An eye‐tracking study on information processing in risky decisions: Evidence for compensatory strategies based on automatic processes

Many everyday decisions have to be made under risk and can be interpreted as choices between gambles with different outcomes that are realized with specific probabilities. The underlying cognitive processes were investigated by testing six sets of hypotheses concerning choices, decision times, and information search derived from cumulative prospect theory, decision field theory, priority heuristic and parallel constraint satisfaction models. Our participants completed 40 decision tasks of two gambles with two non‐negative outcomes each. Information search was recorded using eye‐tracking technology. Results for choices, decision time, the amount of information searched for, fixation durations, the direction of the information search, and the distribution of fixations conflict with the prediction of the non‐compensatory priority heuristic and indicate that individuals use compensatory strategies. Choice proportions are well in line with the predictions of cumulative prospect theory. Process measures indicate that individuals thereby do not rely on deliberate calculations of weighted sums. Information integration processes seem to be better explained by models that partially rely on automatic processes such as decision field theory or parallel constraint satisfaction models. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

控制幻觉的研究方法、形成机制和影响因素

控制幻觉是指在完全不可控或部分不可控的情境下, 个体由于不合理地高估自己对环境或事件结果的控制力而产生的一种判断偏差。控制幻觉普遍存在于博彩游戏、医疗保健、心理健康、投资决策等实践领域。控制幻觉的研究方法主要包括间接测量方法、自我报告方法和实验室任务方法。控制启发式理论和调节定向理论则对控制幻觉的产生原因进行了解释。控制幻觉的影响因素包括人格因素、动机、权力、反馈、事件与个体的关联性、指导语等。未来的研究可从控制幻觉的多变量及交互作用研究、跨文化研究、调控策略研究等方面做进一步探讨。     

Freud's metapsychological speculations1

In this paper, the author seeks to analyse the nature and function of metapsychological theory in Freudian psychoanalysis. He shows that Freudian psychoanalytic theory is composed of an empirical part‐the psychology of clinical facts‐and a speculative part‐metapsychology. Freud considers this latter part as being a speculative superstructure of value that is only heuristic, capable of being supplanted by other superstructures of the same type. The author sustains the idea that this metapsychology is the fruit of speculative method, whose foundations were elaborated by philosophers and epistemologists before Freud, including Immanuel Kant and Ernst Mach. He concludes with considerations regarding the future of metapsychological theorisation, presenting criticisms of Freudian metapsychology offered by both philosophers and psychoanalysts, and pointing to the perspective opened by Donald W. Winnicott of a psychoanalysis without metapsychology.     

Sturdy roots for the graceful eucalyptus: The parallel process of integrating counselling around a client's needs and aligning research paradigms with methodology

This article explores the relationship between the therapist as an eclectic clinician and the therapist as researcher. The process of finding a well-grounded place for my heuristic inquiry in academic discourse is compared with the struggle to find unity and integrity in the counselling of a client using many modalities. The intellectual and emotional struggle in either case is similar. It is posited that the engagement of students of counselling in research, therefore, has a clinical as well as an academic purpose, but that this benefit needs to be made explicit.     

儿童的决策行为

现有的研究表明,儿童早期就具有一定的利用概率和统计信息来做决策的能力,这种能力随着年龄增长,但和成人相比存在差异;儿童和成人同样运用启发式来做决策,且受许多判断偏见的影响。儿童的决策行为受到人格特征、性别、年龄、任务领域特殊性和信息表征等因素的影响。文中还介绍了决策的自我调节模型和“双过程”理论,从不同的角度解释和预测儿童决策行为的发展。最后分析了儿童决策研究的趋势。     

顿悟与源事件中启发信息的激活

采用先学习源事件、后进行顿悟问题解决的两阶段实验范型,探讨了大学生解决九点四划问题的成功顿悟与源事件中所包含的启发信息提取之间的内在联系。结果发现,在顿悟问题解决阶段,只有激活学习阶段所获得的源事件中所包含的启发信息,才能成功解决顿悟问题。但并非所有激活源事件的被试都能成功解决九点四划问题,这取决于从源事件中所提取的启发信息的质量。研究结果还表明,内隐学习组与外显学习组正确解决九点问题的人数百分比差异并不显著,证明源事件中所包含的启发信息的激活,可能主要是自动加工的结果。     

推理的再认启发模式研究

采用“高校配对比较任务”和“城市配对比较任务”检验Goldstein等2002年提出的推理的再认启发模型,结果证明:人们在相关信息不足、知识和时间都有限的情况下,采用再认启发策略进行推理的比率相当高,并且出现了“少即是多”效应。本研究还探讨了Goldstein等没有考虑的因素,结果发现:在压力作用下,人们仍然会采用再认启发策略进行推理;再认启发中被试会运用无关信息进行推理;在操作时间上也会出现“少即是多”效应。     

顿悟问题解决的原型事件激活:自动还是控制

通过两个实验来考察四等分问题解决过程中原型事件及其启发信息的激活是自动加工还是控制加工。实验一的目的是考察原型学习量的增加是否会促进原型事件及其启发信息的自动激活,实验二的目的是考察提示对原型事件及其启发信息激活的影响。实验结果表明:原型事件及其所包含的启发信息的激活是顿悟的重要条件,原型的激活是自动加工的结果,而原型中所包含的启发信息的激活是控制加工的结果。