认知信息的详尽度与锚定对决策策略的影响

以191名大学生为被试,采用2×3的完全组间设计,探讨不同认知信息详尽度和有无锚定材料条件下大学生决策策略类型的选择。结果发现:(1)认知信息详尽度对被试的决策策略选择的影响显著,被试在低认知信息详尽度水平下倾向于选择采用维度比较策略,而在高认知信息详尽度水平下倾向于选择采用综合比较策略,并且倾向程度差异显著。(2)锚定效应对决策策略选择的影响不显著,认知信息详尽度与锚定的交互作用也不显著。     

平面性诉求广告记忆效果的加工分离研究

运用PDP（过程分离程序）,以122名大学生为被试,以自编性诉求广告及自编包含与排除问卷为实验材料,采用3×2×2多因素设计,探讨不同裸露类型（含蓄、一般、直露）和代言人类型（名人、一般人）的性诉求广告在不同阶段（控制化加工、自动化加工）认知信息加工的模式差异。结果发现： 1）外显的控制化加工,含蓄型性诉求广告记忆效果最好;2）直露型性诉求广告内隐的自动化加工最高;3）未发现性诉求广告中存在名人效应。     

大学新生应对方式特点的研究

目的:探讨大学新生应对方式特点。方法:采用应对方式问卷对563名大学新生进行测量。结果:大学新生以使用成熟的应对方式(解决问题、求助)为主;在幻想因子上,性别和专业的主效应显著,女生得分比男生高,文科学生得分高于理科学生得分;在自责因子上,专业主效应显著,文科学生得分高于艺术体育类学生;在求助因子上,生源地的主效应显著,城市大学新生得分高于农村学生。结论:大学新生更多地使用成熟的应对方式;女生比男生更多地使用幻想的应对方式;文科学生比艺术体育类学生更多地使用自责的应对方式;文科学生比理科生更多地使用幻想的应对方式;农村学生比城市学生更少使用求助的应对方式。     

A Geographic Analysis of Chronically Homeless Adults Before and After Enrollment in a Multi-Site Supported Housing Initiative: Community Characteristics and Migration

The current study examined the community characteristics and migration of chronically homeless adults before and after entry into a multi-site supported housing initiative. A total of 394 participants were geocoded at baseline and 12-month follow up. Data from geographic information systems indicate that the median distance participants traveled from their last residence to their residence 1 year after program entry was 4.6 miles and 12% of participants traveled more than 100 miles. Participants moved into communities with higher population densities, larger proportions of Whites, and smaller proportions of Blacks following their entry into supported housing, but continued to live in communities with higher crime rates, lower education levels, and lower income levels then the state average. At 12 months, Black participants residing in communities with higher population densities and larger Black populations reported higher social support and lower subjective distress. This underscores the importance of considering client preferences in housing. Together, these findings suggest that supported housing programs may be successful in finding housing for homeless clients, but are not placing them in improved communities. Special attention may also be needed for some clients who travel long distances between residences.     

Mood and the impact of individuating information on the evaluation of ingroup and outgroup members: The role of mood-based expectancies

This research investigates the role of mood-based expectancies regarding a target's group membership for the impact of individuating information on target judgments. We argue that target judgments in both positive and negative mood may be more or less affected by individuating information depending on whether the target is an ingroup member or an outgroup member. Specifically, in a competitive intergroup setting it should be less congruent with mood-based expectancies when individuals in positive (negative) mood learn that an outgroup (ingroup) member rather than an ingroup (outgroup) member has succeeded. Hence, unexpected (i.e., mood-incongruent) category information should elicit more attention than expected (mood-congruent) category information. More importantly, subsequent individuating information (high vs. low target competence) should be processed more effortful and influence target judgments more strongly given mood-incongruent (vs. mood-congruent) category membership. Findings of an experiment support these predictions. Results are discussed in regard to implications for different research domains.     

Development of sensitivity to spacing versus feature changes in pictures of houses: Evidence for slow development of a general spacing detection mechanism?

Adults are expert at recognizing faces, in part because of exquisite sensitivity to the spacing of facial features. Children are poorer than adults at recognizing facial identity and less sensitive to spacing differences. Here we examined the specificity of the immaturity by comparing the ability of 8-year-olds, 14-year-olds, and adults to discriminate houses differing in the spacing between features versus those differing in the shape of the features themselves. By 8 years of age, children were more accurate for discriminations involving the feature set compared with the spacing set, and the difference in accuracy compared with adults was greater for the spacing set than for the feature set. Importantly, when sets were matched in difficulty for adults, this greater immaturity on the spacing set than on the feature set remained. The results suggest that, at least by age 8, immaturities in sensitivity to the spacing of features may be related to immaturities in general perceptual mechanisms rather than face-specific mechanisms.     

The process of selective exposure: Why confirmatory information search weakens over time

The present research investigated whether the tendency to prefer decision-consistent to decision-inconsistent information after making a preliminary choice would vary during the sequential process of searching for additional pieces of decision-relevant information. Specifically, it was tested whether decision makers would be more confirmatory in their information evaluation and search at the commencement rather than end of an information search process. In fact, five studies revealed that participants exhibited stronger confirmatory tendencies in both information evaluation (Studies 2 and 5) and search (Studies 1, 3, and 4) immediately after making a preliminary decision compared to during the later stages of an information search process. With regard to the underlying mechanism, results further revealed that individuals appear to be more motivated to detect the best decision alternative at the beginning (as opposed to the end) of an information search process, which leads to increases in confirmatory information processing during these stages.     

The effect of schadenfreude on choice of conventional versus unconventional options

Others’ choices that turn out badly often elicit schadenfreude; that is, feelings of malicious joy about the misfortunes of others. We examine the impact of experiencing schadenfreude when choosing between conventional and unconventional options. Results show that individuals are relatively more likely to choose compromise options and safe options when experiencing schadenfreude, in comparison to happiness and to sadness. In support of an affect-as-information mechanism underlying this effect, the influence of schadenfreude on choice is limited to situations in which decision-makers are unaware of the source of their affect. Our last study demonstrates that individuals interpret schadenfreude as information regarding which option they should choose: its experience heightens anticipation of unfavorable outcomes of their own choices. We end with a discussion of the theoretical and organizational implications of our research.     

Affective motivations to help others: A two‐stage model of donation decisions

Emotional reactions are an important element in the motivation to help others. Our research examined the role of affective vs. deliberative information processing in the genesis and use of emotional reactions in decisions to provide financial aid to people in distress. In two studies, we investigated whether information processing mode influenced participants' donations, affective reactions, and the relationship between the two. Information processing was manipulated by a priming procedure and a cognitive load paradigm. Participants' empathic emotions were assessed by self‐reported sympathy, compassion, and distress. Additionally, we measured how much better a donation would make participants feel and their anticipated regret for not donating, which were taken as indicators of their motivation to donate as a form of mood management. Results suggest that different mechanisms govern the initial decision to donate money (Stage 1) compared to later decisions on how much money to donate (Stage 2). Motivations for mood management were primarily predictive of donation decisions, whereas empathic feelings were predictive of the donation amount. The potentially disruptive effects of deliberative processing on prosocial behavior are discussed in light of a two‐stage processing model of donations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information processing in patients with first episode major depression

Hammar, Å., Kildal, A. B. & Schmid, M. (2012). Information processing in patients with first episode major depression. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 445–449. Few studies have investigated cognitive functioning in a group of patients experiencing a first episode of depression. The aim of this study was to investigate how patients diagnosed with a first episode of depression perform in effortful and non‐effortful information processing compared to healthy controls. An experimental paradigm based on a visual search test was applied. Thirty‐one patients and thirty‐one healthy controls were included in the study. All patients experienced a severe level of symptom load at the time of testing. Results showed no significant differences between groups under any of the conditions. Findings in the present study indicate that patients with a first episode of depression perform equally to healthy controls in tasks requiring visual attention in both effortful and non‐effortful information processing.