Problem formulation for multi-criteria decision analysis: report of a workshop

This paper reports on a workshop on Problem Formulation in Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis held at SPUDM97. The focus of the workshop was the problem formulation phase which occurs between the analyst meeting a person with a ‘mess’ and the time he or she begins to analyse a structured problem with several alternatives scored against several attributes or criteria. The objectives were: to share experience on procedures which might be transferable between the methodologies; to demonstrate different skills used by the analyst in structuring decision problems; and to catalyse a discussion on the problem formulation phase of an analysis. Three analysts, who generally approach problems using multiattribute methods, addressed the same problem. The problem used was constructed to be realistic to three decision makers, who had been trained in the issues of concern. There were two sessions. Each analyst was assigned a decision maker and formulated the problem independently in the first session, held in parallel. They were each observed by two observers and many of the audience at the workshop. The three formulations were presented along with the comments of the observers and discussed at a second plenary session. This paper reports the three formulations and observations, remarking on the ‘tricks of the trade’ employed by the analysts in formulating the problem. The analysts also describe their thinking and their aims in adopting their approach and style of interaction. More general remarks on the process of decision analysis are also offered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aggressive content and related defenses in Rorschach responses of children ages 6–14

The aim of this study was to test the psychoanalytic notion that there is a gradual progression with age from primary to secondary process thinking. Three cohorts of children, age 6, 9, and 12, were administered the Rorschach procedure at yearly intervals—twice for the oldest cohort and three times for the two younger ones. No support was found for the developmental hypothesis in terms of aggressive content of the responses and the related defenses. The expectation of more aggressive content at earlier ages, as a reflection of more primitive aggressive drives, was not confirmed.     

员工社会资本跨层次契合的动态演化过程及双向作用机制

员工社会资本向企业社会资本的转化是拓展员工价值、获取外部资源的有效途径, 为阐释这一多层次主体互动现象, 提出社会资本跨层次契合的构念, 运用跨层次追踪研究设计, 对其动态演化过程和双向作用机制进行剖析。首先, 探索员工社会资本跨层次契合的维度结构, 并基于此开发跨层次契合量表; 其次, 对社会资本跨层次契合进行过程解构, 探讨员工心理与行为、企业能力与情境在动态演化过程中的作用; 再次, 构建自上而下和自下而上的嵌入与涌现机制理论模型, 将影响员工社会资本跨层次契合的多层次因素整合到同一个理论框架, 并以纵向追踪数据进行实证检验, 厘清作用路径和作用边界。在此基础上, 运用追踪跨案例研究方法, 探讨社会资本跨层次契合的战略选择, 研究结论能为激发员工角色外行为, 有效利用社会资本的管理实践提供启示。     

The Effectiveness of Alternative Preference Elicitation Methods in the Analytic Hierarchy Process

This study compares alternative preference elicitation methods that are currently available in software implementations of the analytic hierarchy process. For the simple problem used in this study, the elicitation methods may be sorted from least to most accurate as follows: (1) direct estimation, (2) graphical multiple bars, (3) graphical pairwise, (4) numeric pairwise and (5) verbal pairwise. However, the most accurate methods are not the easiest to use. Furthermore, actual accuracy differed substantially from users’ perceptions, indicating a need to assist the users in the selection of an appropriate elicitation method. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不同任务情境中虚拟团队绩效过程模式

运用模拟实验,通过操纵任务类型和任务依存性,考察了不同任务情境中虚拟团队的各种绩效过程模式及其演化过程。研究发现：（1）三种绩效过程模式对团队任务绩效具有不同的作用,在整个过程中,团队成员都能够设置比较客观的目标;而方法模式只在第一和第三阶段表现出显著作用;信任模式在第一和第二阶段的显著作用,表现出后期受到学习效应的干扰。（2）在概念性任务中,任务依存性对团队任务绩效作用显著,而在行为性任务中,其作用不显著,而且,任务依存性对不同任务类型中的绩效过程模式具有不同的作用。     

组织中的个体反馈寻求行为

作为提高员工管理效能的重要手段,对个体反馈寻求行为（feedback-seeking behavior）的管理引起了越来越多研究者与管理者的重视。文章回顾了反馈寻求行为研究的相关文献,就反馈寻求行为研究的内容,反馈寻求行为过程,反馈寻求行为与相关因素的关系进行了论述,最后指出了研究存在的主要问题并进行了展望。     

写作心理学理论研究概况

当今写作心理研究的重点已从写作作品的研究转向写作过程的研究,主要有三种观点表达观点,社会观点和认知观点.Hayes和Flower建构的写作模型(1980,1996)是最有影响的写作模型,为写作心理的研究提供了理论框架.写作心理研究随着研究方法的提高,将会取得更大的进步.     

3-5岁儿童对物体认知及对他人认知过程的研究

本文探讨了3-5岁儿童对物体的认知及对他人的认知过程.结果表明儿童通过视觉认知外界物体时,物体的外观特性(形状与颜色)起着主要的作用;在认知过程中,通过触觉及视觉对物体认知的信息产生矛盾时,儿童对物体的真实性往往产生怀疑及犹疑不决,影响对物体的真实性认知.儿童对他人认知行为认知的发展水平,取决于儿童对物体认知结构的复杂性.3-5岁儿童对物体认知能力随年龄的增长而提高.     

The Effects of Stakes and Threat on Foreign Policy Decision-Making

Decision research demonstrates that individuals adapt decision processing strategies according to the characteristics of the decision task. Unfortunately, the literature has neglected task factors specific to foreign policy decisions. This paper presents experimental analyses of the effects of the decisional stakes (i.e., salience of the values at issue) and threat (risk of loss on those issues) on decision-makers' information acquisition patterns and choice rules with respect to one of four hypothetical foreign policy scenarios. Contrary to the notion that normative (rational) decision-making is more likely in less dramatic settings, the results indicate that elevated threat encourages rational decision processing, whereas heuristic processing was more prevalent in less threatening situations. Interestingly, the added presence of high stakes magnified both threat effects. These results, although preliminary, suggest that stakes-threat effects are not direct reflections of stress and/or complexity effects, but should be considered independently in foreign policy analyses.