Roles of cognitive load and self-relevance during emotional information searching on decision-making

Older adults have been found to favor positive stimuli over negative stimuli; further, developing a negative preference may be a cognitively demanding process. In the present study, we focused on the joint effects task self-relevance and cognitive load have on older adults' emotional information preferences when performing decision-making. To examine this, we used multi-attribute decision tasks and process-tracing procedure to measure their searching process. The study composed of a 2 (age: young/old) × 2 (cognitive load: load/non-load) × 3 (attribute valence: positive/neutral/negative) × 3 (task self-relevance: high/medium/low) mixed design. Sixty-one young adults and 62 older adults viewed 5 (alternatives) × 5 (attributes) decision matrices that contained positive, negative, and neutral information, with the total views and mean time spent viewing each different valence (positive, negative, and neutral information) set as dependent variables. The results indicated that both young and old adults have no emotional information preference in regard to self-relevance. When under no cognitive load, both positive and negative information were viewed more than neutral information; however, under cognitive load, preference for negative information decreased; this effect size was more robust in older adults. There was also a main effect of self-relevance on total views and mean checking time, with attributes concerning higher self-relevance tasks being more likely to attract attention. Older adults exhibited a consistent hedonic focus, even in highly self-relevant contexts; however, this effect disappeared under cognitive load. Overall, the findings suggest that cognitive resources play an important role in emotional information processing during decision processes.     

Historical Origins of Argumentum ad Consequentiam

What are the historical origins of the argumentum ad consequentiam, the argument from (or literally, to) consequences, sometimes featured as an informal fallacy in logic textbooks? As shown in this paper, knowledge of the argument can be traced back to Aristotle (who did not treat it as a fallacy, but as a reasonable argument). And this type of argument shows a spotty history of recognition in logic texts and manuals over the centuries. But how it got into the modern logic textbooks as a fallacy remains somewhat obscure. Its modern genesis is traced to the logic text of James McCosh (1879).     

认知方式与消极情绪对旅游决策影响的实验研究

本研究在以往研究基础上,通过实验室实验,探索了个人的认知方式和消极情绪对旅游决策的影响。结果发现,认知方式的主效应不显著;消极情绪的主效应非常显著,有消极情绪唤醒的被试与没有消极情绪唤醒的被试．最终的决策结果,存在非常显著的差异。     

睡眠剥夺影响风险决策的双系统模型探讨

睡眠剥夺是指由于环境或自身原因无法满足正常睡眠时间的情况。大量实证研究发现, 睡眠剥夺会导致个体在风险决策中更倾向于风险寻求, 同时也有研究表明睡眠剥夺会导致个体风险规避, 而目前尚无统一结论。睡眠剥夺从风险感知、风险容忍、风险决策策略三个方面影响了风险决策, 其心理机制可由认知和情绪双路径模型进行解释, 且脑神经生理学研究也提供了相关证据。未来的研究应该进一步关注：(1)现实工作生活中的睡眠不足对风险决策的影响; (2)睡眠剥夺影响风险决策的理论模型建构。     

Lottery judgments: A philosophical and experimental study

In this paper, we present the results of two surveys that investigate subjects’ judgments about what can be known or justifiably believed about lottery outcomes on the basis of statistical evidence, testimonial evidence, and “mixed” evidence, while considering possible anchoring and priming effects. We discuss these results in light of seven distinct hypotheses that capture various claims made by philosophers about lay people’s lottery judgments. We conclude by summarizing the main findings, pointing to future research, and comparing our findings to recent studies by Turri and Friedman.     

Overtraining and the complexities of coaches’ decision-making: managing elite athletes on the training cusp

In many elite sport performance contexts, overtraining is a critical issue for coaches to understand, recognise and respond to. While the indicators and effects of overtraining have attracted considerable research interest, there are no diagnostic tests that reliably predict impending overtraining. This study explores the practices and beliefs of three highly successful professional elite rowing coaches as they predict and manage the risk of athlete overtraining during crucial periods of intensive training. These coaches took part in a series of semi-structured interviews that explored their practices, philosophies and experiences. The research draws on sociological perspectives pertinent to coaching pedagogy and, more specifically, the tenets of naturalistic decision-making in exploring how the coaches define and make decisions about overtraining. In doing so it recognizes that coaching involves decision-making in complex and demanding situations. The coaches were found to monitor the fatigue of their rowers through observation, communication and measures of training pace. In general, the intuitions and cues that were used by coaches had little in common with overtraining markers or indicators that are promoted in the sport science literature. Coaches’ decision-making was based largely on subjective information and processes that were influenced by a range of stressors unique to their positions. We contend that the research provides an important new perspective on coaches’ definitions and management of overtraining and enables management of overtraining to be better understood as a key element of coaching pedagogy in elite performance settings. In this article we argue successful coaches have unique insights into this topical area and this is worthy of future exploration.     

投资决策进化心理学的研究：预期的私人资金分配和父母对子女的差异性精力投入

投资决策的进化心理学研究着眼于辨认人类获得进化适应的特定环境中经常出现的典型性风险,探寻为了应对这些风险而进化出的信息处理机制,并验证现时的社会因素和个体因素对这些心理机制的激活或抑制作用。在研究一中,被试预测了与自己同龄的男人或女人如何分配一笔中彩的奖金给自己和其他可能的受益人。研究发现：（1）钱数的分配大体由亲缘关系的疏密程度决定;（2）两性被试都假想男性比女性更慷慨,但实际上男性表现得更自利;（3）女性被试预测男性中奖人的金钱分配比男性被试预测女性中奖人的金钱分配更为准确;（4）女性被试的受益人更多,分享的社会范围更广。研究二探讨了父母对子女投入精力的不同取决于家庭的相对财富而非绝对财富的进化心理学假说。用哺乳与否和生育间隔期为测量指标,研究结果显示：（1）家庭实际收入影响父母对子女的总投入;（2）与邻里家庭相比,父母对于自己家庭相对收入的认知影响了对子女有别的差异性精力投入。基于男性普遍在财富和生育数量上比女性有更大的变异度,投资儿子比投资女儿更具博弈性。两项研究表明,人类的理性决策既受限于社会关系又适应于相对的财富状况     

临床疑似肺栓塞的诊断手段与程序

肺栓塞是一个严重的医学问题,近百年来肺栓塞诊断方法不断演化,包括D二聚体、心电图、动脉血气分析、肺动脉造影、超声检查、CT、磁共振等,各种方法敏感性和特异性不断提高,目前已经形成了系统的临床诊断决策程序,对肺栓塞的诊断水平显著提高。     

Gender Identity Development and Career Decision-Making Process among High School Learners

Previous studies reveal an inconsistent picture of identity formation for both genders. This study investigated gender differences in identity formation (identity statuses) and career decision-making process among Black South African high school learners. A sample of 156 Grade 12 learners (males = 60, females = 96; mean age = 17.7) participated in the study. Participants completed the Revised Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986) and the Study Choice Task Inventory (Germeijs & Verschueren, 2006). Males and females were similar in identity formation and career decision-making process. Given that nowadays females are encouraged to consider both stereotypically female plus male paths of career development, gender appears to play less influential role in career decision making.     

Uncertainty and the Ethics of Clinical Trials

A probabilistic explication is offered of equipoise and uncertainty in clinical trials. In order to be useful in the justification of clinical trials, equipoise has to be interpreted in terms of overlapping probability distributions of possible treatment outcomes, rather than point estimates representing expectation values. Uncertainty about treatment outcomes is shown to be a necessary but insufficient condition for the ethical defensibility of clinical trials. Additional requirements are proposed for the nature of that uncertainty. The indecisiveness of our criteria for cautious decision-making under uncertainty creates the leeway that makes clinical trials defensible.