Context, categorization, and recall: The “change-of-standard” effect

A psycholinguistically based conception of the relation among context, categorization, and memory is tested by examining what happens to people's memory of an object when the object is initially categorized in terms of the context in which it appears, but, when the object is later recalled, this context is no longer salient. Subjects read about the sentencing decisions of a target trial judge in the context of other trial judges who consistently gave either higher sentences or lower sentences than the target judge. As predicted, subjects tended to categorize the target judge as “lenient” in the former, harsh context condition, and as “harsh” in the latter, lenient context condition. A week later, subjects read about the sentencing decisions of some additional judges, and then recalled the sentencing decisions of the target judge they had read about the week before. Across the two sessions, either a harsh, moderate, or lenient category norm for judges' sentencing decisions was established by having subjects read about decisions that involved either high, medium, or low sentences, respectively. The results indicated that subjects recalled the target judge's decisions by interpreting their prior categorization of his behavior in terms of the category norm established across the two sessions rather than the original context. Thus, subjects who were exposed to the same target in the same circumstances, and initially categorized the target in the same way, nevertheless remembered his behavior differently if their category norm was different at the moment of recall. Other types of “change of standard” and their implications for human judgment and memory are discussed.     

The stability of aspect-based career preferences and of the recommended list of occupations derived from them

Career-related preferences (e.g., team work, independence, length of training, income), which are an elaboration and extension of vocational interests, are one of the cornerstones that guide individuals to promising occupations recommended for further exploration. These preferences are informative and can serve individuals and their career counselors only if they are reliable and stable. Study 1 tested the two-week reliability of 31 career-related preferences of 213 freshman students and the two-year stability of the preferences of 132 of these students. Both the within-aspect preferred levels (e.g., only indoors most preferred, but mostly indoors also acceptable) and the importance of the aspects were elicited. The median within-participant two-week reliability was .85 for preferred levels and .64 for aspect importance; the median two-year stabilities were .75 and .51, respectively. In Study 2, the preferences elicited in Study 1 were used to derive a list of recommended occupations compatible with each participant's preferences at Time 1, Time 2 (2 weeks later), and Time 3 (2 years later), using a compensatory-model-based fit index. The percentage of identical occupations in the lists of the top ten recommended occupations was quite high — 62% for Time 1 and Time 2, and 54% for Time 1 and Time 3. The theoretical and practical implications of the reliability and stability of recommendations based on aspect-based career preferences are discussed.     

Preparing young veterans for civilian life: The effects of a workshop on career decision-making difficulties and self-efficacy

The current study mapped the career decision-making difficulties and career decision self-efficacy of 1315 young veterans who participated in a 5-day workshop aimed at facilitating their transition to civilian life. A pre- and post-test comparison showed that participation in the workshop reduced (d = 0.57) the participants' career decision-making difficulties (measured by the CDDQ; Gati, Krausz, & Osipow, 1996) and increased (d = 0.77) their career decision self-efficacy (measured by the CDSE; Taylor & Betz, 1983). A more advanced decision status, as reflected in the participants' Range of Considered Alternatives ( Saka & Gati, 2007), was negatively associated with participants' career decision-making difficulties, and positively associated with career decision self-efficacy. However, a more advanced decision status and the perceived effectiveness of the workshop were not associated with the decrease in difficulties and the increase in self-efficacy that resulted from participating in the workshop. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Directions for judgment and decision making research based on comparison selection: Reply to Arkes,Johnson, and Kardes

Our target article proposed an alternative perspective for studying consumer judgment and decision making, focusing on the types and weights of comparisons consumers select. In this response we consider the major points made by each of the commentators and examine their implications for future work addressing our comparison-focused approach.     

Cultural Chameleons: Biculturals,Conformity Motives,and Decision Making

Prior research suggests that bicultural individuals (i.e., individuals with 2 distinct sets of cultural values) shift the values they espouse depending on cues such as language. The authors examined whether the effects of language extend to a potentially less malleable domain, behavioral decisions, exploring the extent to which bilingual individuals shift the underlying strategies used to resolve choice problems. Although past research has explained language‐induced shifts in terms of knowledge accessibility principles, the motivation to conform to observers’ norms can also drive these shifts. This article focuses on shifts in the general strategy of avoiding losses rather than pursuing gains, which is more often exhibited by Chinese than by Westerners. Five studies of Hong Kong bicultural individuals found that language manipulation (Cantonese vs. English) increases tendencies to choose compromise options in a product decision task, endorse associated decision guidelines that advocate moderation as opposed to extreme paths, defer decision making in problems where it can be postponed, and endorse decision guidelines that advocate caution rather than decisive action. A motivational explanation of these effects was confirmed.     

In Defense of Consciousness: The Role of Conscious and Unconscious Inputs in Consumer Choice

Although the argument that unconscious inputs are often key determinants of consumer decision making is compelling, it may be overstated, particularly with respect to choice. A comparison of the effect of conscious inputs (e.g., the attributes of options in the choice set) and unconscious inputs (e.g., a seemingly irrelevant observation or task) indicates that the former have a significant advantage. In particular, the impact of conscious inputs is supported by choice task norms and is less susceptible to being lost in the “noise” that is characteristic of most natural consumer environments (e.g., stores). Indeed, although consumers often have limited insight into influences and processes producing their choices, the assumption that consumers base their choices on conscious, willful evaluation of task‐relevant inputs has been quite successful in explaining a wide range of phenomena. It is expected that future research will put greater emphasis on the interactions between conscious and unconscious influences on decision making.     

The neural reality of syntactic transformations: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging

The functional anatomy of syntactic transformations, a major computational operation invoked in sentence processing, was identified through a functional magnetic resonance imaging investigation. A grammaticality judgment task was used, presented through a novel hidden-blocks design. Subjects listened to transformational and nontransformational sentences in which a host of other complexity generators (number of words, prepositions, embeddings, etc.) were kept constant. A series of analyses revealed that the neural processing of transformations is localizable, evoking a highly lateralized and localized activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's region) and bilateral activation in the posterior superior temporal sulcus. The pattern of activation associated with transformational analysis was distinct from the one observed in neighboring regions, and anatomically separable from the effects of verb complexity, which yielded significant activation in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus. Taken together with neuropsychological evidence, these results uncover the neural reality of syntactic transformations.     

Using Career-Related Aspects to Elicit Preferences and Characterize Occupations for a Better Person–Environment Fit

The notion of career-related aspects is presented as a potential framework for career decision-making and for assessing person–environment fit. The features of the aspects-based approach are described with reference to the two main stages of career decision-making—prescreening and in-depth exploration. Next, the distinction between the relative importance of aspects and the within-aspect preferences, the explication of career compromises, and the role of core aspects are discussed, and the findings of studies which used career-related aspects are reviewed. Then, the relations between aspects and interests and needs are discussed. Finally, the research and counseling implications of the aspects-based approach are explored.