss these results in light of seven distinct hypotheses that capture various claims made by philosophers about lay people’s lottery judgments. We conclude by summarizing the main findings, pointing to future research, and comparing our findings to recent studies by Turri and Friedman.     

Depression and anxiety symptoms following cancer diagnosis: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: The aims of the present study were to assess demographic and clinical characteristics of patients after receiving a cancer diagnosis, and to determine possible risk factors for anxiety and depression. Methods: All consecutive patients aged 18 or above, were assessed before starting intravenous chemotherapy for the first time with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Distress Thermometer, and a Visual Analog Scale for pain. Demographic and clinical data were also collected. Results: The patients assessed (n = 270) had a mean age of 59.4 (SD = 11.8) years, and 50.7% were women. Tumours were more frequently colorectal (27.2%), lung (18.8%) and breast (17.6%), and 68.9% were stages 3 or 4. A HADS Anxiety score ≥8 was present in 30% of the patients, a Depression score ≥8 in 24.1%, and a Distress score ≥4 in 44.4%. Independent risk factors for HADS Depression score ≥8 were being a woman (OR = 2.45; p = 0.004), being older (OR = 1.04; p = 0.005), and cancer stage 3–4 (OR = 2.24; p = 0.023) in the multivariable analysis; for Anxiety ≥8 they were being a woman (OR = 2.47; p = 0.002), having a past psychiatric consultation (OR = 2.83; p = 0.029), and cancer stage 3–4 (OR = 1.90; p = 0.047). Conclusion: These results suggest the need for greater awareness and a differentiated approach to patients at increased risk of anxiety and depression in the early stages of treatment and before starting chemotherapy.     

The role of executive function,personality and attitudes to risks in explaining self-reported driving behaviour in adolescent and adult male drivers

Young drivers show high levels of risky driving and are over-represented in motor vehicle crash statistics world-wide. As well as personality and attitudinal factors, high rates of risk taking during adolescence may be due to poorly developed executive functions, a result of the slow maturation of the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. This study was undertaken to investigate the roles of executive function, personality, attitudes to risk in relation to self-reported driving behaviour. Adolescent (n = 46, age 16–18 years) and adult (n = 32, 25 years and over) male drivers completed a battery of neuropsychological tests to assess general cognitive ability and executive function, and questionnaires to assess driving history, personality, attitudes to physical and psychological risk as well as questionnaires of self-reported driving behaviour (Driver risk taking and Driver Attitude Questionnaire, DAQ). The adolescent drivers showed poorer executive function, higher levels of impulsivity and risk-taking, lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness compared to adult drivers. Regression analyses revealed that attitudes to risk, agreeableness and working memory made unique significant contributions in explaining self-reported driving behaviour. Interestingly though, better working memory was associated with higher levels of self-reported risky driving and more accepting attitudes to risky driving. Together the findings suggest that some aspects of executive function, personality, and attitudes to risk may help to explain self-reported driving behaviour. Whether these findings are relevant to female drivers and apply to on-road driving behaviour should be the focus of future studies.     

Reexamining the linear and U‐shaped relationships between self‐control and emotional and behavioural problems

Previous studies have demonstrated a linear relationship between self‐control and emotional and behavioural problems. However, some scholars have assumed that both under‐control and over‐control may result in undesired problems, which implies a U‐shaped relationship between them. This issue was reexamined in three Chinese samples in the present study. Self‐report measures that conceptually assessed self‐control and emotional (i.e. depression and negative emotion) and behavioural (i.e. rule‐breaking behaviour, aggression and counterproductive work behaviour) problems were administered to adolescents (N = 885), university students (N = 671) and employees (N = 500). Results of piecewise linear regression show that there were significant quadratic effects of self‐control on emotional and behavioural problems in adolescents and on behavioural problems in employees, but no significant U‐shaped associations between them were found. Implications for future studies are discussed.     

A study of mild cognitive impairment in veterans: role of hypertension and other confounding factors

Introduction: Hypertension has shown to be an important risk factor for the decline in cognitive function. Aim of our study is to investigate the presence of cognitive impairment of the elders with hypertension and other confounding factors.

Methods: This study was conducted on 400 veterans who were matched one-to-one with the confounding factors for assessing the presence of mild cognitive impairment using both MMSE and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The 13 related factors of patient data were studied.

Results: The prevalence rate of cognitive impairment was 29.25%. Age (OR 2.679, 95%CI 1.663–6.875), sleep impairment (OR 1.117, 95%CI 1.754–7.422), uncontrolled hypertension (OR 1.522, 95%CI 1.968–4.454), type 2 diabetes (OR 2.464, 95%CI 1.232–4.931), and hyperlipidaemia (OR 1.411, 95%CI 1.221–8.988) are the risk factors for the cognitive deterioration, while the protective factors are high level of education (OR 0.032, 95%CI 0.007–0.149) and regular exercise (OR 0.307, 95%CI 0.115–0.818).

Discussion: Because some vascular disease risk factors, such as hypertension, can be treated effectively, cognitive decline related to these risk factors, and vascular disease per se, may be prevented or its course modified through more aggressive treatment and improved compliance.     

Female adolescent soccer players' perceived motivational climate,goal orientations,and mindful engagement

The purpose of this study was to examine two objectives: a) a moderation effect of task orientation in the predictive relationship of ego orientation to mindful engagement, and b) the mediational role of female high school soccer players' mindful engagement in the relationship between their perceptions of a caring/task-involving climate and task orientation to their practice strategy use and ability to peak under pressure. Athletes (N = 190, Mage = 15.59) completed measures of aforementioned psychometric variables. The moderation analysis revealed that athletes' task orientation and their mindful engagement were in a positive and significant liner relationship. The final mediation model results suggest that both female high school soccer athletes' mindful engagement and practice strategy use mediate the relationship of their perceptions of a caring/task-involving climate and goal orientations to their ability to peak under pressure. Results suggest that coaches' efforts to create a caring/task-involving climate in sport may help athletes be more task oriented and mindfully engaged in their sport, and thus experience more positive outcomes.