For the Win: Risk‐Sensitive Decision‐Making in Teams

Risk‐sensitivity theory predicts that decision‐makers should prefer high‐risk options in high need situations when low‐risk options will not meet these needs. Recent attempts to adopt risk‐sensitivity as a framework for understanding human decision‐making have been promising. However, this research has focused on individual‐level decision‐making, has not examined behavior in naturalistic settings, and has not examined the influence of multiple levels of need on decision‐making under risk. We examined group‐level risk‐sensitive decision‐making in two American football leagues: the National Football League (NFL) and the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Play decisions from the 2012 NFL (Study 1; N = 33 944), 2013 NFL (Study 2; N = 34 087), and 2012 NCAA (Study 3; N = 15 250) regular seasons were analyzed. Results demonstrate that teams made risk‐sensitive decisions based on two distinct needs: attaining first downs (a key proximate goal in football) and acquiring points above parity. Evidence for risk‐sensitive decisions was particularly strong when motivational needs were most salient. These findings are the first empirical demonstration of team risk‐sensitivity in a naturalistic organizational setting. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

人类基因组计划及基因革命对伦理的挑战

人类基因组序列的测定和研究具有重大的科学价值和经济价值,同时,也带来一系列社会问题。基因组计划和基因革命对伦理造成了致命的冲击。人类基因商品化对公正原则提出了挑战;基因设计引发生命唯物化,引起了人类的尊严危机;优生运动有可能违背自主原则和平等原则。人类基因组计划应坚持那些体现了人类及其社会本性、价值和尊严的伦理原则即不伤害人、尊重人、有益于人、公正对待人,以及人与人之间互相团结等。     

Qualitative undergraduate project supervision in psychology: current practices and support needs of supervisors across North East England and Scotland

The dissertation is a core component of a psychology undergraduate degree, though very little research has been conducted into supervision processes at undergraduate level. This study examined the accounts of supervisors of qualitative dissertations in order to identify current practices of supervision and possible resources that might support supervision. Seventeen supervisors from psychology departments in North East England and Scotland were interviewed, and three main themes were identified using thematic analysis: the quantitative culture in psychology teaching, supervisors’ expertise, and the supervision process. Supervisors noted that students were typically constrained in their choice of methodology due to limited qualitative methods teaching, lack of training and guidance for supervisors, and concerns about the risks of demanding qualitative projects. Supervisors therefore often reported staying within their comfort zone, electing where possible to supervise only the methods that they themselves use. Recommendations for practical resources are provided to help support students and supervisors in the process of undertaking qualitative psychology dissertations.     

L’attitude défaitiste des responsables d’équipe : un frein à l’innovation?

The goal of this study is to investigate the role of defeatist attitude in regard to process innovation by considering the mediating role of group potency and the moderating effect of collective autonomy. Data was gathered from 101 work teams (381 members and 101 immediate supervisors) in a public safety organization located in Canada. Results show that group potency may have a mediating role in the relationship between defeatist attitude and process innovation. Moreover, results indicate that the relationship between group potency and process innovation is moderated by collective autonomy, such that this relationship is stronger when the level of collective autonomy is high.     

Where are we coming from versus who we will become: The effect of priming different contents of European identity on cooperation

In two experiments, we investigated how priming European identity as common project versus common heritage affects participants' cooperation in a social dilemma; an additional aim was to explore the mediators involved in the process. In the first experiment, 82 students played a public good dilemma with a European bogus partner and then completed self‐report measures of identification with the European Union (EU), group‐based trust and collective interest. Results showed that priming a common project‐based but not a common heritage‐based European social identity fostered cooperative behaviour; this effect was mediated by two sequential mediators: the common project prime increased participants' strength of identification with EU (mediator 1) which, in turn, positively affected group‐based trust (mediator 2), fostering greater cooperation. Experiment 2 was conducted with a similar procedure on a sample of 124 students, using a different measure of trust and changing the order of mediators. Results supported those of previous experiment: Priming a project‐based EU identity content (compared to heritage‐based one) had significant direct and indirect effects on cooperation.     

Net effect of memory collaboration: How is collaboration affected by factors such as friendship,gender and age?

The purpose of the study was to investigate explicit spatial and verbal collaborative memory performance. Factors such as friendship, age and gender were chosen for ecological and theoretical reasons. In Experiment 1 friendship and age were studied. The task was to retrieve the location of 25 pictures, which were presented in a 5 x 5-matrix grid. All participants retrieved once individually and once dyadically. Dyads were compared to the predicted base line, i.e., the pooled score from two participants working on their own (the same participants as in the dyad). Based on cognitive development aspects and collaboration data, it was predicted that the young collaborating dyads would not be able to reduce the net negative effects of collaboration to the same extent as older dyads. The findings revealed that, (1) dyadic collaboration affected spatial memory performance negatively, i.e., net negative effects of collaboration; (2) older (15-years-old), as opposed to young (7-years-old) dyads, reduced the net negative effects of collaboration and; (3) friend dyads, regardless of age, were able to reduce the net negative effect. In experiment 2, gender differences were studied in two explicit memory tasks. The purpose was to investigate if earlier findings of collaboration can be generalised to another ecological aspect of group composition, i.e., gender. Gender differences were studied at individual and group level. The results suggest that gender related memory differences exist on an individual and dyadic level in terms of absolute scores. Women remember explicit memory tasks to a greater degree than men. No main effect was found for gender in collaboration, i.e., both genders suffered compared to predicted potential.     

Feeling safe at work: Development and validation of the Psychological Safety Inventory

Psychological safety, defined as perceptions that an individual within a team is supported and feels safe to take interpersonal risks, voice opinions, and share ideas, is vital for organizational effectiveness. However, there is no consensus on how workplace psychological safety should be measured. We developed the Psychological Safety Inventory (PSI) in response to organizational needs to accurately assess psychological safety. A 70-item version of the PSI was administered to 497 employees from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Based on factor analytic findings, we reduced the preliminary PSI to a 30-item, five-factor scale. The PSI showed high reliability and correlated as anticipated with convergent measures. Overall, the PSI is a valid and reliable measure of workplace psychological safety.     

迎接21世纪生命科学的新时代：———基因组与蛋白组计划时代

当全世界人类基因组计划在近年取得迅速和突出的进展,即将来临床的２１世纪将带领人类基因组计,划进入一个基基因组时代、蛋白组计划、生物信息学的新时代,所有这些将构成２１世纪生命科学研究的核心前沿和主流。同亲,生物信息学的成果将高度地拓展生命科学新的研究领域和加速其研究的里程。多种多样数以千万计的生命模式（如生物大分子结构功能的模式）的数字化,将是加快生命科学信息化步入一个崭新的水平和时代的必由之路。     

Lessons Learned from the National Arts and Youth Demonstration Project: Longitudinal Study of a Canadian After-School Program

We discuss some of the lessons the investigators learned during the development, implementation, and dissemination phases of the National Arts and Youth Demonstration Project (NAYDP). The lessons learned are relevant to various groups involved in large-scale, multi-site, community-based intervention studies: parents, youth, researchers, project staff, policy makers, and funders. Specific lessons learned include: (1) how to engage the community; (2) methodological lessons, including cross-site training and monitoring adherence to research protocol; (3) recruiting and sustaining involvement of parents and youth; (4) program development; and (5) dissemination strategies.