Wagering on a large scale: Relationships between public gambling and game manipulations in two state lotteries

Public wagering was examined in relation to game adjustments during the first 523 draws of Oregon's "Megabucks" lottery and the first 540 draws of Arizona's "The Pick" lottery. Oregon's lottery was modified five times during this period, and Arizona's lottery underwent four modifications. Public wagering was not related to decreases in the odds of winning in either state. Wagering increased in both states following the introduction of a minimum $1 million jackpot. Wagering also increased following a change in game frequency from weekly to semiweekly draws. Sales trends in both states suggest that over the period examined, larger jackpots were required to maintain previous levels of lottery play. These data suggest that public participation in gambling can be manipulated by state lottery commissions through adjustments in lottery contingencies.     

RELAXATION EXERCISE WITH CEREBRAL PALSIED ADULTS SHOWING SPASTICITY

A method for improving the muscle incoordination associated with cerebral palsy was empirically tested. Relaxation exercises, involving the successive tensing and relaxing of the major muscle groups of the body, were performed by four adults with spastic quadraplegia. All four subjects were sheltered workshop employees. Their IQs ranged from normal to mentally deficient. Testing consisted of two timed-trials of both the Placing Test and the Turning Test from the Minnesota Rate of Manipulation Tests. These tests measured the amount of time required to complete various manual manipulations involving pegs and pegboard. A multiple baseline across subjects design was employed to provide experimental control. All subjects showed significant improvement over baseline performance on the tests following the relaxation training. Limitations of this preliminary investigation and implications of these results for future research were noted.     

态度强度的维度结构与研究操作

态度强度指态度具有坚持性和抵抗性的程度及其对信息加工过程和行为产生影响的程度,包括可获得性、两面性、确定性、精细加工、极端性、重要性、知识性、个人相关性和结构一致性9个常见维度。文章介绍了态度强度的操纵和测量方法,对探讨态度强度维度结构的已有研究进行了阐述和总结,在此基础上指出态度强度至少包含三重维度结构,并提出将态度强度与群体水平变量和社会预警系统相联系等研究角度     

执行控制资源损耗对自传体记忆生动性和情绪的影响

旨在探究健康个体执行控制资源损耗对自传体记忆生动性及情绪的影响。实验一采用Stroop任务探讨了一般执行控制资源损耗的影响,结果发现损耗组自传体记忆生动性和情绪强度显著低于控制组。实验二进一步探讨不同的执行控制资源损耗的影响,结果显示中央执行的资源损耗对生动性和情绪强度影响最大,而视空间模板与语音环之间没有显著差异。实验结果支持了自传体记忆的执行控制资源受损理论和资源有限理论,并对临床治疗具有实际应用价值。     

Expecting tasks to help or hurt subsequent cognitive performance: Variability,accuracy, and bias in forecasted after-effects

After-effects on cognition—where a prior activity either benefits or hinders subsequent cognitive performance—are empirically inconsistent. Do people have insight into when their subjective energy and cognition will be helped or hurt by engaging in prior activities? Studies 1a and 1b (combined N  =  316) find that people expect more demanding and unenjoyable tasks to hinder their subsequent energy and cognitive performance, regardless of their willpower lay theory. Study 2 (N  =  167) examines the accuracy of these forecasts using a within-subject design. Participants’ forecasts of their future subjective states did predict their actual experienced subjective states, but participants were not able to accurately forecast their subsequent maths performance. Additionally, they significantly overestimated the detrimental effects of demanding prior activities on both subjective state and performance. Study 3 (N  =  210) found that participants’ overestimation of detrimental after-effects could result in unnecessary financial costs, suggesting these biased forecasts can have consequences.     

Effects of ego-depletion on choice behaviour in a multi-attribute decision task

When a choice has to be made between two options and decision-relevant information about the options is completely available, the Take-The-Best (TTB) heuristic only considers the most important information that discriminates between the options and bases its choice on it. Choices in line with TTB thus allow a decision maker to save time and effort, and they may become more likely therefore under conditions of limited self-control strength (ego-depletion). Ego-depletion was manipulated prior to making a series of choices in a multi-attribute decision task. Choices could have been in line with either TTB or more effortful compensatory decision strategies. As predicted, compared with non-depleted participants, ego-depleted participants were more likely to make TTB-consistent choices.     

利他行为的自我控制过程模型:自我损耗下的道德情绪的正向作用

本研究通过3个实验验证和探讨了利他行为的自我控制过程模型。实验1采用自我损耗的双任务范式,考察了自我损耗对利他行为水平的影响。实验2考察行动控制导向在自我损耗和利他行为之间关系的调节作用。实验3通过诱发道德情绪,探讨了道德情绪对自我控制资源损耗个体的利他行为决策的作用。研究得到了以下结论:(1)自我控制资源损耗会对利他行为产生不利影响。(2)行动控制导向对自我损耗和利他行为之间的关系起调节作用。(3)道德情绪能够缓解自我损耗对利他行为的不利影响。     

Does self-affirmation following ego depletion moderate restrained eaters’ explicit preferences for,and implicit associations with,high-calorie foods?

Objective: The difficulty for chronic dieters (i.e. restrained eaters) in regulating their food intake is a conflict between two apparently incompatible goals: eating enjoyment and weight control. The latter goal consistently relies on the deployment of cognitive resources, and very often on a significant amount of self-control. This study investigated whether self-affirmation might counteract the effect of ego depletion on restrained eaters’ motivation to consume high-calorie foods.

Design: Participants (N = 183) were assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 × 2 (Ego depletion × Self-Affirmation) experimental design and were subsequently exposed to images of high- and low-calorie foods.

Main outcome measures: Participants completed tasks assessing their implicit and explicit preferences for high vs. low-calorie foods, along with a measure of the perceived self-control required to resist foods.

Results: Results indicated that, following ego depletion, self-affirmation facilitated restrained eaters’ perceptions of self-control and led to lower explicit preferences for high-calorie foods. This pattern was not apparent for implicit preferences.

Conclusion: Self-affirmation interventions may be capable of restoring self-control resources among restrained eaters. Pointers for future research and practical applications are discussed.     

Regulatory job stressors and their within-person relationships with ego depletion: The roles of state anxiety,self-control effort,and job autonomy

Our research aimed at disentangling the underlying processes of the adverse relationship between regulatory job stressors and ego depletion. Specifically, we analyzed whether state anxiety and self-control effort would mediate the within-person relationships of time pressure, planning and decision-making, and emotional dissonance with ego depletion. In addition, we also tested potential attenuating effects of situational job autonomy on the adverse effects of regulatory job stressors on state anxiety, self-control effort, and ego depletion. Based on an experience sampling design, we gathered a sample of 97 eldercare workers who provided data on 721 experience-sampling occasions. Multilevel moderated serial mediation analyses revealed that time pressure and emotional dissonance, but not planning and decision-making, exerted significant serial indirect effects on ego depletion via state anxiety and self-control effort. Finally, we found conditional serial indirect effects of all three regulatory job stressors on ego depletion as a function of job autonomy. Theoretical implications for scholarly understanding of coping with regulatory job stressors are discussed.     

“Pay the piper”: It helps initially,but motivation takes a toll on self-control

ObjectiveTo investigate the aftereffects of anticipating future self-control and motivation on self-control strength depletion patterns.DesignSingle blind, randomized 2 (autonomy-supportive motivation/controlling motivation) × 2 (anticipation/no anticipation) factorial.MethodParticipants (N = 72) performed four sequential self-control strength challenges: an initial endurance handgrip squeeze followed by the Stroop task and two additional endurance handgrip squeezes. A sequential randomization procedure was used to allocate participants to one of four conditions: anticipation/autonomy-supportive motivation (n = 19), anticipation/controlling motivation (n = 17), no anticipation/autonomy-supportive motivation (n = 18), and no anticipation/controlling motivation (n = 18).ResultsParticipants who anticipated future self-control depletion conserved resources on the second task by completing fewer words on a Stroop task compared to controls. Participants who received autonomy-supportive instructions performed significantly better than controls on a third task (endurance handgrip squeeze), but worse than controls on the fourth task (another endurance handgrip squeeze). There were no significant interactions between anticipation and motivation (p > .05).ConclusionsResults support previous findings reflecting conservation and motivation effects on self-control strength. This was the first study to show that autonomy-supportive instructions may assist self-control performance in the short term but ultimately depletes self-control strength and impairs performance in the long term.