Making Decisions About Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment in Patients With Dementia

The problem of decision-making capacity in patients with dementia, such as those with early stage Alzheimer's, can be vexing, especially when these patients refuse life-sustaining medical treatments. However, these patients should not be presumed to lack decision-making capacity. Instead, an analysis of the patient's decision-making capacity should be made. Patients who have some degree of decision-making capacity may be able to make a choice about life-sustaining medical treatment and may, in many cases, choose to forgo treatment.     

管理人员对影响新产品开发决策宏观动力场因素的认知

在先前一系列研究的基础上,利用问卷考察了管理人员对宏观动力场因素不确定性质的认知,它涉及全国三个地区１２１名管理人员和１５家工厂企业。研究证实了从管理人员角度看,宏观因素变化性的主要维度是波动性、趋势性和时距性,经营信息不确定度、外部管理与招工不确定度、供应与公关不确定度,构成了总的动力场不确定性。最后,研究管理人员的认知结构对新产品开发决策具有的理论意义和实践意义。     

决策策略与个性特征关系的模拟实验

本研究以实验室模拟实验和现场模拟实验为手段,以大学本科生和工厂管理人员为被试,分两部分进行。第一部分,以企业新产品开发为决策内容,考察这类决策情景的不确定性和决策策略的关系。结果发现,决策策略随不确定状态而改变;决策情景的不确定程度和决策策略没有严格的一一对应关系;在四类不确定决策情景下,都有被试采用混合型策略,从而验证了先前研究的结果。第二部分,我们考察了决策策略与个性特征的关系。结果发现,偏离决策策略的规定性理论所预测的被试同没有偏离的被试在CPI量表的三种个性特征上,即成熟度、成就动机与管理潜能,有显著性差异;对实验室实验被试和现场实验被试而言,均发现管理潜能这一个性特征一致性的显著影响。文章最后提出了有待进一步探索的课题。     

Genetic counseling for a family with two distinct anomalies: A case report of a neural tube defect and 5p- syndrome in a fetus

A couple presented for genetic counseling because of an elevated maternal serum alpha fetoprotein. Ultrasound examination revealed the presence of a neural tube defect. The couple declined an amniocentesis, but chose serial ultrasound evaluations instead. Ultrasounds eventually identified microcephaly, but the couple continued to decline amniocentesis. After the child's birth, the diagnosis of 5p- syndrome was made. The couple's decision not to have an amniocentesis allowed the family their right to autonomy; however, prenatal chromosome analysis would have provided this couple with a great deal more prognostic information. We discuss the conflict between a counselor's duty to respect a client's freedom vs. duty to care for a client's welfare. We address issues of nondirective counseling and the need for more studies looking at the decision-making process in prenatal diagnosis.     

Binary action based estimation of propensities

An observer is to make inference statements about a quantityp, called apropensity and bounded between 0 and 1, based on the observation thatp does or does not exceed a constantc. The propensityp may have an interpretation as a proportion, as a long-run relative frequency, or as a personal probability held by some subject. Applications in medicine, engineering, political science, and, most especially, human decision making are indicated. Bayes solutions for the observer are obtained based on prior distributions in the mixture of beta distribution family; these are then specialized to power-function prior distributions. Inference about logp and log odds is considered. Multiple-action problems are considered in which the focus of inference shifts to theprocess generating the propensitiesp, both in the case of a process parameter known to the subject and unknown. Empirical Bayes techniques are developed for observer inference aboutc when is known to the subject. A Bayes rule, a minimax rule and a beta-minimax rule are constructed for the subject when he is uncertain about.This research was partially supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense and was monitored by ONR under Contract No. N00014-77-C-0095. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Office of Naval Research, or Carnegie-Mellon University.     

Loss context enhances preferences for generosity but reduces preferences for honesty: Evidence from a combined behavioural-computational approach

The current literature has revealed mixed evidence on whether loss (vs. gain) context promotes or curtails human prosociality. The current study (N=96) aimed to address this issue by examining whether gain/loss context has distinct effects on different prosocial preferences combining computational modelling with Dictator Game and Message Game. These interactive games allow for dissociating preferences for generosity and honesty, which have been respectively associated with intuitive and deliberative systems. Our behavioural and computational modelling results indicate that loss context enhances concerns for generosity but reduces concerns for honesty. These findings support an account under the framework of dual process model asserting that loss facilitates intuitive responses during social decision-making, regardless of whether they are prosocial or proself. The current findings reconcile previous debates on the relationship between loss-gain context and human prosociality and shed light on the design of institutions to promote human prosocial behaviours.     

The protective role of social network factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

The present study examined the relationship between COVID-19 threat perception, isolating health precautions, and loneliness. As a test of the stress-buffering hypothesis (Cohen & Wills, 1985), this study also examined if social network factors representing various aspects of social support moderated, or weakened, the relationship between threat perception, isolating health precautions, and loneliness. Participants (N = 1149) provided information about themselves, as well as 15 other people they know via an online survey. We found that structural and compositional social network factors, density, number of close alters, network threat perception, network covid cautiousness and number of vaccinated alters all negatively related to loneliness. Further, using moderated mediation analyses, we found that network threat perception and network covid cautiousness moderated the indirect relationship between threat perception and loneliness through precautions. At high levels of these factors, the mediation was less likely to be significant suggesting that the social network factors may buffer people from the loneliness that sometimes comes with engaging in isolating health precautions in response to the perceived threat of COVID-19.     

Can animation compensate for temporal processing difficulties in deaf people?

This article addresses the issue of animation as an aid for temporal processing difficulties in deaf people learning the Highway Code. A decision-making task involving static or animated road situations was performed by 21 deaf and 24 hearing participants. They were confronted with four types of driving situations (overtaking, negotiating roundabouts, highways, and intersections) and had to decide whether or not to proceed. Participants were presented with two different formats (static vs. animated) and two levels of difficulty (simple vs. complex). Results showed that deaf participants had poorer performances in the static condition than hearing participants. Performance was better in the animated condition than in the static condition, especially in deaf participants. The benefits of animation were greater in complex situations for all participants. Decisions made on dynamic road situations were facilitated by the presence of spatiotemporal dimensions. These proved helpful to deaf candidates who have difficulties in this particular area.     

Decision-making styles and mental health—A person-oriented approach through clustering

Previous research examining the associations between decision-making styles and mental health has neglected to look at the configurations of styles. The study identifies mutually exclusive groups of people according to their combination of the five decision-making styles and examines the differences between them in mental health-related variables in two studies. In Study 1, decision-making styles, mental health indicators (well-being, depression, stress) and socio-psychological protective factors (resilience, optimism, social support) were examined in university students in two rounds 1 year apart. A cluster analysis revealed three distinct decision profiles—independent/nonintuitive, avoidant/spontaneous and rational/nonavoidant. The best values of mental health-related variables were found in the rational/nonavoidant profile and the most negative values in the avoidant/spontaneous profile. The decision-making styles were stable after 1 year although they were not able to explain changes in mental health-related variables. Study 2 identified three similar clusters in a more general sample—spontaneous/irrational, dependent/avoidant and rational/nonavoidant—with the lowest level of psychological distress symptoms in the rational/nonavoidant cluster. The study highlights the usefulness of combinations of decision-making styles with regard to mental health as well as noting their specificity according to sample characteristics.     

自主欺骗决策过程与结果评价的ERPs研究

本研究基于事件相关电位技术,以32名大学生为研究对象,采用2(诱发条件：高奖赏、低奖赏)×3(反馈类型：欺骗成功、欺骗失败、诚实)的组内实验设计,以点判断任务操控被试的自主欺骗水平,并结合欺骗及时反馈范式来操纵被试的结果评价。结果发现：(1)在决策过程,做出欺骗决策比诚实决策诱发更大波幅的P300;(2)在结果评价过程,相比欺骗成功反馈和诚实反馈,欺骗失败反馈诱发更负的FRN波幅。结果显示个体做出欺骗决策比诚实决策需要更多的注意资源参与和心理努力,并且对欺骗失败反馈的敏感度远高于欺骗成功反馈和诚实反馈。这一定程度上揭示了个体做出欺骗决策和面对欺骗结果时的心理和神经机制,为教育者采取必要措施来降低和预防青少年欺骗行为奠定了研究基础。