The limited effects of power on satisfaction with joint consumption decisions

We conduct three experiments in which participants in dyads choose between two restaurants, each of which is preferred by only one participant, and one participant has the power to decide which restaurant both will patronize. We find that the power to make a joint decision increases satisfaction with the choice only when those involved have a competitive decision orientation, a weak or anonymous relationship, and the outcome they choose is subsequently available. Participants who have a cooperative orientation are satisfied whether or not they have power and whether or not the resulting choice is consistent with their initial preferences.     

Inverse association between dopaminergic neurotransmission and Iowa Gambling Task performance in pathological gamblers and healthy controls

Linnet, J., Møller, A., Peterson, E., Gjedde, A. & Doudet, D. (2011). Inverse association between dopaminergic neurotransmission and Iowa Gambling Task performance in pathological gamblers and healthy controls. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 28–34. The dopamine system is believed to affect gambling behavior in pathological gambling. Particularly, dopamine release in the ventral striatum appears to affect decision‐making in the disorder. This study investigated dopamine release in the ventral striatum in relation to gambling performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in 16 Pathological Gamblers (PG) and 14 Healthy Controls (HC). We used Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to measure the binding potential of [¹¹C] raclopride to dopamine D2/3 receptors during a baseline and gambling condition. We hypothesized that decreased raclopride binding potentials in the ventral striatum during gambling (indicating dopamine release) would be associated with higher IGT performance in Healthy Controls, but lower IGT performance in Pathological Gamblers. The results showed that Pathological Gamblers with dopamine release in the ventral striatum had significantly lower IGT performance than Healthy Controls. Furthermore, dopamine release was associated with significantly higher IGT performance in Healthy Controls and significantly lower IGT performance in Pathological Gamblers. The results suggest that dopamine release is involved both in adaptive and maladaptive decision‐making. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of dopaminergic dysfunctions in pathological gambling and substance related addictions.     

Indecisiveness: Specificity and predictive validity

This study investigated the specificity of indecisiveness compared to trait anxiety. In addition, the predictive validity of indecisiveness for postdecisional problems with regard to choosing a major was examined. A sample of 539 adolescents participated at the beginning of Grade 12 and was followed until the first year in higher education. Factor analyses showed evidence for a differentiation between indecisiveness and trait anxiety. In addition, indecisiveness at the beginning of Grade 12 predicted less commitment to the choice of a major in higher education, which, in turn, predicted less choice stability. The effect of indecisiveness on these postdecisional problems remained significant after controlling for trait anxiety, providing further evidence for the specificity of indecisiveness. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A quantum probability account of order effects in inference

Order of information plays a crucial role in the process of updating beliefs across time. In fact, the presence of order effects makes a classical or Bayesian approach to inference difficult. As a result, the existing models of inference, such as the belief-adjustment model, merely provide an ad hoc explanation for these effects. We postulate a quantum inference model for order effects based on the axiomatic principles of quantum probability theory. The quantum inference model explains order effects by transforming a state vector with different sequences of operators for different orderings of information. We demonstrate this process by fitting the quantum model to data collected in a medical diagnostic task and a jury decision-making task. To further test the quantum inference model, a new jury decision-making experiment is developed. Using the results of this experiment, we compare the quantum inference model with two versions of the belief-adjustment model, the adding model and the averaging model. We show that both the quantum model and the adding model provide good fits to the data. To distinguish the quantum model from the adding model, we develop a new experiment involving extreme evidence. The results from this new experiment suggest that the adding model faces limitations when accounting for tasks involving extreme evidence, whereas the quantum inference model does not. Ultimately, we argue that the quantum model provides a more coherent account for order effects that was not possible before.     

Bringing ethics into focus: How regulatory focus and risk preferences influence (Un)ethical behavior

In four laboratory studies, we find that regulatory focus induced by situational cues (such as the framing of an unrelated task) or primed influences people’s likelihood to cross ethical boundaries. A promotion focus leads individuals to be more likely to act unethically than a prevention focus (Studies 1, 2, and 3). These higher levels of dishonesty are explained by the influence of a person’s induced regulatory focus on his or her behavior toward risk. A promotion focus leads to risk-seeking behaviors, while a prevention focus leads to risk avoidance (Study 3). Through higher levels of dishonesty, promotion focus also results in higher levels of virtuous behavior (Studies 2 and 3), thus providing evidence for compensatory ethics. Our results also demonstrate that the framing of ethics (e.g., through an organization’s ethics code) influences individuals’ ethical behavior and does so differently depending on an individual’s induced regulatory focus (Study 4).     

Individual differences in need for cognition and decision making in the Iowa Gambling Task

Differences in decision making between individuals differing in Need for Cognition (NFC) are examined using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Previous work using normative one time decisions suggests that individual low in NFC process gains and losses differently than those high in NFC and are more susceptible to decision biases. The IGT is a popular laboratory task that involves making risky decisions from experience involving both gains and losses. In the first experiment, low NFC participants performed significantly worse than the high NFC participants. A second experiment designed to examine the nature of these differences provides evidence that low NFC participants place more importance on gains as opposed to losses when performing the IGT. Results are discussed in light of previous work suggesting that low NFC participants place more importance on losses in mixed outcome decisions.     

临床决策中患者及其家属的地位与作用

医生、医院每天都在为患者做临床决策。而在各个决策中患者与家属应该处于什么地位的问题早有争论。除了疾病外患者性别、年龄、家庭、经济、社会地位的个体差异决定了医生决策的不同。患者要真正参与,就必须真正全面知情。关于患者参与多少的问题要因人而异,可能只是提出意愿,可能提出耗资的底线,可能权衡费效比,可能以生活质量为唯一原则。总之,临床决策中患者及其家属的地位因人而异。     

The relations between preferences for using abilities, self-estimated abilities, and measured abilities among career counseling clients

The present research investigated the relations among the declared preferred degree for using career-related abilities in one’s future career, self-estimates of these abilities, and measured abilities in a sample of 201 career-counseling clients. The highest correlations (range .57-.65) were found between the preferred degree for using an ability and the self-estimates of the ability. However, the direction of the gap between self-estimates and preferred degree of use varied among clients and among abilities. Clients also varied in the pattern of differences between their measured abilities and self-estimates, with 69% of the clients overestimating their abilities, while only 9% underestimated them. The hypothesis that self-estimate mediates the relation between one’s preference for using an ability and the respective measured ability was supported. The correlation between a client’s measured ability and preferred degree of use was higher among clients with a fairly accurate self-estimate than among those whose self-estimates were biased. Implications for research and counseling are discussed.     

论公共卫生决策的伦理模式

公共卫生决策的伦理问题是公共卫生伦理研究的一个核心问题。近年来我国公共卫生领域出现了大量严重的伦理问题,其主要根源在于公共卫生决策的伦理缺失。强调指出公共卫生伦理决策应当树立科学健康观,并以此为基础,从转变政府职能、强化公共卫生信息系统和加大政府投入等方面详细论述了公共卫生伦理决策的一种新模式。     

Analysis of proposed three-class classification decision rules in terms of the ideal observer decision rule

We analyze recently proposed decision rules for three-class classification from the point of view of ideal observer decision theory. We consider three-class decision rules proposed by Scurfield, by Chan et al., and by Mossman. Scurfield's decision rule is shown to be a special case of the three-class ideal observer decision rule in three different situations. Chan et al. start with an ideal observer model and specify its decision-consequence utility structure in a way that causes two of the decision lines used by the ideal observer to overlap and the third line to become undefined. Finally, we show that, for a particular and obvious choice of ideal-observer-related decision variables, the Mossman decision rule cannot be a special case of the ideal observer decision rule. Despite the considerable difficulties presented by the three-class classification task, the three-class ideal observer provides a useful framework for analyzing a variety of three-class decision strategies.