Discounting by Probabilistic Waiting

In everyday life, many probabilistic situations may be characterized as probabilistic waiting. A gambler, for example, bets repeatedly at the racetrack, the casino, or the card table. The gambler may not win on the first try, but if a gamble is repeated enough times, a win is almost certain to occur eventually. If repeated gambles are structured as strings of losses ending in a win (probabilistic waiting) and the amount won is discounted by the delay caused by the series of losses, then strings with many losses will be discounted more than those with fewer losses, thereby causing subjective value of the series of gambles as a whole to increase. The current study used the opposite effect that amount has on the degree of delay and probability discounting as a marker to determine whether people evaluate situations involving probabilistic waiting as they evaluate situations involving delayed outcomes or as situations involving probabilistic outcomes. We find that the more likely a probabilistic waiting situation is to end in reward (e.g., a gamble is repeated indefinitely until reward is obtained), the more that situation conforms to delay discounting; the less likely a probabilistic waiting situation is to end in reward (e.g., a fixed, small number of gambles), the more that situation conforms to probability discounting. We argue that the former situation is applicable to pathological gambling, and that people with steep delay discount functions would therefore be more likely to have gambling problems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Seller's Sense: Buying–Selling Perspective Affects the Sensitivity to Expected Value Differences

Previous work comparing pricing decisions by buyers and sellers has primarily focused on the endowment effect, the phenomenon that selling prices exceed buying prices. Here, we examine whether pricing decisions by buyers and sellers also vary in sensitivity to differences between objects' expected values (EVs). Both a loss‐aversion account (which posits that losses are weighted more heavily than gains) and a loss‐attention account (which posits increased attention to a task when it involves possible losses) predict that pricing decisions by sellers should exhibit higher sensitivity. The latter, however, additionally predicts that this pattern should only emerge under certain conditions. In studies 1 and 2, we reanalyzed two published datasets in which participants priced monetary lotteries as sellers or buyers. It emerged that sellers showed greater EV sensitivity (defined as the rank correlation between the set price for each lottery and its EV) except in a condition with an extended deliberation time of 15 seconds. In study 3, the buyer–seller difference in EV sensitivity was replicated even when the pricing task was presented repeatedly, while in study 4, it was eliminated when buying and selling trials were randomly mixed. The reduction of the “seller's sense” in long deliberation and mixed trials settings supports an attentional resource‐based account of the differences between sellers and buyers in their EV sensitivity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Common Ratio Effect in Choice,Pricing, and Happiness Tasks

The Allais common ratio effect is one of the most robust violations of rational decision making under risk. In this paper, we conduct a novel test of the common ratio effect in which we elicit preferences for the common ratio choice alternatives in choice, pricing, and happiness rating tasks. We find large shifts in preference patterns across tasks, both within and between subjects. In particular, we find that both the consistency and distribution of responses differ systematically across tasks, with modal choices replicating the Allais preference pattern, modal happiness ratings exhibiting consistent risk aversion, and modal prices maximizing expected value. We discuss the predictions of various cognitive explanations of the common ratio effect in the context of our experiment. We find that a dual process framework provides the most complete account of our results. Surprisingly, we also find that although the Allais pattern was the modal behavior in the choice task, none of the 158 respondents in our experiment exhibited the Allais pattern simultaneously in choice, happiness, and pricing tasks. Our results constitute a new paradox for the leading theories of choice under risk. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tunable wave-vector filtering in a two-dimensional electron gas modulated by magnetic barriers and δ-doping

We report a theoretical investigation on the control of wave-vector filtering (WVF) in a two-dimensional electron gas modulated by realistic magnetic barriers and δ-doping, which can be experimentally realised by depositing a ferromagnetic stripe on the surface of a GaAs/Al_xGa_1?xAs heterostructure and using atomic layer doping. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that a sizeable WVF effect still exists even if δ-doping is introduced into the device. Numerical calculation reveals that the WVF efficiency is related closely to the δ-doping. Thus, the WVF effect in a magnetic nanostructure can be conveniently manipulated by properly adjusting the weight and/or the position of the δ-doping, giving rise to a tunable momentum filter for nanoelectronics applications.     

Source memory that encoding was self-referential: the influence of stimulus characteristics

Decades of research suggest that encoding information with respect to the self improves memory (self-reference effect, SRE) for items (item SRE). The current study focused on how processing information in reference to the self affects source memory for whether an item was self-referentially processed (a source SRE). Participants self-referentially or non-self-referentially encoded words (Experiment 1) or pictures (Experiment 2) that varied in valence (positive, negative, neutral). Relative to non-self-referential processing, self-referential processing enhanced item recognition for all stimulus types (an item SRE), but it only enhanced source memory for positive words (a source SRE). In fact, source memory for negative and neutral pictures was worse for items processed self-referentially than non-self-referentially. Together, the results suggest that item SRE and source SRE (e.g., remembering an item was encoded self-referentially) are not necessarily the same across stimulus types (e.g., words, pictures; positive, negative). While an item SRE may depend on the overall likelihood the item generates any association, the enhancing effects of self-referential processing on source memory for self-referential encoding may depend on how embedded a stimulus becomes in one’s self-schema, and that depends, in part, on the stimulus’ valence and format. Self-relevance ratings during encoding provide converging evidence for this interpretation.     

亮度对空间-数字反应编码联合效应的影响

本研究探讨亮度对空间-数字反应编码联合效应（Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes,简称SNARC效应）的影响及其机制。通过三个实验设计不同的亮度对比水平,要求被试对阿拉伯数字1~9（5除外）进行奇偶判断。实验一将数字亮度设为最高值255时,结果出现了数字的SNARC效应。实验二将数字的亮度值分别设为255和213时,结果仍存在SNARC效应。实验三将亮度值分别设置为213和42时,数字的SNARC效应却消失了。这些结果表明亮度会激活或抑制数字的空间表征,可能与亮度对比值的高低及所消耗认知资源的多少有关。     

无掩蔽启动范式下负相容效应的时间进程

已有研究采用掩蔽启动范式证明了负相容效应的存在,但目前对于负相容效应的产生是否依赖于掩蔽刺激还存在激烈的争议。实验共32名大学生被试,采用12个选自汉语情感词语系统的汉字词语为材料,在显示屏刷新率为70HZ的无掩蔽启动范式下操纵启动与目标的时间间隔,让被试对目标词语的效价做出按键反应,记录被试对目标的反应时和错误率。本研究试图基于该时间进程下负相容效应发生的关键点来研究上述争议。结果发现：（1）无掩蔽范式下也存在负相容效应;（2）刺激呈现方式不同相容效应也不同。这表明负相容效应的产生并不依赖于掩蔽的呈现,且刺激的呈现方式对该效应有重要影响。     

学习和测验经验对学习判断中UWP效应的影响

针对重复学习判断中出现的练习伴随低估效应（UWP效应）,目前存在多种理论解释。本研究基于过去测验记忆假说,在学习阶段和测验阶段引入两种判断：学习判断准确性的判断和回溯性信心判断,通过两个实验考察学习经验和测验经验对UWP效应的影响。结果发现：在学习判断中学习判断准确性的判断和回溯性信心判断均消除了UWP效应,间接证明了学习和测验经验均影响到UWP效应的出现。     

学业成绩影响儿童孤独感的中介变量分析

为考察、检验学业成绩影响儿童孤独感的中介变量,采用同伴提名问卷、依恋量表、儿童孤独感量表调查了4—6年级438名儿童。结果表明,在考察单一变量的中介作用时,亲子依恋、同伴拒绝分别在学业成绩与儿童孤独感之间起部分中介作用,教师接纳在二者之间起完全中介作用;当同时考察亲子依恋、同伴拒绝、教师接纳在学业成绩与孤独感之间的中介作用时,三种社会关系起完全中介作用。结论：教师接纳、同伴拒绝和亲子依恋是学业成绩与孤独感之间的中介变量。     

间隔学习与测试效应对学习判断的影响

文章两个实验用于研究间隔学习和测试效应对即刻学习判断及其准确性的影响,结果表明：（1）间隔学习促进记忆保持力,降低即刻学习判断中对困难学习材料的高估并提高学习判断相对准确性。（2）重学前预测试具有增强记忆痕迹的功能,在间隔学习的基础上显著提高了学习判断相对准确性。（3）外部线索应当区分,间隔学习和预测试属于不同的外部线索。