Money versus pain: experimental study of a conflict in humans.

Ten healthy human males volunteered to be subjects in an experiment in which they were to be paid to endure a painful sensation. This sensation was produced by isometric muscular contraction in the thighs. For each of six sessions the subjects received either a payment that was changed for each session (0.2, 0.5, 1.25, 3.125, 7.8125 French francs per 20 s) or a lump sum. At the beginning of a session, the subjects assumed a seated position against a wall, but without a seat, and the duration for which they could hold this position was the chief variable measured. Heart rate, blood pressure, and magnitude estimation of pain were also recorded periodically throughout each session. Pain was reported after a mean delay of 15 +/- 7 s (SE), and the magnitude estimates then increased linearly with time. The duration of maintaining the painful position increased linearly in relation to the logarithm of the increase in the amount of payment. Thus, utility of money decreased when pitted against pain.     

The design and evaluation of a worksharing system for experimental group living

Failure to share household chores equitably may be a major cause of the high failure rate of experimental group-living arrangements. A behavioral approach to worksharing based on a point system was implemented in one experimental group and its most important components experimentally evaluated. Experiment I showed that awarding credits produced more work than not awarding credits. Experiment II showed that making credits contingent on the outcome of a detailed inspection produced more work than awarding credits noncontingently. Experiment III demonstrated that awarding rent reductions contingent on credit earnings produced more work than awarding rent reductions noncontingently. Other evaluative data suggest that the resulting living arrangement is cheaper, more effective, and more satisfactory to the residents when compared to the most popular alternative living arrangements.     

Neuropharmacological aspects of adaptive pain inhibition in murine “victims” of aggression

This review outlines recent research on a subset of physiological responses in murine “victims” or aggression. In a typical resident-intruder paradigm, the detailed study of intruders has revealed that exposure to conspecific attack (and related stimuli) is associated with two forms of analgesia which appear to be integral components of the murine defensive repertoire. In response to intense/enduring attack, intruder mice display a profound, long-lasting and opioid-mediated analgesia. This reaction is highly correlated with defensive immobility and may function to reduce involuntary cues to further attack. In contrast, the inhibition of pain reactivity in mice tested immediately upon the display of defeat is less intense, shorter-lasting, non-opioid in nature and may function to facilitate active defenses such as escape. As this form of pain inhibition is also evident in intruders exposed to the scent of an aggressive male conspecific, a possible anticipatory defensive function linked to mechanisms of anxiety has been proposed. This hypothesis is supported by 1) the prevention of defeat analgesia by a range of antianxiety drugs (benzodiazepines, 5-hydroxytryptamine_1A [5-HT_1A] receptor agonists, and 5-HT₃ receptor antagonists) and 2) the effects of social defeat on behavior in the elevated plusmaze model of anxiety. These findings are discussed in relation to coping mechanisms in murine “victims” of aggression. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of alternative reinforcement on human behavior: the source does matter

Competing theories regarding the effects of delivering periodic response-independent reinforcement (more accurately, response-independent points exchanged for money) on a baseline rate of behavior were evaluated in human subjects. Contiguity theory holds that these events decrease target responding because incompatible behavior is adventitiously strengthened when the point deliveries follow target behavior closely in time. Matching theory holds that response-independent points, like any other alternative reinforcer, should reduce target responding. On this view, temporal contiguity between target responding and response-independent point delivery is unimportant. In our experiment, four different responses (moving a joystick in four different directions) were reinforced with points exchangeable for money according to four independent variable-interval schedules. Different schedules of point delivery were then superimposed on these baselines. When all superimposed point deliveries occurred immediately after one of the four responses (the target response), time allocated to target responding increased. When the superimposed point deliveries could be delivered at any time, time allocated to target responding declined and other behavior increased. When superimposed points could never immediately follow target responses, time allocated to target responding decreased further and other behavior or pausing predominated. The findings underscore the contribution of temporal contiguity in the effects of response-independent deliveries of food, money, points, etc.     

Confucian Dynamism,the Role of Money and Consumer Ethical Beliefs: An Exploratory Study in Taiwan

Consumer ethics is the moral principles and standards that guide consumers to determine the certain consumption behaviors are ethically right or wrong. Whereas cultural and personal dimensions are crucial constructs affecting individual ethical attitudes and behaviors, few studies consider Confucian dynamism and the role of money in consumer ethics. Confucian dynamism, a cultural dimension based on Confucianism, has played a central role in guiding moral obligations and ethics in human relations in several East Asian countries. Thus, this study tested its hypotheses using a sample of 521 respondents obtained via a systematic random sampling technique. The authors find that individuals with a higher tendency to Confucian dynamism are less tolerant of unethical practices. These findings also show that the role of money partially influences consumer ethical beliefs. Finally, we examine the impact of demographic variables and find age and education affect consideration of ethical values.     

Coping with Age‐related Threats to Role Identity: Older Couples and the Management of Household Money

As more couples live together into old age, difficult decisions have to be made about money matters, including the financing of late‐life care. This paper analyses in‐depth qualitative data from six older heterosexual couples, part of a wider study concerning money management in later life. Research when these cohorts were younger found that the organisation of money management within households was specialised and highly gendered, leading to substantive imbalances of power and access to financial resources, while also being core to the formation and maintenance of gendered role identities and couple identities. We find in this study that if a partner's ability to fulfil a money management role identity is threatened by later‐life issues such as poor health and cognitive decline, the other partner may try to protect that aspect of the spouse's role identity, using various covert strategies. This might be done to shore up the spouse's self‐esteem in the face of such age‐related threats to role identity, to ‘keep up appearances’ to the outside world or to maintain their identity as a couple at a time of life when there may be multiple difficulties to deal with. These findings have implications for practice and policy in the realm of money and identity management in later life. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exposing Mammon: Devotion to Money in a Market Society

Abstract : The recent financial crisis has exposed the extent to which the contemporary global economy is driven by credit. Yet credit is the obverse of debt, and where overspending threatens instability through an increasing debt spiral, austerity measures also threaten instability through reducing growth, also leading to an increasing debt spiral. Humanity is increasingly exposed to the force of money, which is created as debt with a given expiration date. Yet to place our credit or faith in the power of debt itself is to place faith in a world of shadows, in estimations of the value of things as perceived by others or market prices. Redemption from debt involves a restoration of our capacity to judge intrinsic values rather than mere prices.     

Compared to Dematerialized Money,Cash Increases Impatience in Intertemporal Choice

When it comes to trading time for money (or vice versa), people tend to be impatient and myopic. Often dramatically so. For illustration, half of people would rather collect $15 now than $30 in 3 months. This willingness to forego 50% of the reward to skip a 3‐month wait corresponds to an annual discount rate of 277%. This article investigates how money's physical form biases intertemporal choice. We ask, what happens to (im)patience (i.e., discount rates) when time is traded against cash rather than against an equivalent sum of dematerialized money? We find that intertemporal decisions pitting time against cash (rather than against dematerialized money) increase impatience. The underlying mechanism relates to the pain of parting from money. Letting go of cash (dematerialized money) we can have now is psychologically more (less) painful, which in turn reduces (increases) our willingness to wait for larger‐later payoffs. Importantly, heightening prevention focus (i.e., concerns for safety and security) moderates this bias. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the research, particularly for the psychology of saving behavior.     

奖赏对海洛因成瘾者执行功能的影响机制

一些研究发现海洛因成瘾者奖赏失调表现为:对海洛因相关线索的注意偏向、渴求感增加,对金钱奖赏表现出"即时收益优先"的高风险决策模式和对长时收益的敏感性降低。另一些研究发现海洛因成瘾者的执行功能存在障碍。奖赏失调和执行功能障碍在成瘾物质使用的维持和复吸中起着重要作用。双重竞争模型认为奖赏和执行功能的交互作用决定着行为的结果,但是奖赏对海洛因成瘾者执行功能的影响机制还不清楚。因此,拟使用事件相关电位技术来考察海洛因相关线索和金钱奖赏对不同戒断期成瘾者执行功能的影响机制,短期(1~3个月)、长期(18个月以上)海洛因戒断者和健康对照组被比较。这不仅有助于构建完善的成瘾理论体系,还有助于确定临床戒断后复吸的风险因素和不同戒断期的治疗目标。     

A qualitative study of adaptation to the euro in the Republic of Ireland: I. attitudes,the ‘euro illusion’ and the perception of prices

This is the first of two reports of a study using semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews to explore the current and recollected experiences of Irish people for the period before, during, and after the introduction of euro notes and coins (1 January 2002). Twenty‐four adults, 12 males and 12 females, covering a range of ages and educational attainment, were interviewed between October 2002 and February 2003. We found that most had welcomed the new currency initially, though some had felt less positive about it, whilst current experiences were more mixed. People's explanations for their attitudes seemed to focus more on the economic and practical aspects of currency change rather than symbolic meanings. Initially, most had experienced a euro illusion (prices in euros seeming to be more expensive than in punts). However, for most, the strength of the illusion appeared to diminish quite quickly. Nonetheless, current prices were believed to be higher, and many respondents attributed this either directly or indirectly to the change of currency. Although independent evidence found that there had been price increases in certain sectors, it was concluded that perceived price rises were, in part, illusory, and driven by expectations and selective price monitoring. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.