A crowdsourced nickel‐and‐dime approach to analog OBM research: A behavioral economic framework for understanding workforce attrition

Incentives are a popular method to achieve desired employee performance; however, research on optimal incentive magnitude is lacking. Behavioral economic demand curves model persistence of responding in the face of increasing cost and may be suitable to examine the reinforcing value of incentives on work performance. The present use‐inspired basic study integrated an experiential human operant task within a crowdsourcing platform to evaluate the applicability of behavioral economics for quantifying changes in workforce attrition. Participants included 88 Amazon Mechanical Turk Workers who earned either a $0.05 or $0.10 incentive for completing a progressively increasing response requirement. Analyses revealed statistically significant differences in breakpoint between the two groups. Additionally, a novel translation of the Kaplan‐Meier survival‐curve analyses for use within a demand curve framework allowed for examination of elasticity of workforce attrition. Results indicate greater inelastic attrition in the $0.05 group. We discuss the benefits of a behavioral economic approach to modeling employee behavior, how the metrics obtained from the elasticity of workforce attrition analyses (e.g., P _max) may be used to set goals for employee behavior while balancing organizational costs, and how economy type may have influenced observed outcomes.     

A two‐part mixed effects model for cigarette purchase task data

The Cigarette Purchase Task is a behavioral economic assessment tool designed to measure the relative reinforcing efficacy of cigarette smoking across different prices. An exponential demand equation has become a standard model for analyzing purchase task data, but its utility is compromised by its inability to accommodate values of zero consumption. We propose a two‐part mixed effects model that keeps the same exponential demand equation for modeling nonzero consumption values, while providing a logistic regression for the binary outcome of zero versus nonzero consumption. Therefore, the proposed model can accommodate zero consumption values and retain the features of the exponential demand equation at the same time. As a byproduct, the logistic regression component of the proposed model provides a new demand index, the “derived breakpoint”, for the price above which a subject is more likely to be abstinent than to be smoking. We apply the proposed model to data collected at baseline from college students (N = 1,217) enrolled in a randomized clinical trial utilizing financial incentives to motivate tobacco cessation. Monte Carlo simulations showed that the proposed model provides better fits than an existing model. We note that the proposed methodology is applicable to other purchase task data, for example, drugs of abuse.     

Assessing the Effect of Language Demand in Bundles of Math Word Problems

Differential bundle functioning (DBF) analyses were conducted to determine whether seventh and eighth grade second language learners (SLLs) had lower probabilities of answering bundles of math word problems correctly that had heavy language demands, when compared to non-SLLs of equal math proficiency. Math word problems on each of four test forms (two at Grade 7 and two at Grade 8) were bundled together if they used the passive voice, conditional clause, relative clause, or a combination of any two. The results showed that the average total scores for SLLs was significantly lower than that for non-SLLs on each test form. However, only two bundles (passive voice and conditional clause at Grade 7 on Form 2) indicated statistically significant DBF against SLLs in favor of matched non-SLLs. An additional step was taken to determine whether the two bundles that showed statistically significant DBF against SLLs had biased the mean total scores for this group.The Walker, Zhang, Banks, and Cappaert (2012) procedure established for this purpose showed that this was not the case. Implications of the results are provided as well as suggestions for future research.     

A REVIEW OF COCAINE ABUSE: BEHAVIOR,PHARMACOLOGY, AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS,EDITED BY S. T. HIGGINS AND J. L. KATZ

This book comprises 17 chapters that deal with a variety of topics related to cocaine and its abuse. Several of the chapters are excellent, and the book in its totality contains a wealth of information. These are major strengths. On the down side, some important topics are ignored, the relevance of several chapters to cocaine abuse is not apparent, and the various chapters are not well integrated. We recommend Cocaine Abuse as a reference volume for scientists with specific training in the areas that it covers. But we do not recommend it for cover‐to‐cover reading as an overview of cocaine abuse.     

Modulation of Taste Aversions by a Pentobarbital Drug State: An Assessment of Its Transfer Properties

In a drug-discrimination procedure using conditioned taste aversions, a pentobarbital injection signaled a taste–toxin pairing while the vehicle injection signaled the same taste in the absence of the toxin. In transfer tests, drug states transferred control over consumption to other targets. If the training target was a fluid (saccharin), then transfer occurred to other fluids (both novel and familiar) but not to solid food. If the training target was food, then some transfer occurred to novel targets (both fluids and solid food) but not to familiar targets. Control rats revealed that the differential consumption seen during acquisition and during transfer tests was not due to the summation of two simple associations (i.e., drug–toxin and flavor–toxin) but rather reflected conditional control over consumption by the drug state.     

Clients in Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Treatment Experiencesand Outcomes

This report presents an analysis of National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study data describing the characteristics and treatment experiences of clients entering treatment for alcohol problems. Three client groups were contrasted—those entering treatment for alcohol only, for alcohol plus other drugs, or for other drugs only. Clients using alcohol only were more often white, male, and currently employed. Alcohol only clients were treated predominantly in outpatient settings. Alcohol only clients were frequently referred to treatment by the criminal justice system, and less often self-referred. In all 3 study groups, employment, general health, and mental health outcomes were improved following treatment. Illicit drug use increased marginally for the alcohol only group following treatment. No significant posttreatment reductions in reports of total abstinencefrom alcohol were found for any of the groups. Findings are discussed as they relate to research, treatment practice, and policyareas.     

Treatment Populations,Services, and Outcomes for Cocaine and Crack-Cocaine Dependence

This paper analyzes demographic and other pretreatment characteristics, measures of treatment services received, and treatment outcomes of participantsin the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES), a large-scale longitudinal study of substance abuse treatment (D. R. Gerstein et al., 1997; R. A. Johnson & D. R. Gerstein, 2000). The focus here is those treated primarily for cocaine powder or crack-cocaine dependence, compared with those in treatment for other substances, particularly heroin. Crack-dependent users tend to be female and black, older than primary marijuana or alcohol users but younger than those in treatment for heroin. Primary cocaine powder or crack users are likely to have entered treatment under pressure from the criminal justice system. After treatment there are substantial reductions in use of cocaine powder and crack, especially among participants with fewer prior treatment episodes and lower pretreatment intensity of use. Longer duration and intensity of treatment result in greater reductions in cocaine and crack use.     

Contrast effects in judgmental forecasting when assessing the implications of worst and best case scenarios

Two experiments investigated whether individuals' forecasts of the demand for products and a stock market index assuming a best or worst case scenario depend on whether they have seen a single scenario in isolation or whether they have also seen a second scenario presenting an opposing view of the future. Normatively, scenarios should be regarded as belonging to different plausible future worlds so that the judged implications of one scenario should not be affected when other scenarios are available. However, the results provided evidence of contrast effects in that the presentation of a second “opposite” scenario led to more extreme forecasts consistent with the polarity of the original scenario. In addition, people were more confident about their forecasts based on a given scenario when two opposing scenarios were available. We examine the implications of our findings for the elicitation of point forecasts and judgmental prediction intervals and the biases that are often associated with them.