Previous Experience Not Required: Contextualizing the Choice to Teach School-Based Agricultural Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marx, Adam A.; Smith, Amy R.; Smalley, Scott W.; Miller, Courtney

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify key career choice items which lead students without previous experience in school-based agricultural education (SBAE) to pursuing agricultural education. The Ag Ed FIT-Choice® model adapted by Lawver (2009) and developed by Richardson and Watt (2006) provided the investigative framework to design this…

Preference effects on friendship choice: Evidence from an online field experiment.

PubMed

Yu, Siyu; Xie, Yu

2017-08-01

Observed friendship choices are constrained by social structures and thus problematic indicators for underlying personal preferences. In this paper, we report on a study demonstrating the causal effects of preference in friendship choice based on an online field experiment. Specifically, we tested two important forces that govern friendship choices: preference for shared group identity (operationalized as the desire to befriend others sharing the same place-of-origin identity) and preference for high status (operationalized as the desire to befriend others from high-status institutions). Using an online field experiment in one of the largest social network service websites in China, we investigated the causal preference effects of these two forces free from structural constraints. The results of our study confirm the preference effects on friendship choice in both of the two dimensions we tested. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

What to do on spring break? The role of predicted, on-line, and remembered experience in future choice.

PubMed

Wirtz, Derrick; Kruger, Justin; Napa Scollon, Christie; Diener, Ed

2003-09-01

When individuals choose future activities on the basis of their past experiences, what guides those choices? The present study compared students' predicted, on-line, and remembered spring-break experiences, as well as the influence of these factors on students' desire to take a similar vacation in the future. Predicted and remembered experiences were both more positive-and, paradoxically, more negative-than on-line experiences. Of key importance, path analyses revealed that remembered experience, but neither on-line nor anticipated experience, directly predicted the desire to repeat the experience. These results suggest that although on-line measures may be superior to retrospective measures for approximating objective experience, retrospective measures may be superior for predicting choice.

Study preferences for exemplar variability in self-regulated category learning.

PubMed

Wahlheim, Christopher N; DeSoto, K Andrew

2017-02-01

Increasing exemplar variability during category learning can enhance classification of novel exemplars from studied categories. Four experiments examined whether participants preferred variability when making study choices with the goal of later classifying novel exemplars. In Experiments 1-3, participants were familiarised with exemplars of birds from multiple categories prior to making category-level assessments of learning and subsequent choices about whether to receive more variability or repetitions of exemplars during study. After study, participants classified novel exemplars from studied categories. The majority of participants showed a consistent preference for variability in their study, but choices were not related to category-level assessments of learning. Experiment 4 provided evidence that study preferences were based primarily on theoretical beliefs in that most participants indicated a preference for variability on questionnaires that did not include prior experience with exemplars. Potential directions for theoretical development and applications to education are discussed.

Student Perceptions of Science Ability, Experiences, Expectations, and Career Choices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherney, Michael; Cherney, I.

2006-12-01

The decision to study physics or astronomy is affected by many factors, including preferences, motivations, and expectations for success. Differing cognitive profiles contribute to the learning of science through a complex process in which intrinsic capacities are tuned both by everyday experience and by instruction. In an attempt to identify the developmental pathways and intrinsic factors that most strongly influence the choice to study science, we administered an extensive survey to a sample of 400 students. The survey questions were based on Eccles et al.’s model of achievement-related choices and findings showing that previous play experiences, spatial experiences, task beliefs, as well as perceived mathematics ability, motivational and personality characteristics affect mathematics achievement and science career choices. The perceptions of students planning a science career are compared with those planning a career in other areas. Gender differences are also discussed.

People learn other people's preferences through inverse decision-making.

PubMed

Jern, Alan; Lucas, Christopher G; Kemp, Charles

2017-11-01

People are capable of learning other people's preferences by observing the choices they make. We propose that this learning relies on inverse decision-making-inverting a decision-making model to infer the preferences that led to an observed choice. In Experiment 1, participants observed 47 choices made by others and ranked them by how strongly each choice suggested that the decision maker had a preference for a specific item. An inverse decision-making model generated predictions that were in accordance with participants' inferences. Experiment 2 replicated and extended a previous study by Newtson (1974) in which participants observed pairs of choices and made judgments about which choice provided stronger evidence for a preference. Inverse decision-making again predicted the results, including a result that previous accounts could not explain. Experiment 3 used the same method as Experiment 2 and found that participants did not expect decision makers to be perfect utility-maximizers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICE OF ORAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS BY DENTAL PATIENTS IN A NIGERIAN TEACHING HOSPITAL.

PubMed

Opeodu, O I; Gbadebo, S O

2017-06-01

Several factors, such as cost, branding, packaging and family influence, had been implicated as influencing the choice of toothpastes and toothbrushes by individuals. Media advertisement is also considered a very strong factor influencing consumer's choice. To assess the extent to which some factors influenced the choice of toothpastes and toothbrushes among dental patients in a Nigerian teaching hospital. Two-hundred and two patients were interviewed on factors that influenced their choice of toothbrush and toothpaste. Some of the factors considered include the cost, packaging, brand, media advertisement and their previous experience. Factors that affected choice of toothbrush by respondents included texture (89.6%), brand (62.9%), previous experience (64.4%) and for toothpaste, fluoride content (62.4%), previous experience (69.3%), and advice by a dentist (55.0%). Media advertisement was the least influential in their choice of toothpaste (29.2%) and toothbrush (24.3%). Consideration for fluoride was a stronger factor than herbal contents in the choice of toothpaste (P<0.001). Previous experience seems to be a very strong factor in the choice of both the toothbrush and toothpaste in this study, which suggest that for as long as the respondents are satisfied with a particular product, they will stick to it.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CHOICE OF ORAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS BY DENTAL PATIENTS IN A NIGERIAN TEACHING HOSPITAL

PubMed Central

Opeodu, O.I.; Gbadebo, S.O.

2017-01-01

Background: Several factors, such as cost, branding, packaging and family influence, had been implicated as influencing the choice of toothpastes and toothbrushes by individuals. Media advertisement is also considered a very strong factor influencing consumer's choice. Aim: To assess the extent to which some factors influenced the choice of toothpastes and toothbrushes among dental patients in a Nigerian teaching hospital. Materials and methods: Two-hundred and two patients were interviewed on factors that influenced their choice of toothbrush and toothpaste. Some of the factors considered include the cost, packaging, brand, media advertisement and their previous experience. Results: Factors that affected choice of toothbrush by respondents included texture (89.6%), brand (62.9%), previous experience (64.4%) and for toothpaste, fluoride content (62.4%), previous experience (69.3%), and advice by a dentist (55.0%). Media advertisement was the least influential in their choice of toothpaste (29.2%) and toothbrush (24.3%). Consideration for fluoride was a stronger factor than herbal contents in the choice of toothpaste (P<0.001) Conclusion: Previous experience seems to be a very strong factor in the choice of both the toothbrush and toothpaste in this study, which suggest that for as long as the respondents are satisfied with a particular product, they will stick to it. PMID:28970772

The Role of First Impression in Operant Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shteingart, Hanan; Neiman, Tal; Loewenstein, Yonatan

2013-01-01

We quantified the effect of first experience on behavior in operant learning and studied its underlying computational principles. To that goal, we analyzed more than 200,000 choices in a repeated-choice experiment. We found that the outcome of the first experience has a substantial and lasting effect on participants' subsequent behavior, which we…

Spontaneous prosocial choice by captive bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus.

PubMed

Nakahara, Fumio; Komaba, Masayuki; Sato, Ryoichi; Ikeda, Hisako; Komaba, Kumiko; Kawakubo, Akihiro

2017-02-01

Dolphins exhibit prosocial behavior across several different contexts. However, only a few experimental studies have investigated the psychological mechanisms underlying this behavior. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying prosociality in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). In the experiments, water shower devices, developed as environmental enrichment items, were used. Two paradigms were used to measure prosociality. The first was the prosocial choice task, involving the subject typically being offered one choice between two options. The first option provided a reward (take a shower) to both the subject and partner (prosocial choice). The second option provided a reward only to the subject (selfish choice). The second paradigm was the giving assistance task, involving the subject being provided a choice between providing instrumental help to the partner (prosocial choice) or doing nothing. It was observed that the subjects chose the prosocial choices in both paradigms. In these experiments, prosocial choices were spontaneously taken without requests from the partners. These results indicated that the dolphins show preference for other-regarding behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How Important Is Study Mode in Student University Choice?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagel, Pauline; Shaw, Robin N.

2010-01-01

Conjoint analysis was used to model the importance of study mode in students' choice of university. Study mode was proposed as a key choice attribute as universities have diversified their means of delivering education and increased the use of online delivery. Results are reported for two conjoint experiments. The first investigated how…

The excess choice effect: The role of outcome valence and counterfactual thinking.

PubMed

Hafner, Rebecca J; White, Mathew P; Handley, Simon J

2016-02-01

Contrary to economic theory, psychological research has demonstrated increased choice can undermine satisfaction. When and why this 'excess choice effect' (ECE) occurs remains unclear. Building on theories of counterfactual thinking we argue the ECE is more likely to occur when people experience counterfactual thought or emotion and that a key trigger is a negative versus positive task outcome. Participants either selected a drink (Experiment 1) or chocolate (Experiment 2) from a limited (6) versus extensive (24) selection (Experiment 1) or were given no choice versus extensive (24) choice (Experiment 2). In both experiments, however, the choice was illusory: Half the participants tasted a 'good' flavour, half a 'bad' flavour. As predicted, extensive choice was only detrimental to satisfaction when participants tasted the 'bad' drink or chocolate, and this was mediated by the experience of counterfactual thought (Experiment 1) or emotion (Experiment 2). When outcomes were positive, participants were similarly satisfied with limited versus extensive and no choice versus extensive choice. Implications for our theoretical understanding of the ECE and for the construction of choice architectures aimed at promoting individual satisfaction and well-being are discussed. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN IMPULSIVE CHOICE AND TIMING IN RATS

PubMed Central

Galtress, Tiffany; Garcia, Ana; Kirkpatrick, Kimberly

2012-01-01

Individual differences in impulsive choice behavior have been linked to a variety of behavioral problems including substance abuse, smoking, gambling, and poor financial decision-making. Given the potential importance of individual differences in impulsive choice as a predictor of behavioral problems, the present study sought to measure the extent of individual differences in a normal sample of hooded Lister rats. Three experiments utilized variations of a delay discounting task to measure the degree of variation in impulsive choice behavior across individual rats. The individual differences accounted for 22–55% of the variance in choice behavior across the three experiments. In Experiments 2 and 3, the individual differences were still apparent when behavior was measured across multiple choice points. Large individual differences in the rate of responding, and modest individual differences in timing of responding were also observed during occasional peak trials. The individual differences in timing and rate, however, did not correlate consistently with individual differences in choice behavior. This suggests that a variety of factors may affect choice behavior, response rate, and response timing. PMID:22851792

Mindset switching increases the use of 'want-based' over 'should-based' behaviors

PubMed Central

Zhang, Nan-Nan; Xu, Dai-Xuan

2018-01-01

This study examines the consequences of mindset switching on behavioral choices in want/should conflicts. Building on the insights of the ego depletion literature, we propose that mindset switching depletes individuals’ self-control resources and therefore prompts the choice of want behavior, which provides immediate pleasure, over should behavior, which provides long-term utility. Four laboratory experiments with university students that stimulated individuals to switch mindsets were conducted to test our hypotheses. Experiment 1 demonstrated that switching between individualist and collectivist mindsets increased the subjects’ tendency to prefer popular magazines over scientific journals. Experiment 2 replicated the results by testing the relationship between an abstract/concrete mindset-switching task and want/should online behavioral choices. The mediating effect of ego depletion was also supported. Experiment 3 retested the main effect of language-switching on reading choices, and the mediating effect of ego-depletion. Experiment 3 also tested the moderating effect of the Need for Cognition, and eliminated the alternative explanation of cognitive fatigue. In Experiment 4, actual food choices were used as the direct measure of want/should behaviors to test the robustness of our findings. The results consistently supported our hypotheses that mindset switching has significant effects on behavioral choices in terms of overindulgence, such as increasing want behavior and thus foregoing should behavior. PMID:29709003

Student pharmacists’ career choices: a survey of three Nigerian schools of pharmacy

PubMed Central

Ubaka, Chukwuemeka M.; Ochie, Uche M.; Adibe, Maxwell O.

Background There is little data on the preferences of pharmacy students as regards their future pharmacy job choices in Africa and this has created concerns amongst licensing bodies, employers and also the institutions they graduate from. Objective Career choices and factors that influence these choices of pre-registration pharmacists were assessed. Methods Final and fourth year students from three schools of pharmacy were approached with a previously validated and employed questionnaire comprising questions on future job choices and reasons for that job choice. Data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential analysis. Results Four hundred and eighty eight students took part in the study (response rate 71.5%). Majority (78.8%) was younger than 26 years and had a work experience (68.2%). Job flexibility was significantly more important to females, while younger students considered salary most important (p<0.05). Hospital and community practice were most preferred career choices. Other demographic factors (especially gender, marital status, previous degree and previous work experience) significantly affected career choices. Conclusions Age, gender, and previous work experience affect career choices of graduating pharmacy students. Patient-oriented practices (e.g. hospital and community) remain the most preferred careers. PMID:24223080

Of black swans and tossed coins: is the description-experience gap in risky choice limited to rare events?

PubMed

Ludvig, Elliot A; Spetch, Marcia L

2011-01-01

When faced with risky decisions, people tend to be risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses (the reflection effect). Studies examining this risk-sensitive decision making, however, typically ask people directly what they would do in hypothetical choice scenarios. A recent flurry of studies has shown that when these risky decisions include rare outcomes, people make different choices for explicitly described probabilities than for experienced probabilistic outcomes. Specifically, rare outcomes are overweighted when described and underweighted when experienced. In two experiments, we examined risk-sensitive decision making when the risky option had two equally probable (50%) outcomes. For experience-based decisions, there was a reversal of the reflection effect with greater risk seeking for gains than for losses, as compared to description-based decisions. This fundamental difference in experienced and described choices cannot be explained by the weighting of rare events and suggests a separate subjective utility curve for experience.

Of Black Swans and Tossed Coins: Is the Description-Experience Gap in Risky Choice Limited to Rare Events?

PubMed Central

Ludvig, Elliot A.; Spetch, Marcia L.

2011-01-01

When faced with risky decisions, people tend to be risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses (the reflection effect). Studies examining this risk-sensitive decision making, however, typically ask people directly what they would do in hypothetical choice scenarios. A recent flurry of studies has shown that when these risky decisions include rare outcomes, people make different choices for explicitly described probabilities than for experienced probabilistic outcomes. Specifically, rare outcomes are overweighted when described and underweighted when experienced. In two experiments, we examined risk-sensitive decision making when the risky option had two equally probable (50%) outcomes. For experience-based decisions, there was a reversal of the reflection effect with greater risk seeking for gains than for losses, as compared to description-based decisions. This fundamental difference in experienced and described choices cannot be explained by the weighting of rare events and suggests a separate subjective utility curve for experience. PMID:21673807

Do Streaks Matter in Multiple-Choice Tests?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiss, Hubert János; Selei, Adrienn

2018-01-01

Success in life is determined to a large extent by school performance, which in turn depends heavily on grades obtained in exams. In this study, we investigate a particular type of exam: multiple-choice tests. More concretely, we study if patterns of correct answers in multiple-choice tests affect performance. We design an experiment to study if…

Choosing Choice: School Choice in International Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plank, David N., Ed.; Sykes, Gary, Ed.

The chapters in this book originated as papers for a conference, School Choice and Educational Change, held in March 2000 at Michigan State University. An introductory chapter provides a comparative analysis of the lessons learned from international experience with school-choice policies, based on a review of case studies in several countries. The…

An Evaluation of Choice on Instructional Efficacy and Individual Preferences among Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toussaint, Karen A.; Kodak, Tiffany; Vladescu, Jason C.

2016-01-01

The current study compared the differential effects of choice and no-choice reinforcement conditions on skill acquisition. In addition, we assessed preference for choice-making opportunities with 3 children with autism, using a modified concurrent-chains procedure. We replicated the experiment with 2 participants. The results indicated that…

Colour Cues That Are Not Directly Attached to the Body of Males Do Not Influence the Mate Choice of Zebra Finches.

PubMed

Krause, E Tobias

2016-01-01

Mate choice decisions of female zebra finches are generally thought to rely on the assessment of male quality, which includes the specific ornamentation of males. A commonly used paradigm to experimentally manipulate a male's attractiveness is to add a coloured leg ring to the bird. Some studies have shown that female zebra finches prefer or alter their investment in males that have an additional red leg ring compared with males with green leg rings. Whether the coloured artificial ornaments need to be attached to the male's body or whether environmental colouration could have a similar effect on male attractiveness remains unclear. Here, I investigated this novel context to determine whether female choice between males is affected by environmental colour cues that are not directly attached to the male's body in four experiments involving 220 zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). A first experiment revealed that females chose males with red colour cues in the environmental background over males with green cues in the background. Based on this finding, I conducted follow-up experiments to obtain a deeper understanding of how environmental colour cues affect mate choice. Therefore, I examined whether female choice behaviour or male behaviour was altered in two additional experiments. Both experiments failed to show any effects of environmental colour cues on female choice or on male behaviour. Therefore, I replicated the initial experiment in a fourth experiment. Again replication failed; thus, the initial results indicating that environmental colouration affects mate choice behaviour of female zebra finches were not supported by the three subsequent experiments; thus, the outcome of the first experiment seems to be a false positive. Taking my results together, I found no robust support for the idea that environmental colour cues that are not directly attached to the body of male zebra finches affect female mate choice decisions.

Determinants of College Major Choice: Identification Using an Information Experiment. Working Paper #02-11

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiswall, Matthew; Zafar, Basit

2011-01-01

This paper studies the determinants of college major choice using a unique "information" experiment embedded in a survey. We first ask respondents their "self" beliefs--beliefs about their own expected earnings and other major-specific outcomes conditional on various majors, their "population" beliefs--beliefs about…

Increasing the Transparency of Stated Choice Studies for Policy Analysis: Designing Experiments to Produce Raw Response Graphs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sur, Dipika; Cook, Joseph; Chatterjee, Susmita; Deen, Jacqueline; Whittington, Dale

2007-01-01

We believe a lack of transparency undermines both the credibility of, and interest in, stated choice studies among policy makers. Unlike articles reporting the results of contingent valuation studies, papers in the stated choice literature rarely present simple tabulations of raw response data (that is, a table or graph showing the percentage of…

A Survey of Results from Voucher Experiments: Where We Are and What We Know. Civic Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, Jay P.

This document is a review of eight studies of five existing voucher or school-choice programs conducted by four different groups of researchers. All studies have found important benefits of private school choice for families. Voucher programs do not appear to select primarily the best students. In all studies of existing choice programs the…

Brain correlates of subjective freedom of choice.

PubMed

Filevich, Elisa; Vanneste, Patricia; Brass, Marcel; Fias, Wim; Haggard, Patrick; Kühn, Simone

2013-12-01

The subjective feeling of free choice is an important feature of human experience. Experimental tasks have typically studied free choice by contrasting free and instructed selection of response alternatives. These tasks have been criticised, and it remains unclear how they relate to the subjective feeling of freely choosing. We replicated previous findings of the fMRI correlates of free choice, defined objectively. We introduced a novel task in which participants could experience and report a graded sense of free choice. BOLD responses for conditions subjectively experienced as free identified a postcentral area distinct from the areas typically considered to be involved in free action. Thus, the brain correlates of subjective feeling of free action were not directly related to any established brain correlates of objectively-defined free action. Our results call into question traditional assumptions about the relation between subjective experience of choosing and activity in the brain's so-called voluntary motor areas. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Brain correlates of subjective freedom of choice

PubMed Central

Filevich, Elisa; Vanneste, Patricia; Brass, Marcel; Fias, Wim; Haggard, Patrick; Kühn, Simone

2013-01-01

The subjective feeling of free choice is an important feature of human experience. Experimental tasks have typically studied free choice by contrasting free and instructed selection of response alternatives. These tasks have been criticised, and it remains unclear how they relate to the subjective feeling of freely choosing. We replicated previous findings of the fMRI correlates of free choice, defined objectively. We introduced a novel task in which participants could experience and report a graded sense of free choice. BOLD responses for conditions subjectively experienced as free identified a postcentral area distinct from the areas typically considered to be involved in free action. Thus, the brain correlates of subjective feeling of free action were not directly related to any established brain correlates of objectively-defined free action. Our results call into question traditional assumptions about the relation between subjective experience of choosing and activity in the brain’s so-called voluntary motor areas. PMID:24021855

Decisions reduce sensitivity to subsequent information.

PubMed

Bronfman, Zohar Z; Brezis, Noam; Moran, Rani; Tsetsos, Konstantinos; Donner, Tobias; Usher, Marius

2015-07-07

Behavioural studies over half a century indicate that making categorical choices alters beliefs about the state of the world. People seem biased to confirm previous choices, and to suppress contradicting information. These choice-dependent biases imply a fundamental bound of human rationality. However, it remains unclear whether these effects extend to lower level decisions, and only little is known about the computational mechanisms underlying them. Building on the framework of sequential-sampling models of decision-making, we developed novel psychophysical protocols that enable us to dissect quantitatively how choices affect the way decision-makers accumulate additional noisy evidence. We find robust choice-induced biases in the accumulation of abstract numerical (experiment 1) and low-level perceptual (experiment 2) evidence. These biases deteriorate estimations of the mean value of the numerical sequence (experiment 1) and reduce the likelihood to revise decisions (experiment 2). Computational modelling reveals that choices trigger a reduction of sensitivity to subsequent evidence via multiplicative gain modulation, rather than shifting the decision variable towards the chosen alternative in an additive fashion. Our results thus show that categorical choices alter the evidence accumulation mechanism itself, rather than just its outcome, rendering the decision-maker less sensitive to new information. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Oscillatory EEG signatures of postponed somatosensory decisions.

PubMed

Ludwig, Simon; Herding, Jan; Blankenburg, Felix

2018-05-02

In recent electroencephalography (EEG) studies, the vibrotactile frequency comparison task has been used to study oscillatory signatures of perceptual decision making in humans, revealing a choice-selective modulation of premotor upper beta band power shortly before decisions were reported. Importantly, these studies focused on decisions that were (1) indicated immediately after stimulus presentation, and (2) for which a direct motor mapping was provided. Here, we investigated whether the putative beta band choice signal also extends to postponed decisions, and how such a decision signal might be influenced by a response mapping that is dissociated from a specific motor command. We recorded EEG data in two separate experiments, both employing the vibrotactile frequency comparison task with delayed decision reports. In the first experiment, delayed choices were associated with a fixed motor mapping, whereas in the second experiment, choices were mapped onto a color code concealing a specific motor response until the end of the delay phase. In between stimulus presentations, as well as after the second stimulus, prefrontal beta band power indexed stimulus information held in working memory. Beta band power also encoded choices during the response delay, notably, in different cortical areas depending on the provided response mapping. In particular, when decisions were associated with a specific motor mapping, choices were represented in premotor cortices, whereas the color mapping resulted in a choice-selective modulation of beta band power in parietal cortices. Together, our findings imply that how a choice is expressed (i.e., the decision consequence) determines where in the cortical sensorimotor hierarchy an according decision signal is processed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Digital Participation, Agency, and Choice: An African American Youth's Digital Storytelling about Minecraft

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis Ellison, Tisha

2017-01-01

This case study examines one African American adolescent male's digital choices and experiences during the creation of a digital story about Minecraft. This study introduces digital participatory choice cultures as a framework to consider how he might recognize and use existing meaning-making and composition strategies to bridge what young people…

Organizational Culture, Performance and Career Choices of Ph.D.s: A Case Study of Dutch Medical Researchers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Weijden, Inge; de Gilder, Dick; Groenewegen, Peter; Geerling, Maaike

2008-01-01

Increasing demands for accountability and applicability raise the question of how organizational factors affect researchers' performance and career choices. In a study of Dutch medical Ph.D. student's experiences, organizational culture and climate and attitudes towards research quality are related to performance and career choices. Ph.D.s who…

Birthplace choices: what are the information needs of women when choosing where to give birth in England? A qualitative study using online and face to face focus groups.

PubMed

Hinton, Lisa; Dumelow, Carol; Rowe, Rachel; Hollowell, Jennifer

2018-01-08

Current clinical guidelines and national policy in England support offering 'low risk' women a choice of birth setting. Options include: home, free-standing midwifery unit (FMU), alongside midwifery unit (AMU) or obstetric unit (OU). This study, which is part of a broader project designed to inform policy on 'choice' in relation to childbirth, aimed to provide evidence on UK women's experiences of choice and decision-making in the period since the publication of the Birthplace findings (2011) and new NICE guidelines (2014). This paper reports on findings relating to women's information needs when making decisions about where to give birth. A qualitative focus group study including 69 women in the last trimester of pregnancy in England in 2015-16. Seven focus groups were conducted online via a bespoke web portal, and one was face-to-face. To explore different aspects of women's experience, each group included women with specific characteristics or options; planning a home birth, living in areas with lots of choice, living in areas with limited choice, first time mothers, living close to a FMU, living in opt-out AMU areas, living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and planning to give birth in an OU. Focus group transcripts were analysed thematically. Women drew on multiple sources when making choices about where to give birth. Sources included; the Internet, friends' recommendations and experiences, antenatal classes and their own personal experiences. Their midwife was not the main source of information. Women wanted the option to discuss and consider their birth preferences throughout their pregnancy, not at a fixed point. Birthplace choice is informed by many factors. Women may encounter fewer overt obstacles to exercising choice than in the past, but women do not consistently receive information about birthplace options from their midwife at a time and in a manner that they find helpful. Introducing options early in pregnancy, but deferring decision-making about birthplace until a woman has had time to consider and explore options and discuss these with her midwife, might facilitate choice.

Sad Facial Expressions Increase Choice Blindness

PubMed Central

Wang, Yajie; Zhao, Song; Zhang, Zhijie; Feng, Wenfeng

2018-01-01

Previous studies have discovered a fascinating phenomenon known as choice blindness—individuals fail to detect mismatches between the face they choose and the face replaced by the experimenter. Although previous studies have reported a couple of factors that can modulate the magnitude of choice blindness, the potential effect of facial expression on choice blindness has not yet been explored. Using faces with sad and neutral expressions (Experiment 1) and faces with happy and neutral expressions (Experiment 2) in the classic choice blindness paradigm, the present study investigated the effects of facial expressions on choice blindness. The results showed that the detection rate was significantly lower on sad faces than neutral faces, whereas no significant difference was observed between happy faces and neutral faces. The exploratory analysis of verbal reports found that participants who reported less facial features for sad (as compared to neutral) expressions also tended to show a lower detection rate of sad (as compared to neutral) faces. These findings indicated that sad facial expressions increased choice blindness, which might have resulted from inhibition of further processing of the detailed facial features by the less attractive sad expressions (as compared to neutral expressions). PMID:29358926

Sad Facial Expressions Increase Choice Blindness.

PubMed

Wang, Yajie; Zhao, Song; Zhang, Zhijie; Feng, Wenfeng

2017-01-01

Previous studies have discovered a fascinating phenomenon known as choice blindness-individuals fail to detect mismatches between the face they choose and the face replaced by the experimenter. Although previous studies have reported a couple of factors that can modulate the magnitude of choice blindness, the potential effect of facial expression on choice blindness has not yet been explored. Using faces with sad and neutral expressions (Experiment 1) and faces with happy and neutral expressions (Experiment 2) in the classic choice blindness paradigm, the present study investigated the effects of facial expressions on choice blindness. The results showed that the detection rate was significantly lower on sad faces than neutral faces, whereas no significant difference was observed between happy faces and neutral faces. The exploratory analysis of verbal reports found that participants who reported less facial features for sad (as compared to neutral) expressions also tended to show a lower detection rate of sad (as compared to neutral) faces. These findings indicated that sad facial expressions increased choice blindness, which might have resulted from inhibition of further processing of the detailed facial features by the less attractive sad expressions (as compared to neutral expressions).

The application of defaults to optimize parents' health-based choices for children.

PubMed

Loeb, Katharine L; Radnitz, Cynthia; Keller, Kathleen; Schwartz, Marlene B; Marcus, Sue; Pierson, Richard N; Shannon, Michael; DeLaurentis, Danielle

2017-06-01

Optimal defaults is a compelling model from behavioral economics and the psychology of human decision-making, designed to shape or "nudge" choices in a positive direction without fundamentally restricting options. The current study aimed to test the effectiveness of optimal (less obesogenic) defaults and parent empowerment priming on health-based decisions with parent-child (ages 3-8) dyads in a community-based setting. Two proof-of-concept experiments (one on breakfast food selections and one on activity choice) were conducted comparing the main and interactive effects of optimal versus suboptimal defaults, and parent empowerment priming versus neutral priming, on parents' health-related choices for their children. We hypothesized that in each experiment, making the default option more optimal will lead to more frequent health-oriented choices, and that priming parents to be the ultimate decision-makers on behalf of their child's health will potentiate this effect. Results show that in both studies, default condition, but not priming condition or the interaction between default and priming, significantly predicted choice (healthier vs. less healthy option). There was also a significant main effect for default condition (and no effect for priming condition or the interaction term) on the quantity of healthier food children consumed in the breakfast experiment. These pilot studies demonstrate that optimal defaults can be practicably implemented to improve parents' food and activity choices for young children. Results can inform policies and practices pertaining to obesogenic environmental factors in school, restaurant, and home environments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An evaluation of choice on instructional efficacy and individual preferences among children with autism.

PubMed

Toussaint, Karen A; Kodak, Tiffany; Vladescu, Jason C

2016-03-01

The current study compared the differential effects of choice and no-choice reinforcement conditions on skill acquisition. In addition, we assessed preference for choice-making opportunities with 3 children with autism, using a modified concurrent-chains procedure. We replicated the experiment with 2 participants. The results indicated that choice-making opportunities increased treatment efficacy for 2 of the 3 participants, and all 3 participants demonstrated a preference for choice-making opportunities. © 2015 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Middle-Class Mothers' Passionate Attachment to School Choice: Abject Objects, Cruel Optimism and Affective Exploitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leyton, Daniel; Rojas, María Teresa

2017-01-01

This paper is based on a qualitative study about middle-class mothers' experiences of school choice in Chile. It draws on Butler, Berlant and Hardt's work on affects, and on feminist contributions to the intersection between school choice, social class and mothering. These contributions help us deepen our understanding of school choice as both a…

Effect of Motives for Food Choice on Oral Health among Primary School Children in Mangalore: An Analytical Survey.

PubMed

Mehta, Viral Vijay; Rajesh, Gururaghavendran; Rao, Ashwini; Shenoy, Ramya; Pai, Mithun; Nayak, Vijayendranath

2017-05-01

Parents influence children's eating behaviours by making some foods available than others and by acting as models of eating behaviour. Food selected by parents influence general and oral health of their children. Aim of this study was to assess oral health parameters among primary school children and motives for food choice among their parents in Mangalore. A total of 759 primary school children aged 5-10 years, and their parents participated in this study. Motives for food choice among parents of children were evaluated by using Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ). Oral health status of students was assessed by using World Health Organisation (WHO) Basic Oral Health Assessment Form. Data pertaining to dietary habits and demographics was also collected. Descriptive and inferential statistics along with Pearson's correlation and Binary logistic regression were executed for the present study and level of significance was fixed at p<0.05. Caries prevalence was 10.8% and 68.9% in permanent and primary dentitions, respectively. Mean Decayed, Missing And Filled Tooth (DMFT) index scores among study subjects were 0.21±0.72 and 3.08±3.11 for permanent and primary dentitions, respectively. Increase in caries prevalence was significantly associated with decrease in total FCQ scores. FCQ domains 'health', 'natural content' and 'weight control' were significantly correlated with dental caries experience. FCQ also showed significant correlation with socio-economic variables. Overall, dental caries experience was found to be high. Parental food choice motives positively influenced dietary patterns and caries experience of their children. Caries experience was less in children whose parents reported higher scores on FCQ. Understanding the barriers, identification of risk factors for poor food choices and targeting interventions might formulate ways by which the desired behaviour can be achieved.

Experiences of abortion: A narrative review of qualitative studies

PubMed Central

Lie, Mabel LS; Robson, Stephen C; May, Carl R

2008-01-01

Background Although abortion or termination of pregnancy (TOP) has become an increasingly normalized component of women's health care over the past forty years, insufficient attention has been paid to women's experiences of surgical or medical methods of TOP. Objective To undertake a narrative review of qualitative studies of women's experiences of TOP and their perspectives on surgical or medical methods. Methods Keyword searches of Medline, CINAHL, ISI, and IBSS databases. Manual searches of other relevant journals and reference lists of primary articles. Results Qualitative studies (n = 18) on women's experiences of abortion were identified. Analysis of the results of studies reviewed revealed three main themes: experiential factors that promote or inhibit the choice to seek TOP; experiences of TOP; and experiential aspects of the environment in which TOP takes place. Conclusion Women's choices about TOP are mainly pragmatic ones that are related to negotiating finite personal and family and emotional resources. Women who are well informed and supported in their choices experience good psychosocial outcomes from TOP. Home TOP using mifepristone appears attractive to women who are concerned about professionals' negative attitudes and lack of privacy in formal healthcare settings but also leads to concerns about management and safety. PMID:18637178

Role of accentuation in the selection/rejection task framing effect.

PubMed

Chen, Jing; Proctor, Robert W

2017-04-01

Procedure invariance is a basic assumption of rational theories of choice, however, it has been shown to be violated: Different response modes, or task frames, sometimes reveal opposite preferences. The current study focused on selection and rejection task frames, involving a unique type of problem with enriched and impoverished options, which has previously led to conflicting findings and theoretical explanations: the compatibility hypothesis (Shafir, 1993) and the accentuation hypothesis (Wedell, 1997). We examined the role of task frame by distinguishing these 2 hypotheses and evaluating the information-processing basis of the choices. Experiments conducted online (Experiments 1 and 3) and in-lab (Experiment 4 with eye-tracking technique) revealed a difference between the 2 task frames in the choice data (i.e., the task-framing effect) as a function of the relative attractiveness of the options. Also, this task-framing effect was not influenced by imposed time constraints (Experiments 5 and 6) and was similarly evident with a more direct measure for the option attractiveness (obtained in Experiment 7). Experiment 2, conducted in a lab setting with verbal-protocol requirements, yielded no task-framing effect, suggesting that a requirement to verbalize reasons for choice minimizes accentuation. With this exception, the choice data are in agreement with the accentuation hypothesis, and the combined findings in choice, decision time, task confusion, and eye-tracking data provide evidence of a basis in cognitive effort rather than motivation, as Wedell proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Strategic interactions, affective reactions, and fast adaptations.

PubMed

Kareev, Yaakov; Avrahami, Judith; Fiedler, Klaus

2014-06-01

We studied repeated choices under uncertainty in situations in which the source of uncertainty is the choice of an interaction partner. In 1 experiment the participants engaged in repeated decisions in a mixed motive game; in another experiment the options and outcomes were identical to those in the 1st, but periods of the mixed-motive game alternated with periods of a coordination game, with the change in period not announced. We analyzed choice dynamics-the relationship between an outcome and the choice that followed-and aggregate choice probabilities to gauge the relative merit of reward-based or affect-based accounts (the affects considered being disappointment and regret). In both experiments choice dynamics were essentially identical and were compatible with only the regret-based account. This was true irrespective of the game played or the stage (early or late) of the game. Moreover, the same dynamics explained the very different aggregate probabilities with which the 2 options were chosen in the 2 games and the remarkably fast adaptations to unannounced changes in the game played. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Trait impulsive choice predicts resistance to extinction and propensity to relapse to cocaine seeking: a bidirectional investigation.

PubMed

Broos, Nienke; Diergaarde, Leontien; Schoffelmeer, Anton Nm; Pattij, Tommy; De Vries, Taco J

2012-05-01

Despite the strong association between impulsivity and addiction in humans, it is still a matter of debate whether impulsive choice predisposes to, or results from, drug dependence. Furthermore, it is unknown whether treating impulsivity can protect against relapse propensity. Therefore, this study explored the bidirectional relationship between impulsive choice and cocaine taking and seeking in rat behavioral models. In experiment 1, to determine whether impulsive choice predisposes to cocaine taking or seeking, rats were selected based on trait impulsivity in a delayed reward task and subsequently compared on various stages of cocaine self-administration (SA). To examine the consequence of cocaine intake on impulsive choice, impulsivity was monitored once a week throughout various stages of cocaine SA. To determine whether treating impulsive choice can protect against relapse propensity, in experiment 2, impulsive choice was manipulated by pharmacological interventions and cocaine-associated contextual cues. Trait impulsive choice as determined in experiment 1 predicted high extinction resistance and enhanced propensity to context-induced relapse in the cocaine SA model, whereas cocaine intake did not alter impulsive choice. Furthermore, acute changes in impulsive choice were not related to rates of context-induced relapse. Taken together, the current data indicate that trait impulsive choice predicts persistent cocaine seeking during extinction and enhanced propensity to relapse, whereas acute manipulations of impulsive choice had no favorable outcomes on relapse measures. These observations suggest that trait impulsivity can be used as a predictive factor for addiction liability, but treating this impulsivity does not necessarily protect against relapse.

Autonomy and the Student Experience in Introductory Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Nicholas Ron

The role of autonomy in the student experience in a large-enrollment undergraduate introductory physics course was studied from a Self-Determination Theory perspective with two studies. Study I, a correlational study, investigated whether certain aspects of the student experience correlated with how autonomy supportive (vs. controlling) students perceived their instructors to be. An autonomy supportive instructor acknowledges students' perspectives, feelings, and perceptions and provides students with information and opportunities for choice, while minimizing external pressures. It was found that the degree to which students perceived their instructors as autonomy supportive was positively correlated with student interest and enjoyment in learning physics (beta=0.31***) and negatively correlated with student anxiety about taking physics (beta=-0.23**). It was also positively correlated with how autonomous (vs. controlled) students' reasons for studying physics became over the duration of the course (i.e., studying physics more because they wanted to vs. had to; beta=0.24***). This change in autonomous reasons for studying physics was in turn positively correlated with student performance in the course (beta=0.17*). Additionally, the degree to which students perceived their instructors as autonomy supportive was directly correlated with performance for those students entering the course with relatively autonomous reasons for studying physics (beta=0.25**). In summary, students who perceived their instructors as more autonomy supportive tended to have a more favorable experience in the course. If greater autonomy support was in fact the cause of a more favorable student experience, as suggested by Self-determination Theory and experimental studies in other contexts, these results would have implications for instruction and instructor professional development in similar contexts. I discuss these implications. Study II, an experimental study, investigated the effect, on the student experience, of the number of opportunities for choice built into the course format. This was done by comparing two sets of classes. In one set of classes, students spent each class period working through a required series of activities. In the other set of classes, with additional choice, students were free to choose what to work on during nearly half of each class. It was found that the effect of additional choice on student interest and enjoyment in learning physics was significantly different for men vs. women, with a Cohen's d of 0.62 (0.16-1.08; 95% CI). Men became somewhat more interested with additional choice and women became less interested. This gender difference in interest and enjoyment as a result of additional choice could not be accounted for by differences in performance. It was also found that only in classes with additional choice did performance in the course correlate with the degree to which students reasons for studying physics became more autonomous during the quarter (beta=0.30*). I discuss the implications that these effects of additional choice have for instruction and course design in similar contexts.

Sequential Effects on Speeded Information Processing: A Developmental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smulders, S.F.A.; Notebaert, W.; Meijer, M.; Crone, E.A.; van der Molen, M.W.; Soetens, E.

2005-01-01

Two experiments were performed to assess age-related changes in sequential effects on choice reaction time (RT). Sequential effects portray the influence of previous trials on the RT to the current stimulus. In Experiment 1, three age groups (7-9, 10-12, and 18-25 years) performed a spatially compatible choice task, with response-to-stimulus…

The Relationship between Choice of Major and Career, Experience of University and Attrition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willcoxson, Lesley; Wynder, Monte

2010-01-01

This study builds on earlier findings that clear choice of major and clarity of career direction is associated with university student retention. Data on business students' experience of university were correlated with data on intention to leave for two distinct major or career groupings--students who had committed themselves to a career-related…

Inclusion and Healthcare Choices: The Experiences of Adults with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Morag; Jarrett, Dominic; Terras, Melody

2011-01-01

People with learning disabilities have fewer choice opportunities than the general population. Existing research provides some insight, but the choice-making experiences of those who do not always utilise available healthcare remains under-explored. This research explored the choice-making experiences of two groups of individuals with a learning…

Assessing the relative importance of health and conformation traits in the cavalier king Charles spaniel.

PubMed

Wijnrocx, Katrien; François, Liesbeth; Goos, Peter; Buys, Nadine; Janssens, Steven

2018-01-01

The selection of a future breeding dog is a complicated task, in which disease characteristics and different traits have to be combined and weighed against one another. Truncation selection, that is the exclusion of affected animals, may be very inefficient when selecting on a large number of traits, and may result in a reduction of the genetic diversity in a population or breed. Selection could be facilitated by the use of a selection index that combines multiple traits or breeding values into one score. This however requires a consideration of their relative value according to their economic weight, which is difficult to express in monetary units for health traits. The use of a choice experiment to derive non-market values might be a solution to this problem. This is a pilot study to assess the potential use of choice experiments to ascertain the public preference and relative importance attached to health- and conformation traits in the selection of a Cavalier King Charles spaniel. The focus was on two prevalent disorders, mitral valve disease and syringomyelia, and on several important conformation traits such as muzzle length and eye shape. Based on available prior information, a Bayesian D-optimal design approach was used to develop a choice experiment and the resulting choice sets. Every participant (breeder or owner) in the choice experiment was presented with a total of 17 choice sets, in which at most four traits could vary to reduce the cognitive burden. A total of 114 respondents participated in the choice experiment and results showed that respondents (breeders/owners) current attitudes were directed towards health (syringomyelia and mitral valve disease), followed by eye shape and level of inbreeding. This approach identifies the value breeders and owners attach to certain traits in the breeding objective. The resulting relative weights, represented as the logworths obtained from the choice experiment, could be an alternative to economic weights. They could be implemented as a weight when breeding values are available, but more study on this topic will be necessary. A challenge in this approach is to scale up the experiment with additional traits. Moreover, for other traits, the genetic parameters and correlations should be known first, in order to include them in the health selection index as well.

Pramipexole-induced disruption of behavioral processes fundamental to intertemporal choice.

PubMed

Johnson, Patrick S; Stein, Jeffrey S; Smits, Rochelle R; Madden, Gregory J

2013-05-01

Evaluating the effects of presession drug administration on intertemporal choice in nonhumans is a useful approach for identifying compounds that promote impulsive behavior in clinical populations, such as those prescribed the dopamine agonist pramipexole (PPX). Based on the results of previous studies, it is unclear whether PPX increases rats' impulsive choice or attenuates aspects of stimulus control. The present study was designed to experimentally isolate behavioral processes fundamental to intertemporal choice and challenge them pharmacologically with PPX administration. In Experiment 1, the hypothesis that PPX increases impulsive choice as a result of enhanced sensitivity to reinforcer delays was tested and disconfirmed. That is, acute PPX diminished delay sensitivity in a manner consistent with disruption of stimulus control whereas repeated PPX had no effect on delay sensitivity. Experiments 2 and 3 elaborated upon this finding by examining the effects of repeated PPX on rats' discrimination of response-reinforcer contingencies and reinforcer amounts, respectively. Accuracy of both discriminations was reduced by PPX. Collectively these results provide no support for past studies that have suggested PPX increases impulsive choice. Instead, PPX impairs stimulus control over choice behavior. The behavioral approach adopted herein could be profitably integrated with genetic and other biobehavioral models to advance our understanding of impulsive behavior associated with drug administration. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Real and hypothetical rewards

PubMed Central

Locey, Matthew L.; Jones, Bryan A.; Rachlin, Howard

2012-01-01

Laboratory studies of choice and decision making among real monetary rewards typically use smaller real rewards than those common in real life. When laboratory rewards are large, they are almost always hypothetical. In applying laboratory results meaningfully to real-life situations, it is important to know the extent to which choices among hypothetical rewards correspond to choices among real rewards and whether variation of the magnitude of hypothetical rewards affects behavior in meaningful ways. The present study compared real and hypothetical monetary rewards in two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants played a temporal discounting game that incorporates the logic of a repeated prisoner’s-dilemma (PD) type game versus tit-for-tat; choice of one alternative (“defection” in PD terminology) resulted in a small-immediate reward; choice of the other alternative (“cooperation” in PD terminology) resulted in a larger reward delayed until the following trial. The larger-delayed reward was greater for half of the groups than for the other half. Rewards also differed in type across groups: multiples of real nickels, hypothetical nickels or hypothetical hundred-dollar bills. All groups significantly increased choice of the larger delayed reward over the 40 trials of the experiment. Over the last 10 trials, cooperation was significantly higher when the difference between larger and smaller hypothetical rewards was greater. Reward type (real or hypothetical) made no significant difference in cooperation. In Experiment 2, real and hypothetical rewards were compared in social discounting – the decrease in value to the giver of a reward as social distance increases to the receiver of the reward. Social discount rates were well described by a hyperbolic function. Discounting rates for real and hypothetical rewards did not significantly differ. These results add to the evidence that results of experiments with hypothetical rewards validly apply in everyday life. PMID:22582110

What influences participation in genetic carrier testing? Results from a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Hall, Jane; Fiebig, Denzil G; King, Madeleine T; Hossain, Ishrat; Louviere, Jordan J

2006-05-01

This study explores factors that influence participation in genetic testing programs and the acceptance of multiple tests. Tay Sachs and cystic fibrosis are both genetically determined recessive disorders with differing severity, treatment availability, and prevalence in different population groups. We used a discrete choice experiment with a general community and an Ashkenazi Jewish sample; data were analysed using multinomial logit with random coefficients. Although Jewish respondents were more likely to be tested, both groups seem to be making very similar tradeoffs across attributes when they make genetic testing choices.

Discrete Choice Experiments: A Guide to Model Specification, Estimation and Software.

PubMed

Lancsar, Emily; Fiebig, Denzil G; Hole, Arne Risa

2017-07-01

We provide a user guide on the analysis of data (including best-worst and best-best data) generated from discrete-choice experiments (DCEs), comprising a theoretical review of the main choice models followed by practical advice on estimation and post-estimation. We also provide a review of standard software. In providing this guide, we endeavour to not only provide guidance on choice modelling but to do so in a way that provides a 'way in' for researchers to the practicalities of data analysis. We argue that choice of modelling approach depends on the research questions, study design and constraints in terms of quality/quantity of data and that decisions made in relation to analysis of choice data are often interdependent rather than sequential. Given the core theory and estimation of choice models is common across settings, we expect the theoretical and practical content of this paper to be useful to researchers not only within but also beyond health economics.

Physiological Evidence for Response Inhibition in Choice Reaction Time Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burle, Boris; Vidal, Frank; Tandonnet, Christophe; Hasbroucq, Thierry

2004-01-01

Inhibition is a widely used notion proposed to account for data obtained in choice reaction time (RT) tasks. However, this concept is weakly supported by empirical facts. In this paper, we review a series of experiments using Hoffman reflex, transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography to study inhibition in choice RT tasks. We…

The choice behaviour of pigs in a Y maze: effects of deprivation of feed, social contact and bedding.

PubMed

Hemsworth, Paul H; Smith, Kenneth; Karlen, Marcus G; Arnold, Naomi A; Moeller, Steven J; Barnett, John L

2011-06-01

We examined effects of deprivation of feed, social contact and bedding on the choice behaviour in Y maze tests. Eighty pigs were used to study two main effects: feed (estimated voluntary feed intake (VFI) vs. 70% VFI) and bedding (presence vs. absence), experiment 1; social contact (full vs. restricted) and bedding (presence vs. absence), experiment 2; and feed (as in experiment 1) and social contact (as in experiment 2), experiment 3. Overall pigs consistently chose feed and social contact over bedding. While social contact was more preferred than feed in experiment 3, there was substantial variation between pigs in their choice behaviour. The overall choice behaviour in experiment 3 contradicts previous research, but differences such as the preference methodology as well as the level of deprivation, level of reward and cost involved in accessing reward, may be responsible. Average daily weight gain (ADG) was affected in experiment 3: both feed and social restriction reduced ADG. While the feed effect is expected, one interpretation of the social effect is that social deprivation, through stress, may have reduced ADG. These results provide limited support for the notion that deprivation of a highly preferred resource may disrupt biological function. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Qualitative Investigation of the College Choice Experiences and Reentry Expectations of U.S. American Third Culture Kids

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thurston-Gonzalez, Sara J.

2009-01-01

The focus of this qualitative study is on U.S. third culture kids (TCKs), youth who have grown up abroad because of their parent's work, and their college choice experiences and reentry expectations. Through a background questionnaire and personal interviews with eleven students transitioning from two international secondary schools in a…

"In the Driver's Seat": Parent Perceptions of Choice in a Participant-Directed Medicaid Waiver Program for Young Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timberlake, Maria T.; Leutz, Walter N.; Warfield, Marji Erickson; Chiri, Giuseppina

2014-01-01

This study investigated families' experience of choice within a participant-directed Medicaid waiver program for young children with autism. Fourteen parents or grandparents participated in in-depth interviews about their experience of choosing personnel, directing in-home services, and managing the $25,000 annual allocation. Key findings…

Adapting to the destitute situations: poverty cues lead to short-term choice.

PubMed

Liu, Lei; Feng, Tingyong; Suo, Tao; Lee, Kang; Li, Hong

2012-01-01

Why do some people live for the present, whereas others save for the future? The evolutionary framework of life history theory predicts that preference for delay of gratification should be influenced by social economic status (SES). However, here we propose that the decision to choose alternatives in immediate and delayed gratification in poverty environments may have a psychological dimension. Specifically, the perception of environmental poverty cues may induce people alike to favor choices with short-term, likely smaller benefit than choices with long-term, greater benefit. The present study was conducted to explore how poverty and affluence cues affected individuals' intertemporal choices. In our first two experiments, individuals exposed explicitly (Experiment 1) and implicitly (Experiment 2) to poverty pictures (the poverty cue) were induced to prefer immediate gratification compared with those exposed to affluence pictures (the affluence cue). Furthermore, by the manipulation of temporary perceptions of poverty and affluence status using a lucky draw game; individuals in the poverty state were more impulsive in a manner, which made them pursue immediate gratification in intertemporal choices (Experiment 3). Thus, poverty cues can lead to short-term choices. Decision makers chose more frequently the sooner-smaller reward over the later-larger reward as they were exposed to the poverty cue. This indicates that it is that just the feeling of poverty influences intertemporal choice - the actual reality of poverty (restricted resources, etc.) is not necessary to get the effect. Furthermore, our findings emphasize that it is a change of the poverty-affluence status, not a trait change, can influence individual preference in intertemporal choice.

Probability matching in risky choice: the interplay of feedback and strategy availability.

PubMed

Newell, Ben R; Koehler, Derek J; James, Greta; Rakow, Tim; van Ravenzwaaij, Don

2013-04-01

Probability matching in sequential decision making is a striking violation of rational choice that has been observed in hundreds of experiments. Recent studies have demonstrated that matching persists even in described tasks in which all the information required for identifying a superior alternative strategy-maximizing-is present before the first choice is made. These studies have also indicated that maximizing increases when (1) the asymmetry in the availability of matching and maximizing strategies is reduced and (2) normatively irrelevant outcome feedback is provided. In the two experiments reported here, we examined the joint influences of these factors, revealing that strategy availability and outcome feedback operate on different time courses. Both behavioral and modeling results showed that while availability of the maximizing strategy increases the choice of maximizing early during the task, feedback appears to act more slowly to erode misconceptions about the task and to reinforce optimal responding. The results illuminate the interplay between "top-down" identification of choice strategies and "bottom-up" discovery of those strategies via feedback.

Modeling the Effect of Enlarging Seating Room on Passengers' Preference of Taiwan's Domestic Airlines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Jin-Long; Tsai, Li-Non

2003-01-01

This study addresses the need for measuring the effect of enlarging seating room in airplane on passengers' preferences of airline in Taiwan. The results can assist Taiwan's domestic air carriers in better understanding their customers' expectations. Stated choice experiment is used to incorporate passengers' trade-offs in the preferred measurement, and three major attributes are taken into account in the stated choice experiment: (1) type of seat (enlarged or not), (2) price, and (3) brand names of airlines. Furthermore, a binary logit model is used to model the choice behavior of air passengers. The findings show that the type of seat is a major significant variable; price and airline's brand are also significant as well. It concludes that air carriers should put more emphasis on the issue of improving the quality of seat comfort. Keywords: Passengers' preference, Enlarged seating room, Stated choice experiment, Binary logit model.

Phenotypic plasticity in female mate choice behavior is mediated by an interaction of direct and indirect genetic effects in Drosophila melanogaster.

PubMed

Filice, David C S; Long, Tristan A F

2017-05-01

Female mate choice is a complex decision-making process that involves many context-dependent factors. In Drosophila melanogaster , a model species for the study of sexual selection, indirect genetic effects (IGEs) of general social interactions can influence female mate choice behaviors, but the potential impacts of IGEs associated with mating experiences are poorly understood. Here, we examined whether the IGEs associated with a previous mating experience had an effect on subsequent female mate choice behaviors and quantified the degree of additive genetic variation associated with this effect. Females from 21 different genetic backgrounds were housed with males from one of two distinct genetic backgrounds for either a short (3 hr) or long (48 hr) exposure period and their subsequent mate choice behaviors were scored. We found that the genetic identity of a previous mate significantly influenced a female's subsequent interest in males and preference of males. Additionally, a hemiclonal analysis revealed significant additive genetic variation associated with experience-dependent mate choice behaviors, indicating a genotype-by-environment interaction for both of these parameters. We discuss the significance of these results with regard to the evolution of plasticity in female mate choice behaviors and the maintenance of variation in harmful male traits.

Goal-directed visual attention drives health goal priming: An eye-tracking experiment.

PubMed

van der Laan, Laura N; Papies, Esther K; Hooge, Ignace T C; Smeets, Paul A M

2017-01-01

Several lab and field experiments have shown that goal priming interventions can be highly effective in promoting healthy food choices. Less is known, however, about the mechanisms by which goal priming affects food choice. This experiment tested the hypothesis that goal priming affects food choices through changes in visual attention. Specifically, it was hypothesized that priming with the dieting goal steers attention toward goal-relevant, low energy food products, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of choosing these products. In this eye-tracking experiment, 125 participants chose between high and low energy food products in a realistic online supermarket task while their eye movements were recorded with an eye-tracker. One group was primed with a health and dieting goal, a second group was exposed to a control prime, and a third group was exposed to no prime at all. The health goal prime increased low energy food choices and decreased high energy food choices. Furthermore, the health goal prime resulted in proportionally longer total dwell times on low energy food products, and this effect mediated the goal priming effect on choices. The findings suggest that the effect of priming on consumer choice may originate from an increase in attention for prime-congruent items. This study supports the effectiveness of health goal priming interventions in promoting healthy eating and opens up directions for research on other behavioral interventions that steer attention toward healthy foods. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Partner Choice in Raven (Corvus corax) Cooperation.

PubMed

Asakawa-Haas, Kenji; Schiestl, Martina; Bugnyar, Thomas; Massen, Jorg J M

2016-01-01

Although social animals frequently make decisions about when or with whom to cooperate, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of partner choice. Most previous studies compared different dyads' performances, though did not allow an actual choice among partners. We tested eleven ravens, Corvus corax, in triads, giving them first the choice to cooperate with either a highly familiar or a rather unfamiliar partner and, second, with either a friend or a non-friend using a cooperative string-pulling task. In either test, the ravens had a second choice and could cooperate with the other partner, given that this one had not pulled the string in the meantime. We show that during the experiments, these partner ravens indeed learn to wait and inhibit pulling, respectively. Moreover, the results of these two experiments show that ravens' preferences for a specific cooperation partner are not based on familiarity. In contrast, the ravens did show a preference based on relationship quality, as they did choose to cooperate significantly more with friends than with non-friends and they were also more proficient when cooperating with a friend. In order to further identify the proximate mechanism of this preference, we designed an open-choice experiment for the whole group where all birds were free to cooperate on two separate apparatuses. This set-up allowed us to distinguish between preferences for close proximity and preferences to cooperate. The results revealed that friends preferred staying close to each other, but did not necessarily cooperate with one another, suggesting that tolerance of proximity and not relationship quality as a whole may be the driving force behind partner choice in raven cooperation. Consequently, we stress the importance of experiments that allow such titrations and, suggest that these results have important implications for the interpretations of cooperation studies that did not include open partner choice.

Global bias reliability in dogs (Canis familiaris).

PubMed

Mongillo, Paolo; Pitteri, Elisa; Sambugaro, Pamela; Carnier, Paolo; Marinelli, Lieta

2017-03-01

Dogs enrolled in a previous study were assessed two years later for reliability of their local/global preference in a discrimination test with the same hierarchical stimuli used in the previous study (Experiment 1) and with a novel stimulus (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, dogs easily re-learned to discriminate the positive stimulus; their individual global/local choices were stable compared to the previous study; and an overall clear global bias was found. In Experiment 2, dogs were slower in acquiring the initial discrimination task; the overall global bias disappeared; and, individually, dogs tended to make inverse choices compared to the original study. Spontaneous attention toward the test stimulus resembling the global features of the probe stimulus was the main factor affecting the likeliness of a global choice of our dogs, regardless of the type of experiment. However, attention to task-irrelevant elements increased at the expense of attention to the stimuli in the test phase of Experiment 2. Overall, the results suggest that the stability of global bias in dogs depends on the characteristics of the assessment contingencies, likely including the learning requirements of the tasks. Our results also clearly indicate that attention processes have a prominent role on dogs' global bias, in agreement with previous findings in humans and other species.

A biographical study of food choice capacity: standards, circumstances, and food management skills.

PubMed

Bisogni, Carole A; Jastran, Margaret; Shen, Luana; Devine, Carol M

2005-01-01

Conceptual understanding of how management of food and eating is linked to life course events and experiences. Individual qualitative interviews with adults in upstate New York. Fourteen men and 11 women with moderate to low incomes. PHENOMENON: Food choice capacity. Constant comparative method. A conceptual model of food choice capacity emerged. Food choice capacity represented participants' confidence in meeting their standards for food and eating given their food management skills and circumstances. Standards (expectations for how participants felt they should eat) were based on life course events and experiences. Food management skills (mental and physical talents to keep food costs down and prepare meals) were sources of self-esteem for many participants. Most participants had faced challenging and changing circumstances (income, employment, social support, roles, health conditions). Participants linked strong food management skills with high levels of food choice capacity, except in the case of extreme financial circumstances or the absence of strong standards. Recognizing people's experiences and perspectives in food choice is important. Characterizing food management skills as durable, adaptive resources positions them conceptually for researchers and in a way that practitioners can apply in developing programs for adults.

The Dynamic Role of Cultural Capital in the Competitive School Admission Process: A Chinese Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Xiaoxin

2012-01-01

School choice in China is a parent-initiated bottom-up movement characterised by the payment of a substantial "choice fee" to the desired school, and parents' positional competition through the use of cultural, social and economic capital, before and during the school choice process. This study demonstrates that Chinese middle class…

Decision-making around moving on from full-time education: the roles and experiences of parents of disabled young people with degenerative conditions.

PubMed

Maddison, Jane; Beresford, Bryony

2012-09-01

Little is known about the decision-making processes that take place within families when a disabled young person is moving on from full-time education and, particularly, parents' roles and experiences. This paper reports the analysis of data collected from a subsample of parents (representing seventeen families) participating in the Choice and Change Project who had discussed choices associated with their child leaving full-time education. (The Choice and Change Project is a longitudinal, qualitative study of choice-making by four different groups of service users including disabled young people with degenerative conditions and their parents.) The data were collected from parents during up to three semi-structured interviews conducted over a thirty-month period. Descriptive theories of decision-making informed the analysis. Parents differed in the extent to which they were actively involved in making choices about the 'destination' of their child after leaving full-time education. To some extent, the ability of the young person to make choices themselves influenced this. Parents who were assuming responsibility for making choices stressed the importance of having relevant information and felt professionals had a key role to play in supporting access to information. Parents used a number of criteria to guide their choice-making, including distance from home, perceived quality of the environment and staff and the young person's responses to the setting. Much of the information needed to make a choice required a visit to all the possible options. Ensuring such visits were positive and useful experiences for themselves and their child could be very difficult; support to achieve these visits was highly valued but not routinely provided. The study also highlights the lack of recognition given to the significant amount of work that many parents undertake to ensure that a choice is realised, and also to the emotional journey parents take when making or assisting in such decisions. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Developing a discrete choice experiment in Malawi: eliciting preferences for breast cancer early detection services.

PubMed

Kohler, Racquel E; Lee, Clara N; Gopal, Satish; Reeve, Bryce B; Weiner, Bryan J; Wheeler, Stephanie B

2015-01-01

In Malawi, routine breast cancer screening is not available and little is known about women's preferences regarding early detection services. Discrete choice experiments are increasingly used to reveal preferences about new health services; however, selecting appropriate attributes that describe a new health service is imperative to ensure validity of the choice experiment. To identify important factors that are relevant to Malawian women's preferences for breast cancer detection services and to select attributes and levels for a discrete choice experiment in a setting where both breast cancer early detection and choice experiments are rare. We reviewed the literature to establish an initial list of potential attributes and levels for a discrete choice experiment and conducted qualitative interviews with health workers and community women to explore relevant local factors affecting decisions to use cancer detection services. We tested the design through cognitive interviews and refined the levels, descriptions, and designs. Themes that emerged from interviews provided critical information about breast cancer detection services, specifically, that breast cancer interventions should be integrated into other health services because asymptomatic screening may not be practical as an individual service. Based on participants' responses, the final attributes of the choice experiment included travel time, health encounter, health worker type and sex, and breast cancer early detection strategy. Cognitive testing confirmed the acceptability of the final attributes, comprehension of choice tasks, and women's abilities to make trade-offs. Applying a discrete choice experiment for breast cancer early detection was feasible with appropriate tailoring for a low-income, low-literacy African setting.

Effects of Time between Trials on Rats' and Pigeons' Choices with Probabilistic Delayed Reinforcers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazur, James E.; Biondi, Dawn R.

2011-01-01

Parallel experiments with rats and pigeons examined reasons for previous findings that in choices with probabilistic delayed reinforcers, rats' choices were affected by the time between trials whereas pigeons' choices were not. In both experiments, the animals chose between a standard alternative and an adjusting alternative. A choice of the…

A twofold quantum delayed-choice experiment in a superconducting circuit

PubMed Central

Liu, Ke; Xu, Yuan; Wang, Weiting; Zheng, Shi-Biao; Roy, Tanay; Kundu, Suman; Chand, Madhavi; Ranadive, Arpit; Vijay, Rajamani; Song, Yipu; Duan, Luming; Sun, Luyan

2017-01-01

Wave-particle complementarity lies at the heart of quantum mechanics. To illustrate this mysterious feature, Wheeler proposed the delayed-choice experiment, where a quantum system manifests the wave- or particle-like attribute, depending on the experimental arrangement, which is made after the system has entered the interferometer. In recent quantum delayed-choice experiments, these two complementary behaviors were simultaneously observed with a quantum interferometer in a superposition of being closed and open. We suggest and implement a conceptually different quantum delayed-choice experiment by introducing a which-path detector (WPD) that can simultaneously record and neglect the system’s path information, but where the interferometer itself is classical. Our experiment is realized with a superconducting circuit, where a cavity acts as the WPD for an interfering qubit. Using this setup, we implement the first twofold delayed-choice experiment, which demonstrates that the system’s behavior depends not only on the measuring device’s configuration that can be chosen even after the system has been detected but also on whether we a posteriori erase or mark the which-path information, the latter of which cannot be revealed by previous quantum delayed-choice experiments. Our results represent the first demonstration of both counterintuitive features with the same experimental setup, significantly extending the concept of quantum delayed-choice experiment. PMID:28508079

A twofold quantum delayed-choice experiment in a superconducting circuit.

PubMed

Liu, Ke; Xu, Yuan; Wang, Weiting; Zheng, Shi-Biao; Roy, Tanay; Kundu, Suman; Chand, Madhavi; Ranadive, Arpit; Vijay, Rajamani; Song, Yipu; Duan, Luming; Sun, Luyan

2017-05-01

Wave-particle complementarity lies at the heart of quantum mechanics. To illustrate this mysterious feature, Wheeler proposed the delayed-choice experiment, where a quantum system manifests the wave- or particle-like attribute, depending on the experimental arrangement, which is made after the system has entered the interferometer. In recent quantum delayed-choice experiments, these two complementary behaviors were simultaneously observed with a quantum interferometer in a superposition of being closed and open. We suggest and implement a conceptually different quantum delayed-choice experiment by introducing a which-path detector (WPD) that can simultaneously record and neglect the system's path information, but where the interferometer itself is classical. Our experiment is realized with a superconducting circuit, where a cavity acts as the WPD for an interfering qubit. Using this setup, we implement the first twofold delayed-choice experiment, which demonstrates that the system's behavior depends not only on the measuring device's configuration that can be chosen even after the system has been detected but also on whether we a posteriori erase or mark the which-path information, the latter of which cannot be revealed by previous quantum delayed-choice experiments. Our results represent the first demonstration of both counterintuitive features with the same experimental setup, significantly extending the concept of quantum delayed-choice experiment.

School Choice in Philadelphia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keefe, Connie; Scher, Lauren; Sparks, Andrew; Weinbaum, Elliot

Throughout the country, a wide range of educational options exist, from neighborhood public schools to cyber-schools. This study focuses on school choice in improving the educational experience in one city, Philadelphia. The study employed interviews with policymakers, teachers, and others; a focus group of middle-school students; a collection of…

Learners on the Move: Mobile Modalities in Development Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckmann, Elizabeth A.

2010-01-01

Many careers involve mobile lifestyles, yet require specialised postgraduate qualifications for career progression. Mobile technologies offer new opportunities by providing more choice in when, where, and how students learn. Experiences in an Australian postgraduate development studies program illustrate the choices. Three key issues are explored:…

An Exploration into the Potential Career Effects from Middle and High School Mathematics Experiences: A Mixed Methods Investigation into STEM Career Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeThomas, Elizabeth M.

2017-01-01

This mixed methods research study examined the effects of middle and high school mathematics experiences on students' choice of college major, particularly whether students decided to major in a STEM field. Social cognitive career theory was used to examine potential influences of mathematics self-efficacy and how those influences and mathematics…

Using Discrete Choice Experiments to Inform the Benefit-Risk Assessment of Medicines: Are We Ready Yet?

PubMed

Vass, Caroline M; Payne, Katherine

2017-09-01

There is emerging interest in the use of discrete choice experiments as a means of quantifying the perceived balance between benefits and risks (quantitative benefit-risk assessment) of new healthcare interventions, such as medicines, under assessment by regulatory agencies. For stated preference data on benefit-risk assessment to be used in regulatory decision making, the methods to generate these data must be valid, reliable and capable of producing meaningful estimates understood by decision makers. Some reporting guidelines exist for discrete choice experiments, and for related methods such as conjoint analysis. However, existing guidelines focus on reporting standards, are general in focus and do not consider the requirements for using discrete choice experiments specifically for quantifying benefit-risk assessments in the context of regulatory decision making. This opinion piece outlines the current state of play in using discrete choice experiments for benefit-risk assessment and proposes key areas needing to be addressed to demonstrate that discrete choice experiments are an appropriate and valid stated preference elicitation method in this context. Methodological research is required to establish: how robust the results of discrete choice experiments are to formats and methods of risk communication; how information in the discrete choice experiment can be presented effectually to respondents; whose preferences should be elicited; the correct underlying utility function and analytical model; the impact of heterogeneity in preferences; and the generalisability of the results. We believe these methodological issues should be addressed, alongside developing a 'reference case', before agencies can safely and confidently use discrete choice experiments for quantitative benefit-risk assessment in the context of regulatory decision making for new medicines and healthcare products.

Naloxone effects on extinction of ethanol- and cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in mice.

PubMed

Font, Laura; Houck, Christa A; Cunningham, Christopher L

2017-09-01

Previous studies found that naloxone (NLX) facilitated choice extinction of ethanol conditioned place preference (CPP) using long (60 min) test sessions, but there is little information on the variables determining this effect. These studies examined repeated exposure to NLX during extinction of ethanol- or cocaine-induced CPP using both short and long tests. DBA/2J mice were injected with NLX (0 or 10 mg/kg) before three 10- or 60-min choice extinction tests (experiment 1). All mice received a final 60-min test without NLX. Post-test NLX was given in experiment 2. Experiment 3 tested whether NLX would affect a forced extinction procedure. Experiment 4 tested its effect on extinction of cocaine-induced CPP. Pre-test (but not post-test) injections of NLX-facilitated choice extinction of ethanol CPP at both test durations. Pre-test NLX also facilitated forced extinction. However, pre-test NLX had no effect on choice extinction of cocaine CPP. Extinction test duration is not critical for engaging the opioid system during ethanol CPP extinction (experiment 1). Moreover, NLX's effect does not depend on CPP expression during extinction, just exposure to previously conditioned cues (experiment 3). The null effect of post-test NLX eliminates a memory consolidation interpretation (experiment 2) and the failure to alter cocaine CPP extinction argues against alteration of general learning or memory processes (experiment 4). Overall, these data suggest that the endogenous opioid system mediates a conditioned motivational effect that normally maintains alcohol-induced seeking behavior, which may underlie the efficacy of opiate antagonists in the treatment of alcoholism.

Recall of vegetable eating affects future predicted enjoyment and choice of vegetables in British University undergraduate students.

PubMed

Robinson, Eric; Blissett, Jackie; Higgs, Suzanne

2011-10-01

Predictions about enjoyment of future experiences are influenced by recalling similar past experiences. However, little is known about the relationship between hedonic memories of past eating episodes and future eating behavior. We investigated recall of previous experiences of eating vegetables and the effect of recall on future predicted liking for and consumption of vegetables. British University undergraduate students were asked to retrieve memories of previous occasions when they ate vegetables and were asked to rate how enjoyable those experiences were (Study 1, n=54). The effect of different types of memory recall (including vegetable eating recall) and visualization of someone else eating vegetables (to control for priming effects) on predicted likelihood of choosing vegetables and predicted enjoyment of eating vegetables was examined (Study 2, n=95). Finally, the effect of recalling vegetable eating memories on actual food choice from a buffet was assessed (Study 3, n=63). It is reported that people recall positive memories of past vegetable consumption (P<0.05) and that reminding people of these experiences results in higher predicted future liking for vegetables (P<0.05) and choice of a larger portion size of vegetables (P<0.05) compared with recall of a personal nonfood memory, a nonvegetable food memory, or visualization of someone else enjoying eating vegetables (increase of approximately 70% in vegetable portion size compared to controls). The results suggest that recall of previous eating experiences could be a potential strategy for altering food choices. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"Where's My Choice?" An Examination of Veteran and Provider Experiences With Hepatitis C Treatment Through the Veteran Affairs Choice Program.

PubMed

Tsai, Jack; Yakovchenko, Vera; Jones, Natalie; Skolnik, Avy; Noska, Amanda; Gifford, Allen L; McInnes, D Keith

2017-07-01

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the country's largest provider for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The VA created the Choice Program, which allows eligible veterans to seek care from community providers, who are reimbursed by the VA. This study aimed to examine perspectives and experiences with the VA Choice Program among veteran patients and their HCV providers. Qualitative study based on semistructured interviews with veteran patients and VA providers. Interview transcripts were analyzed using rapid assessment procedures based in grounded theory. A total of 38 veterans and 10 VA providers involved in HCV treatment across 3 VA medical centers were interviewed. Veterans and providers were asked open-ended questions about their experiences with HCV treatment in the VA and through the Choice Program, including barriers and facilitators to treatment access and completion. Four themes were identified: (1) there were difficulties in enrollment, ongoing support, and billing with third-party administrators; (2) veterans experienced a lack of choice in location of treatment; (3) fragmented care led to coordination challenges between VA and community providers; and (4) VA providers expressed reservations about sending veterans to community providers. The Choice Program has the potential to increase veteran access to HCV treatment, but veterans and VA providers have described substantial problems in the initial years of the program. Enhancing care coordination, incorporating shared decision-making, and establishing a wide network of community providers may be important areas for further development in designing community-based specialist services for needy veterans.

Adapting to the Destitute Situations: Poverty Cues Lead to Short-Term Choice

PubMed Central

Suo, Tao; Lee, Kang; Li, Hong

2012-01-01

Background Why do some people live for the present, whereas others save for the future? The evolutionary framework of life history theory predicts that preference for delay of gratification should be influenced by social economic status (SES). However, here we propose that the decision to choose alternatives in immediate and delayed gratification in poverty environments may have a psychological dimension. Specifically, the perception of environmental poverty cues may induce people alike to favor choices with short-term, likely smaller benefit than choices with long-term, greater benefit. Methodology/Principal Findings The present study was conducted to explore how poverty and affluence cues affected individuals' intertemporal choices. In our first two experiments, individuals exposed explicitly (Experiment 1) and implicitly (Experiment 2) to poverty pictures (the poverty cue) were induced to prefer immediate gratification compared with those exposed to affluence pictures (the affluence cue). Furthermore, by the manipulation of temporary perceptions of poverty and affluence status using a lucky draw game; individuals in the poverty state were more impulsive in a manner, which made them pursue immediate gratification in intertemporal choices (Experiment 3). Thus, poverty cues can lead to short-term choices. Conclusions/Significance Decision makers chose more frequently the sooner-smaller reward over the later-larger reward as they were exposed to the poverty cue. This indicates that it is that just the feeling of poverty influences intertemporal choice – the actual reality of poverty (restricted resources, etc.) is not necessary to get the effect. Furthermore, our findings emphasize that it is a change of the poverty-affluence status, not a trait change, can influence individual preference in intertemporal choice. PMID:22529902

Mechanisms of impulsive choice: II. Time-based interventions to improve self-control

PubMed Central

Smith, Aaron P.; Marshall, Andrew T.; Kirkpatrick, Kimberly

2014-01-01

Impulsive choice behavior has been proposed as a primary risk factor for other maladaptive behaviors (e.g., gambling, substance abuse). Recent research has suggested that timing processes may play a key role in impulsive choice behavior, and could provide an avenue for altering impulsive choice. Accordingly, the current experiments assessed a set of time-based behavioral interventions to increase self-control while simultaneously assessing effects on timing processes within the impulsive choice task. Three experiments assessed temporal interventions using a differential reinforcement of low rates task (Experiment 1) and exposure to either a variable or fixed interval schedule (Experiments 2–3). The efficacy of the interventions was assessed in Sprague-Dawley (Experiments 1–2) and Lewis (Experiment 3) rat strains. Impulsive choice behavior was assessed by measuring preferences of a smaller-sooner (SS) versus a larger-later (LL) reward, while timing of the SS and LL durations was measured during peak trials within the impulsive choice procedure. The rats showed an increased preference for the LL following all three time-based interventions and also displayed increased temporal precision. These results add to the increasing evidence that supports a possible role for temporal processing in impulsive choice behavior and supply novel behavioral interventions to decrease impulsive behavior. PMID:25444771

Choice and Control Within Family Relationships: The Lived Experience of Adults With Intellectual Disability.

PubMed

Curryer, Bernadette; Stancliffe, Roger J; Dew, Angela; Wiese, Michele Y

2018-06-01

Increased choice and control is a driving force of current disability policy in Australia for people with disability and their families. Yet little is known of how adults with intellectual disability (ID) actually experience choice and control within their family relationships. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis of individual, semistructured interviews conducted with 8 Australian adults with ID to understand the meaning given to their experience of family support received around choice and decision making. Three themes were identified: (1) centrality of family, (2) experience of self-determination, and (3) limitations to choice and control. The participants identified trusted family members from whom guidance around choice and decision making was both sought and received, often involving mutual decision making and limitations to control.

Personality and Field of Study Choice in University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Humburg, Martin

2017-01-01

This paper demonstrates that the Big five personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) measured at age 14 can be linked to field of study choice in university at around age 19. While personality matters less than cognitive skills, such as math ability and verbal ability, for…

Linear-Nonlinear-Poisson Models of Primate Choice Dynamics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corrado, Greg S.; Sugrue, Leo P.; Seung, H. Sebastian; Newsome, William T.

2005-01-01

The equilibrium phenomenon of matching behavior traditionally has been studied in stationary environments. Here we attempt to uncover the local mechanism of choice that gives rise to matching by studying behavior in a highly dynamic foraging environment. In our experiments, 2 rhesus monkeys ("Macacca mulatta") foraged for juice rewards by making…

Choice experiments

Treesearch

Thomas P Holmes; Wiktor L Adamawicz; Fredrik Carlsson

2017-01-01

There has been an explosion of interest during the past two decades in a class of nonmarket stated-preference valuation methods known as choice experiments. The overall objective of a choice experiment is to estimate economic values for characteristics (or attributes) of an environmental good that is the subject of policy analysis, where...

Manipulations of Choice Familiarity in Multiple-Choice Testing Support a Retrieval Practice Account of the Testing Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jang, Yoonhee; Pashler, Hal; Huber, David E.

2014-01-01

We performed 4 experiments assessing the learning that occurs when taking a test. Our experiments used multiple-choice tests because the processes deployed during testing can be manipulated by varying the nature of the choice alternatives. Previous research revealed that a multiple-choice test that includes "none of the above" (NOTA)…

Choice Experiments to Quantify Preferences for Health and Healthcare: State of the Practice.

PubMed

Mühlbacher, Axel; Johnson, F Reed

2016-06-01

Stated-preference methods increasingly are used to quantify preferences in health economics, health technology assessment, benefit-risk analysis and health services research. The objective of stated-preference studies is to acquire information about trade-off preferences among treatment outcomes, prioritization of clinical decision criteria, likely uptake or adherence to healthcare products and acceptability of healthcare services or policies. A widely accepted approach to eliciting preferences is discrete-choice experiments. Patient, physician, insurant or general-public respondents choose among constructed, experimentally controlled alternatives described by decision-relevant features or attributes. Attributes can represent complete health states, sets of treatment outcomes or characteristics of a healthcare system. The observed pattern of choice reveals how different respondents or groups of respondents implicitly weigh, value and assess different characteristics of treatments, products or services. An important advantage of choice experiments is their foundation in microeconomic utility theory. This conceptual framework provides tests of internal validity, guidance for statistical analysis of latent preference structures, and testable behavioural hypotheses. Choice experiments require expertise in survey-research methods, random-utility theory, experimental design and advanced statistical analysis. This paper should be understood as an introduction to setting up a basic experiment rather than an exhaustive critique of the latest findings and procedures. Where appropriate, we have identified topics of active research where a broad consensus has not yet been established.

Reinstated episodic context guides sampling-based decisions for reward.

PubMed

Bornstein, Aaron M; Norman, Kenneth A

2017-07-01

How does experience inform decisions? In episodic sampling, decisions are guided by a few episodic memories of past choices. This process can yield choice patterns similar to model-free reinforcement learning; however, samples can vary from trial to trial, causing decisions to vary. Here we show that context retrieved during episodic sampling can cause choice behavior to deviate sharply from the predictions of reinforcement learning. Specifically, we show that, when a given memory is sampled, choices (in the present) are influenced by the properties of other decisions made in the same context as the sampled event. This effect is mediated by fMRI measures of context retrieval on each trial, suggesting a mechanism whereby cues trigger retrieval of context, which then triggers retrieval of other decisions from that context. This result establishes a new avenue by which experience can guide choice and, as such, has broad implications for the study of decisions.

Obligatory Effort [Hishtadlut] as an Explanatory Model: A Critique of Reproductive Choice and Control.

PubMed

Teman, Elly; Ivry, Tsipy; Goren, Heela

2016-06-01

Studies on reproductive technologies often examine women's reproductive lives in terms of choice and control. Drawing on 48 accounts of procreative experiences of religiously devout Jewish women in Israel and the US, we examine their attitudes, understandings and experiences of pregnancy, reproductive technologies and prenatal testing. We suggest that the concept of hishtadlut-"obligatory effort"-works as an explanatory model that organizes Haredi women's reproductive careers and their negotiations of reproductive technologies. As an elastic category with negotiable and dynamic boundaries, hishtadlut gives ultra-orthodox Jewish women room for effort without the assumption of control; it allows them to exercise discretion in relation to medical issues without framing their efforts in terms of individual choice. Haredi women hold themselves responsible for making their obligatory effort and not for pregnancy outcomes. We suggest that an alternative paradigm to autonomous choice and control emerges from cosmological orders where reproductive duties constitute "obligatory choices."

Predicting the Influence of Demographic Differences and Schooling Experience in Adolescence on Occupational Choice in Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, Edward C., Jr.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to predict occupational choices based on demographic variables and high school curriculum tracks. Based on an analysis of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data set that examined high school graduates' occupational choices in 2006, findings indicated that CTE graduates were 2.7 times more likely to…

Can decision biases improve insurance outcomes? An experiment on status quo bias in health insurance choice.

PubMed

Krieger, Miriam; Felder, Stefan

2013-06-19

Rather than conforming to the assumption of perfect rationality in neoclassical economic theory, decision behavior has been shown to display a host of systematic biases. Properly understood, these patterns can be instrumentalized to improve outcomes in the public realm. We conducted a laboratory experiment to study whether decisions over health insurance policies are subject to status quo bias and, if so, whether experience mitigates this framing effect. Choices in two treatment groups with status quo defaults are compared to choices in a neutrally framed control group. A two-step design features sorting of subjects into the groups, allowing us to control for selection effects due to risk preferences. The results confirm the presence of a status quo bias in consumer choices over health insurance policies. However, this effect of the default framing does not persist as subjects repeat this decision in later periods of the experiment. Our results have implications for health care policy, for example suggesting that the use of non-binding defaults in health insurance can facilitate the spread of co-insurance policies and thereby help contain health care expenditure.

Leveraging the Happy Meal Effect: Substituting Food with Modest Nonfood Incentives Decreases Portion Size Choice

PubMed Central

Reimann, Martin; Bechara, Antoine; MacInnis, Deborah

2015-01-01

Despite much effort to decrease food intake by altering portion sizes, “super-sized” meals are the preferred choice of many. This research investigated the extent to which individuals can be subtly incentivized to choose smaller portion sizes. Three randomized experiments (2 in the lab and 1 in the field) established that individuals’ choice of full-sized food portions is reduced when they are given the opportunity to choose a half-sized version with a modest nonfood incentive. This substitution effect was robust across different nonfood incentives, foods, populations, and time. Experiment 1 established the effect with children, using inexpensive headphones as nonfood incentives. Experiment 2—a longitudinal study across multiple days—generalized this effect with adults, using the mere chance to win either gift cards or frequent flyer miles as nonfood incentives. Experiment 3 demonstrated the effect among actual restaurant customers who had originally planned to eat a full-sized portion, using the mere chance to win small amounts of money. Our investigation broadens the psychology of food portion choice from perceptual and social factors to motivational determinants. PMID:26372082

Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry: Volitional choices to act or inhibit are modulated by subliminal perception of emotional faces.

PubMed

Parkinson, Jim; Garfinkel, Sarah; Critchley, Hugo; Dienes, Zoltan; Seth, Anil K

2017-04-01

Volitional action and self-control-feelings of acting according to one's own intentions and in being control of one's own actions-are fundamental aspects of human conscious experience. However, it is unknown whether high-level cognitive control mechanisms are affected by socially salient but nonconscious emotional cues. In this study, we manipulated free choice decisions to act or withhold an action by subliminally presenting emotional faces: In a novel version of the Go/NoGo paradigm, participants made speeded button-press responses to Go targets, withheld responses to NoGo targets, and made spontaneous, free choices to execute or withhold the response for Choice targets. Before each target, we presented emotional faces, backwards masked to render them nonconscious. In Intentional trials, subliminal angry faces made participants more likely to voluntarily withhold the action, whereas fearful and happy faces had no effects. In a second experiment, the faces were made supraliminal, which eliminated the effects of angry faces on volitional choices. A third experiment measured neural correlates of the effects of subliminal angry faces on intentional choice using EEG. After replicating the behavioural results found in Experiment 1, we identified a frontal-midline theta component-associated with cognitive control processes-which is present for volitional decisions, and is modulated by subliminal angry faces. This suggests a mechanism whereby subliminally presented "threat" stimuli affect conscious control processes. In summary, nonconscious perception of angry faces increases choices to inhibit, and subliminal influences on volitional action are deep seated and ecologically embedded.

Delayed-Choice Experiments and the Metaphysics of Entanglement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egg, Matthias

2013-09-01

Delayed-choice experiments in quantum mechanics are often taken to undermine a realistic interpretation of the quantum state. More specifically, Healey has recently argued that the phenomenon of delayed-choice entanglement swapping is incompatible with the view that entanglement is a physical relation between quantum systems. This paper argues against these claims. It first reviews two paradigmatic delayed-choice experiments and analyzes their metaphysical implications. It then applies the results of this analysis to the case of entanglement swapping, showing that such experiments pose no threat to realism about entanglement.

Memory Attributions for Choices: How Beliefs Shape Our Memories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henkel, Linda A.; Mather, Mara

2007-01-01

When remembering past choices, people tend to attribute positive features to chosen options and negative features to rejected options. The present experiments reveal the important role beliefs play in memory reconstruction of choices. In Experiment 1, participants who misremembered which option they chose favored their believed choice in their…

Patients' preferences for primary health care - a systematic literature review of discrete choice experiments.

PubMed

Kleij, Kim-Sarah; Tangermann, Ulla; Amelung, Volker E; Krauth, Christian

2017-07-11

Primary care is a key element of health care systems and addresses the main health problems of the population. Due to the demographic change, primary care even gains in importance. The knowledge of the patients' preferences can help policy makers as well as physicians to set priorities in their effort to make health care delivery more responsive to patients' needs. Our objective was to describe which aspects of primary care were included in preference studies and which of them were the most preferred aspects. In order to elicit the preferences for primary care, a systematic literature search was conducted. Two researchers searched three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and PsycINFO) and conducted a narrative synthesis. Inclusion criteria were: focus on primary health care delivery, discrete choice experiment as elicitation method, and studies published between 2006 and 2015 in English language. We identified 18 studies that elicited either the patients' or the population's preferences for primary care based on a discrete choice experiment. Altogether the studies used 16 structure attributes, ten process attributes and four outcome attributes. The most commonly applied structure attribute was "Waiting time till appointment", the most frequently used process attribute was "Shared decision making / professional's attention paid to your views". "Receiving the 'best' treatment" was the most commonly applied outcome attribute. Process attributes were most often the ones of highest importance for patients or the population. The attributes and attribute levels used in the discrete choice experiments were identified by literature research, qualitative research, expert interviews, or the analysis of policy documents. The results of the DCE studies show different preferences for primary health care. The diversity of the results may have several reasons, such as the method of analysis, the selection procedure of the attributes and their levels or the specific research question of the study. As the results of discrete choice experiments depend on many different factors, it is important for a better comprehensibility of the studies to transparently report the steps undertaken in a study as well as the interim results regarding the identification of attributes and levels.

Accounting for substitution and spatial heterogeneity in a labelled choice experiment.

PubMed

Lizin, S; Brouwer, R; Liekens, I; Broeckx, S

2016-10-01

Many environmental valuation studies using stated preferences techniques are single-site studies that ignore essential spatial aspects, including possible substitution effects. In this paper substitution effects are captured explicitly in the design of a labelled choice experiment and the inclusion of different distance variables in the choice model specification. We test the effect of spatial heterogeneity on welfare estimates and transfer errors for minor and major river restoration works, and the transferability of river specific utility functions, accounting for key variables such as site visitation, spatial clustering and income. River specific utility functions appear to be transferable, resulting in low transfer errors. However, ignoring spatial heterogeneity increases transfer errors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Choice as a dependent measure in autoshaping: sensitivity to frequency and duration of food presentation.

PubMed Central

Picker, M; Poling, A

1982-01-01

Previous investigations have shown that rate, latency, and percentage of trials with at least one response are somewhat insensitive measures of the strength of autoshaped responding. In the present studies, these measures were contrasted with the allocation of responding during simultaneous choice tests, a measure of response strength frequently used in operant paradigms. In two experiments, nine pigeons were exposed to a forward pairing autoshaping procedure. Training sessions consisted of the successive presentation of three stimuli, each followed by food on either 100%, 50%, or 0% of the trials. Choice testing involved the simultaneous presentation of the three stimuli. In Experiment I, all pigeons consistently directed their initial choice responses and the majority of subsequent responses to the stimulus always followed by food, despite the fact that during training sessions the response rates of most birds were highest in the presence of the stimulus followed by food on 50% of the trials. In Experiment II, rate, latency, and percentage of trials with at least one response did not change appreciably as a function of duration of feeder presentations. However, choice responding was lawfully affected by duration of feeder presentations. These data suggest that choice is perhaps a more sensitive measure of the strength of autoshaped responding than other, more commonly employed, indices. PMID:7097152

Estimating willingness to accept using paired comparison choice experiments: tests of robustness

Treesearch

David C. Kingsley; Thomas C. Brown

2013-01-01

Paired comparison (PC) choice experiments offer researchers and policy-makers an alternative nonmarket valuation method particularly apt when a ranking of the public's priorities across policy alternatives is paramount. Similar to contingent valuation, PC choice experiments estimate the total value associated with a specific environmental good or service. Similar...

Saving the Best for Last? A Cross-Species Analysis of Choices between Reinforcer Sequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrade, Leonardo F.; Hackenberg, Timothy D.

2012-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to compare choices between sequences of reinforcers in pigeon (Experiment 1) and human (Experiment 2) subjects, using functionally analogous procedures. The subjects made pairwise choices among 3 sequence types, all of which provided the same overall reinforcement rate, but differed in their temporal patterning.…

Choice-disability and HIV infection: a cross sectional study of HIV status in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland.

PubMed

Andersson, Neil; Cockcroft, Anne

2012-01-01

Interpersonal power gradients may prevent people implementing HIV prevention decisions. Among 7,464 youth aged 15-29 years in Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland we documented indicators of choice-disability (low education, educational disparity with partner, experience of sexual violence, experience of intimate partner violence (IPV), poverty, partner income disparity, willingness to have sex without a condom despite believing partner at risk of HIV), and risk behaviours like inconsistent use of condoms and multiple partners. In Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland, 22.9, 9.1, and 26.1% women, and 8.3, 2.8, and 9.3% men, were HIV positive. Among both women and men, experience of IPV, IPV interacted with age, and partner income disparity interacted with age were associated with HIV positivity in multivariate analysis. Additional factors were low education (for women) and poverty (for men). Choice disability may be an important driver of the AIDS epidemic. New strategies are needed that favour the choice-disabled.

"None of the above" as a correct and incorrect alternative on a multiple-choice test: implications for the testing effect.

PubMed

Odegard, Timothy N; Koen, Joshua D

2007-11-01

Both positive and negative testing effects have been demonstrated with a variety of materials and paradigms (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006b). The present series of experiments replicate and extend the research of Roediger and Marsh (2005) with the addition of a "none-of-the-above" response option. Participants (n=32 in both experiments) read a set of passages, took an initial multiple-choice test, completed a filler task, and then completed a final cued-recall test (Experiment 1) or multiple-choice test (Experiment 2). Questions were manipulated on the initial multiple-choice test by adding a "none-of-the-above" response alternative (choice "E") that was incorrect ("E" Incorrect) or correct ("E" Correct). The results from both experiments demonstrated that the positive testing effect was negated when the "none-of-the-above" alternative was the correct response on the initial multiple-choice test, but was still present when the "none-of-the-above" alternative was an incorrect response.

Autism and Bilingualism: A Qualitative Interview Study of Parents' Perspectives and Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hampton, Sarah; Rabagliati, Hugh; Sorace, Antonella; Fletcher-Watson, Sue

2017-01-01

Purpose: Research into how bilingual parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make choices about their children's language environment is scarce. This study aimed to explore this issue, focusing on understanding how bilingual parents of children with ASD may make different language exposure choices compared with bilingual parents of…

Decision-Making Training for Occupational Choice and Early Turnover: A Field Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pazy, Asya; Ganzach, Yoav; Davidov, Yariv

2006-01-01

Purpose: The study seeks to examine how a short intervention, aimed at enhancing occupational choice skills, influences turnover during the early stages of organizational membership. It seeks to explore two theoretical rationales for this effect: social exchange and self-determination. Design/methodology/approach: The study is a "constructive…

Influence of an Academic Intervention Program on Minority Student Career Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sweeney, Jennifer K.; Villarejo, Merna

2013-01-01

This qualitative, retrospective study explored how educational experiences provided as part of an undergraduate intervention program helped to shape career decisions for minority biology students. A key goal for the program is to increase minority entry into science research and teaching careers, yet actual career choice has not been studied.…

Food Choice by People with Intellectual Disabilities at Day Centres: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cartwright, Luke; Reid, Marie; Hammersley, Richard; Blackburn, Chrissie; Glover, Lesley

2015-01-01

People with intellectual disabilities experience a range of health inequalities. It is important to investigate possible contributory factors that may lead to these inequalities. This qualitative study identified some difficulties for healthy eating in day centres. (1) Service users and their family carers were aware of healthy food choices but…

Optical proposals for controlled delayed-choice experiment based on weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Li; Lin, Yan-Fang; Li, Qing-Yang; Xiu, Xiao-Ming; Dong, Hai-Kuan; Gao, Ya-Jun

2017-05-01

Employing polarization modes of a photon, we propose two theoretical proposals to exhibit the wave-particle duality of the photon with the assistance of weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities. The first proposal is a classical controlled delayed-choice experiment (that is, Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment), where we can observe selectively wave property or particle property of the photon relying on the experimenter's selection, whereas the second proposal is a quantum controlled delayed-choice experiment, by which the mixture phenomenon of a wave and a particle will be exhibited. Both of them can be realized with near-unity probability and embody the charming characteristics of quantum mechanics. The employment of the mature techniques and simple operations (e.g., Homodyne measurement, classical feed forward, and single-photon transformations) provides the feasibility of the delayed-choice experiment proposals presented here.

How important is local food to organic-minded consumers?

PubMed

Hempel, Corinna; Hamm, Ulrich

2016-01-01

The study deals with German consumers' attitudes towards organic food and local food, their food purchase behaviour and their personal characteristics. The purpose is to investigate the differences in attitudes and willingness-to-pay values between consumers who consider the organic production of food (very) important and those who consider it less important. This study combines a consumer survey with an in-store, discrete choice experiment. In the analysis, findings from the consumer survey were related to the choices made by consumers in the experiment. Consumers' preferences and willingness-to-pay values were estimated through random parameter logit modelling. Organic-minded consumers (i.e. those who regarded organic food production as (very) important in the survey) have stronger preferences and estimated willingness-to-pay values for organic as well as local products. Locally produced food, as opposed to food from neighbouring countries or non-EU countries, is preferred over organically produced food by both consumer groups which demonstrates that organic-minded consumers do not only consider organic food production as important, but also value local food production in a purchase situation. Hence, it can be assumed that local food production complements organic food production for the group of organic-minded consumers. This contribution is the first study dealing with local and organic food purchase behaviour in Germany that examines four different products and is carried out in rural as well as urban locations in four different regions. Due to the application of a choice experiment including no-choice options and binding purchase decisions, the results are expected to be closer to real purchase situations than results of direct questioning and choice experiments in online applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sequential effects in pigeon delayed matching-to-sample performance.

PubMed

Roitblat, H L; Scopatz, R A

1983-04-01

Pigeons were tested in a three-alternative delayed matching-to-sample task in which second-choices were permitted following first-choice errors. Sequences of responses both within and between trials were examined in three experiments. The first experiment demonstrates that the sample information contained in first-choice errors is not sufficient to account for the observed pattern of second choices. This result implies that second-choices following first-choice errors are based on a second examination of the contents of working memory. Proactive interference was found in the second experiment in the form of a dependency, beyond that expected on the basis of trial independent response bias, of first-choices from one trial on the first-choice emitted on the previous trial. Samples from the previous trial were not found to exert a significant influence on later trials. The magnitude of the intertrial association (Experiment 3) did not depend on the duration of the intertrial interval. In contrast, longer intertrial intervals and longer sample durations did facilitate choice accuracy, by strengthening the association between current samples and choices. These results are incompatible with a trace-decay and competition model; they suggest strongly that multiple influences act simultaneously and independently to control delayed matching-to-sample responding. These multiple influences include memory for the choice occurring on the previous trial, memory for the sample, and general effects of trial spacing.

Fitting observed and theoretical choices - women's choices about prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

PubMed

Seror, Valerie

2008-05-01

Choices regarding prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome - the most frequent chromosomal defect - are particularly relevant to decision analysis, since women's decisions are based on the assessment of their risk of carrying a child with Down syndrome, and involve tradeoffs (giving birth to an affected child vs procedure-related miscarriage). The aim of this study, based on face-to-face interviews with 78 women aged 25-35 with prior experience of pregnancy, was to compare the women' expressed choices towards prenatal diagnosis with those derived from theoretical models of choice (expected utility theory, rank-dependent theory, and cumulative prospect theory). The main finding obtained in this study was that the cumulative prospect model fitted the observed choices best: both subjective transformation of probabilities and loss aversion, which are basic features of the cumulative prospect model, have to be taken into account to make the observed choices consistent with the theoretical ones.

Intuitive Choices Lead to Intensified Positive Emotions: An Overlooked Reason for "Intuition Bias"?

PubMed

Kirkebøen, Geir; Nordbye, Gro H H

2017-01-01

People have, for many well-documented reasons, a tendency to overemphasize their intuitions and to follow them, even when they should not. This "intuition bias" leads to several kinds of specific intuitive biases in judgments and decision making. Previous studies have shown that characteristics of the decision process have a tendency to "leak" into the experience of the choice outcome. We explore whether intuitive choices influence the experience of the choice outcomes differently from "non-intuitive," analytic choices. Since intuition is feeling based, we examine in particular if intuitive choices have stronger affective consequences than non-intuitive ones. Participants in two scenario studies ( N = 90; N = 126) rated the feelings of decision makers who experienced a conflict between two options, one intuitively appealing and another that appeared preferable on analytic grounds. Choosing the intuitive alternative was anticipated to lead to somewhat more regret after negative outcomes and, in particular, much more satisfaction with positive outcomes. In two autobiographical studies, one with psychology students ( N = 88) and the other with experienced engineers ( N = 99), participants were asked to provide examples of choice conflicts between an intuitive and a non-intuitive option from their own private or professional lives. Both groups showed a tendency to report stronger emotions, in particular positive, after intuitive choices. One well-established explanation for intuition bias focuses on the nature of people's anticipated negative counterfactual thoughts if their decisions were to turn out badly. The present data indicate that intuitive choices intensify positive emotions, anticipated and real, after successful outcomes much more than negative emotions after failures. Positive outcomes are also more commonly expected than negative ones, when we make choices. We argue that markedly amplified emotions, mediated by stronger personal involvement, in the positive outcomes of intuitive versus non-intuitive choices, is an overlooked reason for intuition bias.

Effects of monetary reserves and rate of gain on human risky choice under budget constraints.

PubMed

Pietras, Cynthia J; Searcy, Gabriel D; Huitema, Brad E; Brandt, Andrew E

2008-07-01

The energy-budget rule is an optimal foraging model that predicts that choice should be risk averse when net gains plus reserves meet energy requirements (positive energy-budget conditions) and risk prone when net gains plus reserves fall below requirements (negative energy-budget conditions). Studies have shown that the energy-budget rule provides a good description of risky choice in humans when choice is studied under economic conditions (i.e., earnings budgets) that simulate positive and negative energy budgets. In previous human studies, earnings budgets were manipulated by varying earnings requirements, but in most nonhuman studies, energy budgets have been manipulated by varying reserves and/or mean rates of reinforcement. The present study therefore investigated choice in humans between certain and variable monetary outcomes when earnings budgets were manipulated by varying monetary reserves and mean rates of monetary gain. Consistent with the energy-budget rule, choice tended to be risk averse under positive-budget conditions and risk neutral or risk prone under negative-budget conditions. Sequential choices were also well described by a dynamic optimization model, especially when expected earnings for optimal choices were high. These results replicate and extend the results of prior experiments in showing that humans' choices are generally consistent with the predictions of the energy-budget rule when studied under conditions analogous to those used in nonhuman energy-budget studies, and that choice patterns tend to maximize reinforcement.

A role of decision-making competency in science learning utilizing a social valuation framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsuo, Akihito

2005-11-01

The role of decision-making in learning performance has been an occasional topic in the research literature in science education, but rarely has it been a central issue in the field. Nonetheless, recent studies regarding the topic in several fields other than education, such as cognitive neuroscience and social choice theory, indicate the fundamental importance(s) of the topic. This study focuses on a possible role of decision-making in science learning. Initially the study was designed to probe the decision-making ability of elementary school children with a modified version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The experiment involved six Montessori 3rd and 4th grade students as the experimental group and eight public school 3rd and 4th grade students as the control group. The result of the modified IGT revealed a tendency in choice trajectories favoring children at the Montessori school. However, the probabilistic value went below the statistically significant level set by the U test. A further study focused on the impact of better decision-making ability revealed in the first experiment on performances with a science learning module that emphasized collective reasoning. The instruction was based on a set of worksheets with multiple choices on which students were asked to make predictions with and to provide supportive arguments regarding outcomes of experiments introduced in the worksheet. Then the whole class was involved with a real experiment to see which choice was correct. The findings in the study indicated that the Montessori students often obtained higher scores than non-Montessori students in making decision with a tendency of consistency in terms of their choices of the alternatives on the worksheets. The findings of the experiments were supported by a correlational analysis that was performed at the end of study. Although no statistically significant correlations were found, there was a tendency for positively associative shifts between the scores of the modified IGT and the scores for the performances on the science module for the Montessori students.

Decision heuristic or preference? Attribute non-attendance in discrete choice problems.

PubMed

Heidenreich, Sebastian; Watson, Verity; Ryan, Mandy; Phimister, Euan

2018-01-01

This paper investigates if respondents' choice to not consider all characteristics of a multiattribute health service may represent preferences. Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies account for attribute non-attendance (ANA) when using discrete choice experiments to elicit individuals' preferences. Most studies assume such behaviour is a heuristic and therefore uninformative. This assumption may result in misleading welfare estimates if ANA reflects preferences. This is the first paper to assess if ANA is a heuristic or genuine preference without relying on respondents' self-stated motivation and the first study to explore this question within a health context. Based on findings from cognitive psychology, we expect that familiar respondents are less likely to use a decision heuristic to simplify choices than unfamiliar respondents. We employ a latent class model of discrete choice experiment data concerned with National Health Service managers' preferences for support services that assist with performance concerns. We present quantitative and qualitative evidence that in our study ANA mostly represents preferences. We also show that wrong assumptions about ANA result in inadequate welfare measures that can result in suboptimal policy advice. Future research should proceed with caution when assuming that ANA is a heuristic. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Examining Relationships among Choice, Affect, and Engagement in Summer STEM Programs.

PubMed

Beymer, Patrick N; Rosenberg, Joshua M; Schmidt, Jennifer A; Naftzger, Neil J

2018-06-01

Out-of-school time programs focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have proliferated recently because they are seen as having potential to appeal to youth and enhance STEM interest. Although such programs are not mandatory, youth are not always involved in making the choice about their participation and it is unclear whether youth's involvement in the choice to attend impacts their program experiences. Using data collected from experience sampling, traditional surveys, and video recordings, we explore relationships among youth's choice to attend out-of-school time programs (measured through a pre-survey) and their experience of affect (i.e., youth experience sampling ratings of happiness and excitement) and engagement (i.e., youth experience sampling ratings of concentration and effort) during program activities. Data were collected from a racially and ethnically diverse sample of 10-16 year old youth (n = 203; 50% female) enrolled in nine different summer STEM programs targeting underserved youth. Multilevel analysis indicated that choice and affect are independently and positively associated with momentary engagement. Though choice to enroll was a significant predictor of momentary engagement, positive affective experiences during the program may compensate for any decrements to engagement associated with lack of choice. Together, these findings have implications for researchers, parents, and educators and administrators of out-of-school time programming.

Lost in the crowd? Using eye-tracking to investigate the effect of complexity on attribute non-attendance in discrete choice experiments.

PubMed

Spinks, Jean; Mortimer, Duncan

2016-02-03

The provision of additional information is often assumed to improve consumption decisions, allowing consumers to more accurately weigh the costs and benefits of alternatives. However, increasing the complexity of decision problems may prompt changes in information processing. This is particularly relevant for experimental methods such as discrete choice experiments (DCEs) where the researcher can manipulate the complexity of the decision problem. The primary aims of this study are (i) to test whether consumers actually process additional information in an already complex decision problem, and (ii) consider the implications of any such 'complexity-driven' changes in information processing for design and analysis of DCEs. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) is used to simulate a complex decision problem; here, the choice between complementary and conventional medicine for different health conditions. Eye-tracking technology is used to capture the number of times and the duration that a participant looks at any part of a computer screen during completion of DCE choice sets. From this we can analyse what has become known in the DCE literature as 'attribute non-attendance' (ANA). Using data from 32 participants, we model the likelihood of ANA as a function of choice set complexity and respondent characteristics using fixed and random effects models to account for repeated choice set completion. We also model whether participants are consistent with regard to which characteristics (attributes) they consider across choice sets. We find that complexity is the strongest predictor of ANA when other possible influences, such as time pressure, ordering effects, survey specific effects and socio-demographic variables (including proxies for prior experience with the decision problem) are considered. We also find that most participants do not apply a consistent information processing strategy across choice sets. Eye-tracking technology shows promise as a way of obtaining additional information from consumer research, improving DCE design, and informing the design of policy measures. With regards to DCE design, results from the present study suggest that eye-tracking data can identify the point at which adding complexity (and realism) to DCE choice scenarios becomes self-defeating due to unacceptable increases in ANA. Eye-tracking data therefore has clear application in the construction of guidelines for DCE design and during piloting of DCE choice scenarios. With regards to design of policy measures such as labelling requirements for CAM and conventional medicines, the provision of additional information has the potential to make difficult decisions even harder and may not have the desired effect on decision-making.

Don’t Always Prefer My Chosen Objects: Low Level of Trait Autonomy and Autonomy Deprivation Decreases Mere Choice Effect

PubMed Central

Shang, Zhe; Tao, Tuoxin; Wang, Lei

2016-01-01

Choice effect is a robust phenomenon in which even “mere choice” that does not include actual choosing actions could result in more preference for the self-chosen objects over other-chosen objects. In the current research, we proposed that autonomy would impact the mere choice effect. We conducted two studies to examine the hypothesis. The results showed that the mere choice effect measured by Implicit Association Test (IAT) significantly decreased for participants with lower levels of trait autonomy (Study 1) and when participants were primed to experience autonomy deprivation (Study 2). The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. PMID:27148132

Recent Experience with Urban School Choice Plans. ERIC/CUE Digest Number 127.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cookson, Peter W., Jr.; Shroff, Sonali M.

School choice plans have been widely adopted, and most urban areas have a limited choice plan of some sort. This digest presents an overview of different choice strategies by reviewing the experiences of several urban areas. Minnesota has statewide open enrollment for all students, making all public schools throughout the state open to all…

Will Choice Hurt? Compared to What? A School Choice Experiment in Estonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Põder, Kaire; Lauri, Triin

2014-01-01

This article presents the empirical analysis of the effects of a school choice policy in Estonia. The article shows that relying on markets and giving autonomy to the schools over student selection will produce admission tests, even at the elementary school level. This article's contribution is to show that a school choice policy experiment with…

Human's choices in situations of time-based diminishing returns.

PubMed Central

Hackenberg, T D; Axtell, S A

1993-01-01

Three experiments examined adult humans' choices in situations with contrasting short-term and long-term consequences. Subjects were given repeated choices between two time-based schedules of points exchangeable for money: a fixed schedule and a progressive schedule that began at 0 s and increased by 5 s with each point delivered by that schedule. Under "reset" conditions, choosing the fixed schedule not only produced a point but it also reset the requirements of the progressive schedule to 0 s. In the first two experiments, reset conditions alternated with "no-reset" conditions, in which progressive-schedule requirements were independent of fixed-schedule choices. Experiment 1 entailed choices between a progressive-interval schedule and a fixed-interval schedule, the duration of which varied across conditions. Switching from the progressive- to the fixed-interval schedule was systematically related to fixed-interval size in 4 of 8 subjects, and in all subjects occurred consistently sooner in the progressive-schedule sequence under reset than under no-reset procedures. The latter result was replicated in a second experiment, in which choices between progressive- and fixed-interval schedules were compared with choices between progressive- and fixed-time schedules. In Experiment 3, switching patterns under reset conditions were unrelated to variations in intertrial interval. In none of the experiments did orderly choice patterns depend on verbal descriptions of the contingencies or on schedule-controlled response patterns in the presence of the chosen schedules. The overall pattern of results indicates control of choices by temporarily remote consequences, and is consistent with versions of optimality theory that address performance in situations of diminishing returns. PMID:8315364

A Qualitative Case Study of Five Mothers' Experiences with Early Intervention Services and Preschool Choices for Their Children with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Brenda L.

2014-01-01

This qualitative research study examines the preschool choices made by five mothers of children with disabilities who had interacted with early intervention professionals in the year prior to their children's transition to preschool. The purpose of this study was to examine the understanding parents created of their children's disability through…

The Importance of Place for International Students' Choice of University: A Case Study at a Malaysian University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Jasvir Kaur Nachatar; Schapper, Jan; Jack, Gavin

2014-01-01

The scholarly bias toward Western and English-speaking settings in the study of international education overlooks the experiences of international students in emerging education hubs in Asia. To redress this imbalance, this article offers insights into the crucial role of place in the study destination choices of a group of international…

The structure of a food product assortment modulates the effect of providing choice on food intake.

PubMed

Parizel, Odile; Sulmont-Rossé, Claire; Fromentin, Gilles; Delarue, Julien; Labouré, Hélène; Benamouzig, Robert; Marsset-Baglieri, Agnès

2016-09-01

Several authors showed that providing choice may increase food liking and food intake. However, the impact of choice may be modulated by assortment's characteristics, such as the number of alternatives or their dissimilarity. The present study compared the impact of choice on food liking and intake under the two following conditions: (1) when choosing a product to consume from among similar products versus dissimilar products; and (2) when choosing a product to consume from among pleasant products versus unpleasant products. Two experiments were carried out using the same design: the "apple puree" experiment (n = 80), where the volunteers choose from among similar products (apple purees varying in texture) and the "dessert" experiment (n = 80), where the volunteers choose from among dissimilar products (fruit dessert, dairy dessert, custard, pudding). During the first session, participants rated their liking for 12 products (apples purees or desserts). Then the participants were divided into a "pleasant" group (n = 40) in which volunteers were assigned three pleasant products, and an "unpleasant" group (n = 40) in which volunteers were assigned three unpleasant products. Finally, all of the volunteers participated in a choice session - volunteers were presented with their three assigned products and asked to choose one of the products, and a no-choice session - volunteers were served with one product that was randomly selected from among their three assigned products. Providing choice led to an increase in food liking in both experiments and an increase in food intake only for the desserts, namely only when the volunteers chose the product to consume from among "not too similar" alternatives. No effect of assortment's pleasantness was observed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Control and Effort Costs Influence the Motivational Consequences of Choice

PubMed Central

Sullivan-Toole, Holly; Richey, John A.; Tricomi, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

The act of making a choice, apart from any outcomes the choice may yield, has, paradoxically, been linked to both the enhancement and the detriment of intrinsic motivation. Research has implicated two factors in potentially mediating these contradictory effects: the personal control conferred by a choice and the costs associated with a choice. Across four experiments, utilizing a physical effort task disguised as a simple video game, we systematically varied costs across two levels of physical effort requirements (Low-Requirement, High-Requirement) and control over effort costs across three levels of choice (Free-Choice, Restricted-Choice, and No-Choice) to disambiguate how these factors affect the motivational consequences of choosing within an effortful task. Together, our results indicated that, in the face of effort requirements, illusory control alone may not sufficiently enhance perceptions of personal control to boost intrinsic motivation; rather, the experience of actual control may be necessary to overcome effort costs and elevate performance. Additionally, we demonstrated that conditions of illusory control, while otherwise unmotivating, can through association with the experience of free-choice, be transformed to have a positive effect on motivation. PMID:28515705

Young Adults' Financial Socialization Processes as Influences of Conceptualization and Understanding of Financial Well-Being and Choice in Relationship Commitment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rea, Jennifer K.

2017-01-01

The two studies presented in this dissertation provide an understanding of young adults' perspective financial socialization processes and how the experiences influence a conceptualization of financial well-being and their choice of romantic relationship status (Study 1: N = 31, Study 2: N = 549). Study 1 has adapted Gudmunson and Danes' (2011)…

Partner choice creates fairness in humans.

PubMed

Debove, Stéphane; André, Jean-Baptiste; Baumard, Nicolas

2015-06-07

Many studies demonstrate that partner choice has played an important role in the evolution of human cooperation, but little work has tested its impact on the evolution of human fairness. In experiments involving divisions of money, people become either over-generous or over-selfish when they are in competition to be chosen as cooperative partners. Hence, it is difficult to see how partner choice could result in the evolution of fair, equal divisions. Here, we show that this puzzle can be solved if we consider the outside options on which partner choice operates. We conduct a behavioural experiment, run agent-based simulations and analyse a game-theoretic model to understand how outside options affect partner choice and fairness. All support the conclusion that partner choice leads to fairness only when individuals have equal outside options. We discuss how this condition has been met in our evolutionary history, and the implications of these findings for our understanding of other aspects of fairness less specific than preferences for equal divisions of resources. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

The HEAO-1 neutron star timing experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lamb, F. K.

1979-01-01

The HEAO-1 neutron star timing experiment is presented. The scientific motivation for the experiment, the reasons for the choice of Her X-1 and Vela X-1 as promising sources to study, the methodology, and the current status of the experiment are summarized.

Camper choice behavior for three proximal sites

Treesearch

William E. Hammitt; Gerard T. Kyle; James Absher

2007-01-01

This study investigated the degree of distinctiveness in camper choice behaviors among developed, walk-in, and wilderness camp settings, all located with a 3-mile radius of each other. Objectives of the study were to determine if there were differences in the personal characteristics, experience use history (EUH), and alternate site use (substitution) for campers of U....

Concurrent-Chains Schedules as a Method to Study Choice between Alcohol-Associated Conditioned Reinforcers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jimenez-Gomez, Corina; Shahan, Timothy A.

2012-01-01

An extensive body of research using concurrent-chains schedules of reinforcement has shown that choice for one of two differentially valued food-associated stimuli is dependent upon the overall temporal context in which those stimuli are embedded. The present experiments examined whether the concurrent chains procedure was useful for the study of…

Developmental changes and individual differences in risk and perspective taking in adolescence.

PubMed

Crone, Eveline A; Bullens, L; van der Plas, E A A; Kijkuit, E J; Zelazo, P D

2008-01-01

Despite the assumed prevalence of risk-taking behavior in adolescence, the laboratory evidence of risk taking remains scarce, and the individual variation poorly understood. Drawing from neuroscience studies, we tested whether risk and reward orientation are influenced by the perspective that adolescents take when making risky decisions. Perspective taking was manipulated by cuing participants prior to each choice whether the decision was made for "self," or from the perspective of an "other" (the experimenter in Experiment 1; a hypothetical peer in Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, we show a developmental decrease in risk-taking behavior across different stages of adolescence. In addition, all age groups made fewer risky choices for the experimenter, but the difference between self and other was larger in early adolescence. In Experiment 2, we show that high sensation-seeking (SS) adolescents make more risky choices than low SS adolescents, but both groups make a similar differentiation for other individuals (low risk-taking or high risk-taking peers). Together, the results show that younger adolescents and high SS adolescents make more risky choices for themselves, but can appreciate that others may make fewer risky choices. The developmental change toward more rational decisions versus emotional, impulsive decisions may reflect, in part, more efficient integration of others' perspectives into one's decision making. These developmental results are discussed regarding brain systems important for risk taking and perspective taking.

Can Decision Biases Improve Insurance Outcomes? An Experiment on Status Quo Bias in Health Insurance Choice

PubMed Central

Krieger, Miriam; Felder, Stefan

2013-01-01

Rather than conforming to the assumption of perfect rationality in neoclassical economic theory, decision behavior has been shown to display a host of systematic biases. Properly understood, these patterns can be instrumentalized to improve outcomes in the public realm. We conducted a laboratory experiment to study whether decisions over health insurance policies are subject to status quo bias and, if so, whether experience mitigates this framing effect. Choices in two treatment groups with status quo defaults are compared to choices in a neutrally framed control group. A two-step design features sorting of subjects into the groups, allowing us to control for selection effects due to risk preferences. The results confirm the presence of a status quo bias in consumer choices over health insurance policies. However, this effect of the default framing does not persist as subjects repeat this decision in later periods of the experiment. Our results have implications for health care policy, for example suggesting that the use of non-binding defaults in health insurance can facilitate the spread of co-insurance policies and thereby help contain health care expenditure. PMID:23783222

How to value protection from natural hazards - a step-by-step discrete choice approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olschewski, R.

2013-04-01

In mountainous regions, forests play a crucial role in protecting the local population from natural hazards. In cases where existing forests are destroyed, e.g. by wind throws or diseases, the protection function has to be restored through technical measures. To determine the willingness to pay (WTP) for protection against avalanches, a choice experiment has been conducted and different experiment specifications have been tested to determine possible impacts on the results. The present study contributes to a comprehensive assessment of protection measures, and helps to identify efficient solutions based on the judgement of the people potentially endangered by natural hazards. The stepwise approach has the advantage to gradually check data fit, thereby didactically showing an operational way of dealing with different model specifications. The detailed case study can serve as a manual for conducting choice experiments with a similar focus and demonstrates the suitability and caveats of this approach to value protection from natural hazards in general.

How does consumer knowledge affect environmentally sustainable choices? Evidence from a cross-country latent class analysis of food labels.

PubMed

Peschel, Anne O; Grebitus, Carola; Steiner, Bodo; Veeman, Michele

2016-11-01

This paper examines consumers' knowledge and lifestyle profiles and preferences regarding two environmentally labeled food staples, potatoes and ground beef. Data from online choice experiments conducted in Canada and Germany are analyzed through latent class choice modeling to identify the influence of consumer knowledge (subjective and objective knowledge as well as usage experience) on environmentally sustainable choices. We find that irrespective of product or country under investigation, high subjective and objective knowledge levels drive environmentally sustainable food choices. Subjective knowledge was found to be more important in this context. Usage experience had relatively little impact on environmentally sustainable choices. Our results suggest that about 20% of consumers in both countries are ready to adopt footprint labels in their food choices. Another 10-20% could be targeted by enhancing subjective knowledge, for example through targeted marketing campaigns. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Blocked Fractional Factorial Designs to Construct Discrete Choice Experiments for Health Care Studies

PubMed Central

Jaynes, Jessica; Wong, Weng Kee; Xu, Hongquan

2016-01-01

Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are increasingly used for studying and quantifying subjects preferences in a wide variety of health care applications. They provide a rich source of data to assess real-life decision making processes, which involve trade-offs between desirable characteristics pertaining to health and health care, and identification of key attributes affecting health care. The choice of the design for a DCE is critical because it determines which attributes’ effects and their interactions are identifiable. We apply blocked fractional factorial designs to construct DCEs and address some identification issues by utilizing the known structure of blocked fractional factorial designs. Our design techniques can be applied to several situations including DCEs where attributes have different number of levels. We demonstrate our design methodology using two health care studies to evaluate (1) asthma patients’ preferences for symptom-based outcome measures, and (2) patient preference for breast screening services. PMID:26823156

Choice and ego-depletion: the moderating role of autonomy.

PubMed

Moller, Arlen C; Deci, Edward L; Ryan, Richard M

2006-08-01

The self-regulatory strength model maintains that all acts of self-regulation, self-control, and choice result in a state of fatigue called ego-depletion. Self-determination theory differentiates between autonomous regulation and controlled regulation. Because making decisions represents one instance of self-regulation, the authors also differentiate between autonomous choice and controlled choice. Three experiments support the hypothesis that whereas conditions representing controlled choice would be egodepleting, conditions that represented autonomous choice would not. In Experiment 3, the authors found significant mediation by perceived self-determination of the relation between the choice condition (autonomous vs. controlled) and ego-depletion as measured by performance.

Simulation study to determine the impact of different design features on design efficiency in discrete choice experiments

PubMed Central

Vanniyasingam, Thuva; Cunningham, Charles E; Foster, Gary; Thabane, Lehana

2016-01-01

Objectives Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are routinely used to elicit patient preferences to improve health outcomes and healthcare services. While many fractional factorial designs can be created, some are more statistically optimal than others. The objective of this simulation study was to investigate how varying the number of (1) attributes, (2) levels within attributes, (3) alternatives and (4) choice tasks per survey will improve or compromise the statistical efficiency of an experimental design. Design and methods A total of 3204 DCE designs were created to assess how relative design efficiency (d-efficiency) is influenced by varying the number of choice tasks (2–20), alternatives (2–5), attributes (2–20) and attribute levels (2–5) of a design. Choice tasks were created by randomly allocating attribute and attribute level combinations into alternatives. Outcome Relative d-efficiency was used to measure the optimality of each DCE design. Results DCE design complexity influenced statistical efficiency. Across all designs, relative d-efficiency decreased as the number of attributes and attribute levels increased. It increased for designs with more alternatives. Lastly, relative d-efficiency converges as the number of choice tasks increases, where convergence may not be at 100% statistical optimality. Conclusions Achieving 100% d-efficiency is heavily dependent on the number of attributes, attribute levels, choice tasks and alternatives. Further exploration of overlaps and block sizes are needed. This study's results are widely applicable for researchers interested in creating optimal DCE designs to elicit individual preferences on health services, programmes, policies and products. PMID:27436671

Once bitten, twice shy: experienced regret and non-adaptive choice switching

PubMed Central

Cosulich, Anna; Ferrante, Donatella

2015-01-01

When a good decision leads to a bad outcome, the experience of regret can bias subsequent choices: people are less likely to select the regret-producing alternative a second time, even when it is still objectively the best alternative (non-adaptive choice switching). The first study presented herein showed that nearly half of participants experiencing regret rejected a previous alternative they had recognized as the best one, and chose a non-optimal alternative instead. The second study investigated the mechanism underlying this bias, and results supported the hypothesis that this non-adaptive choice switching is caused by inhibition of the previous decision (direct effect of experienced regret), rather than by increased sensitivity to anticipated regret in subsequent choices (indirect effect of experienced regret mediated by anticipated regret). PMID:26157618

Choices of Destination for Transnational Higher Education: "Pull" Factors in an Asia Pacific Market

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmad, Syed Zamberi; Buchanan, Frederick Robert

2016-01-01

Traditional assumptions favouring native English language countries in transnational higher education (TNHE) overlook experiences of international students in new emerging Asian education hubs. Specifically, there has been limited research relating to international students' choice for studying in Malaysia. Drawing from the "push-pull"…

Women: Personal and Environmental Factors in Role Identification and Career Choices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karman, Felice J.

The study identifies characteristics of young women who, in their occupational choices, do not conform to the traditionally expected female role. Differences are examined in home and family background, personality characteristics, values and attitudes, educational achievement and aptitude, and educational experiences between those women who elect…

'I want a choice, but I don't want to decide'--a qualitative study of pregnant women's experiences regarding early ultrasound risk assessment for chromosomal anomalies.

PubMed

Aune, Ingvild; Möller, Anders

2012-02-01

To increase our understanding of how pregnant women experience early ultrasound examination that includes a risk assessment for chromosomal anomalies and how such women perceive the test results. Qualitative study at St. Olavs Hospital in Norway. Both pre- and post-examination interviews were conducted with ten pregnant women who underwent risk assessment for chromosomal anomalies. Grounded theory was used to analyse the results. The study generated a core category (I want a choice, but I don't want to decide), which related to the conflict between choice and decision making. There were also five main categories (existential choices, search for knowledge, anxiety, feeling of guilt and counselling and care). The main categories describe the complex feelings experienced by the women regarding the risk assessment. Factors contributing to the difficulty of choice included loss of control and coping, emotional connection to the fetus and social pressure. As the women sought independent choices without any external influence, they also felt greater responsibility. The women's understanding of the actual risk varied, and they used different types of logic and methods to evaluate the risk and reach a decision. The pregnant women in this study wanted prenatal diagnostic information and easy access to specialty services. Stress-related feelings and non-transparent information about the actual and perceived risks as well as personal moral judgments made the decision-making process complicated. Improved distribution of information and frequent contact with health professionals may help such women to make informed choices in accordance with their values and beliefs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does public reporting influence quality, patient and provider's perspective, market share and disparities? A review.

PubMed

Vukovic, Vladimir; Parente, Paolo; Campanella, Paolo; Sulejmani, Adela; Ricciardi, Walter; Specchia, Maria Lucia

2017-12-01

Public reporting (PR) of healthcare (HC) provider's quality was proposed as a public health instrument for providing transparency and accountability in HC. Our aim was to assess the impact of PR on five main domains: quality improvement; patient choice, service utilization and market share; provider's perspective; patient experience; and unintended consequences. PubMed, Scopus, ISI WOS, and EconLit databases were searched to identify studies investigating relationships between PR and five main domains, published up to April 1, 2016. Sixty-two papers published between 1988 and 2015 were included. Nineteen studies investigated quality improvement, 19 studies explored the unintended consequences of PR, 10 explored the effects on market share, 10 on patients' choice, 7 evaluated the provider's perspective, 4 economic outcome, 4 service utilization, 2 purchasers' use of PR and 2 studies explored patient experiences. The effect of PR was diverse throughout the studies-mostly positive on: patient experience (100%), quality improvement (63%), patient choice, service utilization and market share (46%); mixed on provider's perspective and economic outcome (27%) and mainly negative on unintended consequences (68%). Our research covering different outcomes and settings reported that PR is associated with changes in HC provider's behavior and can influence market share. Unintended consequences are a concern of PR and should be taken into account when allocating HC resources. The experiences collected in this paper could give a snapshot about the impact of PR on a HC user's perception of the providers' quality of care, helping them to make empowered choices. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

The impact of childhood experiences and family members outside the household on residential environment choices.

PubMed

Blaauboer, Marjolein

2011-01-01

Choices of urban, suburban or rural residential environments have often been studied from a life-course perspective. In this paper, an examination is made of the influence of childhood experiences and of residential environment choices of family members outside the household. It is argued that socialisation, location-specific capital and the wish to maintain close family ties may result in living in a similar residential environment later in life and in similar environments to siblings and parents. Results of multinomial logistic regression analyses of data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study show that the residential environment during childhood is indeed strongly associated with the current residential environment. Moreover, individuals show a strong similarity to their parents and siblings in their residential environment, even after accounting for residential inertia and return migration.

Risk aversion and willingness to pay for water quality: The case of non-farm rural residents.

PubMed

Larue, Bruno; West, Gale E; Singbo, Alphonse; Tamini, Lota Dabio

2017-07-15

Stated choice experiments are used to investigate the economic valuation of rural residents living in the province of Quebec for water quality improvements. In Quebec, rural residents played an important role in the setting of stricter environmental regulations. Unlike most stated choice experiments about the valuation of improvements in water quality, this study explicitly accounts for risk in the design and analysis of choice experiments. Risk in phosphorus and coliform reductions is introduced through a three-point uniform distribution in the choice sets. The results show greater support for constant absolute risk aversion preferences than for constant relative risk aversion. Rural residents value coliform and phosphorus reductions and the more educated ones are particularly willing to see the government tax farmers and taxpayers to secure such reductions. As the science improves and risk in water quality outcomes decrease and as the political weight of non-farm rural residents increase, it should be easier for governments to replace voluntary cost-share programs by polluter-payer programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flower choice by naïve young crab spiders and the effect of subsequent experience.

PubMed

Morse

2000-05-01

Initial responses of naïve individuals to critical environmental stimuli provide important information about the innate contribution to behaviour, and subsequent responses to the same stimuli may show the role of experience in mediating those initial responses. To test the role of these factors, I measured initial patch choices and giving-up responses of just-emerged, naïve, second-instar crab spiders, Misumena vatia, on several hunting sites they encountered after leaving their natal nests. In follow-up tests I measured the effects of these experiences on subsequent patch choice decisions. The choice of hunting sites is a vital decision at all stages of the life cycle for sit-and-wait predators such as Misumena. In their initial tests these spiderlings remained more frequently on goldenrod (Solidago spp.) flowers than on green or yellow goldenrod buds, a preference they retained through tests run on 5 consecutive days. Individuals on green and yellow buds shifted sites more quickly and frequently than those from flowers, and made most of these moves to flowers, which attracted many more prey than did buds. These differences were not affected by age, energetic condition, or loss of information over the period of the experiment. Once spiderlings moved from buds, they showed a high, increasing tendency to move from buds in subsequent runs, those from flowers showed a consistently low tendency. These results suggest that spiderlings retain their innate behavioural patterns through the second instar, but that experience also plays a modest role in patch choice at this stage. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Measuring Patient Preferences: An Overview of Methods with a Focus on Discrete Choice Experiments.

PubMed

Hazlewood, Glen S

2018-05-01

There is increasing recognition of the importance of patient preferences and methodologies to measure them. In this article, methods to quantify patient preferences are reviewed, with a focus on discrete choice experiments. In a discrete choice experiment, patients are asked to choose between 2 or more treatments. The results can be used to quantify the relative importance of treatment outcomes and/or other considerations relevant to medical decision making. Conducting and interpreting a discrete choice experiment requires multiple steps and an understanding of the potential biases that can arise, which we review in this article with examples in rheumatic diseases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How Much Credence Does It Take? Evidence on the Trade-Off between Country-Of-Origin Information and Credence Attributes for Beef from a Choice Experiment in Sweden

PubMed Central

Hess, Sebastian; Johansson, Helena

2017-01-01

Based on a discrete choice experiment with 336 consumers, this study investigated whether the consumer propensity to choose a simplified European Union (EU) vs. non-EU denomination of origin for beef, instead of a specific country-of-origin (COO) denomination, depends upon the amount and type of credence information provided to the individual. The likelihood of choosing the EU/non-EU denomination of origin depended on the total number of other labelling credence attributes provided and also on the type of detailed credence attributes present in the choice. The presence of cues relating to animal welfare and far-reaching traceability had the highest likelihood of influencing the choice of the EU/non-EU denomination of origin. The compensatory qualities of each credence attribute in relation to the EU/non-EU origin denomination thus differed. PMID:28946674

Consumers' Use of HCAHPS Ratings and Word-of-Mouth in Hospital Choice

PubMed Central

Huppertz, John W; Carlson, Jay P

2010-01-01

Objective To investigate the impact of the HCAHPS report of patient experiences and word-of-mouth narratives on consumers' hospital choice. Data Sources Online consumer research panel of U.S. adults ages 18 and older. Study Design/Data Collection/Extraction Methods In an experiment, 309 consumers were randomly assigned to see positive or negative information about a hospital in two modalities: HCAHPS graphs and a relative's narrative e-mail. Then they indicated their intentions to choose the hospital for elective surgery. Principal Findings A simple, one-paragraph e-mail and 10 HCAHPS graphs had similar impacts on consumers' hospital choice. When information was inconsistent between the HCAHPS data and e-mail narrative, one modality attenuated the other's effect on hospital choice. Conclusions The findings illustrate the power of anecdotal narratives, suggesting that policy makers should consider how HCAHPS data can be affected by word-of-mouth communication. PMID:20698896

The relative importance of information sources in consumers' choice of hospitals.

PubMed

Gooding, S K

1995-01-01

The research presented focuses on an examination of the relative importance of word-of-mouth, expert opinion, external communication, and past experience in the context of hospital choice. Past research has examined the effect of each individually and various combinations of the four sources, but not all four simultaneously. Results of the present study suggest that past experience plays a greater role in hospital choice than other information sources, including expert opinion. The strength of word-of-mouth as a source of information is also verified. The implications of this research include the following: (1) health care researchers need to incorporate word-of-mouth when investigating informations sources, and (2) local hospitals need to be aware of "negative perceptions" and strive for consumer satisfaction. Health care delivery systems incorporating consumer-based choice render these findings especially valuable as researchers and practitioners address the challenges that these evolving systems will bring.

Do patients prefer mesh or anterior colporrhaphy for primary correction of anterior vaginal wall prolapse: a labelled discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Notten, K J B; Essers, B A; Weemhoff, M; Rutten, A G H; Donners, J J A E; van Gestel, I; Kruitwagen, R F P M; Roovers, J P W R; Dirksen, C D

2015-05-01

We investigated patients' preferences for anterior colporrhaphy or mesh surgery as surgical correction of anterior vaginal wall prolapse. Labelled discrete choice experiment. Three Dutch teaching hospitals. Women with anterior vaginal wall prolapse Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification stage 2 or more, indicated for anterior colporrhaphy (n = 100). Discrete choice experiments are an attribute-based survey method for measuring preferences. In this experiment, women were asked to choose between two treatment scenarios, mesh surgery or anterior colporrhaphy. These surgical treatments differed in four treatment attributes: (i) recurrence rate, (ii) exposure rate, (iii) infection rate, (iv) dyspareunia. Data were analysed using a multinomial logit model. Women's preferences for anterior colporrhaphy or mesh surgery for the repair of vaginal wall prolapse. All treatment attributes, i.e. recurrence, exposure, infection and dyspareunia, proved to be significant in the woman's decision to choose mesh surgery (P < 0.001), while only two attributes out of three, recurrence and infection, were significant for anterior colporrhaphy (P < 0.001). The relative importance data showed that with regards to the four statistically significant attributes for mesh, dyspareunia was the most important attribute, and of the two significant attributes for anterior colporrhaphy, the risk of infection. Based on the attributes and levels in our discrete choice experiment, anterior colporrhaphy was preferred in 74% as a primary correction of anterior vaginal wall prolapse, followed by a preference for mesh in 26% of all choices. This study showed that next to the risk of recurrence, other aspects like risk of infection, dyspareunia and exposure play a role in the woman's preference for a surgical treatment. In addition, our results indicate that anterior colporrhaphy is preferred in the majority of the choices, followed by a preference for mesh surgery in a quarter of all choice sets. However, these results represent the average preference of a sample of women and cannot be taken as the preference of each individual. In the medical decision-making context, information from the current study should be personalised to fit patient's unique circumstances. For patients to construct their own, individual preferences, they should be well informed about the existence and magnitude of the potential benefits and risks related to either anterior colporrhaphy or mesh surgery. © 2014 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Food choice by people with intellectual disabilities at day centres: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Cartwright, Luke; Reid, Marie; Hammersley, Richard; Blackburn, Chrissie; Glover, Lesley

2015-06-01

People with intellectual disabilities experience a range of health inequalities. It is important to investigate possible contributory factors that may lead to these inequalities. This qualitative study identified some difficulties for healthy eating in day centres. (1) Service users and their family carers were aware of healthy food choices but framed these as diets for weight loss rather than as everyday eating. (2) Paid carers and managers regarded the principle of service user autonomy and choice as paramount, which meant that they felt limited in their capacity to influence food choices, which they attributed to the home environment. (3) Carers used food as a treat, a reward and for social bonding with service users. (4) Service users' food choices modelled other service users' and carers' choices at the time. It is suggested that healthy eating should be made more of a priority in day care, with a view to promoting exemplarily behaviour that might influence food choice at home. © The Author(s) 2014.

Residency choices by graduating medical students: why not pathology?

PubMed

Hung, Tawny; Jarvis-Selinger, Sandra; Ford, Jason C

2011-06-01

Pathology is an unpopular residency choice for medical students worldwide. In some countries, this has contributed to a crisis in pathologist human resources that has affected the quality of clinical laboratories. Several previous studies have used information from junior medical students and from residents to suggest ways of improving pathology recruitment. There are, however, no published studies of pathology residency choice that focus on the senior medical students who must be recruited. This study uses focus groups of senior medical students to explore both general and pathology-specific influences on residency choice. Several general influences are identified, including students' expectations for their future clinical practices, their own clinical rotation experiences, influences from other people including mentors, and their choice to reject certain fields. Several specific antipathology influences are also revealed, including negative stereotypes about pathologists, a perceived incompatibility of personality between most medical students (extroverted) and pathologists (introverted), and perceptions of pathologists as being in some ways nonmedical. The most important antipathology influence was that, from the students' perspective, pathology was utterly invisible in clinical practice. Most students did not consider and then reject a pathology residency: instead, pathology was completely ignored. Given the importance of clerkship electives in influencing medical student career choice, promoting clerkship experiences in pathology may improve recruitment. However, departments of pathology must first make pathology visible to students and teach them how pathologists contribute to clinical care. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decision making under internal uncertainty: the case of multiple-choice tests with different scoring rules.

PubMed

Bereby-Meyer, Yoella; Meyer, Joachim; Budescu, David V

2003-02-01

This paper assesses framing effects on decision making with internal uncertainty, i.e., partial knowledge, by focusing on examinees' behavior in multiple-choice (MC) tests with different scoring rules. In two experiments participants answered a general-knowledge MC test that consisted of 34 solvable and 6 unsolvable items. Experiment 1 studied two scoring rules involving Positive (only gains) and Negative (only losses) scores. Although answering all items was the dominating strategy for both rules, the results revealed a greater tendency to answer under the Negative scoring rule. These results are in line with the predictions derived from Prospect Theory (PT) [Econometrica 47 (1979) 263]. The second experiment studied two scoring rules, which allowed respondents to exhibit partial knowledge. Under the Inclusion-scoring rule the respondents mark all answers that could be correct, and under the Exclusion-scoring rule they exclude all answers that might be incorrect. As predicted by PT, respondents took more risks under the Inclusion rule than under the Exclusion rule. The results illustrate that the basic process that underlies choice behavior under internal uncertainty and especially the effect of framing is similar to the process of choice under external uncertainty and can be described quite accurately by PT. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

Testing Cessation Messages for Cigarette Package Inserts: Findings from a Best/Worst Discrete Choice Experiment

PubMed Central

Thrasher, James F.; Davis, Rachel E.; Popova, Lucy; Cho, Yoo Jin; Salloum, Ramzi G.; Louviere, Jordan; Hammond, David

2018-01-01

This study assessed smokers’ responses to different smoking cessation topics and imagery for cigarette package inserts. Adult smokers from Canada (n = 1000) participated in three discrete choice experiments (DCEs): DCE 1 assessed five cessation benefit topics and five imagery types; DCE 2 assessed five messages with tips to improve cessation success and five imagery types; DCE 3 assessed four reproductive health benefits of cessation topics and four imagery types. In each DCE, participants evaluated four or five sets of four inserts, selecting the most and least motivating (DCEs 1 & 3) or helpful (DCE 2) for quitting. Linear mixed models regressed choices on insert and smoker characteristics. For DCE 1, the most motivating messages involved novel disease topics and imagery of younger women. For DCE 2, topics of social support, stress reduction and nicotine replacement therapy were selected as most helpful, with no differences by imagery type. For DCE 3, imagery influenced choices more than topic, with imagery of a family or a mom and baby selected as most motivating. Statistically significant interactions for all three experiments indicated that the influence of imagery type on choices depended on the message topic. Messages to promote smoking cessation through cigarette pack inserts should consider specific combinations of message topic and imagery. PMID:29415523

Eliciting preferences for medical devices in South Korea: A discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Lee, Hye-Jae; Bae, Eun-Young

2017-03-01

This study aims to identify the attributes that contribute to the value of medical devices and quantify the relative importance of them using a discrete choice experiment. Based on a literature review and expert consultation, seven attributes and their levels were identified-severity of disease (2), availability of substitutes (2), improvement in procedure (3), improvement in clinical outcomes (2), increase in survival (2), improvement in quality of life (3), and cost (4). Among 576 hypothetical profiles, optimal choice sets with 20 choices were developed and experts experienced in health technology assessment and reimbursement decision making in South Korea were surveyed. A total of 102 respondents participated in the survey. The results of the random-effect probit model showed that among the seven attributes, six, except for improvement in procedure, had a significant impact on respondents' choices on medical devices. Respondents were willing to pay the highest amount for devices that provided substantial improvements in quality of life, followed by increased survival, improved clinical outcome, treatment without substitutes, and technology for treating severe diseases. The findings of this experiment will inform decision-makers of the relative importance of the criteria and help them in reimbursement decision making of medical devices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Retrieval practice with short-answer, multiple-choice, and hybrid tests.

PubMed

Smith, Megan A; Karpicke, Jeffrey D

2014-01-01

Retrieval practice improves meaningful learning, and the most frequent way of implementing retrieval practice in classrooms is to have students answer questions. In four experiments (N=372) we investigated the effects of different question formats on learning. Students read educational texts and practised retrieval by answering short-answer, multiple-choice, or hybrid questions. In hybrid conditions students first attempted to recall answers in short-answer format, then identified answers in multiple-choice format. We measured learning 1 week later using a final assessment with two types of questions: those that could be answered by recalling information verbatim from the texts and those that required inferences. Practising retrieval in all format conditions enhanced retention, relative to a study-only control condition, on both verbatim and inference questions. However, there were little or no advantages of answering short-answer or hybrid format questions over multiple-choice questions in three experiments. In Experiment 4, when retrieval success was improved under initial short-answer conditions, there was an advantage of answering short-answer or hybrid questions over multiple-choice questions. The results challenge the simple conclusion that short-answer questions always produce the best learning, due to increased retrieval effort or difficulty, and demonstrate the importance of retrieval success for retrieval-based learning activities.

Factors modulating social influence on spatial choice in rats.

PubMed

Bisbing, Teagan A; Saxon, Marie; Sayde, Justin M; Brown, Michael F

2015-07-01

Three experiments examined the conditions under which the spatial choices of rats searching for food are influenced by the choices made by other rats. Model rats learned a consistent set of baited locations in a 5 × 5 matrix of locations, some of which contained food. In Experiment 1, subject rats could determine the baited locations after choosing 1 location because all of the baited locations were on the same side of the matrix during each trial (the baited side varied over trials). Under these conditions, the social cues provided by the model rats had little or no effect on the choices made by the subject rats. The lack of social influence on choices occurred despite a simultaneous social influence on rats' location in the testing arena (Experiment 2). When the outcome of the subject rats' own choices provided no information about the positions of other baited locations, on the other hand, social cues strongly controlled spatial choices (Experiment 3). These results indicate that social information about the location of food influences spatial choices only when those cues provide valid information that is not redundant with the information provided by other cues. This suggests that social information is learned about, processed, and controls behavior via the same mechanisms as other kinds of stimuli. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of the NMDA receptor antagonists dizocilpine and Ro 63-1908 on delay-discounting and risky decision-making in a gambling task.

PubMed

Higgins, Guy A; Silenieks, Leo B; MacMillan, Cam; Zeeb, Fiona D; Thevarkunnel, Sandy

2018-04-22

Previous studies demonstrated that NMDA receptor antagonists such as dizocilpine (MK801) and the GluN2B NMDA antagonist Ro 63-1908 promote impulsive action (motor impulsivity). The effects of these treatments on impulsive choice and decision-making is less well characterized. Two experiments were undertaken. In the first experiment, given evidence for delay order as a factor in choice selection, the effect of dizocilpine was examined in a delay discounting task with separate groups of male Long-Evans rats trained to a schedule of either ascending (i.e. 0-40 s), or descending delays (i.e. 40-0 s). Under the ascending-delay schedule, dizocilpine (0.03-0.06 mg/kg SC) reduced discounting, yet on the descending-delay schedule discounting was increased. Subgrouping rats according to discounting rate under vehicle pretreatment were consistent with a treatment-induced choice perseveration. In a second experiment, male Long-Evans rats were trained to a gambling task (rGT). Neither dizocilpine (0.01-0.06 mg/kg SC) nor Ro 63-1908 (0.1-1 mg/kg SC) shifted choice from the advantageous to the disadvantageous options. However dizocilpine, and marginally Ro 63-1908, increased choice of the least risky, but suboptimal option. This effect was most evident in rats that initially preferred the disadvantageous options. Consistent with previous studies, both treatments increased measures of motor impulsivity. These results demonstrate that dizocilpine has effects on discounting dependent on delay order and likely reflective of perseveration. On the rGT task, neither dizocilpine nor Ro 63-1908 promoted risky choice, yet both NMDA receptor antagonists increased impulsive action. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preferential Representation of Past Outcome Information and Future Choice Behavior by Putative Inhibitory Interneurons Rather Than Putative Pyramidal Neurons in the Primate Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex.

PubMed

Kawai, Takashi; Yamada, Hiroshi; Sato, Nobuya; Takada, Masahiko; Matsumoto, Masayuki

2018-05-02

The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) plays crucial roles in monitoring the outcome of a choice and adjusting a subsequent choice behavior based on the outcome information. In the present study, we investigated how different types of dACC neurons, that is, putative pyramidal neurons and putative inhibitory interneurons, contribute to these processes. We analyzed single-unit database obtained from the dACC in monkeys performing a reversal learning task. The monkey was required to adjust choice behavior from past outcome experiences. Depending on their action potential waveforms, the recorded neurons were classified into putative pyramidal neurons and putative inhibitory interneurons. We found that these neurons do not equally contribute to outcome monitoring and behavioral adjustment. Although both neuron types evenly responded to the current outcome, a larger proportion of putative inhibitory interneurons than putative pyramidal neurons stored the information about the past outcome. The putative inhibitory interneurons further represented choice-related signals more frequently, such as whether the monkey would shift the last choice to an alternative at the next choice opportunity. Our findings suggest that putative inhibitory interneurons, which are thought not to project to brain areas outside the dACC, preferentially transmit signals that would adjust choice behavior based on past outcome experiences.

Acoustic experience shapes female mate choice in field crickets

PubMed Central

Bailey, Nathan W; Zuk, Marlene

2008-01-01

Female choice can drive the evolution of extravagant male traits. In invertebrates, the influence of prior social experience on female choice has only recently been considered. To better understand the evolutionary implications of experience-mediated plasticity in female choice, we investigated the effect of acoustic experience during rearing on female responsiveness to male song in the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus. Acoustic experience has unique biological relevance in this species: a morphological mutation has rendered over 90 per cent of males on the Hawaiian island of Kauai silent in fewer than 20 generations, impeding females' abilities to locate potential mates. Females reared in silent conditions mimicking Kauai were less discriminating of male calling song and more responsive to playbacks, compared with females that experienced song during rearing. Our results to our knowledge, are the first demonstration of long-term effects of acoustic experience in an arthropod, and suggest that female T. oceanicus may be able to compensate for the reduced availability of long-range male sexual signals by increasing their responsiveness to the few remaining signallers. Understanding the adaptive significance of experience-mediated plasticity in female choice provides insight into processes that facilitate rapid evolutionary change and shape sexual selection pressure in natural populations. PMID:18700205

Choice in experiential learning: True preferences or experimental artifacts?

PubMed

Ashby, Nathaniel J S; Konstantinidis, Emmanouil; Yechiam, Eldad

2017-03-01

The rate of selecting different options in the decisions-from-feedback paradigm is commonly used to measure preferences resulting from experiential learning. While convergence to a single option increases with experience, some variance in choice remains even when options are static and offer fixed rewards. Employing a decisions-from-feedback paradigm followed by a policy-setting task, we examined whether the observed variance in choice is driven by factors related to the paradigm itself: Continued exploration (e.g., believing options are non-stationary) or exploitation of perceived outcome patterns (i.e., a belief that sequential choices are not independent). Across two studies, participants showed variance in their choices, which was related (i.e., proportional) to the policies they set. In addition, in Study 2, participants' reported under-confidence was associated with the amount of choice variance in later choices and policies. These results suggest that variance in choice is better explained by participants lacking confidence in knowing which option is better, rather than methodological artifacts (i.e., exploration or failures to recognize outcome independence). As such, the current studies provide evidence for the decisions-from-feedback paradigm's validity as a behavioral research method for assessing learned preferences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of international health electives on medical student learning and career choice: results of a systematic literature review.

PubMed

Jeffrey, Jessica; Dumont, Rebecca A; Kim, Gloria Y; Kuo, Tony

2011-01-01

The present study reviewed the published literature to examine the effects of international health electives (IHEs) on medical student learning and career choice. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify key English-language articles on IHEs, using PubMed journal databases for the period 1990--2009. Article inclusion for this review was vetted by a rigorous evaluation of each article's study methods, content, and data quality. Pooled or aggregate information from 11 key articles, including information on type and duration of IHE, study and comparison group characteristics, and measured outcomes such as self-reported changes in cultural competency, clinical skills, and specialty choice, were extracted and summarized. Findings suggest that having IHE experiences contributed to a more well-rounded training for medical students; students reported being more culturally competent and were more likely to choose a primary care specialty and/or a public service career. Although IHE experiences appear to have educational benefits, the quality and availability of these electives vary by institution. Barriers to ensuring that students attain a safe and rich experience include the lack of consistent categorical funding, safety concerns when traveling, and limited faculty experience and resources to support and guide students during their rotations abroad.

A health economic model for the development and evaluation of innovations in aged care: an application to consumer-directed care-study protocol.

PubMed

Ratcliffe, Julie; Lancsar, Emily; Luszcz, Mary; Crotty, Maria; Gray, Len; Paterson, Jan; Cameron, Ian D

2014-06-25

Consumer-directed care is currently being embraced within Australia and internationally as a means of promoting autonomy and choice in the delivery of health and aged care services. Despite its wide proliferation little research has been conducted to date to assess the views and preferences of older people for consumer-directed care or to assess the costs and benefits of such an approach relative to existing models of service delivery. A comprehensive health economic model will be developed and applied to the evolution, implementation and evaluation of consumer-directed care in an Australian community aged care setting. A mixed methods approach comprising qualitative interviews and a discrete choice experiment will determine the attitudes and preferences of older people and their informal carers for consumer-directed care. The results of the qualitative interviews and the discrete choice experiment will inform the introduction of a new consumer-directed care innovation in service delivery. The cost-effectiveness of consumer-directed care will be evaluated by comparing incremental changes in resource use, costs and health and quality of life outcomes relative to traditional services. The discrete choice experiment will be repeated at the end of the implementation period to determine the extent to which attitudes and preferences change as a consequence of experience of consumer-directed care. The proposed framework will have wide applicability in the future development and economic evaluation of new innovations across the health and aged care sectors. The study is approved by Flinders University Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee (Project No. 6114/SBREC). Findings from the qualitative interviews, discrete choice experiments and the economic evaluation will be reported at a workshop of stakeholders to be held in 2015 and will be documented in reports and in peer reviewed journal articles. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Factors influencing the career interest of medical graduates in obstetrics and gynaecology in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

PubMed

Lam, Christy Y Y; Cheung, Charleen S Y; Hui, Annie S Y

2016-04-01

The trend of declining interest of medical graduates in pursuing obstetrics and gynaecology as a career has been observed in many overseas studies. This study aimed to evaluate the career interest of the most recent medical graduates in Hong Kong, especially their level of interest in obstetrics and gynaecology, and to identify key influential factors for career choice and career interest in obstetrics and gynaecology. All medical graduates from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong who attended the pre-internship lectures in June 2015 were invited to participate in this cross-sectional questionnaire survey. The main outcome measures were the level of career interest in obstetrics and gynaecology, the first three choices of specialty as a career, key influential factors for career choice, and key influential factors for career interest in obstetrics and gynaecology. Overall, 73.7% of 323 new medical graduates participated in the study and 233 questionnaires were analysed. The median score (out of 10) for the level of career interest in obstetrics and gynaecology was 3. There were 37 (16.2%) participants in whom obstetrics and gynaecology was among their first three choices, of whom 29 (78.4%) were female. Obstetrics and gynaecology ranked as the eighth most popular career choice. By factor analysis, the strongest key influential factor for career interest in obstetrics and gynaecology was clerkship experience (variance explained 28.9%) and the strongest key influential factor for career choice was working style (variance explained 26.4%). The study confirmed a low level of career interest in obstetrics and gynaecology among medical graduates and a decreasing popularity of the specialty as a career choice. The three key influential factors for career interest in obstetrics and gynaecology and career choice were working style, clerkship experience, and career prospects.

The Effect of Overtly Categorizing Music on Preference for Popular Music Styles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brittin, Ruth V.

1991-01-01

Presents results of a study that explored the effect of overt categorization on musical preference. Found no difference in choices of nonmusic majors when choices were structured as stipulated, unstipulated, or free form categories. Finds musical experience and gender affected preferences for pop and jazz, but not for rock music. (DK)

Seeking Restorative Experiences: Elementary School Teachers' Choices for Places that Enable Coping with Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulwadi, Gowri Betrabet

2006-01-01

Teacher stress and coping research and restorative environments research were converged in this study to explore how elementary school teachers in Chicago seek out everyday places in their milieu to implement restorative coping strategies. Seventy-one survey responses revealed that teachers' spontaneous place choices are related to sources of…

Title I Middle School Administrators' Beliefs and Choices about Using Corporal Punishment and Exclusionary Discipline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Brianna L.; Murphy, Amy S.; Jordan, Adam

2017-01-01

This grounded theory study of how Title I middle school administrators determine students' punishments was developed using interviews with 27 Florida administrators from schools allowing corporal punishment. Administrators' choices were shaped by their upbringings, their experiences as parents, their job requirements, the expectations of students'…

Adults' Learning about Science in Free-Choice Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rennie, Leonie J.; Williams, Gina F.

2006-01-01

This paper synthesizes findings from three studies to answer a general question: What do casual, adult visitors learn about science from their science-related experiences in free-choice settings? Specifically we asked whether there are changes in how people think about science in their daily lives, the nature and use of scientific knowledge, and…

Autonomy supportive environments and mastery as basic factors to motivate physical activity in children: a controlled laboratory study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background Choice promotes the experience of autonomy, which enhances intrinsic motivation. Providing a greater choice of traditional active toys may increase children’s activity time. Mastery also increases intrinsic motivation and is designed into exergames, which may increase play time of a singl...

Discrete choice experiments to measure consumer preferences for health and healthcare.

PubMed

Viney, Rosalie; Lancsar, Emily; Louviere, Jordan

2002-08-01

To investigate the impact of health policies on individual well-being, estimate the value to society of new interventions or policies, or predict demand for healthcare, we need information about individuals' preferences. Economists usually use market-based data to analyze preferences, but such data are limited in the healthcare context. Discrete choice experiments are a potentially valuable tool for elicitation and analysis of preferences and thus, for economic analysis of health and health programs. This paper reviews the use of discrete choice experiments to measure consumers' preferences for health and healthcare. The paper provides an overview of the approach and discusses issues that arise when using discrete choice experiments to assess individuals' preferences for health and healthcare.

Schools That Make a Difference to Post-Compulsory Uptake of Physical Science Subjects: Some comparative case studies in England

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Judith; Lubben, Fred; Hampden-Thompson, Gillian

2013-03-01

This paper presents the findings of the qualitative component of a combined methods research study that explores a range of individual and school factors that influence the uptake of chemistry and physics in post-compulsory study in England. The first phase involves using the National Pupil Database to provide a sampling frame to identify four matched pairs of high-uptake and low-uptake schools by salient school factors. Case studies of these eight schools indicate that students employ selection strategies related to their career aspirations, their sense of identity and tactics, and their prior experience. The school factors influencing subject choice relate to school management, student support and guidance, and student empowerment. The most notable differences between students in high-uptake and low-uptake schools are that students in high-uptake schools appear to make a proactive choice in relation to career aspirations, rather than a reactive choice on the basis of past experience. Schools with a high uptake offer a diverse science curriculum in the final two years of compulsory study, set higher examination entry requirements for further study and, crucially, provide a range of opportunities for students to interact with the world of work and to gain knowledge and experience of science-related careers.

The mere exposure effect is sensitive to color information: evidence for color effects in a perceptual implicit memory test.

PubMed

Hupbach, Almut; Melzer, André; Hardt, Oliver

2006-01-01

Priming effects in perceptual tests of implicit memory are assumed to be perceptually specific. Surprisingly, changing object colors from study to test did not diminish priming in most previous studies. However, these studies used implicit tests that are based on object identification, which mainly depends on the analysis of the object shape and therefore operates color-independently. The present study shows that color effects can be found in perceptual implicit tests when the test task requires the processing of color information. In Experiment 1, reliable color priming was found in a mere exposure design (preference test). In Experiment 2, the preference test was contrasted with a conceptually driven color-choice test. Altering the shape of object from study to test resulted in significant priming in the color-choice test but eliminated priming in the preference test. Preference judgments thus largely depend on perceptual processes. In Experiment 3, the preference and the color-choice test were studied under explicit test instructions. Differences in reaction times between the implicit and the explicit test suggest that the implicit test results were not an artifact of explicit retrieval attempts. In contrast with previous assumptions, it is therefore concluded that color is part of the representation that mediates perceptual priming.

Affective biasing of choices in gambling task decision making.

PubMed

Hinson, John M; Whitney, Paul; Holben, Heather; Wirick, Aaron K

2006-09-01

The proponents of the somatic marker hypothesis presume that rational decision making is guided by emotional reactions that are developed from prior experience. Supporting evidence for the hypothesis comes almost exclusively from the short-term affective reactions that are learned during the course of a hypothetical decision-making task--the gambling task (GT). We examined GT performance and affective reactions to choices when those choices were biased by words that had preexisting affective value. In one experiment, affectively valued words directly signaled good and bad choices. A congruent relation between affective value of word and choice outcome improved GT performance, whereas an incongruent relation greatly interfered with performance. In another experiment, affectively valued words were maintained as a working memory (WM) load between GT choices. A WM load with affectively positive words somewhat improved GT performance, whereas affectively negative words interfered with performance. Somatic markers-indicated by differential anticipatory skin conductance response (SCR) amplitude for good and bad choices-appeared at a point in the GT session when choice performance was superior. However, differential SCR developed during the session after good choice performance was already established. These results indicate that preexisting affective biases can influence GT decision making. In addition, the somatic markers that are regular accompaniments of GT decision making appeared to be temporally lagging indicators of choice performance.

Think twice before you book? Modelling the choice of public vs private dentist in a choice experiment.

PubMed

Kiiskinen, Urpo; Suominen-Taipale, Anna Liisa; Cairns, John

2010-06-01

This study concerns the choice of primary dental service provider by consumers. If the health service delivery system allows individuals to choose between public-care providers or if complementary private services are available, it is typically assumed that utilisation is a three-stage decision process. The patient first makes a decision to seek care, and then chooses the service provider. The final stage, involving decisions over the amount and form of treatment, is not considered here. The paper reports a discrete choice experiment (DCE) designed to evaluate attributes affecting individuals' choice of dental-care provider. The feasibility of the DCE approach in modelling consumers' choice in the context of non-acute need for dental care is assessed. The aim is to test whether a separate two-stage logit, a multinomial logit, or a nested logit best fits the choice process of consumers. A nested logit model of indirect utility functions is estimated and inclusive value (IV) constraints are tested for modelling implications. The results show that non-trading behaviour has an impact on the choice of appropriate modelling technique, but is to some extent dependent on the choice of scenarios offered. It is concluded that for traders multinomial logit is appropriate, whereas for non-traders and on average the nested logit is the method supported by the analyses. The consistent finding in all subgroup analyses is that the traditional two-stage decision process is found to be implausible in the context of consumer's choice of dental-care provider.

A decision network account of reasoning about other people's choices

PubMed Central

Jern, Alan; Kemp, Charles

2015-01-01

The ability to predict and reason about other people's choices is fundamental to social interaction. We propose that people reason about other people's choices using mental models that are similar to decision networks. Decision networks are extensions of Bayesian networks that incorporate the idea that choices are made in order to achieve goals. In our first experiment, we explore how people predict the choices of others. Our remaining three experiments explore how people infer the goals and knowledge of others by observing the choices that they make. We show that decision networks account for our data better than alternative computational accounts that do not incorporate the notion of goal-directed choice or that do not rely on probabilistic inference. PMID:26010559

Effects of Experience on Preference between Forced and Free Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ono, Koichi

2004-01-01

Preference between forced choice and free choice in concurrent-chain schedules of reinforcement was investigated in pigeons after exposure to particular combinations of terminal links. In Experiment 1, in which terminal links always ended with reinforcers, one of three pairs of terminal links was arranged as preexposure: (a) both terminal links…

Choice and Control within Family Relationships: The Lived Experience of Adults with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curryer, Bernadette; Stancliffe, Roger J.; Dew, Angela; Wiese, Michele Y.

2018-01-01

Increased choice and control is a driving force of current disability policy in Australia for people with disability and their families. Yet little is known of how adults with intellectual disability (ID) actually experience choice and control within their family relationships. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis of individual,…

When you can't have the cake and eat it too: a study of medical doctors' priorities in complex choice situations.

PubMed

Carlsen, Benedicte; Hole, Arne Risa; Kolstad, Julie Riise; Norheim, Ole Frithjof

2012-12-01

Available literature provides little insight into medical doctors' prescription choices when they are required to make complex trade-offs between different concerns such as treatment effect, costs, and patient preferences simultaneously. This study investigates this issue. It is based on a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) conducted with 571 Norwegian doctors, where the DCE captures preferences for medications described along five dimensions important for both clinical decision-making and prioritisation in the health sector. Although effectiveness is the most important determinant of choice in our study, doctors also put considerable weight on patients' preferences and on avoiding high total costs. The probability of choosing a particular medication increases when doctors have a positive experience with the medication. GPs value high clinical effectiveness less than hospital consultants do. They are also less concerned with patient preferences. For both groups of doctors it turns out that they are willing to make difficult trade-offs between attributes they are often assumed not to be willing to compromise on, like effectiveness or patient preferences, and cost measures - given that they have proper information about these attributes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Origins of Teachers' Selection of Aversive Interventions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Steven W.; Weis, Glenna

This study was designed to replicate and improve upon Kaplan's 1992 study of the possible link between teachers' past experiences and use of aversive disciplinary strategies. The current study examines the possible effect of past home and school experience on both preservice and practicing teachers' choices of intervention. The first study…

Consumer preferences for health and nonhealth outcomes of health promotion: results from a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Alayli-Goebbels, Adrienne F G; Dellaert, Benedict G C; Knox, Stephanie A; Ament, André J H A; Lakerveld, Jeroen; Bot, Sandra D M; Nijpels, G; Severens, J L

2013-01-01

Health promotion (HP) interventions have outcomes that go beyond health. Such broader nonhealth outcomes are usually neglected in economic evaluation studies. To allow for their consideration, insights are needed into the types of nonhealth outcomes that HP interventions produce and their relative importance compared with health outcomes. This study explored consumer preferences for health and nonhealth outcomes of HP in the context of lifestyle behavior change. A discrete choice experiment was conducted among participants in a lifestyle intervention (n = 132) and controls (n = 141). Respondents made 16 binary choices between situations that can be experienced after lifestyle behavior change. The situations were described by 10 attributes: future health state value, start point of future health state, life expectancy, clothing size above ideal, days with sufficient relaxation, endurance, experienced control over lifestyle choices, lifestyle improvement of partner and/or children, monetary cost per month, and time cost per week. With the exception of "time cost per week" and "start point of future health state," all attributes significantly determined consumer choices. Thus, both health and nonhealth outcomes affected consumer choice. Marginal rates of substitution between the price attribute and the other attributes revealed that the attributes "endurance," "days with sufficient relaxation," and "future health state value" had the greatest impact on consumer choices. The "life expectancy" attribute had a relatively low impact and for increases of less than 3 years, respondents were not willing to trade. Health outcomes and nonhealth outcomes of lifestyle behavior change were both important to consumers in this study. Decision makers should respond to consumer preferences and consider nonhealth outcomes when deciding about HP interventions. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Simulation study to determine the impact of different design features on design efficiency in discrete choice experiments.

PubMed

Vanniyasingam, Thuva; Cunningham, Charles E; Foster, Gary; Thabane, Lehana

2016-07-19

Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are routinely used to elicit patient preferences to improve health outcomes and healthcare services. While many fractional factorial designs can be created, some are more statistically optimal than others. The objective of this simulation study was to investigate how varying the number of (1) attributes, (2) levels within attributes, (3) alternatives and (4) choice tasks per survey will improve or compromise the statistical efficiency of an experimental design. A total of 3204 DCE designs were created to assess how relative design efficiency (d-efficiency) is influenced by varying the number of choice tasks (2-20), alternatives (2-5), attributes (2-20) and attribute levels (2-5) of a design. Choice tasks were created by randomly allocating attribute and attribute level combinations into alternatives. Relative d-efficiency was used to measure the optimality of each DCE design. DCE design complexity influenced statistical efficiency. Across all designs, relative d-efficiency decreased as the number of attributes and attribute levels increased. It increased for designs with more alternatives. Lastly, relative d-efficiency converges as the number of choice tasks increases, where convergence may not be at 100% statistical optimality. Achieving 100% d-efficiency is heavily dependent on the number of attributes, attribute levels, choice tasks and alternatives. Further exploration of overlaps and block sizes are needed. This study's results are widely applicable for researchers interested in creating optimal DCE designs to elicit individual preferences on health services, programmes, policies and products. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Magnetoencephalographic Signals Identify Stages in Real-Life Decision Processes

PubMed Central

Braeutigam, Sven; Stins, John F.; Rose, Steven P. R.; Swithenby, Stephen J.; Ambler, Tim

2001-01-01

We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to study the dynamics of neural responses in eight subjects engaged in shopping for day-to-day items from supermarket shelves. This behavior not only has personal and economic importance but also provides an example of an experience that is both personal and shared between individuals. The shopping experience enables the exploration of neural mechanisms underlying choice based on complex memories. Choosing among different brands of closely related products activated a robust sequence of signals within the first second after the presentation of the choice images. This sequence engaged first the visual cortex (80-100 ms), then as the images were analyzed, predominantly the left temporal regions (310-340 ms). At longer latency, characteristic neural activetion was found in motor speech areas (500-520 ms) for images requiring low salience choices with respect to previous (brand) memory, and in right parietal cortex for high salience choices (850-920 ms). We argue that the neural processes associated with the particular brand-choice stimulus can be separated into identifiable stages through observation of MEG responses and knowledge of functional anatomy. PMID:12018772

Factors Influencing Changes in Eating Patterns Among Hong Kong Young Adults Transitioning to Tertiary Education.

PubMed

Kwok, Sin Tung; Capra, Sandra; Leveritt, Michael

2016-05-01

Transitioning to tertiary education is a significant life course event that has the potential to influence lifelong eating patterns. This study used a theoretic model developed from a life course perspective to examine factors influencing the change of food choices among 31 young adults in Hong Kong after they moved on to tertiary education. Qualitative analysis of transcripts based on the constant comparative method revealed that present life course experiences, especially increased autonomy, and social-environmental factors strongly influenced young adults' present food choices. A model was developed from life course theory and social-ecological theory to reflect the factors that led to change of food choices among participants. The model provides unique insights on food choices of the future adult population. It could also be used as a reference for the development of nutrition education interventions targeting tertiary students as they experience increased autonomy. In conclusion, food choices of young adults on transitioning to tertiary education are strongly influenced by increased autonomy and change of social and environmental factors. © 2016 APJPH.

The role of pedunculopontine nucleus in choice behavior under risk

PubMed Central

Leblond, Mona; Sukharnikova, Tatyana; Yu, Chunxiu; Rossi, Mark A.; Yin, Henry H.

2014-01-01

The dopaminergic projections to the basal ganglia have long been implicated in reward guided behavior and decision making, yet little is known about the role of the posterior pedunculopontine nucleus (pPPN), a major source of excitatory input to the mesolimbic dopamine system. Here we studied the contributions of pPPN to decision making under risk, using excitoxic lesions and reversible inactivation in rats. Rats could choose between two options: a small but certain reward on one lever, or a large but uncertain reward on the other lever. The overall payoff associated with each choice is the same, but the reward variance (risk) associated with the risky choice is much higher. In Experiment 1, we showed that excitotoxic lesions of the pPPN before training did not affect acquisition of lever pressing. But whereas the controls strongly preferred the safe choice, the lesioned rats did not. In Experiment 2, we found that muscimol inactivation of the pPPN also reversibly altered choice behavior. These results show that permanent lesions or reversible inactivation of the pPPN both abolish risk aversion in decision making. PMID:24617747

Associations between Internet-based patient ratings and conventional surveys of patient experience in the English NHS: an observational study.

PubMed

Greaves, Felix; Pape, Utz J; King, Dominic; Darzi, Ara; Majeed, Azeem; Wachter, Robert M; Millett, Christopher

2012-07-01

Unsolicited web-based comments by patients regarding their healthcare are increasing, but controversial. The relationship between such online patient reports and conventional measures of patient experience (obtained via survey) is not known. The authors examined hospital level associations between web-based patient ratings on the National Health Service (NHS) Choices website, introduced in England during 2008, and paper-based survey measures of patient experience. The authors also aimed to compare these two methods of measuring patient experience. The authors performed a cross-sectional observational study of all (n=146) acute general NHS hospital trusts in England using data from 9997 patient web-based ratings posted on the NHS Choices website during 2009/2010. Hospital trust level indicators of patient experience from a paper-based survey (five measures) were compared with web-based patient ratings using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The authors compared the strength of associations among clinical outcomes, patient experience survey results and NHS Choices ratings. Web-based ratings of patient experience were associated with ratings derived from a national paper-based patient survey (Spearman ρ=0.31-0.49, p<0.001 for all). Associations with clinical outcomes were at least as strong for online ratings as for traditional survey measures of patient experience. Unsolicited web-based patient ratings of their care, though potentially prone to many biases, are correlated with survey measures of patient experience. They may be useful tools for patients when choosing healthcare providers and for clinicians to improve the quality of their services.

The role of source memory in gambling task decision making.

PubMed

Whitney, Paul; Hinson, John M

2012-01-01

The role of memory in the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was tested in two experiments that dissociated item memory (memory for losses obtained) from source memory (the deck that produced a given loss). In Experiment 1, participants observed 75 choices that had been made by controls or patients in previous research, followed by memory tests, and then 25 active choices from the participant. In Experiment 2, participants made choices for 75 trials, performed the memory tests, and then made 25 final choices. The data show that item and source memory can diverge within the IGT, and that source memory makes a significant contribution to IGT performance.

A Framework for Instrument Development of a Choice Experiment: An Application to Type 2 Diabetes.

PubMed

Janssen, Ellen M; Segal, Jodi B; Bridges, John F P

2016-10-01

Choice experiments are increasingly used to obtain patient preference information for regulatory benefit-risk assessments. Despite the importance of instrument design, there remains a paucity of literature applying good research principles. We applied a novel framework for instrument development of a choice experiment to measure type 2 diabetes mellitus treatment preferences. Applying the framework, we used evidence synthesis, expert consultation, stakeholder engagement, pretest interviews, and pilot testing to develop a best-worst scaling (BWS) and discrete choice experiment (DCE). We synthesized attributes from published DCEs for type 2 diabetes, consulted clinical experts, engaged a national advisory board, conducted local cognitive interviews, and pilot tested a national survey. From published DCEs (n = 17), ten attribute categories were extracted with cost (n = 11) having the highest relative attribute importance (RAI) (range 6-10). Clinical consultation and stakeholder engagement identified six attributes for inclusion. Cognitive pretesting with local diabetes patients (n = 25) ensured comprehension of the choice experiment. Pilot testing with patients from a national sample (n = 50) identified nausea as most important (RAI for DCE: 10 [95 % CI 8.5-11.5]; RAI for BWS: 10 [95 % CI 8.9-11.1]). The developed choice experiment contained five attributes (A1c decrease, blood glucose stability, low blood glucose, nausea, additional medicine, and cost). The framework for instrument development of a choice experiment included five stages of development and incorporated multiple stakeholder perspectives. Further comparisons of instrument development approaches are needed to identify best practices. To facilitate comparisons, researchers need to be encouraged to publish or discuss their instrument development strategies and findings.

Do Choice Experiments Generate Reliable Willingness to Pay Estimates Theory and Experimental Evidence

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

make a series of choices over sets of goods which vary in terms of the levels of their attributes and their costs. The results of these surveys...results motivated the development of the theoretical model reported in Part II, followed by a second experiment (reported in Part III) to test the...deviations from truthful preference revelation in each choice mechanism. The results demonstrate that of the four choice mechanisms tested , only the repeated

Muslim women having abortions in Canada

PubMed Central

Wiebe, Ellen; Najafi, Roya; Soheil, Naghma; Kamani, Alya

2011-01-01

Abstract Objective To improve understanding of the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of Muslim patients presenting for abortion. Design Exploratory study in which participants completed questionnaires about their attitudes, beliefs, and experiences. Setting Two urban, free-standing abortion clinics. Participants Fifty-three self-identified Muslim patients presenting for abortion. Main outcome measures Women’s background, beliefs, and attitudes toward their religion and toward abortion; levels of anxiety, depression, and guilt, scored on a scale of 0 to 10; and degree of pro-choice or anti-choice attitude toward abortion, assessed by having respondents identify under which circumstances a woman should be able to have an abortion. Results The 53 women in this study were a diverse group, aged 17 to 47 years, born in 17 different countries, with a range of beliefs and attitudes toward abortion. As found in previous studies, women who were less pro-choice (identified fewer acceptable reasons to have an abortion) had higher anxiety and guilt scores than more pro-choice women did: 6.9 versus 4.9 (P = .01) and 6.9 versus 3.6 (P = .004), respectively. Women who said they strongly agreed that abortion was against Islamic principles also had higher anxiety and guilt scores: 9.3 versus 5.9 (P = .03) and 9.5 versus 5.3 (P = .03), respectively. Conclusion Canadian Muslim women presenting for abortion come from many countries and schools of Islam. The group of Muslim women that we surveyed was so diverse that no generalizations can be made about them. Their attitudes toward abortion ranged from being completely pro-choice to believing abortion is wrong unless it is done to save a woman’s life. Many said they found their religion to be a source of comfort as well as a source of guilt, turning to prayer and meditation to cope with their feelings about the abortion. It is important that physicians caring for Muslim women understand that their patients come from a variety of backgrounds and can have widely differing beliefs. It might be helpful to be aware that patients who hold more anti-choice beliefs are likely to experience more anxiety and guilt related to their abortion than pro-choice patients do. PMID:21626898

Analysing the oviposition behaviour of malaria mosquitoes: design considerations for improving two-choice egg count experiments.

PubMed

Okal, Michael N; Lindh, Jenny M; Torr, Steve J; Masinde, Elizabeth; Orindi, Benedict; Lindsay, Steve W; Fillinger, Ulrike

2015-06-20

Choice egg-count bioassays are a popular tool for analysing oviposition substrate preferences of gravid mosquitoes. This study aimed at improving the design of two-choice experiments for measuring oviposition substrates preferences of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae senso lato, a mosquito that lays single eggs. In order to achieve high egg-laying success of female An. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) and Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes in experiments, four factors were evaluated: (1) the time provided for mating; (2) the impact of cage size, mosquito age and female body size on insemination; (3) the peak oviposition time; and, (4) the host sources of blood meal. Choice bioassays, with one mosquito released in each cage containing two oviposition cups both with the same oviposition substrate (100 ml water), were used to measure and adjust for egg-laying characteristics of the species. Based on these characteristics an improved design for the egg-count bioassay is proposed. High oviposition rates [84%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 77-89%] were achieved when 300 male and 300 blood-fed female An. gambiae s.s. were held together in a cage for 4 days. The chances for oviposition dropped (odds ratio 0.30; 95% CI 0.14-0.66) when human host source of blood meal was substituted with a rabbit but egg numbers per female were not affected. The number of eggs laid by individual mosquitoes was overdispersed (median = 52, eggs, interquartile range 1-214) and the numbers of eggs laid differed widely between replicates, leading to a highly heterogeneous variance between groups and/or rounds of experiments. Moreover, one-third of mosquitoes laid eggs unequally in both cups with similar substrates giving the illusion of choice. Sample size estimations illustrate that it takes 165 individual mosquitoes to power bioassays sufficiently (power = 0.8, p = 0.05) to detect a 15% shift in comparative preferences of two treatments. Two-choice egg count bioassays with Anopheles are best done with a two-tier design that (1) implements a parallel series of experiments with mosquitoes given a choice of two identical substrates choices and, (2) uses a single mosquito in each test cage rather than groups of mosquitoes to assess the preference of a test or control solution. This approach, with sufficient replication, lowers the risk detecting pseudopreferences.

Medicare's Drug Discount Card Program: Beneficiaries' Experience with Choice

PubMed Central

Hassol, Andrea; Wrobel, Marian V.; Doksum, Teresa

2007-01-01

This article describes Medicare beneficiaries' experience with the choice among Medicare drug discount cards and is based primarily on surveys and focus groups with beneficiaries as well as interviews with other stakeholders. Although competition and choice have the potential to reduce cost and enhance quality in the Medicare Program, our findings highlight some of the challenges involved in making choice work in practice. Despite the unique and temporary nature of the drug discount card program, these findings have considerable relevance to the Part D drug benefit and to other Medicare initiatives that rely on choice. PMID:17722747

Estimating the executive demands of a one-back choice reaction time task by means of the selective interference paradigm.

PubMed

Szmalec, Arnaud; Vandierendonck, André

2007-08-01

The present study proposes a new executive task, the one-back choice reaction time (RT) task, and implements the selective interference paradigm to estimate the executive demands of the processing components involved in this task. Based on the similarities between a one-back choice RT task and the n-back updating task, it was hypothesized that one-back delaying of a choice reaction involves executive control. In three experiments, framed within Baddeley's (1986) working-memory model, a one-back choice RT task, a choice RT task, articulatory suppression, and matrix tapping were performed concurrently with primary tasks involving verbal, visuospatial, and executive processing. The results demonstrate that one-back delaying of a choice reaction interferes with tasks requiring executive control, while the potential interference at the level of the verbal or visuospatial working memory slave systems remains minimal.

Same-sex partner preference in zebra finches: pairing flexibility and choice.

PubMed

Tomaszycki, Michelle L; Zatirka, Brendon P

2014-11-01

This study examined flexibility and choice in same-sex pair-bonding behavior in adult zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Zebra finches form life-long monogamous relationships and extra pair behavior is very low, making them an ideal species in which to study same-sex pairing. We examined same-sex behaviors using both semi-naturalistic choice paradigms and skewed sex ratios. In the first experiment, we allowed zebra finches to pair in aviaries with equal sex ratios as part of multiple experiments. On average, 6.4% (N = 78) of unmanipulated pairs were same-sex: all but one was female-female. In a second experiment, we identified pairs from same-sex cages and selected 20 total same-sex pairs (10 of each sex). We then gave pairs a chance to court and pair with members of the opposite sex and observed their behavior for three days. Females did not retain their partner, but most paired with males. In contrast, some males did retain their partner. Similarly, females were more likely to engage in pairing behaviors with males than with their partners or other females whereas males were equally likely to engage in same-sex and opposite-sex pairing behaviors. These findings suggest that same-sex partnerships in zebra finches can be facultative, based on the sex ratio of the group in which they live, but can also be a choice, when opportunities to pair with opposite-sex individuals are possible. Furthermore, it is possible that females are more flexible in this choice of same-sex partnerships than are males.

Making choices about medical interventions: the experience of disabled young people with degenerative conditions.

PubMed

Mitchell, Wendy A

2014-04-01

Current western policy, including the UK, advocates choice for service users and their families, taking greater control and being more involved in decision making. However, children's role in health decision making, especially from their own perspective, has received less research attention compared to doctors and parents' perspectives. To explore the perspective and experiences of disabled young people with degenerative conditions as they face significant medical interventions and engage in decision-making processes. Findings from a longitudinal qualitative study of 10 young people (13-22 years) with degenerative conditions are reported. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants over 3 years (2007-2010); the paper reports data from all three interview rounds. Interviews focused on medical intervention choices the young people identified as significant. Although the young people in this study felt involved in the medical intervention choices discussed, findings demonstrate a complex and diverse picture of decision making. Results highlighted different decisional roles adopted by the young people, the importance of information heuristics and working with other people whilst engaging in complex processes weighing up different decisional factors. Young people's experiences demonstrate the importance of moving beyond viewing health choices as technical or rational decisions. How each young person framed their decision was important. Recognizing this diversity and the importance of emerging themes, such as living a normal life, independence, fear of decisions viewed as 'irreversible' and the role of parents and peers in decision making highlights that, there are clear practice implications including, active practitioner listening, sensitivity and continued holistic family working. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Effects of Spatial Stimulus-Response Compatibility on Choice Time Production Accuracy and Variability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rakitin, Brian C.

2005-01-01

Five experiments examined the relations between timing and attention using a choice time production task in which the latency of a spatial choice response is matched to a target interval (3 or 5 s). Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that spatial stimulus-response incompatibility increased nonscalar timing variability without affecting timing accuracy…

A systematic review, and meta-analyses, of the impact of health-related claims on dietary choices.

PubMed

Kaur, Asha; Scarborough, Peter; Rayner, Mike

2017-07-11

Health-related claims are statements regarding the nutritional content of a food (nutrition claims) and/or indicate that a relationship exists between a food and a health outcome (health claims). Their impact on food purchasing or consumption decisions is unclear. This systematic review measured the effect of health-related claims, on pre-packaged foods in retail settings, on adult purchasing decisions (real and perceived). In September 2016, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CAB abstracts, Business Source Complete, and Web of Science/Science Citation Index & Social Science Citation Index for articles in English published in peer-review journals. Studies were included if they were controlled experiments where the experimental group(s) included a health-related claim and the control group involved an identical product without a health-related claim. Included studies measured (at an individual or population level); actual or intended choice, purchases, and/or consumption. The primary outcome was product choices and purchases, the secondary outcome was food consumption and preference. Results were standardised through calculating odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the likelihood of choosing a product when a health-related claim was present. Results were combined in a random-effects meta-analysis. Thirty-one papers were identified, 17 of which were included for meta-analyses. Most studies were conducted in Europe (n = 17) and the USA (n = 7). Identified studies were choice experiments that measured the likelihood of a product being chosen when a claim was present compared to when a claim was not present, (n = 16), 15 studies were experiments that measured either; intent-rating scale outcomes (n = 8), consumption (n = 6), a combination of the two (n = 1), or purchase data (n = 1). Overall, 20 studies found that claims increase purchasing and/or consumption, eight studies had mixed results, and two studies found consumption/purchasing reductions. The meta-analyses of 17 studies found that health-related claims increase consumption and/or purchasing (OR 1.75, CI 1.60-1.91). Health-related claims have a substantial effect on dietary choices. However, this finding is based on research mostly conducted in artificial settings. Findings from natural experiments have yielded smaller effects. Further research is needed to assess effects of claims in real-world settings. PROSPERO systematic review registration number: CRD42016044042 .

A decision network account of reasoning about other people's choices.

PubMed

Jern, Alan; Kemp, Charles

2015-09-01

The ability to predict and reason about other people's choices is fundamental to social interaction. We propose that people reason about other people's choices using mental models that are similar to decision networks. Decision networks are extensions of Bayesian networks that incorporate the idea that choices are made in order to achieve goals. In our first experiment, we explore how people predict the choices of others. Our remaining three experiments explore how people infer the goals and knowledge of others by observing the choices that they make. We show that decision networks account for our data better than alternative computational accounts that do not incorporate the notion of goal-directed choice or that do not rely on probabilistic inference. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Risk Preferences, Probability Weighting, and Strategy Tradeoffs in Wildfire Management.

PubMed

Hand, Michael S; Wibbenmeyer, Matthew J; Calkin, David E; Thompson, Matthew P

2015-10-01

Wildfires present a complex applied risk management environment, but relatively little attention has been paid to behavioral and cognitive responses to risk among public agency wildfire managers. This study investigates responses to risk, including probability weighting and risk aversion, in a wildfire management context using a survey-based experiment administered to federal wildfire managers. Respondents were presented with a multiattribute lottery-choice experiment where each lottery is defined by three outcome attributes: expenditures for fire suppression, damage to private property, and exposure of firefighters to the risk of aviation-related fatalities. Respondents choose one of two strategies, each of which includes "good" (low cost/low damage) and "bad" (high cost/high damage) outcomes that occur with varying probabilities. The choice task also incorporates an information framing experiment to test whether information about fatality risk to firefighters alters managers' responses to risk. Results suggest that managers exhibit risk aversion and nonlinear probability weighting, which can result in choices that do not minimize expected expenditures, property damage, or firefighter exposure. Information framing tends to result in choices that reduce the risk of aviation fatalities, but exacerbates nonlinear probability weighting. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

The influence student placement experience can have on the employment choices of graduates: A paediatric nursing context.

PubMed

Boyd-Turner, Danni; Bell, Elaine; Russell, Alison

2016-01-01

This paper explores how the student placement experience may influence employment choices in the context of paediatric nursing. A qualitative research methodology was used. Data was collected using semi structured interviews at a tertiary teaching hospital. The sample group comprised of six newly qualified nurses who had completed their Bachelor of Nursing less than 12 months before the interview. They had completed at least one clinical placement at the site of data collection in their 2nd or 3rd year of undergraduate nursing studies. The main themes contributing to the student nurse experience within the context of paediatric nursing included the wish to work with children, a job being available, support during clinical placements and assistance with future career planning while on placement. The support experienced by student nurses during their clinical placement was seen to have a very positive influence on their future employment choices. Group de-briefing to support mutual understanding and sharing was seen to be a highly positive aspect of a clinical placement. Also how students were treated by clinical staff was a key factor that influenced future employment choices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Development of Strategy Use in Elementary School Children: Working Memory and Individual Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Imbo, Ineke; Vandierendonck, Andre

2007-01-01

The current study tested the development of working memory involvement in children's arithmetic strategy selection and strategy efficiency. To this end, an experiment in which the dual-task method and the choice/no-choice method were combined was administered to 10- to 12-year-olds. Working memory was needed in retrieval, transformation, and…

Choices of wilderness environments -- differences between real and hypothetical choice situations

Treesearch

Jean T. Beaulieu; Richard Schreyer

1985-01-01

Factors considered most critical in selecting a specific wilderness environment in which to recreate are likely to vary depending upon the type of environment involved, the range and extent of experience of the recreationists, and the situational context of the decision (whether a real or a hypothetical decision was made). This study examines differences in factors...

Indian Mothers' Perceptions of Their Roles in Their Daughters' University Course Choices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khambhaita, Priya

2014-01-01

This paper presents new findings on the experiences of Indian mothers in the roles they play in their daughters' higher education (HE) subject choices. Whilst there are existing studies on White British mothers and parents more generally in terms of parental involvement in education, and a growing number of papers presenting results on Bangladeshi…

Medical Students' Perceptions of Psychiatry as a Career Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cutler, Janis L.; Alspector, Sharon L.; Harding, Kelli J.; Wright, Leslie L.; Graham, Mark J.

2006-01-01

Objective: This study describes medical students' perceptions of the field of psychiatry and identifies the impact of those perceptions on their career choices in order to explore the questions: Are we as a field doing all that we can to enhance the educational experience of all medical students, regardless of their career preferences? What are…

A Bridge over Troubled Waters: Adults' Perceptions of For-Profit Education as a Viable Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flack, Adrianne

2016-01-01

This qualitative study, which uses a narrative research approach informed by Riessman's (2008) work, explores the "college choice" experience of seven adult students, age 25 and older, who pursue postsecondary education at a non-degree granting, less-than-two-year private for-profit institution in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. My…

Predicting Short-Term Remembering as Boundedly Optimal Strategy Choice.

PubMed

Howes, Andrew; Duggan, Geoffrey B; Kalidindi, Kiran; Tseng, Yuan-Chi; Lewis, Richard L

2016-07-01

It is known that, on average, people adapt their choice of memory strategy to the subjective utility of interaction. What is not known is whether an individual's choices are boundedly optimal. Two experiments are reported that test the hypothesis that an individual's decisions about the distribution of remembering between internal and external resources are boundedly optimal where optimality is defined relative to experience, cognitive constraints, and reward. The theory makes predictions that are tested against data, not fitted to it. The experiments use a no-choice/choice utility learning paradigm where the no-choice phase is used to elicit a profile of each participant's performance across the strategy space and the choice phase is used to test predicted choices within this space. They show that the majority of individuals select strategies that are boundedly optimal. Further, individual differences in what people choose to do are successfully predicted by the analysis. Two issues are discussed: (a) the performance of the minority of participants who did not find boundedly optimal adaptations, and (b) the possibility that individuals anticipate what, with practice, will become a bounded optimal strategy, rather than what is boundedly optimal during training. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Individual differences in discount rate are associated with demand for self-administered cocaine, but not sucrose.

PubMed

Koffarnus, Mikhail N; Woods, James H

2013-01-01

Substance abusers, including cocaine abusers, discount delayed rewards to a greater extent than do matched controls. In the current experiment, individual differences in discounting of delayed rewards in rats (choice of one immediate over three delayed sucrose pellets) were assessed for associations with demand for either sucrose pellets or an intravenous dose of 0.1 mg/kg/infusion cocaine. Twenty-four male Sprague Dawley rats were split into three groups based on sensitivity to delay to reinforcement. Then, demand for sucrose pellets and cocaine was determined across a range of fixed-ratio values. Delay discounting was then reassessed to determine the stability of this measure over the course of the experiment. Individual differences in impulsive choice were positively associated with elasticity of demand for cocaine, a measure of reinforcer value, indicating that rats having higher discount rates also valued cocaine more. Impulsive choice was not associated with the level of cocaine consumption as price approached 0 or with any parameter associated with demand for sucrose. Individual sensitivity to delay was correlated with the initial assessment when reassessed at the end of the experiment, although impulsive choice increased for this cohort of rats as a whole. These findings suggest that impulsive choice in rats is positively associated with valuation of cocaine, but not sucrose. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction Biology © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Brain, emotion and decision making: the paradigmatic example of regret.

PubMed

Coricelli, Giorgio; Dolan, Raymond J; Sirigu, Angela

2007-06-01

Human decisions cannot be explained solely by rational imperatives but are strongly influenced by emotion. Theoretical and behavioral studies provide a sound empirical basis to the impact of the emotion of regret in guiding choice behavior. Recent neuropsychological and neuroimaging data have stressed the fundamental role of the orbitofrontal cortex in mediating the experience of regret. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data indicate that reactivation of activity within the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala occurring during the phase of choice, when the brain is anticipating possible future consequences of decisions, characterizes the anticipation of regret. In turn, these patterns reflect learning based on cumulative emotional experience. Moreover, affective consequences can induce specific mechanisms of cognitive control of the choice processes, involving reinforcement or avoidance of the experienced behavior.

When Flexibility Is Stable: Implicit Long-Term Shaping of Olfactory Preferences

PubMed Central

Coppin, Géraldine; Delplanque, Sylvain; Porcherot, Christelle; Cayeux, Isabelle; Sander, David

2012-01-01

Preferences are traditionally assumed to be stable. However, empirical evidence such as preference modulation following choices calls this assumption into question. The evolution of such postchoice preference over long time spans, even when choices have been explicitly forgotten, has so far not been studied. In two experiments, we investigated this question by using a variant of the free choice paradigm: In a first session, participants evaluated the pleasantness of a number of odors. We then formed pairs of similarly rated odors, and asked participants to choose their favorite, for each pair. Participants were then presented with all odors again, and asked for another pleasantness rating. In a second session 1 week later, a third pleasantness rating was obtained, and participants were again asked to choose between the same options. Results suggested postchoice preference modulation immediately and 1 week after choice for both chosen and rejected options, even when choices were not explicitly remembered. A third experiment, using another paradigm, confirmed that choice can have a modulatory impact on preferences, and that this modulation can be long-lasting. Taken together, these findings suggest that although preferences appear to be flexible because they are modulated by choices, this modulation also appears to be stable over time and even without explicit recollection of the choice. These results bring a new argument to the idea that postchoice preference modulation could rely on implicit mechanisms, and are consistent with the recent proposal that cognitive dissonance reduction could to some extent be implicit. PMID:22761661

The influence of college choice on the success, ethnic identity, and professional sense of belonging of African American engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeRamus-Suazo, Nicole L.

The purpose of this study was to reveal the perceptions of African American engineers on how college choice influenced their success, ethnic identity, and professional sense of belonging by documenting the unique experiences and success stories of African American engineers who attended four-year institutions, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly White institutions (PWIs). The research question was best answered through a qualitative, phenomenological study that depicted the lived experiences of individuals in their own voice. The governing interest was in discovering whether aspiring African American engineers, at this stage in their professional experience, favorably viewed their choice of HBCUs versus PWIs. Participants relayed how having a sense of belonging to their institution and having a supportive network of peers and faculty influenced and shaped their outlook on life. Several of the participants spoke of being resolute in achieving their goal to become an engineer despite the challenges faced in college and in the workforce. Whether participants attended an HBCU or PWI, they felt a sense of achievement and a competence to walk into any situation and succeed. Overwhelmingly, most participants expressed they would choose their undergraduate institution again if given the opportunity. African American engineers favorably viewed their undergraduate college choice as having given them an opportunity to achieve their professional aspirations.

A discrete choice experiment to determine UK patient preference for attributes of disease modifying treatments in Multiple Sclerosis.

PubMed

Bottomley, Catherine; Lloyd, Andrew; Bennett, Gary; Adlard, Nicholas

2017-08-01

The recent licensing of Disease Modifying Treatments (DMTs) for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has increased available treatment options. The aim of this study was to explore MS patients' preference for the different attributes of DMTs in the UK. Attributes (treatment characteristics) for inclusion in the discrete choice experiment (DCE) were determined through published literature and interviews with 12 people with MS. Seven attributes were selected. Participants were presented with three hypothetical treatment options sampled from included attributes and asked for their most/least preferred options. The influence of patient characteristics and demographics on patient preference was also investigated. The DCE was completed by 350 people with MS (81% female, mean age = 39). Results showed that method of taking medication was the strongest determinant of preference (27%; relative importance out of 100%), followed by relapse free rate (21%) and symptom progression (14%). Risk of fatigue (8%) and type of monitoring (6%) were the weakest determinants of preference. Once-daily oral treatment was preferred over all other methods of administration. Participant characteristics did not influence data on strength of preference. This study assumed adequate participant understanding of the discrete choice experiment task, and recruitment targeted those with access to the internet. These results, derived from people with MS in the UK, should be used to inform individual discussions with patients about DMT choices.

Relative quantity judgments in the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) and the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

PubMed

Abramson, José Z; Hernández-Lloreda, Victoria; Call, Josep; Colmenares, Fernando

2013-06-01

Numerous studies have documented the ability of many species to make relative quantity judgments using an analogue magnitude system. We investigated whether one beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, and three bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, were capable of selecting the larger of two sets of quantities, and analyzed if their performance matched predictions from the object file model versus the analog accumulator model. In Experiment 1, the two sets were presented simultaneously, under water, and they were visually (condition 1) or echoically (condition 2) available at the time of choice. In experiment 2, the two sets were presented above the water, successively (condition 1) or sequentially, item-by-item (condition 2), so that they were not visually available at the time of choice (condition 1) or at any time throughout the experiment (condition 2). We analyzed the effect of the ratio between quantities, the difference between quantities, and the total number of items presented on the subjects' choices. All subjects selected the larger of the two sets of quantities above chance levels in all conditions. However, unlike most previous studies, the subjects' choices did not match the predictions from the accumulator model. Whether these findings reflect interspecies differences in the mechanisms which underpin relative quantity judgments remains to be determined. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nucleus accumbens core lesions induce sub-optimal choice and reduce sensitivity to magnitude and delay in impulsive choice tasks

PubMed Central

Steele, Catherine C.; Peterson, Jennifer R.; Marshall, Andrew T.; Stuebing, Sarah L.; Kirkpatrick, Kimberly

2017-01-01

The nucleus accumbens core (NAc) has long been recognized as an important contributor to the computation of reward value that is critical for impulsive choice behavior. Impulsive choice refers to choosing a smaller-sooner (SS) over a larger-later (LL) reward when the LL is more optimal in terms of the rate of reward delivery. Two experiments examined the role of the NAc in impulsive choice and its component processes of delay and magnitude processing. Experiment 1 delivered an impulsive choice task with manipulations of LL reward magnitude, followed by a reward magnitude discrimination task. Experiment 2 tested impulsive choice under manipulations of LL delay, followed by temporal bisection and progressive interval tasks. NAc lesions, in comparison to sham control lesions, produced suboptimal preferences that resulted in lower reward earning rates, and led to reduced sensitivity to magnitude and delay within the impulsive choice task. The secondary tasks revealed intact reward magnitude and delay discrimination abilities, but the lesion rats persisted in responding more as the progressive interval increased during the session. The results suggest that the NAc is most critical for demonstrating good sensitivity to magnitude and delay, and adjusting behavior accordingly. Ultimately, the NAc lesions induced suboptimal choice behavior rather than simply promoting impulsive choice, suggesting that an intact NAc is necessary for optimal decision making. PMID:29146281

Relative Gains, Losses, and Reference Points in Probabilistic Choice in Rats

PubMed Central

Marshall, Andrew T.; Kirkpatrick, Kimberly

2015-01-01

Theoretical reference points have been proposed to differentiate probabilistic gains from probabilistic losses in humans, but such a phenomenon in non-human animals has yet to be thoroughly elucidated. Three experiments evaluated the effect of reward magnitude on probabilistic choice in rats, seeking to determine reference point use by examining the effect of previous outcome magnitude(s) on subsequent choice behavior. Rats were trained to choose between an outcome that always delivered reward (low-uncertainty choice) and one that probabilistically delivered reward (high-uncertainty). The probability of high-uncertainty outcome receipt and the magnitudes of low-uncertainty and high-uncertainty outcomes were manipulated within and between experiments. Both the low- and high-uncertainty outcomes involved variable reward magnitudes, so that either a smaller or larger magnitude was probabilistically delivered, as well as reward omission following high-uncertainty choices. In Experiments 1 and 2, the between groups factor was the magnitude of the high-uncertainty-smaller (H-S) and high-uncertainty-larger (H-L) outcome, respectively. The H-S magnitude manipulation differentiated the groups, while the H-L magnitude manipulation did not. Experiment 3 showed that manipulating the probability of differential losses as well as the expected value of the low-uncertainty choice produced systematic effects on choice behavior. The results suggest that the reference point for probabilistic gains and losses was the expected value of the low-uncertainty choice. Current theories of probabilistic choice behavior have difficulty accounting for the present results, so an integrated theoretical framework is proposed. Overall, the present results have implications for understanding individual differences and corresponding underlying mechanisms of probabilistic choice behavior. PMID:25658448

Rhyming Words and Onset-Rime Constituents: An Inquiry into Structural Breaking Points and Emergent Boundaries in the Syllable

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geudens, Astrid; Sandra, Dominiek; Martensen, Heike

2005-01-01

Geudens and Sandra, in their 2003 study, investigated the special role of onsets and rimes in Dutch-speaking children's explicit phonological awareness. In the current study, we tapped implicit phonological knowledge using forced-choice similarity judgment (Experiment 1) and recall of syllable lists (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, Dutch-speaking…

Affective influences on partner choice: role of mood in social decisions.

PubMed

Forgas, J P

1991-11-01

Does mood influence our information search and decision strategies when choosing a partner? In Experiment 1 (N = 60), sad Ss preferred rewarding to competent partners and remembered information supporting that choice better. In Experiment 2 (N = 96), mood effects on information selectivity, decision speed, and processing strategy in partner choices were found. In Experiment 3 (N = 42), a computerized stimulus presentation revealed mood-induced differences in the latency, self-exposure, and eventual recall of interpersonal information. These results are interpreted as evidence for mood-induced selectivity in information search and decision strategies when making realistic partner choices. The implications of the findings for research on interpersonal relations and for contemporary affect-cognition theories are considered.

Evidence for age-related changes to temporal attention and memory from the choice time production task

PubMed Central

Gooch, Cynthia M.; Stern, Yaakov; Rakitin, Brian C.

2009-01-01

The effect of aging on interval timing was examined using a choice time production task, which required participants to choose a key response based on the location of the stimulus, but to delay responding until after a learned time interval. Experiment 1 varied attentional demands of the response choice portion of the task by varying difficulty of stimulus-response mapping. Choice difficulty affected temporal accuracy equally in both age groups, but older participants’ response latencies were more variable under more difficult response choice conditions. Experiment 2 tested the contribution of long-term memory to differences in choice time production between age groups over 3 days of testing. Direction of errors in time production between the two age groups diverged over the 3 sessions, but variability did not differ. Results from each experiment separately show age-related changes to attention and memory in temporal processing using different measures and manipulations in the same task. PMID:19132578

Choice and conditioned reinforcement.

PubMed Central

Fantino, E; Freed, D; Preston, R A; Williams, W A

1991-01-01

A potential weakness of one formulation of delay-reduction theory is its failure to include a term for rate of conditioned reinforcement, that is, the rate at which the terminal-link stimuli occur in concurrent-chains schedules. The present studies assessed whether or not rate of conditioned reinforcement has an independent effect upon choice. Pigeons responded on either modified concurrent-chains schedules or on comparable concurrent-tandem schedules. The initial link was shortened on only one of two concurrent-chains schedules and on only one of two corresponding concurrent-tandem schedules. This manipulation increased rate of conditioned reinforcement sharply in the chain but not in the tandem schedule. According to a formulation of delay-reduction theory, when the outcomes chosen (the terminal links) are equal, as in Experiment 1, choice should depend only on rate of primary reinforcement; thus, choice should be equivalent for the tandem and chain schedules despite a large difference in rate of conditioned reinforcement. When the outcomes chosen are unequal, however, as in Experiment 2, choice should depend upon both rate of primary reinforcement and relative signaled delay reduction; thus, larger preferences should occur in the chain than in the tandem schedules. These predictions were confirmed, suggesting that increasing the rate of conditioned reinforcement on concurrent-chains schedules may have no independent effect on choice. PMID:2037826

The Relationship between Intuitive Action Choices and Moral Reasoning on Animal Ethics Issues in Students of Veterinary Medicine and Other Relevant Professions.

PubMed

Verrinder, Joy M; Phillips, Clive J C

2018-01-01

With growing understanding of animals' capabilities, and public and organizational pressures to improve animal welfare, moral action by veterinarians and other relevant professionals to address animal issues is increasingly important. Little is known about how their action choices relate to their moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. A moral judgment measure, the VetDIT, with three animal and three non-animal scenarios, was used to investigate the action choices of 619 students in five animal- and two non-animal-related professional programs in one Australian university, and how these related to their moral reasoning based on Personal Interest (PI), Maintaining Norms (MN), or Universal Principles (UP) schemas. Action choices showed significant relationships to PI, MN, and UP questions, and these varied across program groups. Having a previous degree or more experience with farm animals had a negative relationship, and experience with horses or companion animals a positive relationship, with intuitive action choices favoring life and bodily integrity of animals. This study helps to explain the complex relationship between intuitive moral action choices and moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. As a useful research and educational tool for understanding this relationship, the VetDIT can enhance ethical decision making.

AN ADJUNCT TO SELF STUDY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MEYER, DONALD E.

TWO EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED TO EVALUATE A SELF-STUDY PROGRAM PREPARED WITHIN TWO OPERATIONAL FIGHTER-INTERCEPTOR SQUADRONS. BASED ON A TECHNICAL ORDER MANUAL, IT CONSISTED OF SEQUENCED MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS WITH A SIMPLE PUNCHBOARD AS A CONFIRMING DEVICE. IN EXPERIMENT ONE, TWO OPERATIONAL SQUADRONS WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS JUDGED TO BE…

Quantum erasure with causally disconnected choice.

PubMed

Ma, Xiao-Song; Kofler, Johannes; Qarry, Angie; Tetik, Nuray; Scheidl, Thomas; Ursin, Rupert; Ramelow, Sven; Herbst, Thomas; Ratschbacher, Lothar; Fedrizzi, Alessandro; Jennewein, Thomas; Zeilinger, Anton

2013-01-22

The counterintuitive features of quantum physics challenge many common-sense assumptions. In an interferometric quantum eraser experiment, one can actively choose whether or not to erase which-path information (a particle feature) of one quantum system and thus observe its wave feature via interference or not by performing a suitable measurement on a distant quantum system entangled with it. In all experiments performed to date, this choice took place either in the past or, in some delayed-choice arrangements, in the future of the interference. Thus, in principle, physical communications between choice and interference were not excluded. Here, we report a quantum eraser experiment in which, by enforcing Einstein locality, no such communication is possible. This is achieved by independent active choices, which are space-like separated from the interference. Our setup employs hybrid path-polarization entangled photon pairs, which are distributed over an optical fiber link of 55 m in one experiment, or over a free-space link of 144 km in another. No naive realistic picture is compatible with our results because whether a quantum could be seen as showing particle- or wave-like behavior would depend on a causally disconnected choice. It is therefore suggestive to abandon such pictures altogether.

Quantum erasure with causally disconnected choice

PubMed Central

Ma, Xiao-Song; Kofler, Johannes; Qarry, Angie; Tetik, Nuray; Scheidl, Thomas; Ursin, Rupert; Ramelow, Sven; Herbst, Thomas; Ratschbacher, Lothar; Fedrizzi, Alessandro; Jennewein, Thomas; Zeilinger, Anton

2013-01-01

The counterintuitive features of quantum physics challenge many common-sense assumptions. In an interferometric quantum eraser experiment, one can actively choose whether or not to erase which-path information (a particle feature) of one quantum system and thus observe its wave feature via interference or not by performing a suitable measurement on a distant quantum system entangled with it. In all experiments performed to date, this choice took place either in the past or, in some delayed-choice arrangements, in the future of the interference. Thus, in principle, physical communications between choice and interference were not excluded. Here, we report a quantum eraser experiment in which, by enforcing Einstein locality, no such communication is possible. This is achieved by independent active choices, which are space-like separated from the interference. Our setup employs hybrid path-polarization entangled photon pairs, which are distributed over an optical fiber link of 55 m in one experiment, or over a free-space link of 144 km in another. No naive realistic picture is compatible with our results because whether a quantum could be seen as showing particle- or wave-like behavior would depend on a causally disconnected choice. It is therefore suggestive to abandon such pictures altogether. PMID:23288900

Insurees' preferences in hospital choice-A population-based study.

PubMed

Schuldt, Johannes; Doktor, Anna; Lichters, Marcel; Vogt, Bodo; Robra, Bernt-Peter

2017-10-01

In Germany, the patient himself makes the choice for or against a health service provider. Hospital comparison websites offer him possibilities to inform himself before choosing. However, it remains unclear, how health care consumers use those websites, and there is little information about how preferences in hospital choice differ interpersonally. We conducted a Discrete-Choice-Experiment (DCE) on hospital choice with 1500 randomly selected participants (age 40-70) in three different German cities selecting four attributes for hospital vignettes. The analysis of the study draws on multilevel mixed effects logit regression analyses with the dependent variables: "chance to select a hospital" and "choice confidence". Subsequently, we performed a Latent-Class-Analysis to uncover consumer segments with distinct preferences. 590 of the questionnaires were evaluable. All four attributes of the hospital vignettes have a significant impact on hospital choice. The attribute "complication rate" exerts the highest impact on consumers' decisions and reported choice confidence. Latent-Class-Analysis results in one dominant consumer segment that considered the complication rate the most important decision criterion. Using DCE, we were able to show that the complication rate is an important trusted criterion in hospital choice to a large group of consumers. Our study supports current governmental efforts in Germany to concentrate the provision of specialized health care services. We suggest further national and cross-national research on the topic. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Distinguishing bias from sensitivity effects in multialternative detection tasks.

PubMed

Sridharan, Devarajan; Steinmetz, Nicholas A; Moore, Tirin; Knudsen, Eric I

2014-08-21

Studies investigating the neural bases of cognitive phenomena increasingly employ multialternative detection tasks that seek to measure the ability to detect a target stimulus or changes in some target feature (e.g., orientation or direction of motion) that could occur at one of many locations. In such tasks, it is essential to distinguish the behavioral and neural correlates of enhanced perceptual sensitivity from those of increased bias for a particular location or choice (choice bias). However, making such a distinction is not possible with established approaches. We present a new signal detection model that decouples the behavioral effects of choice bias from those of perceptual sensitivity in multialternative (change) detection tasks. By formulating the perceptual decision in a multidimensional decision space, our model quantifies the respective contributions of bias and sensitivity to multialternative behavioral choices. With a combination of analytical and numerical approaches, we demonstrate an optimal, one-to-one mapping between model parameters and choice probabilities even for tasks involving arbitrarily large numbers of alternatives. We validated the model with published data from two ternary choice experiments: a target-detection experiment and a length-discrimination experiment. The results of this validation provided novel insights into perceptual processes (sensory noise and competitive interactions) that can accurately and parsimoniously account for observers' behavior in each task. The model will find important application in identifying and interpreting the effects of behavioral manipulations (e.g., cueing attention) or neural perturbations (e.g., stimulation or inactivation) in a variety of multialternative tasks of perception, attention, and decision-making. © 2014 ARVO.

Distinguishing bias from sensitivity effects in multialternative detection tasks

PubMed Central

Sridharan, Devarajan; Steinmetz, Nicholas A.; Moore, Tirin; Knudsen, Eric I.

2014-01-01

Studies investigating the neural bases of cognitive phenomena increasingly employ multialternative detection tasks that seek to measure the ability to detect a target stimulus or changes in some target feature (e.g., orientation or direction of motion) that could occur at one of many locations. In such tasks, it is essential to distinguish the behavioral and neural correlates of enhanced perceptual sensitivity from those of increased bias for a particular location or choice (choice bias). However, making such a distinction is not possible with established approaches. We present a new signal detection model that decouples the behavioral effects of choice bias from those of perceptual sensitivity in multialternative (change) detection tasks. By formulating the perceptual decision in a multidimensional decision space, our model quantifies the respective contributions of bias and sensitivity to multialternative behavioral choices. With a combination of analytical and numerical approaches, we demonstrate an optimal, one-to-one mapping between model parameters and choice probabilities even for tasks involving arbitrarily large numbers of alternatives. We validated the model with published data from two ternary choice experiments: a target-detection experiment and a length-discrimination experiment. The results of this validation provided novel insights into perceptual processes (sensory noise and competitive interactions) that can accurately and parsimoniously account for observers' behavior in each task. The model will find important application in identifying and interpreting the effects of behavioral manipulations (e.g., cueing attention) or neural perturbations (e.g., stimulation or inactivation) in a variety of multialternative tasks of perception, attention, and decision-making. PMID:25146574

Validating vignette and conjoint survey experiments against real-world behavior

PubMed Central

Hainmueller, Jens; Hangartner, Dominik; Yamamoto, Teppei

2015-01-01

Survey experiments, like vignette and conjoint analyses, are widely used in the social sciences to elicit stated preferences and study how humans make multidimensional choices. However, there is a paucity of research on the external validity of these methods that examines whether the determinants that explain hypothetical choices made by survey respondents match the determinants that explain what subjects actually do when making similar choices in real-world situations. This study compares results from conjoint and vignette analyses on which immigrant attributes generate support for naturalization with closely corresponding behavioral data from a natural experiment in Switzerland, where some municipalities used referendums to decide on the citizenship applications of foreign residents. Using a representative sample from the same population and the official descriptions of applicant characteristics that voters received before each referendum as a behavioral benchmark, we find that the effects of the applicant attributes estimated from the survey experiments perform remarkably well in recovering the effects of the same attributes in the behavioral benchmark. We also find important differences in the relative performances of the different designs. Overall, the paired conjoint design, where respondents evaluate two immigrants side by side, comes closest to the behavioral benchmark; on average, its estimates are within 2% percentage points of the effects in the behavioral benchmark. PMID:25646415

Phase transition to a two-peak phase in an information-cascade voting experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mori, Shintaro; Hisakado, Masato; Takahashi, Taiki

2012-08-01

Observational learning is an important information aggregation mechanism. However, it occasionally leads to a state in which an entire population chooses a suboptimal option. When this occurs and whether it is a phase transition remain unanswered. To address these questions we perform a voting experiment in which subjects answer a two-choice quiz sequentially with and without information about the prior subjects’ choices. The subjects who could copy others are called herders. We obtain a microscopic rule regarding how herders copy others. Varying the ratio of herders leads to qualitative changes in the macroscopic behavior of about 50 subjects in the experiment. If the ratio is small, the sequence of choices rapidly converges to the correct one. As the ratio approaches 100%, convergence becomes extremely slow and information aggregation almost terminates. A simulation study of a stochastic model for 106 subjects based on the herder’s microscopic rule shows a phase transition to the two-peak phase, where the convergence completely terminates as the ratio exceeds some critical value.

Estimating the monetary value of willingness to pay for E-book reader's attributes using partially confounded factorial conjoint choice experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yong, Chin-Khian

2013-09-01

A partially confounded factorial conjoint choice experiments design was used to examine the monetary value of the willingness to pay for E-book Reader's attributes. Conjoint analysis is an efficient, cost-effective, and most widely used quantitative method in marketing research to understand consumer preferences and value trade-off. Value can be interpreted by customer or consumer as the received of multiple benefits from a price that was paid. The monetary value of willingness to pay for battery life, internal memory, external memory, screen size, text to Speech, touch screen, and converting handwriting to digital text of E-book reader were estimated in this study. Due to the significant interaction effect of the attributes with the price, the monetary values for the seven attributes were found to be different at different values of odds of purchasing versus not purchasing. The significant interactions effects were one of the main contribution of the partially confounded factorial conjoint choice experiment.

Reducing Brain Signal Noise in the Prediction of Economic Choices: A Case Study in Neuroeconomics

PubMed Central

Sundararajan, Raanju R.; Palma, Marco A.; Pourahmadi, Mohsen

2017-01-01

In order to reduce the noise of brain signals, neuroeconomic experiments typically aggregate data from hundreds of trials collected from a few individuals. This contrasts with the principle of simple and controlled designs in experimental and behavioral economics. We use a frequency domain variant of the stationary subspace analysis (SSA) technique, denoted as DSSA, to filter out the noise (nonstationary sources) in EEG brain signals. The nonstationary sources in the brain signal are associated with variations in the mental state that are unrelated to the experimental task. DSSA is a powerful tool for reducing the number of trials needed from each participant in neuroeconomic experiments and also for improving the prediction performance of an economic choice task. For a single trial, when DSSA is used as a noise reduction technique, the prediction model in a food snack choice experiment has an increase in overall accuracy by around 10% and in sensitivity and specificity by around 20% and in AUC by around 30%, respectively. PMID:29311784

Reducing Brain Signal Noise in the Prediction of Economic Choices: A Case Study in Neuroeconomics.

PubMed

Sundararajan, Raanju R; Palma, Marco A; Pourahmadi, Mohsen

2017-01-01

In order to reduce the noise of brain signals, neuroeconomic experiments typically aggregate data from hundreds of trials collected from a few individuals. This contrasts with the principle of simple and controlled designs in experimental and behavioral economics. We use a frequency domain variant of the stationary subspace analysis (SSA) technique, denoted as DSSA, to filter out the noise (nonstationary sources) in EEG brain signals. The nonstationary sources in the brain signal are associated with variations in the mental state that are unrelated to the experimental task. DSSA is a powerful tool for reducing the number of trials needed from each participant in neuroeconomic experiments and also for improving the prediction performance of an economic choice task. For a single trial, when DSSA is used as a noise reduction technique, the prediction model in a food snack choice experiment has an increase in overall accuracy by around 10% and in sensitivity and specificity by around 20% and in AUC by around 30%, respectively.

The Influence of Purchasing Context and Reversibility of Choice on Consumer Responses Toward Personalized Products and Standardized Products.

PubMed

Choi, Jieun; Lee, Doo-Hee; Taylor, Charles R

2016-04-01

Existing research on personalization has found that consumers generally prefer personalized products over standardized ones. This study argued that consumer preference for personalized products is dependent on purchasing context and reversibility of choice. Results of an experiment conducted in this study found that consumers preferred personalized products when purchasing an item for personal use but preferred standardized products when purchasing an item as a gift. However, the effects of purchasing context were negated when consumers were given the assurance that personalized products could be returned (reversibility of choice); when presented with reversibility of choice, consumers preferred personalized products over standardized products regardless of purchasing context. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results were discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

Incidental emotions in moral dilemmas: the influence of emotion regulation.

PubMed

Szekely, Raluca D; Miu, Andrei C

2015-01-01

Recent theories have argued that emotions play a central role in moral decision-making and suggested that emotion regulation may be crucial in reducing emotion-linked biases. The present studies focused on the influence of emotional experience and individual differences in emotion regulation on moral choice in dilemmas that pit harming another person against social welfare. During these "harm to save" moral dilemmas, participants experienced mostly fear and sadness but also other emotions such as compassion, guilt, anger, disgust, regret and contempt (Study 1). Fear and disgust were more frequently reported when participants made deontological choices, whereas regret was more frequently reported when participants made utilitarian choices. In addition, habitual reappraisal negatively predicted deontological choices, and this effect was significantly carried through emotional arousal (Study 2). Individual differences in the habitual use of other emotion regulation strategies (i.e., acceptance, rumination and catastrophising) did not influence moral choice. The results of the present studies indicate that negative emotions are commonly experienced during "harm to save" moral dilemmas, and they are associated with a deontological bias. By efficiently reducing emotional arousal, reappraisal can attenuate the emotion-linked deontological bias in moral choice.

Potential Values of Incorporating a Multiple-Choice Question Construction in Physics Experimentation Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Fu-Yun; Liu, Yu-Hsin

2005-09-01

The potential value of a multiple-choice question-construction instructional strategy for the support of students’ learning of physics experiments was examined in the study. Forty-two university freshmen participated in the study for a whole semester. A constant comparison method adopted to categorize students’ qualitative data indicated that the influences of multiple-choice question construction were evident in several significant ways (promoting constructive and productive studying habits; reflecting and previewing course-related materials; increasing in-group communication and interaction; breaking passive learning style and habits, etc.), which, worked together, not only enhanced students’ comprehension and retention of the obtained knowledge, but also helped distil a sense of empowerment and learning community within the participants. Analysis with one-group t-tests, using 3 as the expected mean, on quantitative data further found that students’ satisfaction toward past learning experience, and perceptions toward this strategy’s potentials for promoting learning were statistically significant at the 0.0005 level, while learning anxiety was not statistically significant. Suggestions for incorporating question-generation activities within classroom and topics for future studies were rendered.

One hand or the other? Effector selection biases in right and left handers.

PubMed

Main, Julie C; Carey, David P

2014-11-01

Much debate in the handedness literature has centred on the relative merits of questionnaire-based measures assessing hand preference versus simple movement tasks such as peg moving or finger tapping, assessing hand performance. A third paradigm has grown in popularity, which assesses choices by participants when either hand could be used to execute movements. These newer measures may be useful in predicting possible "reversed" asymmetries in proportions of non-right handed ("adextral") people. In the current studies we examine hand choice in large samples of dextral (right handed) and adextral participants. Unlike in some previous experiments on choice, we found that left handers were as biased towards their dominant hand as were right handers, for grasping during a puzzle-making task (study 1). In a second study, participants had to point to either of two suddenly appearing targets with one hand or the other. In study 2, left handers were not significantly less one handed than their right-handed counterparts as in study 1. In a final study, we used random effects meta analysis to summarise the possible differences in hand choice between left handers and right handers across all hand choice studies published to date. The meta analysis suggests that right handers use their dominant hand 12.5% more than left handers favour their dominant hand (with 95% confidence that the real difference lies between 7% and 18%). These last results suggest that our two experiments reported here may represent statistical Type 2 errors. This mean difference may be related to greater left hemispheric language and praxic laterality in right handers. Nevertheless, more data are needed regarding the precise proportions of left and right handers who favour their preferred hands for different tasks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Choice Theory Anger Management Program (CTAMP) on the Ability of Prospective Psychological Counselors for Anger Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gündogdu, Rezzan

2018-01-01

This research is a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest-fallow up test and experiment-control group to investigate the influence of Choice Theory-based Anger Management Psychoeducation Program (CTAMP) on the ability of students of Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance (PCG) for anger management. The Trait Anger-Anger Style…

Jumping through Hoops: College Choice Experiences of African American Male Community College Club Basketball Players

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Kimberly Carlotta

2011-01-01

This study aimed to learn what factors influenced the college choice decision-making process of African American male club basketball players in the community college. To understand how the participants determined their educational path, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 21 African American male students who were enrolled in at least six…

The role of habitat choice in micro-evolutionary dynamics: An experimental study on the Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus (Cyprinodontidae).

PubMed

Angeletti, Dario; Sebbio, Claudia; Carlini, Alessandro; Strinati, Claudia; Nascetti, Giuseppe; Carere, Claudio; Cimmaruta, Roberta

2017-12-01

Habitat choice is defined as a nonrandom distribution of genotypes in different microhabitats. Therefore, it could exert a great impact on the genetic variance of natural populations by promoting genetic divergence, local adaptation, and may even lead to sympatric speciation. Despite this potential role in micro- and macro-evolutionary processes, there is little empirical evidence that the various genotypes within a population may differ in habitat choice-related behaviors. Here, we tested whether habitat choice may have contributed to genetic divergence within a local population of the Mediterranean killifish Aphanius fasciatus , which emerged between groups inhabiting microhabitats with different oxygen concentrations during previous field studies. In a first experiment, we studied the distribution of individuals in conditions of hypoxia and normoxia to test whether they had a different ability to shy away from a hypoxic environment; in a second experiment, we analyzed the individual behavior of fish separately in the two conditions, to verify whether they showed peculiar behavioral responses linked to a possible differential distribution. We then analyzed the six allozyme loci, whose allelic and genotypic frequencies were significantly divergent in the previous studies. In the first test, we found that the distribution of the two homozygote genotypes of the glucose-6-phosphate isomerase-1 locus (GPI-1) was significantly different between the hypoxic and the normoxic conditions. During the second test, all individuals were more active in hypoxic conditions, but the two GPI-1 homozygotes showed a significant difference in time spent performing surface breathing, which was consistent with their distribution observed in the first experiment. These results provide evidence that individual behavioral traits, related to genetic features, may lead to a nonrandom distribution of genotypes in heterogeneous although contiguous microhabitats and, consequently, that habitat choice can play a significant role in driving the micro-evolutionary dynamics of this species.

Influence of menu labeling on food choices in real-life settings: a systematic review.

PubMed

Fernandes, Ana C; Oliveira, Renata C; Proença, Rossana P C; Curioni, Cintia C; Rodrigues, Vanessa M; Fiates, Giovanna M R

2016-08-01

Evidence that menu labeling influences food choices in real-life settings is lacking. Reviews usually focus on calorie counts without addressing broader issues related to healthy eating. This systematic review assessed the influence of diverse menu-labeling formats on food choices in real-life settings. Several databases were searched: Cochrane Library, Scopus, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Food Science and Technology Abstracts, Biological Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, EconLit, SciELO, and LILACS. Articles reporting experiments, quasi-experiments, and observational studies using control or preintervention groups were selected blindly by two reviewers. Data was extracted using a standard form. Analyses differentiated between foodservice types. The quality of the 38 included studies was assessed blindly by two reviewers. The results were mixed, but a partial influence of menu labeling on food choices was more frequent than an overall influence or no influence. Menu labeling was more effective in cafeterias than in restaurants. Qualitative information, such as healthy-food symbols and traffic-light labeling, was most effective in promoting healthy eating. In general, the studies were of moderate quality and did not use control groups. Calorie labeling in menus is not effective to promote healthier food choices. Further research in real-life settings with control groups should test diverse qualitative information in menu labeling. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A qualitative study of the food-related experiences of rural village shop customers.

PubMed

Scarpello, T; Poland, F; Lambert, N; Wakeman, T

2009-04-01

In the UK, although food choice in urban contexts has been widely studied, far less empirical information has been gathered from rural settings. With the closure of local services, some rural dwellers were believed to experience difficulties in meeting healthy eating recommendations. The present study aimed to explore perceptions of village store users. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted individually with 40 adults who were frequent users of rural village shops in Norfolk, UK. Participants were purposively selected to ensure that a wide demographic cross-section of customers was obtained. Interviews focused upon food choice strategies; attitudes towards rural food retail; and the provision of healthy foods. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed qualitatively, using an established interpretative phenomenological approach. Four main themes emerged as drivers of food choice in rural villages: (1) village store as icon, which described how the perceived centrality of village shops influenced food choices; (2) village store as a service provider, which described top-up shopping behaviours; (3) alternative food sources, which described store users desires for local foods and their attitudinal conflicts towards supermarkets; and (4) lifestyle factors, which described the influence of factors such as time pressures, access to cars and family structures. Food choices were strongly influenced by the distinctive characteristics of the rural environment. Village shops were seen as important for community identity ('rural idyll'), as well as providing access to food and services. However, desires were made apparent for a greater range of healthy, fresh and locally-sourced foods.

Choice of noxious facilities: case of a solid waste incinerator versus a sanitary landfill in Malaysia.

PubMed

Othman, Jamal; Khee, Pek Chuen

2014-05-01

A choice experiment analysis was conducted to estimate the preference for specific waste disposal technologies in Malaysia. The study found that there were no significant differences between the choice of a sanitary landfill or an incinerator. What matters is whether any disposal technology would lead to obvious social benefits. A waste disposal plan which is well linked or integrated with the community will ensure its acceptance. Local authorities will be challenged to identify solid waste disposal sites that are technically appropriate and also socially desirable.

ChoiceKey: a real-time speech recognition program for psychology experiments with a small response set.

PubMed

Donkin, Christopher; Brown, Scott D; Heathcote, Andrew

2009-02-01

Psychological experiments often collect choice responses using buttonpresses. However, spoken responses are useful in many cases-for example, when working with special clinical populations, or when a paradigm demands vocalization, or when accurate response time measurements are desired. In these cases, spoken responses are typically collected using a voice key, which usually involves manual coding by experimenters in a tedious and error-prone manner. We describe ChoiceKey, an open-source speech recognition package for MATLAB. It can be optimized by training for small response sets and different speakers. We show ChoiceKey to be reliable with minimal training for most participants in experiments with two different responses. Problems presented by individual differences, and occasional atypical responses, are examined, and extensions to larger response sets are explored. The ChoiceKey source files and instructions may be downloaded as supplemental materials for this article from brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.

Unexpected benefits of deciding by mind wandering

PubMed Central

Giblin, Colleen E.; Morewedge, Carey K.; Norton, Michael I.

2013-01-01

The mind wanders, even when people are attempting to make complex decisions. We suggest that mind wandering—allowing one's thoughts to wander until the “correct” choice comes to mind—can positively impact people's feelings about their decisions. We compare post-choice satisfaction from choices made by mind wandering to reason-based choices and randomly assigned outcomes. Participants chose a poster by mind wandering or deliberating, or were randomly assigned a poster. Whereas forecasters predicted that participants who chose by mind wandering would evaluate their outcome as inferior to participants who deliberated (Experiment 1), participants who used mind wandering as a decision strategy evaluated their choice just as positively as did participants who used deliberation (Experiment 2). In some cases, it appears that people can spare themselves the effort of deliberation and instead “decide by wind wandering,” yet experience no decrease in satisfaction. PMID:24046760

Improving the quality of discrete-choice experiments in health: how can we assess validity and reliability?

PubMed

Janssen, Ellen M; Marshall, Deborah A; Hauber, A Brett; Bridges, John F P

2017-12-01

The recent endorsement of discrete-choice experiments (DCEs) and other stated-preference methods by regulatory and health technology assessment (HTA) agencies has placed a greater focus on demonstrating the validity and reliability of preference results. Areas covered: We present a practical overview of tests of validity and reliability that have been applied in the health DCE literature and explore other study qualities of DCEs. From the published literature, we identify a variety of methods to assess the validity and reliability of DCEs. We conceptualize these methods to create a conceptual model with four domains: measurement validity, measurement reliability, choice validity, and choice reliability. Each domain consists of three categories that can be assessed using one to four procedures (for a total of 24 tests). We present how these tests have been applied in the literature and direct readers to applications of these tests in the health DCE literature. Based on a stakeholder engagement exercise, we consider the importance of study characteristics beyond traditional concepts of validity and reliability. Expert commentary: We discuss study design considerations to assess the validity and reliability of a DCE, consider limitations to the current application of tests, and discuss future work to consider the quality of DCEs in healthcare.

Exploring the ideas and expectations of German medical students towards career choices and the speciality of psychiatry.

PubMed

Baller, Frauke A E; Ludwig, Karin V; Kinas-Gnadt Olivares, Clara L; Graef-Calliess, Iris-Tatjana

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to explore the ideas and expectations of medical students toward their career choices and the speciality of psychiatry. A total of 323 students of the Hannover Medical School filled in a questionnaire about their career choices, preferred medical specialization, factors of influence on career choices and attitude towards psychiatry. The three most important factors of influence appeared to be: (1) work-life balance, (2) flexible working hours, (3) career prospects. Although expectations towards the professional life of psychiatrists were quite positive among the students, there was only a small number of students (n = 53 of 318 respondents, 17%) interested in specializing in psychiatry. Important reasons for choosing psychiatry included personal experience with somatic or mental health issues and practical experience in psychiatry. Most of the students experienced clinical exposure to psychiatry but at a much later period in the curriculum. For a career choice of psychiatry as a speciality it seems to be important to start psychiatric education in medical school early. The positive aspects of the professional life in psychiatry, such as flexible working hours, career prospects and good work-life balance should be more emphasized.

The downside of choice: Having a choice benefits enjoyment, but at a cost to efficiency and time in visual search.

PubMed

Kunar, Melina A; Ariyabandu, Surani; Jami, Zaffran

2016-04-01

The efficiency of how people search for an item in visual search has, traditionally, been thought to depend on bottom-up or top-down guidance cues. However, recent research has shown that the rate at which people visually search through a display is also affected by cognitive strategies. In this study, we investigated the role of choice in visual search, by asking whether giving people a choice alters both preference for a cognitively neutral task and search behavior. Two visual search conditions were examined: one in which participants were given a choice of visual search task (the choice condition), and one in which participants did not have a choice (the no-choice condition). The results showed that the participants in the choice condition rated the task as both more enjoyable and likeable than did the participants in the no-choice condition. However, despite their preferences, actual search performance was slower and less efficient in the choice condition than in the no-choice condition (Exp. 1). Experiment 2 showed that the difference in search performance between the choice and no-choice conditions disappeared when central executive processes became occupied with a task-switching task. These data concur with a choice-impaired hypothesis of search, in which having a choice leads to more motivated, active search involving executive processes.

Elderly patients’ participation in emergency medical services when offered an alternative care pathway

PubMed Central

Vicente, Veronica; Castren, Maaret; Sjöstrand, Fredrik; Sundström, Birgitta Wireklint

2013-01-01

As organizational changes in the healthcare system are in progress, to enhance care quality and reduce costs, it is important to investigate how these changes affect elderly patients’ experiences and their rights to participate in the choice of healthcare. The aim of this study is to describe elderly patients’ lived experience of participating in the choice of healthcare when being offered an alternative care pathway by the emergency medical services, when the individual patient's medical needs made this choice possible. This study was carried out from the perspective of caring science, and a phenomenological approach was applied, where data were analysed for meaning. Data consist of 11 semi-structured interviews with elderly patients who chose a healthcare pathway to a community-based hospital when they were offered an alternative level of healthcare. The findings show that the essence of the phenomenon is described as “There was a ray of hope about a caring encounter and about being treated like a unique human being”. Five meaningful constituents emerged in the descriptions: endurable waiting, speedy transference, a concerned encounter, trust in competence, and a choice based on memories of suffering from care. The conclusion is that patient participation in the choice of a healthcare alternative instead of the emergency department is an opportunity of avoiding suffering from care and being objectified. PMID:23445898

The Impact of NCLB and Accountability on Social Studies: Teacher Experiences and Perceptions about Teaching Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winstead, Lisa

2011-01-01

This article illustrates the challenges of teaching curriculum within the guidelines of No Child Left Behind. Nine school teachers write and speak about their experiences, what influences their curriculum choices, and how they attempt to incorporate social studies in the elementary classroom. The teachers completed a background survey, wrote about…

Gifted Girls and Nonmathematical Aspirations: A Longitudinal Case Study of Two Gifted Korean Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Kyeong Hwa; Sriraman, Bharath

2012-01-01

In this longitudinal study of two gifted Korean girls, experiences with early admittance into a gifted program are charted alongside their family and societal experiences that ultimately influenced their career choices in nonmathematical fields. The 8-year-long qualitative study involved extensive interviews with the two gifted girls and their…

Not Merely a Matter of Academics: Student Experiences of a South African University as Study-Abroad Destination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paola, R. J.; Lemmer, E. M.

2013-01-01

Study abroad programmes attract considerable numbers of American college students; however, very few select an African country as their study-abroad destination. This article explores the experiences of American undergraduates who made the uncommon choice of a South African university as destination for a mid-length immersion type programme. The…

Studying the Effects of Early Experiences on Women's Career Achievement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lykes, M. Brinton; Stewart, Abigail J.

Virtually all psychological theories assume that early life experiences have an impact on later life choices. However, increasing doubts have been expressed about the universality and permanence of the relationship between women's work and family lives. To explore how early family experiences and early adult decisions affect women's later career…

Effect of sleep deficit, knowledge of results, and stimulus quality on reaction time and response force.

PubMed

Jaśkowski, P; Włodarczyk, D

1997-04-01

Some recent findings suggested that response force measured during reaction time experiments might reflect changes in activation. We performed an experiment in which the effect of sleep deprivation, knowledge of results, and stimulus quality on response force was studied in simple and choice reaction tasks. As expected, both simple and choice reaction times increased with sleep deficit. Further, simple and choice reactions were faster with knowledge of results and slowed down when stimulus quality was degraded. As sleep deprivation affects both arousal and activation, we expected a detrimental effect of sleep on force amplitude. On the other hand, knowledge of results was expected to increase force by its compensatory effect on arousal and activation. No effect of sleep deprivation on response force was found. Knowledge of results increased response force independently of sleep deprivation.

Factors affecting residency rank-listing: a Maxdiff survey of graduating Canadian medical students.

PubMed

Wang, Tao; Wong, Benson; Huang, Alexander; Khatri, Prateek; Ng, Carly; Forgie, Melissa; Lanphear, Joel H; O'Neill, Peter J

2011-08-25

In Canada, graduating medical students consider many factors, including geographic, social, and academic, when ranking residency programs through the Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMS). The relative significance of these factors is poorly studied in Canada. It is also unknown how students differentiate between their top program choices. This survey study addresses the influence of various factors on applicant decision making. Graduating medical students from all six Ontario medical schools were invited to participate in an online survey available for three weeks prior to the CaRMS match day in 2010. Max-Diff discrete choice scaling, multiple choice, and drop-list style questions were employed. The Max-Diff data was analyzed using a scaled simple count method. Data for how students distinguish between top programs was analyzed as percentages. Comparisons were made between male and female applicants as well as between family medicine and specialist applicants; statistical significance was determined by the Mann-Whitney test. In total, 339 of 819 (41.4%) eligible students responded. The variety of clinical experiences and resident morale were weighed heavily in choosing a residency program; whereas financial incentives and parental leave attitudes had low influence. Major reasons that applicants selected their first choice program over their second choice included the distance to relatives and desirability of the city. Both genders had similar priorities when selecting programs. Family medicine applicants rated the variety of clinical experiences more importantly; whereas specialty applicants emphasized academic factors more. Graduating medical students consider program characteristics such as the variety of clinical experiences and resident morale heavily in terms of overall priority. However, differentiation between their top two choice programs is often dependent on social/geographic factors. The results of this survey will contribute to a better understanding of the CaRMS decision making process for both junior medical students and residency program directors.

Making choices about medical interventions: the experience of disabled young people with degenerative conditions

PubMed Central

Mitchell, Wendy A.

2012-01-01

Abstract Background  Current western policy, including the UK, advocates choice for service users and their families, taking greater control and being more involved in decision making. However, children’s role in health decision making, especially from their own perspective, has received less research attention compared to doctors and parents’ perspectives. Objective  To explore the perspective and experiences of disabled young people with degenerative conditions as they face significant medical interventions and engage in decision‐making processes. Design and methods  Findings from a longitudinal qualitative study of 10 young people (13–22 years) with degenerative conditions are reported. Individual semi‐structured interviews were conducted with participants over 3 years (2007–2010); the paper reports data from all three interview rounds. Interviews focused on medical intervention choices the young people identified as significant. Results  Although the young people in this study felt involved in the medical intervention choices discussed, findings demonstrate a complex and diverse picture of decision making. Results highlighted different decisional roles adopted by the young people, the importance of information heuristics and working with other people whilst engaging in complex processes weighing up different decisional factors. Discussion  Young people’s experiences demonstrate the importance of moving beyond viewing health choices as technical or rational decisions. How each young person framed their decision was important. Recognizing this diversity and the importance of emerging themes, such as living a normal life, independence, fear of decisions viewed as ‘irreversible’ and the role of parents and peers in decision making highlights that, there are clear practice implications including, active practitioner listening, sensitivity and continued holistic family working. PMID:22296527

Children's purchase behavior in the snack market: Can branding or lower prices motivate healthier choices?

PubMed

Hartmann, Monika; Cash, Sean B; Yeh, Ching-Hua; Landwehr, Stefanie C; McAlister, Anna R

2017-10-01

Children's dietary-related diseases and their associated costs have expanded dramatically in many countries, making children's food choice a policy issue of increasing relevance. As children spend a considerable amount of money on energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) products, a better understanding of the main drivers of children's independent food purchase decisions is crucial to move this behavior toward healthier options. The objective of the study is to investigate the role of branding and price in motivating children to choose healthier snack options. The study investigates snack choices of children ages 8 to 11, using a survey and a purchase experiment. The research took place in after-school programs of selected schools in the Boston area. Participants included 116 children. Products in the choice experiment differed on three factors: product type, brand, and price. Data were analyzed using aggregated and mixed logit models. Children's purchase decisions are primarily determined by product type (Importance Value (IV) 56.6%), while brand (IV 22.8%) and price (IV 20.6%) prove to be of less relevance. Only those children who state that they like the familiar brand reveal a preference for the branded product in their purchase decision. Price is a significant predictor of choice when controlling for whether or not children obtain an allowance. It is not simple brand awareness but a child's liking of the brand that determines whether a brand is successful in motivating a child to choose a product. The extent of children's experience with money influences their price responsiveness. To the extent that children who receive an allowance are primarily the ones buying food snacks, higher prices for EDNP snacks could be successful in motivating children to choose a healthier option. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cancer patients’ experiences of using an Interactive Health Communication Application (IHCA)

PubMed Central

Grimsbø, Gro H.; Engelsrud, Gunn H.; Ruland, Cornelia M.

2012-01-01

Interactive Health Communication Applications (IHCAs) are increasingly used in health care. Studies document that IHCAs provide patients with knowledge and social support, enhance self- efficacy and can improve behavioural and clinical outcomes. However, research exploring patients’ experiences of using IHCAs has been scarce. The aim of this study was to explore cancer patients’ perspectives and experiences related to the use of an IHCA called WebChoice in their homes. Qualitative interviews were conducted with infrequent, medium and frequent IHCA users—six women and four men with breast and prostate cancer. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed inspired by interactionistic perspectives. We found that some patients’ perceived WebChoice as a “friend,” others as a “stranger.” Access to WebChoice stimulated particularly high frequency users to position themselves as “information seeking agents,” assuming an active patient role. However, to position oneself as an “active patient” was ambiguous and emotional. Feelings of “calmness”, “normalization of symptoms”, feelings of “being part of a community”, feeling “upset” and “vulnerable”, as well as “feeling supported” were identified. Interaction with WebChoice implied for some users an increased focus on illness. Our findings indicate that the interaction between patients and an IHCA such as WebChoice occurs in a variety of ways, some of which are ambivalent or conflicting. Particularly for frequent and medium frequency users, it offers support, but may at the same time reinforce an element of uncertainty in their life. Such insights should be taken into consideration in the future development of IHCAs in healthcare in general and in particular for implementation into patients’ private sphere. PMID:22582085

Airport Choice in Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area: An Application of the Conditional Logit Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moreno, Marcelo Baena; Muller, Carlos

2003-01-01

Using the conditional LOGIT model, this paper addresses the airport choice in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area. In this region, Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) and Congonhas Airport (CGH) compete for passengers flying to several domestic destinations. The airport choice is believed to be a result of the tradeoff passengers perform considering airport access characteristics, airline level of service characteristics and passenger experience with the analyzed airports. It was found that access time to the airports better explain the airport choice than access distance, whereas direct flight frequencies gives better explanation to the airport choice than the indirect (connections and stops) and total (direct plus indirect) flight frequencies. Out of 15 tested variables, passenger experience with the analyzed airports was the variable that best explained the airport choice in the region. Model specifications considering 1, 2 or 3 variables were tested. The model specification most adjusted to the observed data considered access time, direct flight frequencies in the travel period (morning or afternoon peak) and passenger experience with the analyzed airports. The influence of these variables was therefore analyzed across market segments according to departure airport and flight duration criteria. The choice of GRU (located neighboring Sao Paulo city) is not well explained by the rationality of access time economy and the increase of the supply of direct flight frequencies, while the choice of CGH (located inside Sao Paulo city) is. Access time was found to be more important to passengers flying shorter distances while direct flight frequencies in the travel period were more significant to those flying longer distances. Keywords: Airport choice, Multiple airport region, Conditional LOGIT model, Access time, Flight frequencies, Passenger experience with the analyzed airports, Transportation planning

A protocol for a discrete choice experiment: understanding preferences of patients with cancer towards their cancer care across metropolitan and rural regions in Australia.

PubMed

Wong, Shu Fen; Norman, Richard; Dunning, Trisha L; Ashley, David M; Lorgelly, Paula K

2014-10-24

Medical decision-making in oncology is a complicated process and to date there are few studies examining how patients with cancer make choices with respect to different features of their care. It is also unknown whether patient choices vary by geographical location and how location could account for observed rural and metropolitan cancer differences. This paper describes an ongoing study that aims to (1) examine patient and healthcare-related factors that influence choices of patients with cancer; (2) measure and quantify preferences of patients with cancer towards cancer care using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and (3) explore preference heterogeneity between metropolitan and rural locations. A DCE is being conducted to understand how patients with cancer choose between two clinical scenarios accounting for different patient and healthcare-related factors (and levels). Preliminary qualitative research was undertaken to guide the development of an appropriate DCE design including characteristics that are important and relevant to patients with cancer. A fractional factorial design using the D-efficiency criteria was used to estimate interactions among attributes. Multinomial logistic regression will be used for the primary DCE analysis and to control for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. The Barwon Health Human Research Ethics Committee approved the study. Findings from the study will be presented in national/international conferences and peer-reviewed journals. Our results will form the basis of a feasibility study to inform the development of a larger scale study into preferences of patients with cancer and their association with cancer outcomes. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Screening of melon genotypes for resistance to vegetable leafminer and your phenotypic correlations with colorimetry.

PubMed

Oliveira, Frederico I C DE; Fiege, Leonardo B C; Celin, Elaine F; Innecco, Renato; Nunes, Glauber H S; Aragão, Fernando A S DE

2017-01-01

Melon is one of the most important vegetable crops in the world. With short cycle in a system of phased planting, phytosanitary control is compromised, and a great volume of agricultural chemicals is used to control vegetable leafminer. Genetic control is an ideal alternative to avoid the damage caused by this insect. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate Cucumis accessions in regard to resistance to leafminer and correlate the variables analyzed. Fifty-four accessions and four commercial hybrids of melon were tested. The study was divided into two experiments: with and with no choice. The following characteristics were evaluated: with choice, in field - subjective score based on the infestation and the number of mines per leaf; and with no choice, in cage - number of mines per leaf, chlorophyll content, and leaf colorimetry. The results showed variability among the accessions and some genotypes showed favorable results for resistance in both experiments. There was correlation between the two variables in the experiment in the field. The accessions CNPH 11-282, CNPH 06-1047, and CNPH 11-1077 are the most recommended for future breeding programs with aim on introgression of resistance to vegetable leafminer in melon.

Contraceptive preferences and use among auto artisanal workers in the informal sector of Kumasi, Ghana: a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Agyei-Baffour, Peter; Boahemaa, Mary Yaa; Addy, Ernestine A

2015-04-12

Contraceptive uptake in Ghana, especially in the Ashanti region remains low. This may be partly due to products' characteristics and choice which are influenced by attribute utility trade-offs by consumers in determining which method offers the optimal combinations, given the needs and desires of the individuals making the choice. The study sought to determine how specific attributes of contraceptives influence artisanal auto mechanics' stated preferences for a hypothetical contraceptive use in the Tafo-Suame industrial area of Kumasi, Ghana. A discrete choice experiment was conducted with artisanal auto mechanics in the study area from May to September 2011. Based on the summary of the attributes from the focus group discussion and in-depth interviews preceded administration of structured questionnaire, a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was created. The attributes used were; side effects, reversibility, ease of use, ability to prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI's), price and privacy in acquiring and attractiveness of the method. A total of 340 consented respondents aged 15 to 49 years participated in the study. Data were entered in Access and Sawtooth software SSI Web CAPi module and then exported to Stata for analysis. The study showed a universal (99.4%) knowledge on contraception, ever used 87% and currently using a method, 58%. The study revealed that methods' reversibility (β = 21.74; 95% CI: 20.17, 23.3), minimal allergic reaction (β = 13.93; 95% CI: 12.8, 15.05) and no effect on blood pressure (β = 12.71; 95% CI: 11.62, 13.79), were strongly associated with contraceptive preference and use. While contraceptives' ability to prevent "only pregnancy", (β = -15.13: 95% CI: -16.2, -14.02; "only STI's") (β = -11.65; 95% CI: -11.84, -11.46); and interrupt during sexual activity (β = -4.26; 95% CI: -5.19, -3.34), had large negative influence on contraceptive preference and use. The study has documented the magnitude of the effects of contraceptive attributes on informed choice, use, preference. It revealed that reversibility, side effects and ability to prevent both pregnancy and STI's are the major important attributes that. The findings have implications on contraceptive development, uptake and the implementation of other family planning programmes.

Does reflection lead to wise choices?

PubMed Central

Bortolotti, Lisa

2011-01-01

Does conscious reflection lead to good decision-making? Whereas engaging in reflection is traditionally thought to be the best way to make wise choices, recent psychological evidence undermines the role of reflection in lay and expert judgement. The literature suggests that thinking about reasons does not improve the choices people make, and that experts do not engage in reflection, but base their judgements on intuition, often shaped by extensive previous experience. Can we square the traditional accounts of wisdom with the results of these empirical studies? Should we even attempt to? I shall defend the view that philosophy and cognitive sciences genuinely interact in tackling questions such as whether reflection leads to making wise choices. PMID:22408385

Willingness to Pay for Improving the Residential Waste Disposal System in Korea: A Choice Experiment Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ku, Se-Ju; Yoo, Seung-Hoon; Kwak, Seung-Jun

2009-08-01

This study attempts to apply choice experiments with regard to the residential waste disposal system (RWDS) in Korea by considering various attributes that are related to RWDS. Using data from a survey conducted on 492 households, the empirical analysis yields estimates of the willingness to pay for a clean food-waste collection facility, the collection of small items (such as obsolete mobile phones and add-ons for personal computers), and a more convenient large waste disposal system. The estimation results of multinomial logit models are quite similar to those of nested logit models. The results reveal that residents have preferences for the cleanliness of facilities and the collection of small items. In Korea, residents are required to purchase and attach stickers for the disposal of large items; they want to be able to obtain stickers at not only village offices but also supermarkets. On the other hand, the frequency of waste collection is not a significant factor in the choice of the improved waste management program.

Willingness to pay for improving the residential waste disposal system in Korea: a choice experiment study.

PubMed

Ku, Se-Ju; Yoo, Seung-Hoon; Kwak, Seung-Jun

2009-08-01

This study attempts to apply choice experiments with regard to the residential waste disposal system (RWDS) in Korea by considering various attributes that are related to RWDS. Using data from a survey conducted on 492 households, the empirical analysis yields estimates of the willingness to pay for a clean food-waste collection facility, the collection of small items (such as obsolete mobile phones and add-ons for personal computers), and a more convenient large waste disposal system. The estimation results of multinomial logit models are quite similar to those of nested logit models. The results reveal that residents have preferences for the cleanliness of facilities and the collection of small items. In Korea, residents are required to purchase and attach stickers for the disposal of large items; they want to be able to obtain stickers at not only village offices but also supermarkets. On the other hand, the frequency of waste collection is not a significant factor in the choice of the improved waste management program.

Making the Change: From a Teacher-Centered to a Learner-Centered Environment--A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roof, Patty L.

2012-01-01

Nursing education is calling for transformation in teaching practices which includes learner-centered environments. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore 15 nursing faculty life experiences as they relate to the choice of a learning environment. Participants expressed their life experiences through interview…

Career Advancement Experiences of Hispanic Secondary Principals in Suburban School Districts: A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandez, Rick

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and experiences of Hispanic secondary school principals who work in suburban school districts regarding their career advancement. Moreover, the objective of this research was to understand these Hispanic principals' motivational drivers and barriers regarding their career choices,…

Measuring Choice to Participate in Optional Science Learning Experiences during Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sha, Li; Schunn, Christian; Bathgate, Meghan

2015-01-01

Cumulatively, participation in optional science learning experiences in school, after school, at home, and in the community may have a large impact on student interest in and knowledge of science. Therefore, interventions can have large long-term effects if they change student choice preferences for such optional science learning experiences. To…

Optimal Foraging by Birds: Experiments for Secondary & Postsecondary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pecor, Keith W.; Lake, Ellen C.; Wund, Matthew A.

2015-01-01

Optimal foraging theory attempts to explain the foraging patterns observed in animals, including their choice of particular food items and foraging locations. We describe three experiments designed to test hypotheses about food choice and foraging habitat preference using bird feeders. These experiments can be used alone or in combination and can…

The effect of non-caloric sweeteners on cognition, choice, and post-consumption satisfaction.

PubMed

Hill, Sarah E; Prokosch, Marjorie L; Morin, Amanda; Rodeheffer, Christopher D

2014-12-01

Consumers often turn to non-caloric sweeteners (NCS) as a means of promoting a healthy body weight. However, several studies have now linked their long-term use to increased weight gain, raising the question of whether these products produce unintended psychological, physiological, or behavioral changes that have implications for weight management goals. In the following, we present the results of three experiments bearing on this issue, testing whether NCS-consumption influences how individuals think about and respond to food. Participants in each of our three experiments were randomly assigned to consume a sugar-sweetened beverage, an unsweetened beverage, or a beverage sweetened with NCS. We then measured their cognition (Experiment 1), product choice (Experiment 2), and subjective responses to a sugar-sweetened food (Experiment 3). Results revealed that consuming NCS-sweetened beverages influences psychological processes in ways that - over time - may increase calorie intake. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the role of individual differences in female odor and ultrasonic vocalizations for male's choice of partner.

PubMed

Snoeren, Eelke M; Helander, Lars R; Iversen, Eric E; Ågmo, Anders

2014-06-10

Intrasexual competition for access to a female mate is believed to be unusual in wild male rats, which suggests that female choosiness could be important. Even if competition is unusual, males still have to inevitably approach one partner first for copulation. In females, it has been shown that females spend longer time with one male compared to the others when tested in a multiple partner paradigm. The male mate preference was investigated in this study. In addition, the role of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and female odors in the male's initial choice to approach one female instead of another was studied in this experiment. Male rats could choose between three different sexually receptive females. The experiment started with a 15-minute period with inaccessible females followed by a 15-minute period with accessible females in which the males could copulate with the females of his choice. The results showed that male rats spent more time with the female of 1st entry over the second or third females visited. No differences were found in USV subtype patterns emitted by the different females or the number of sniff episodes towards the different female chambers. Thus, the present experiments did not offer any evidence suggesting that USVs or individual differences in female odors play any role in male mate choice. Other factors that were not investigated in this study might be involved in male mate selection, but it should also be considered that mate selection could be random. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Colour bands, mate choice and paternity in the bluethroat.

PubMed

Johnsen; Fiske; Amundsen; Lifjeld; Rohde

2000-01-01

Studies of several bird species have shown that coloured leg bands may affect a male's success in mate attraction and/or mating competition. From a colour band experiment in the field, we have previously reported that male bluethroats, Luscinia s. svecica, with blue and orange bands (BO males) guarded their mates less intensely at the peak of female fertility, and spent more time advertising for additional mates, than males banded with non-BO colours. These responses indicated that BO males experienced less threat to their paternity than did non-BO males, possibly mediated through an increased attractiveness. Here we present paternity analyses of the broods from the field study and test whether there were differences between the two male groups in within-pair or extrapair paternity. There were no significant differences between the two groups of males in paternity, suggesting effective male protection of paternity. However, extrapair paternity was infrequent in the 2 years of the field experiment; hence, the power in detecting effects on paternity does not allow a definitive conclusion on this issue. We also conducted an aviary experiment in which females were given the choice between a BO male and a non-BO male, to test whether females had preferences for particular colour bands. Females did not associate more with BO males, as would have been expected if these males were more attractive in social mate choice. Our results suggest that the effects of colour bands on social mate choice and paternity are, at best, weak. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

How to aggregate health? Separability and the effect of framing.

PubMed

Turpcu, Adam; Bleichrodt, Han; Le, Quang A; Doctor, Jason N

2012-01-01

Unweighted summation or quality-adjusted life year (QALY) utilitarianism is the most common way to aggregate health benefits in a cost-effectiveness analysis. A key qualitative principle underlying QALY utilitarianism is separability: those individuals unaffected by a policy choice should not influence the policy choice. Separability also underlies several of the alternatives for QALY utilitarianism that have been proposed. To test separability and to test whether the support for separability is affected by the framing of the choice questions. In 2 experiments, 345 student subjects (162 in the first experiment, and 183 in the second experiment) were asked to select 1 of 2 possible treatments, with each treatment resulting in a different distribution of health across individuals. The only aspect that varied across choice questions was the state of the patients whose health was unaffected by the act of choosing a policy. In each experiment, we used 2 frames. In the implicit frame, it was implied but not plainly expressed what outcomes the treatments had in common. In the explicit frame, common outcomes of the 2 treatments were directly stated. The 2 experiments differed in the way the explicit frame was presented (verbal v. numerical). The support for separability was significantly greater in the explicit frame. The proportion of violations in the implicit frame was 44% in Experiment 1 and 31% in Experiment 2, while in the explicit frame, the proportion of violations was 28% in Experiment 1 and 8% in Experiment 2. Framing affected the support for separability, raising issues as to whether it is possible to achieve a canonical representation of social choices.

Prioritising wheelchair services for children: a pilot discrete choice experiment to understand how child wheelchair users and their parents prioritise different attributes of wheelchair services.

PubMed

Bray, Nathan; Yeo, Seow Tien; Noyes, Jane; Harris, Nigel; Edwards, Rhiannon Tudor

2016-01-01

Approximately 95 million children worldwide are disabled; 10 % use a wheelchair. In the UK, an estimated 770,000 children are disabled. National Health Service Wheelchair Services are the largest provider of wheelchairs in the UK; however, recent reports have highlighted issues with these services. This study explores the use of discrete choice experiment methods to inform wheelchair service provision for disabled children based on service user preferences. The aim was to explore how disabled children and their parents prioritise different attributes of wheelchair services. The secondary aims were to compare priorities between parents and disabled children and to explore marginal rate of substitution for incremental changes in attributes. Discrete choice experiments are a method of attribute-based stated preference valuation used by health economists to understand how individuals prioritise different attributes of healthcare services and treatments. We conducted the first pilot discrete choice experiment to explore how disabled children (aged 11 to 18) and their parents prioritise different attributes of hypothetical wheelchair services. Eleven disabled children (aged 11 to 18) and 30 parents of disabled children completed eight pairwise choice tasks based on five service attributes: wheelchair assessment, cost contribution, training, delivery time and frequency of review. Data were analysed using conditional logistic regression. For each pairwise choice, the participants were asked to choose which service scenario (A or B) they preferred. Comprehensiveness of wheelchair assessment and wheelchair delivery time significantly ( P  < 0.05) affected service preferences of children ( β -coefficients = 1.43 [95 % bootstrapped CI = 1.42 to 2.08] and -0.92 [95 % bootstrapped CI = -1.41 to -0.84], respectively) and parents ( β -coefficients = 1.53 [95 % bootstrapped CI = 1.45 to 2.16] and -1.37 [95 % bootstrapped CI = -1.99 to -1.31], respectively). Parents were willing to contribute more financially to receive preferred services, although this was non-significant. Both samples placed the greatest importance on holistic wheelchair assessments encompassing more than health. The National Health Service should consider using discrete choice experiment methods to examine wheelchair service preferences of disabled children (aged 11 and over) and their parents on a wider scale; however, care must be taken to ensure that this method is used appropriately.

Influence of acute bupropion pre-treatment on the effects of intranasal cocaine.

PubMed

Stoops, William W; Lile, Joshua A; Glaser, Paul E A; Hays, Lon R; Rush, Craig R

2012-06-01

The aim of this experiment was to determine the influence of acute bupropion pre-treatment on subject-rated effects and choice of intranasal cocaine versus money. A randomized, within-subject, placebo-controlled, double-blind experiment. An out-patient research unit. Eight cocaine-using adults. Subjects completed nine experimental sessions in which they were pre-treated with 0, 100 or 200 mg oral immediate release bupropion. Ninety minutes later they sampled an intranasal cocaine dose [4 (placebo), 15 or 45 mg] and made six choices between that dose and an alternative reinforcer (US$0.25), available on independent, concurrent progressive ratio schedules. Subjects also completed a battery of subject-rated, performance and physiological measures following the sample doses of cocaine. After 0 mg bupropion, the high dose of cocaine (45 mg) was chosen five of six times on average compared to 2.25 of six choices for placebo cocaine (4 mg) (P < 0.05). Active bupropion reduced choice of 45 mg cocaine to 3.13 (100 mg) or 4.00 (200 mg) out of six drug choices on average. Bupropion also consistently enhanced positive subject-rated effects of cocaine (e.g. good effects; willing to take again) while having no effects of its own. The atypical antidepressant, bupropion, acutely appears to reduce preference for intranasal cocaine versus a small amount of money but to increase reported positive experiences of the drug. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Do Owners Have a Clever Hans Effect on Dogs? Results of a Pointing Study

PubMed Central

Schmidjell, Teresa; Range, Friederike; Huber, Ludwig; Virányi, Zsófia

2012-01-01

Dogs are exceptionally successful at interpreting human pointing gestures to locate food hidden in one of two containers. However, it has repeatedly been questioned whether dogs rely on the pointing gesture or their success is increased by subtle cues from their human handler. In two experiments we used a standard two-way object-choice task to focus on this potential Clever Hans effect. We investigated if and how owners’ knowledge and beliefs influenced their dogs’ performance. In two experiments, as is typical in such pointing tasks, the owners sat behind their dogs, in close auditory and tactile contact with them. In Experiment 1, we systematically manipulated the owners’ knowledge of whether or not their dog should follow the pointing gesture, but at the same time instructed the owners to refrain from influencing the choice of their dog. We found no influence of subtle cues from the owners, if indeed they existed: dogs in the different groups followed the pointing uniformly. Furthermore, in the absence of pointing dogs chose randomly, even though the owners had been informed about the location of the reward. In Experiment 2, owners were instructed to actively influence the choice of their dogs, and they, indeed, succeeded in sending their dogs to the container they believed to be baited. However, their influence was significantly weaker if the experimenter had previously pointed to the other location. Overall the pointing gesture seems to have a strong effect on the choice of dogs in an object-choice task. Pointing can lead the dogs to success without help from their owners as well as it can counteract clear directional instructions provided by the owners. PMID:23272000

A labelled discrete choice experiment adds realism to the choices presented: preferences for surveillance tests for Barrett esophagus

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) allow systematic assessment of preferences by asking respondents to choose between scenarios. We conducted a labelled discrete choice experiment with realistic choices to investigate patients' trade-offs between the expected health gains and the burden of testing in surveillance of Barrett esophagus (BE). Methods Fifteen choice scenarios were selected based on 2 attributes: 1) type of test (endoscopy and two less burdensome fictitious tests), 2) frequency of surveillance. Each test-frequency combination was associated with its own realistic decrease in risk of dying from esophageal adenocarcinoma. A conditional logit model was fitted. Results Of 297 eligible patients (155 BE and 142 with non-specific upper GI symptoms), 247 completed the questionnaire (84%). Patients preferred surveillance to no surveillance. Current surveillance schemes of once every 1–2 years were amongst the most preferred alternatives. Higher health gains were preferred over those with lower health gains, except when test frequencies exceeded once a year. For similar health gains, patients preferred video-capsule over saliva swab and least preferred endoscopy. Conclusion This first example of a labelled DCE using realistic scenarios in a healthcare context shows that such experiments are feasible. A comparison of labelled and unlabelled designs taking into account setting and research question is recommended. PMID:19454022

Influence of an Intermediate Option on the Description-Experience Gap and Information Search

PubMed Central

Sharma, Neha; Debnath, Shoubhik; Dutt, Varun

2018-01-01

Research shows that people tend to overweight small probabilities in description and underweight them in experience, thereby leading to a different pattern of choices between description and experience; a phenomenon known as the Description-Experience (DE) gap. However, little is known on how the addition of an intermediate option and contextual framing influences the DE gap and people’s search strategies. This paper tests the effects of an intermediate option and contextual framing on the DE gap and people’s search strategies, where problems require search for information before a consequential choice. In the first experiment, 120 participants made choice decisions across investment problems that differed in the absence or presence of an intermediate option. Results showed that adding an intermediate option did not reduce the DE gap on the maximizing option across a majority of problems. There were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Furthermore, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. In the second experiment, 160 participants made choice decisions in problems like those presented in experiment 1; however, problems lacked the investment framing. Results replicated findings from the first experiment and showed a similar DE gap on the maximizing option in a majority of problems in both the absence and presence of the intermediate option. Again, there were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Also, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. Meta-analyses revealed that the absence or presence of the intermediate option created certain differences in the strength of frequency and recency processes. Also, a single natural-mean heuristic model was able to account for the experimental results across both experiments. We discuss implications of our findings to consequential decisions made after information search. PMID:29643821

Influence of an Intermediate Option on the Description-Experience Gap and Information Search.

PubMed

Sharma, Neha; Debnath, Shoubhik; Dutt, Varun

2018-01-01

Research shows that people tend to overweight small probabilities in description and underweight them in experience, thereby leading to a different pattern of choices between description and experience; a phenomenon known as the Description-Experience (DE) gap. However, little is known on how the addition of an intermediate option and contextual framing influences the DE gap and people's search strategies. This paper tests the effects of an intermediate option and contextual framing on the DE gap and people's search strategies, where problems require search for information before a consequential choice. In the first experiment, 120 participants made choice decisions across investment problems that differed in the absence or presence of an intermediate option. Results showed that adding an intermediate option did not reduce the DE gap on the maximizing option across a majority of problems. There were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Furthermore, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. In the second experiment, 160 participants made choice decisions in problems like those presented in experiment 1; however, problems lacked the investment framing. Results replicated findings from the first experiment and showed a similar DE gap on the maximizing option in a majority of problems in both the absence and presence of the intermediate option. Again, there were a large majority of choices for the intermediate option. Also, there was an increase in switching between options due to the presence of the intermediate option. Meta-analyses revealed that the absence or presence of the intermediate option created certain differences in the strength of frequency and recency processes. Also, a single natural-mean heuristic model was able to account for the experimental results across both experiments. We discuss implications of our findings to consequential decisions made after information search.

The effect of lineup member similarity on recognition accuracy in simultaneous and sequential lineups.

PubMed

Flowe, Heather D; Ebbesen, Ebbe B

2007-02-01

Two experiments investigated whether remembering is affected by the similarity of the study face relative to the alternatives in a lineup. In simultaneous and sequential lineups, choice rates and false alarms were larger in low compared to high similarity lineups, indicating criterion placement was affected by lineup similarity structure (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, foil choices and similarity ranking data for target present lineups were compared to responses made when the target was removed from the lineup (only the 5 foils were presented). The results indicated that although foils were selected more often in target-removed lineups in the simultaneous compared to the sequential condition, responses shifted from the target to one of the foils at equal rates across lineup procedures.

Calculating Preference Weights for the Labor and Delivery Index: A Discrete Choice Experiment on Women's Birth Experiences.

PubMed

Gärtner, Fania R; de Bekker-Grob, Esther W; Stiggelbout, Anne M; Rijnders, Marlies E; Freeman, Liv M; Middeldorp, Johanna M; Bloemenkamp, Kitty W M; de Miranda, Esteriek; van den Akker-van Marle, M Elske

2015-09-01

The aim of this study was to calculate preference weights for the Labor and Delivery Index (LADY-X) to make it suitable as a utility measure for perinatal care studies. In an online discrete choice experiment, 18 pairs of hypothetical scenarios were presented to respondents, from which they had to choose a preferred option. The scenarios describe the birth experience in terms of the seven LADY-X attributes. A D-efficient discrete choice experiment design with priors based on a small sample (N = 110) was applied. Two samples were gathered, women who had recently given birth and subjects from the general population. Both samples were analyzed separately using a panel mixed logit (MMNL) model. Using the panel mixed multinomial logit (MMNL) model results and accounting for preference heterogeneity, we calculated the average preference weights for LADY-X attribute levels. These were transformed to represent a utility score between 0 and 1, with 0 representing the worst and 1 representing the best birth experience. In total, 1097 women who had recently given birth and 367 subjects from the general population participated. Greater value was placed on differences between bottom and middle attribute levels than on differences between middle and top levels. The attributes that resulted in larger utility increases than the other attributes were "feeling of safety" in the sample of women who had recently given birth and "feeling of safety" and "availability of professionals" in the general population sample. By using the derived preference weights, LADY-X has the potential to be used as a utility measure for perinatal (cost-) effectiveness studies. Copyright © 2015 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Choice with frequently changing food rates and food ratios.

PubMed

Baum, William M; Davison, Michael

2014-03-01

In studies of operant choice, when one schedule of a concurrent pair is varied while the other is held constant, the constancy of the constant schedule may exert discriminative control over performance. In our earlier experiments, schedules varied reciprocally across components within sessions, so that while food ratio varied food rate remained constant. In the present experiment, we held one variable-interval (VI) schedule constant while varying the concurrent VI schedule within sessions. We studied five conditions, each with a different constant left VI schedule. On the right key, seven different VI schedules were presented in seven different unsignaled components. We analyzed performances at several different time scales. At the longest time scale, across conditions, behavior ratios varied with food ratios as would be expected from the generalized matching law. At shorter time scales, effects due to holding the left VI constant became more and more apparent, the shorter the time scale. In choice relations across components, preference for the left key leveled off as the right key became leaner. Interfood choice approximated strict matching for the varied right key, whereas interfood choice hardly varied at all for the constant left key. At the shortest time scale, visit patterns differed for the left and right keys. Much evidence indicated the development of a fix-and-sample pattern. In sum, the procedural difference made a large difference to performance, except for choice at the longest time scale and the fix-and-sample pattern at the shortest time scale. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Experience that Much Work Produces Many Reinforcers Makes the Sunk Cost Fallacy in Pigeons: A Preliminary Test

PubMed Central

Fujimaki, Shun; Sakagami, Takayuki

2016-01-01

The sunk cost fallacy is one of the irrational choice behaviors robustly observed in humans. This fallacy can be defined as a preference for a higher-cost alternative to a lower-cost one after previous investment in a higher-cost alternative. The present study examined this irrational choice by exposing pigeons to several types of trials with differently illuminated colors. We prepared three types of non-choice trials for experiencing different outcomes after presenting same or different colors as alternatives and three types of choice trials for testing whether pigeons demonstrated irrational choice. In non-choice trials, animals experienced either of the following: (1) no reinforcement after the presentation of an unrelated colored stimulus to the alternatives used in the choice situation, (2) no reinforcement after investment in the lower-cost alternative, or (3) reinforcement or no reinforcement after investment in the higher-cost alternative. In choice trials, animals were required to choose in the following three situations: (A) higher-cost vs. lower-cost alternatives, (B) higher-cost vs. lower-cost ones after some investment in the higher-cost alternative, and (C) higher-cost vs. lower-cost alternatives after the presentation of an unrelated colored stimulus. From the definition of the sunk cost fallacy, we assumed that animals would exhibit this fallacy if they preferred the higher-cost alternative in situation (B) compared with (A) or (C). We made several conditions, each of which comprised various combinations of three types of non-choice trials and tested their preference in three choice trials. Pigeons committed the sunk cost fallacy only in the condition that contained non-choice trials (3), i.e., pigeons experienced reinforcement after investing in the higher-cost alternative. This result suggests that sunk cost fallacy might be caused by the experiences of reinforcement after investing in the higher-cost alternative. PMID:27014166

Effects of Nicotine on Olfactogustatory Incentives: Preference, Palatability, and Operant Choice Tests

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Introduction: The use of additives in tobacco may capitalize on the incentive motivational properties of tastes and scents such as mint (menthol), vanilla, and strawberry. These incentives are intended to increase tobacco experimentation, but their salience may also be enhanced by the incentive amplifying effects of nicotine (NIC). The goal of the present studies was to investigate the potential interaction between the incentive amplifying effects of NIC and gustatory incentives. Methods: One of two discriminable tastes (grape or cherry Kool-Aid®; 0.05% wt/vol; unsweetened) was paired with sucrose (20% wt/vol; conditioned stimulus [CS+]) in deionized water, whereas the other taste (CS−) was presented in deionized water. Experiment 1 investigated the effects of NIC pretreatment on preference for the CS+ versus CS− in 2-bottle choice tests. Experiment 2 investigated the effects of NIC on palatability of the CS+ and CS− using orofacial taste reactions. Experiment 3 investigated the effects of NIC on reinforcement by the CS+ and CS− using a concurrent choice operant task. Results: NIC pretreatment robustly increased operant responding for the CS+ but did not alter responding for the CS− in the operant choice task (Experiment 3). However, NIC pretreatment did not alter intake or palatability of the CS+ or CS− (Experiments 1 and 2). Conclusions: NIC increases the reinforcing effects of gustatory incentive stimuli, even though these stimuli were not paired with NIC administration. The findings suggest that adding taste incentives to tobacco products may increase the attractiveness of these products to consumers and the probability of repeated use. PMID:23430737

Opting out or denying discrimination? How the framework of free choice in American society influences perceptions of gender inequality.

PubMed

Stephens, Nicole M; Levine, Cynthia S

2011-10-01

American women still confront workplace barriers (e.g., bias against mothers, inflexible policies) that hinder their advancement at the upper levels of organizations. However, most Americans fail to recognize that such gender barriers still exist. Focusing on mothers who have left the workforce, we propose that the prevalent American assumption that actions are a product of choice conceals workplace barriers by communicating that opportunities are equal and that behavior is free from contextual influence. Study 1 reveals that stay-at-home mothers who view their own workplace departure as an individual choice experience greater well-being but less often recognize workplace barriers and discrimination as a source of inequality than do mothers who do not view their workplace departure as an individual choice. Study 2 shows that merely exposing participants to a message that frames actions in terms of individual choice increases participants' belief that society provides equal opportunities and that gender discrimination no longer exists. By concealing the barriers that women still face in the workplace, this choice framework may hinder women's long-term advancement in society.

End-Users' Product Preference Across Three Multipurpose Prevention Technology Delivery Forms: Baseline Results from Young Women in Kenya and South Africa.

PubMed

Weinrib, Rachel; Minnis, Alexandra; Agot, Kawango; Ahmed, Khatija; Owino, Fred; Manenzhe, Kgahlisho; Cheng, Helen; van der Straten, Ariane

2018-01-01

A multipurpose prevention technology (MPT) that combines HIV and pregnancy prevention is a promising women's health intervention, particularly for young women. However, little is known about the drivers of acceptability and product choice for MPTs in this population. This paper explores approval ratings and stated choice across three different MPT delivery forms among potential end-users. The Trio Study was a mixed-methods study in women ages 18-30 that examined acceptability of three MPT delivery forms: oral tablets, injections, and vaginal ring. Approval ratings and stated choice among the products was collected at baseline. Factors influencing stated product choice were explored using multivariable multinomial logistic regression. The majority (62%) of women in Trio stated they would choose injections, 27% would choose tablets and 11% would choose the ring. Significant predictors of choice included past experience with similar contraceptive delivery forms, age, and citing frequency of use as important. Ring choice was higher for older (25-30) women than for younger (18-24) women (aRR = 3.1; p < 0.05). These results highlight the importance of familiarity in MPT product choice of potential for variations in MPT preference by age.

Personality differentially affects individual mate choice decisions in female and male Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

PubMed

Chen, Bo-Jian; Liu, Kai; Zhou, Lin-Jun; Gomes-Silva, Guilherme; Sommer-Trembo, Carolin; Plath, Martin

2018-01-01

Consistent individual differences in behavioral tendencies (animal personality) can affect individual mate choice decisions. We asked whether personality traits affect male and female mate choice decisions similarly and whether potential personality effects are consistent across different mate choice situations. Using western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) as our study organism, we characterized focal individuals (males and females) twice for boldness, activity, and sociability/shoaling and found high and significant behavioral repeatability. Additionally, each focal individual was tested in two different dichotomous mate choice tests in which it could choose between computer-animated stimulus fish of the opposite sex that differed in body size and activity levels, respectively. Personality had different effects on female and male mate choice: females that were larger than average showed stronger preferences for large-bodied males with increasing levels of boldness/activity (i.e., towards more proactive personality types). Males that were larger than average and had higher shoaling tendencies showed stronger preferences for actively swimming females. Size-dependent effects of personality on the strength of preferences for distinct phenotypes of potential mating partners may reflect effects of age/experience (especially in females) and social dominance (especially in males). Previous studies found evidence for assortative mate choice based on personality types or hypothesized the existence of behavioral syndromes of individuals' choosiness across mate choice criteria, possibly including other personality traits. Our present study exemplifies that far more complex patterns of personality-dependent mate choice can emerge in natural systems.

"When I Grow up I Would Like to Be …": Factors Affecting Career Choice of Community Disability Workers in Southern Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rule, Sarah; Kahonde, Callista; Lorenzo, Theresa

2015-01-01

The effectiveness of community based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes depends on the calibre of staff recruited and employed. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how the life experiences of community disability workers (CDWs) in Malawi, Botswana and South Africa influenced their choice of career. A life history approach was used to gather…

Project CHOICE: #111-A. A Career Unit for Grades 3 and 4. Introduction to Fishing. (Agriculture and Ecological Studies Career Cluster).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kern County Superintendent of Schools, Bakersfield, CA.

This teaching unit, Introduction to Fishing, is one in a series of career guides developed by Project CHOICE (Children Have Options in Career Education) to provide the classroom teacher with a source of career-related activities linking third and fourth grade elementary classroom experiences with the world of work. Part of the Agriculture and…

Defining value through quantity and quality-Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) undervalue food quantities when items are broken.

PubMed

Parrish, Audrey E; Evans, Theodore A; Beran, Michael J

2015-02-01

Decision-making largely is influenced by the relative value of choice options, and the value of such options can be determined by a combination of different factors (e.g., the quantity, size, or quality of a stimulus). In this study, we examined the competing influences of quantity (i.e., the number of food items in a set) and quality (i.e., the original state of a food item) of choice items on chimpanzees' food preferences in a two-option natural choice paradigm. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees chose between sets of food items that were either entirely whole or included items that were broken into pieces before being shown to the chimpanzees. Chimpanzees exhibited a bias for whole food items even when such choice options consisted of a smaller overall quantity of food than the sets containing broken items. In Experiment 2, chimpanzees chose between sets of entirely whole food items and sets of initially whole items that were subsequently broken in view of the chimpanzees just before choice time. Chimpanzees continued to exhibit a bias for sets of whole items. In Experiment 3, chimpanzees chose between sets of new food items that were initially discrete but were subsequently transformed into a larger cohesive unit. Here, chimpanzees were biased to choose the discrete sets that retained their original qualitative state rather than toward the cohesive or clumped sets. These results demonstrate that beyond a food set's quantity (i.e., the value dimension that accounts for maximization in terms of caloric intake), other seemingly non-relevant features (i.e., quality in terms of a set's original state) affect how chimpanzees assign value to their choice options. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using discrete choice experiments to understand preferences in health care.

PubMed

Pfarr, Christian; Schmid, Andreas; Schneider, Udo

2014-01-01

Whenever processes are reconfigured or new products are designed the needs and preferences of patients and consumers have to be considered. Although at times neglected, this becomes more and more relevant in health care settings: Which modes of health care delivery will be accepted? What are the patients' priorities and what is the willingness to pay? To which degree are patients mobile and for which kind of services are they willing to travel? Preferences, however, are difficult to measure, as they are latent constructs. This becomes even more difficult, when no past choices can be analyzed either as the service or the product is yet to be developed or as in the past there has not been free choice for patients. In such cases, preferences cannot be surveyed directly. Asking individuals openly for their attitudes towards certain services and products, the results are likely biased as individuals are not confronted with budget constraints and trade-offs. For this reason, discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are frequently used to elicit patient preferences. This approach confronts patients with hypothetical scenarios of which only one can be chosen. Over the past few years, this tool to reveal patients' preferences for health care has become very popular in health economics. This contribution aims at introducing the principles of DCEs, highlighting the underlying theory and giving practical guidance for conducting a discrete choice experiment in health economics. Thereby we focus on three major fields of patient demand: designing health insurance, assessing patient utility of new pharmaceuticals and analyzing provider choice. By having a closer look at selected international studies, we discuss the application of this technique for the analysis of the supply and the demand of health care as well as the implications for assessing patient mobility across different health care systems.

Women in medicine: the challenge of finding balance.

PubMed

Mobilos, Sophia; Chan, Melissa; Brown, Judith Belle

2008-09-01

To examine the experiences of women physicians with regard to the interplay between career and lifestyle choices and to discover how women's experiences have evolved during the past 3 decades. Qualitative study using a phenomenologic approach and in-depth interviews. Southwestern Ontario. A total of 12 women physicians. A purposeful sample of women physicians was selected using a maximum variation sampling strategy. Through semistructured interviews, participants' experiences, opinions, behaviour, and feelings were explored. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed. The analysis strategy was both iterative and interpretive. Researchers independently reviewed and coded each transcript to identify key emerging themes, and the research team met to discuss and compare individual interpretations. Interviews continued until saturation was achieved. Three main challenges emerged from the women physicians' comments: lifestyle and career choices, family planning and career trajectory, and seeking balance. Despite the increased number of women physicians in the work force, the experiences and challenges faced by these women have not evolved during the past 30 years. Women continue to experience the strain of their dual role as women and as physicians, discordance between career and lifestyle choices, and difficulties with timing pregnancies. Some changes in legislation have been made to benefit women physicians, but these changes have not yet influenced attitudes and behaviour in the workplace.

Choice and Desegregation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, David A.

This document comprises a report on the architectural elements of choice in the desegregation process, a review of the choice process based on Minnesota's experience, and a statement of implications for state policymakers. The following organizational principles of the choice process are discussed: (1) enrollment based on a "first come, first…

An integrated methods study of the experiences of youth with severe disabilities in leisure activity settings: the importance of belonging, fun, and control and choice.

PubMed

King, Gillian; Gibson, Barbara E; Mistry, Bhavnita; Pinto, Madhu; Goh, Freda; Teachman, Gail; Thompson, Laura

2014-01-01

The aim was to examine the leisure activity setting experiences of two groups of youth with severe disabilities - those with complex continuing care (CCC) needs and those who have little functional speech and communicate using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Twelve youth took part in a mixed methods study, in which their experiences were ascertained using qualitative methods (observations, photo elicitation and interviews) and the measure of Self-Reported Experiences of Activity Settings (SEAS). Data integration occurred using a "following a thread" technique and case-by-case analysis. The analysis revealed several highly valued aspects of leisure activity setting experiences for youth, including engagement with others, enjoying the moment, and control and choice in selection and participation in activity settings. The findings provide preliminary insights into the nature of optimal activity settings for youth with severe disabilities, and the mediators of these experiences. Compared to other youth, the data illustrate both the commonalities of experiences and differences in the ways in which these experiences are attained. Implications for research concern the utility of mixed methods approaches in understanding the complex nature of participation experiences. Implications for clinical practice concern the importance of not assuming the nature of youths' experiences.

Domain-specific conflict adaptation without feature repetitions.

PubMed

Akçay, Çağlar; Hazeltine, Eliot

2011-06-01

An influential account of how cognitive control deals with conflicting sources of information holds that conflict is monitored by a module that automatically recruits attention to resolve the conflict. This leads to reduced effects of conflict on the subsequent trial, a phenomenon termed conflict adaptation. A prominent question is whether control processes are domain specific--that is, recruited only by the particular type of conflict they resolve. Previous studies that have examined this question used two-choice tasks in which feature repetition effects could be responsible for domain-specific adaptation effects. We report two experiments using four-choice (Experiment 1) and five-choice (Experiment 2) tasks that contain two types of irrelevant sources of potentially conflicting information: stimulus location (Simon conflict) and distractors (flanker conflict). In both experiments, we found within-type conflict adaptation for both types of conflict after eliminating trials on which stimulus features were repeated from one trial to the next. Across-type conflict adaptation, however, was not significant. Thus, conflict adaptation was due to domain-specific recruitment of cognitive control. Our results add converging evidence to the idea that multiple independent control processes are involved in reactive cognitive control, although whether control is always local remains to be determined.

Australian medical students and their choice of surgery as a career: a review.

PubMed

Grigg, Megan; Arora, Manit; Diwan, Ashish D

2014-09-01

Surgery is an emotionally, physically and mentally challenging profession, and medical students factor in many variables when choosing surgery as a career choice. The aim of this study is to review the available literature on the factors influencing Australian medical students' choice of surgery as their career. A search of EMBASE and MEDLINE with the search terms 'medical students' AND 'surgery'; 'medical students' AND 'career pathways'; 'medical students' AND 'career choices' was conducted. Additionally, Google Scholar and the reference list of some articles were canvassed for suitable areas of study. Lifestyle factors were the main reason influencing medical student's career choices. A balance between work, family and lifestyle was found to be important, and a surgical career choice was not always compatible with this. In particular, female students placed more importance on family and lifestyle factors when opting for non-surgical careers. Positive exposure and/or experiences in a surgical environment, perceived prestige and perceived financial reward were associated with surgical career choice. There is a need to better understand the factors influencing surgical and non-surgical career choice among Australian medical students, and develop appropriate interventions to promote surgery as a career. This article does not discuss personality traits of people who go into surgery. © 2013 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Choice in the repeated-gambles experiment.

PubMed

Silberberg, A; Murray, P; Christensen, J; Asano, T

1988-09-01

Humans chose 10 times between two roulette wheels projected on a monitor. During the first trial, the left wheel provided a hypothetical $100 with p = .94, and the right wheel provided $250 with p = .39. A titration procedure adjusted the probability of a $250 win across trials to permit estimation of an indifference point between alternatives. In Experiment 1, intertrial-interval duration (25 vs. 90 s) and whether sessions began with an intertrial interval or a trial were varied in a 2 x 2 design in this risky-choice procedure. Risk aversion (preference for the $100 wheel) increased with intertrial interval but was unaffected by whether sessions began with a trial or an intertrial interval. In Experiment 2, all sessions began with a trial, and subjects were informed that the experiment ended after 10 trials. Intertrial-interval duration had no effect on choice. In Experiment 3, intertrial-interval duration and whether subjects were given $10 or $10,000 before beginning were varied among four groups in a 2 x 2 design. In all other ways, the procedure was unchanged from Experiment 2. Intertrial interval had no effect on choice, but the $10,000 groups showed less risk aversion than the $10 groups. These results can be explained more readily in terms of Kahneman and Tversky's (1984) notion of "framing of the prospect" than in terms of Rachlin, Logue, Gibbon, and Frankel's (1986) behavioral account of risky choice.

Discrete choice experiment to evaluate factors that influence preferences for antibiotic prophylaxis in pediatric oncology.

PubMed

Regier, Dean A; Diorio, Caroline; Ethier, Marie-Chantal; Alli, Amanda; Alexander, Sarah; Boydell, Katherine M; Gassas, Adam; Taylor, Jonathan; Kellow, Charis; Mills, Denise; Sung, Lillian

2012-01-01

Bacterial and fungal infections in pediatric oncology patients cause morbidity and mortality. The clinical utility of antimicrobial prophylaxis in children is uncertain and the personal utility of these agents is disputed. Objectives were to use a discrete choice experiment to: (1) describe the importance of attributes to parents and healthcare providers when deciding between use and non-use of antibacterial and antifungal prophylaxis; and (2) estimate willingness-to-pay for prophylactic strategies. Attributes were chances of infection, death and side effects, route of administration and cost of pharmacotherapy. Respondents were randomized to a discrete choice experiment outlining hypothetical treatment options to prevent antibacterial or antifungal infections. Each respondent was presented 16 choice tasks and was asked to choose between two unlabeled treatment options and an opt-out alternative (no prophylaxis). 102 parents and 60 healthcare providers participated. For the antibacterial discrete choice experiment, frequency of administration was significantly associated with utility for parents but not for healthcare providers. Increasing chances of infection, death, side effects and cost were all significantly associated with decreased utility for parents and healthcare providers in both the antibacterial and antifungal discrete choice experiment. Parental willingness-to-pay was higher than healthcare providers for both strategies. Chances of infection, death, side effects and costs were all significantly associated with utility. Parents have higher willingness-to-pay for these strategies compared with healthcare providers. This knowledge can help to develop prophylaxis programs.

Anterior Cingulate Engagement in a Foraging Context Reflects Choice Difficulty, Not Foraging Value

PubMed Central

Shenhav, Amitai; Straccia, Mark A.; Cohen, Jonathan D.; Botvinick, Matthew M.

2014-01-01

Previous theories predict that human dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) should respond to decision difficulty. An alternative theory has been recently advanced which proposes that dACC evolved to represent the value of “non-default,” foraging behavior, calling into question its role in choice difficulty. However, this new theory does not take into account that choosing whether or not to pursue foraging-like behavior can also be more difficult than simply resorting to a “default.” The results of two neuroimaging experiments show that dACC is only associated with foraging value when foraging value is confounded with choice difficulty; when the two are dissociated, dACC engagement is only explained by choice difficulty, and not the value of foraging. In addition to refuting this new theory, our studies help to formalize a fundamental connection between choice difficulty and foraging-like decisions, while also prescribing a solution for a common pitfall in studies of reward-based decision making. PMID:25064851

Choice with a fixed requirement for food, and the generality of the matching relation

PubMed Central

Stubbs, D. Alan; Dreyfus, Leon R.; Fetterman, J. Gregor; Dorman, Lana G.

1986-01-01

Pigeons were trained on choice procedures in which responses on each of two keys were reinforced probabilistically, but only after a schedule requirement had been met. Under one arrangement, a fixed-interval choice procedure was used in which responses were not reinforced until the interval was over; then a response on one key would be reinforced, with the effective key changing irregularly from interval to interval. Under a second, fixed-ratio choice procedure, responses on either key counted towards completion of the ratio and then, once the ratio had been completed, a response on the probabilistically selected key would produce food. In one experiment, the schedule requirements were varied for both fixed-interval and fixed-ratio schedules. In the second experiment, relative reinforcement rate was varied. And in a third experiment, the duration of an intertrial interval separating choices was varied. The results for 11 pigeons across all three experiments indicate that there were often large deviations between relative response rates and relative reinforcement rates. Overall performance measures were characterized by a great deal of variability across conditions. More detailed measures of choice across the schedule requirement were also quite variable across conditions. In spite of this variability, performance was consistent across conditions in its efficiency of producing food. The absence of matching of behavior allocation to reinforcement rate indicates an important difference between the present procedures and other choice procedures; that difference raises questions about the specific conditions that lead to matching as an outcome. PMID:16812452

The Effect of Medical Student Volunteering in a Student-Run Clinic on Specialty Choice for Residency.

PubMed

Brown, Ashley; Ismail, Rahim; Gookin, Glenn; Hernandez, Caridad; Logan, Grace; Pasarica, Magdalena

2017-01-09

 Student-run free clinics (SRFCs) are a recent popular addition to medical school education, and a subset of studies has looked at the influence of SRFC volunteering on the medical student's career development. The majority of the research done in this area has focused on understanding if these SRFCs produce physicians who are more likely to practice medicine in underserved communities, caring for the uninsured. The remainder of the research has investigated if volunteering in an SRFC influences the specialty choice of medical school students. The results of these specialty choice studies give no definitive answer as to whether medical students chose primary or specialty care residencies as a result of their SRFC experience. Keeping Neighbors in Good Health through Service (KNIGHTS) is the SRFC of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine (UCF COM). Both primary and specialty care is offered at the clinic. It is the goal of this study to determine if volunteering in the KNIGHTS SRFC influences UCF COM medical students to choose primary care, thereby helping to meet the rising need for primary care physicians in the United States.  A survey was distributed to first, second, and third-year medical students at the UCF COM to collect data on demographics, prior volunteering experience, and specialty choice for residency. Responses were then combined with records of volunteer hours from the KNIGHTS Clinic and analyzed for correlations. We analyzed the frequency and Pearson's chi-squared values. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.  Our survey had a total response rate of 39.8%. We found that neither the act of becoming a KNIGHTS Clinic volunteer nor the hours volunteered at the KNIGHTS Clinic influenced the UCF COM student's choice to enter a primary care specialty (p = NS). Additionally, prior volunteering/clinical experience or the gender of the medical school student did not influence a student's choice to volunteer at the KNIGHTS Clinic.  Volunteering at KNIGHTS Clinic did not increase student choice to enter primary care, with students choosing other specialties at equal rates, probably due to the variety of specialties present at the KNIGHTS Clinic. This suggests that the volunteer attending physicians present at an SRFC may influence the choice of residency for students. It also suggests that SFRCs are not a viable tool to increase the number of primary care doctors in the United States.

The Effect of Medical Student Volunteering in a Student-Run Clinic on Specialty Choice for Residency

PubMed Central

Ismail, Rahim; Gookin, Glenn; Hernandez, Caridad; Logan, Grace; Pasarica, Magdalena

2017-01-01

Introduction: Student-run free clinics (SRFCs) are a recent popular addition to medical school education, and a subset of studies has looked at the influence of SRFC volunteering on the medical student’s career development. The majority of the research done in this area has focused on understanding if these SRFCs produce physicians who are more likely to practice medicine in underserved communities, caring for the uninsured. The remainder of the research has investigated if volunteering in an SRFC influences the specialty choice of medical school students. The results of these specialty choice studies give no definitive answer as to whether medical students chose primary or specialty care residencies as a result of their SRFC experience. Keeping Neighbors in Good Health through Service (KNIGHTS) is the SRFC of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine (UCF COM). Both primary and specialty care is offered at the clinic. It is the goal of this study to determine if volunteering in the KNIGHTS SRFC influences UCF COM medical students to choose primary care, thereby helping to meet the rising need for primary care physicians in the United States. Methods: A survey was distributed to first, second, and third-year medical students at the UCF COM to collect data on demographics, prior volunteering experience, and specialty choice for residency. Responses were then combined with records of volunteer hours from the KNIGHTS Clinic and analyzed for correlations. We analyzed the frequency and Pearson’s chi-squared values. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Our survey had a total response rate of 39.8%. We found that neither the act of becoming a KNIGHTS Clinic volunteer nor the hours volunteered at the KNIGHTS Clinic influenced the UCF COM student’s choice to enter a primary care specialty (p = NS). Additionally, prior volunteering/clinical experience or the gender of the medical school student did not influence a student’s choice to volunteer at the KNIGHTS Clinic. Discussion: Volunteering at KNIGHTS Clinic did not increase student choice to enter primary care, with students choosing other specialties at equal rates, probably due to the variety of specialties present at the KNIGHTS Clinic. This suggests that the volunteer attending physicians present at an SRFC may influence the choice of residency for students. It also suggests that SFRCs are not a viable tool to increase the number of primary care doctors in the United States. PMID:28191371

Perceptions of High School Seniors' Montessori Experiences and Academic Self-Efficacy Beliefs: A Phenomenological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Molly McHugh

2010-01-01

More than twenty-five years after the release of "A Nation at Risk," our federal government continues to explore innovative ways to close the achievement gap. The goal of this phenomenological study was to describe four students' experiences with one school choice option in South Carolina, public Montessori. The purpose of the study was…

How Generalizable Is Your Experiment? An Index for Comparing Samples and Populations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tipton, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

Recent research on the design of social experiments has highlighted the effects of different design choices on research findings. Since experiments rarely collect their samples using random selection, in order to address these external validity problems and design choices, recent research has focused on two areas. The first area is on methods for…

Using Tourism Free-Choice Learning Experiences to Promote Environmentally Sustainable Behaviour: The Role of Post-Visit "Action Resources"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballantyne, Roy; Packer, Jan

2011-01-01

This paper argues the need for the providers of ecotourism and other free-choice environmental learning experiences to promote the adoption of environmentally sustainable actions beyond their own sites, when visitors return to their home environments. Previous research indicates that although visitors often leave such experiences with a heightened…

"For Me, Change Is Not a Choice": The Lived Experience of a Teacher Change Agent

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luka, Karrin

2015-01-01

This study explored the lived experience of a teacher change agent who was identified by her secondary school colleagues as someone who pursued positive changes outside her classroom. In conversations about her experiences, she shared what motivated her, the strategies she used, and the challenges she faced. Findings derived from both quantitative…

The Relationship Between Experiences of Lateral Violence and Career Choice Satisfaction Among Nursing Students.

PubMed

Furst, Cari

This article explores associate degree nursing students' experiences with lateral violence and its impact on career choice satisfaction. Lateral violence has been linked to decreased professional identity, increased errors, and poor self-esteem, leading to a negative culture and attrition. A nonexperimental, quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational design was used; 13.4 percent of respondents (n = 32) met the criteria for intermittent bullying. Analysis confirmed a significant negative correlation between experiences of lateral/vertical violence and career choice satisfaction (r = - .140, p < .05) even after controlling for affect and support. Improved efforts are needed to prevent lateral violence.

"Is it menopause or bipolar?": a qualitative study of the experience of menopause for women with bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Perich, Tania; Ussher, Jane; Parton, Chloe

2017-11-16

Menopause can be a time of change for women and may be marked by disturbances in mood. For women living with a mental illness, such as bipolar disorder, little is known about how they experience mood changes during menopause. This study aimed to explore how women with bipolar disorder constructed mood changes during menopause and how this impacted on treatment decisions. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with fifteen women who reported they had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Data was analysed using thematic analysis guided by a social constructionist framework. Themes identified included 'Constructions of mood change: menopause or bipolar disorder?',' Life events, bipolar disorder and menopause coming together'; 'Treatment choices for mood change during menopause'. The accounts suggested that women related to the experience of mood changes during menopause through the lens of their existing framework of bipolar disorder, with implications for understanding of self and treatment choices.

On the cultural guises of cognitive dissonance: the case of easterners and westerners.

PubMed

Hoshino-Browne, Etsuko; Zanna, Adam S; Spencer, Steven J; Zanna, Mark P; Kitayama, Shinobu; Lackenbauer, Sandra

2005-09-01

Cognitive dissonance and effects of self-affirmation on dissonance arousal were examined cross-culturally. In Studies 1 and 2, European Canadians justified their choices more when they made them for themselves, whereas Asian Canadians (Study 1) or Japanese (Study 2) justified their choices more when they made them for a friend. In Study 3, an interdependent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for Asian Canadians but not for European Canadians. In Study 4, when Asian Canadians made choices for a friend, an independent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for bicultural Asian Canadians but not for monocultural Asian Canadians. These studies demonstrate that both Easterners and Westerners can experience dissonance, but culture shapes the situations in which dissonance is aroused and reduced. Implications of these cultural differences for theories of cognitive dissonance and self-affirmation are discussed.

Teaching Choice Making to Elementary Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cote Sparks, Shannon; Cote, Debra L.

2012-01-01

Typically developing children make choices daily. As they transition throughout school, they learn to evaluate the outcomes of their choices. However, elementary-age children with disabilities often experience difficulties in developing choice-making skills. Some of the barriers that impede the development of these skills include poor…

Emerging markets for imported beef in China: Results from a consumer choice experiment in Beijing.

PubMed

Ortega, David L; Hong, Soo Jeong; Wang, H Holly; Wu, Laping

2016-11-01

The purpose of this study is to explore emerging markets for imported beef in China by assessing Beijing consumer demand for quality attributes. This study utilizes data from an in-store choice experiment to evaluate consumer willingness-to-pay for select food quality attributes (food safety, animal welfare, Green Food and Organic certification) taking into account country-of-origin information. Our results show that Beijing consumers value food safety information the most, and are willing to pay more for Australian beef products than for US or domestic (Chinese) beef. We explore the various relationships between the quality attributes, find evidence of preference heterogeneity and discuss agribusiness and marketing implications of our findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural correlates of economic game playing.

PubMed

Krueger, Frank; Grafman, Jordan; McCabe, Kevin

2008-12-12

The theory of games provides a mathematical formalization of strategic choices, which have been studied in both economics and neuroscience, and more recently has become the focus of neuroeconomics experiments with human and non-human actors. This paper reviews the results from a number of game experiments that establish a unitary system for forming subjective expected utility maps in the brain, and acting on these maps to produce choices. Social situations require the brain to build an understanding of the other person using neuronal mechanisms that share affective and intentional mental states. These systems allow subjects to better predict other players' choices, and allow them to modify their subjective utility maps to value pro-social strategies. New results for a trust game are presented, which show that the trust relationship includes systems common to both trusting and trustworthy behaviour, but they also show that the relative temporal positions of first and second players require computations unique to that role.

Neural Mechanism for Stochastic Behavior During a Competitive Game

PubMed Central

Soltani, Alireza; Lee, Daeyeol; Wang, Xiao-Jing

2006-01-01

Previous studies have shown that non-human primates can generate highly stochastic choice behavior, especially when this is required during a competitive interaction with another agent. To understand the neural mechanism of such dynamic choice behavior, we propose a biologically plausible model of decision making endowed with synaptic plasticity that follows a reward-dependent stochastic Hebbian learning rule. This model constitutes a biophysical implementation of reinforcement learning, and it reproduces salient features of behavioral data from an experiment with monkeys playing a matching pennies game. Due to interaction with an opponent and learning dynamics, the model generates quasi-random behavior robustly in spite of intrinsic biases. Furthermore, non-random choice behavior can also emerge when the model plays against a non-interactive opponent, as observed in the monkey experiment. Finally, when combined with a meta-learning algorithm, our model accounts for the slow drift in the animal’s strategy based on a process of reward maximization. PMID:17015181

Non-Market Values in a Cost-Benefit World: Evidence from a Choice Experiment.

PubMed

Eppink, Florian V; Winden, Matthew; Wright, Will C C; Greenhalgh, Suzie

2016-01-01

In support of natural resource and ecosystem service policy, monetary value estimates are often presented to decision makers along with other types of information. There is some evidence that, presented with such 'mixed' information, people prioritise monetary over non-monetary information. We conduct a discrete choice experiment among New Zealand decision makers in which we manipulate the information presented to participants. We find that providing explicit monetary information strengthens the pursuit of economic benefits as well as the avoidance of environmental damage. Cultural impacts, of which we provided only qualitative descriptions, did not affect respondents' choices. Our study provides further evidence that concerns regarding the use of monetary information in decisions with complex, multi-value impacts are valid. Further research is needed to validate our results and find ways to reduce any bias in monetary and non-market information.

Non-Market Values in a Cost-Benefit World: Evidence from a Choice Experiment

PubMed Central

Eppink, Florian V.; Winden, Matthew; Wright, Will C. C.; Greenhalgh, Suzie

2016-01-01

In support of natural resource and ecosystem service policy, monetary value estimates are often presented to decision makers along with other types of information. There is some evidence that, presented with such ‘mixed’ information, people prioritise monetary over non-monetary information. We conduct a discrete choice experiment among New Zealand decision makers in which we manipulate the information presented to participants. We find that providing explicit monetary information strengthens the pursuit of economic benefits as well as the avoidance of environmental damage. Cultural impacts, of which we provided only qualitative descriptions, did not affect respondents’ choices. Our study provides further evidence that concerns regarding the use of monetary information in decisions with complex, multi-value impacts are valid. Further research is needed to validate our results and find ways to reduce any bias in monetary and non-market information. PMID:27783657

Regret and its avoidance: a neuroimaging study of choice behavior.

PubMed

Coricelli, Giorgio; Critchley, Hugo D; Joffily, Mateus; O'Doherty, John P; Sirigu, Angela; Dolan, Raymond J

2005-09-01

Human decisions can be shaped by predictions of emotions that ensue after choosing advantageously or disadvantageously. Indeed, anticipating regret is a powerful predictor of future choices. We measured brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while subjects selected between two gambles wherein regret was induced by providing information about the outcome of the unchosen gamble. Increasing regret enhanced activity in the medial orbitofrontal region, the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus. Notably, across the experiment, subjects became increasingly regret-aversive, a cumulative effect reflected in enhanced activity within medial orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala. This pattern of activity reoccurred just before making a choice, suggesting that the same neural circuitry mediates direct experience of regret and its anticipation. These results demonstrate that medial orbitofrontal cortex modulates the gain of adaptive emotions in a manner that may provide a substrate for the influence of high-level emotions on decision making.

Anxiety in High-Functioning Autism: A Pilot Study of Experience Sampling Using a Mobile Platform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hare, Dougal Julian; Gracey, Carolyn; Wood, Christopher

2016-01-01

Anxiety and stress are everyday issues for many people with high-functioning autism, and while cognitive-behavioural therapy is the treatment of choice for the management of anxiety, there are challenges in using it with people with high-functioning autism. This study used modified experience sampling techniques to examine everyday anxiety and…

Career Patterns, Employment and Earnings of Graduates of 11 ACM Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wishart, Patricia; Rossmann, Jack

A study was conducted of 11 private liberal arts colleges, all members of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, to relate the career experiences of four graduating classes to their college experiences. The study was conducted as part of the National Project 1, Better Information for Student Choice, supported by the Fund for the Improvement of…

Connecting High School Physics Experiences, Outcome Expectations, Physics Identity, and Physics Career Choice: A Gender Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hazari, Zahra; Sonnert, Gerhard; Sadler, Philip M.; Shanahan, Marie-Claire

2010-01-01

This study explores how students' physics identities are shaped by their experiences in high school physics classes and by their career outcome expectations. The theoretical framework focuses on physics identity and includes the dimensions of student performance, competence, recognition by others, and interest. Drawing data from the Persistence…

Why Do Irrelevant Alternatives Matter? An fMRI-TMS Study of Context-Dependent Preferences.

PubMed

Chung, Hui-Kuan; Sjöström, Tomas; Lee, Hsin-Ju; Lu, Yi-Ta; Tsuo, Fu-Yun; Chen, Tzai-Shuen; Chang, Chi-Fu; Juan, Chi-Hung; Kuo, Wen-Jui; Huang, Chen-Ying

2017-11-29

Both humans and animals are known to exhibit a violation of rationality known as "decoy effect": introducing an irrelevant option (a decoy) can influence choices among other (relevant) options. Exactly how and why decoys trigger this effect is not known. It may be an example of fast heuristic decision-making, which is adaptive in natural environments, but may lead to biased choices in certain markets or experiments. We used fMRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation to investigate the neural underpinning of the decoy effect of both sexes. The left ventral striatum was more active when the chosen option dominated the decoy. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the presence of a decoy option influences the valuation of other options, making valuation context-dependent even when choices appear fully rational. Consistent with the idea that control is recruited to prevent heuristics from producing biased choices, the right inferior frontal gyrus, often implicated in inhibiting prepotent responses, connected more strongly with the striatum when subjects successfully overrode the decoy effect and made unbiased choices. This is further supported by our transcranial magnetic stimulation experiment: subjects whose right inferior frontal gyrus was temporarily disrupted made biased choices more often than a control group. Our results suggest that the neural basis of the decoy effect could be the context-dependent activation of the valuation area. But the differential connectivity from the frontal area may indicate how deliberate control monitors and corrects errors and biases in decision-making. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Standard theories of rational decision-making assume context-independent valuations of available options. Motivated by the importance of this basic assumption, we used fMRI to study how the human brain assigns values to available options. We found activity in the valuation area to be consistent with the hypothesis that values depend on irrelevant aspects of the environment, even for subjects whose choices appear fully rational. Such context-dependent valuations may lead to biased decision-making. We further found differential connectivity from the frontal area to the valuation area depending on whether biases were successfully overcome. This suggests a mechanism for making rational choices despite the potential bias. Further support was obtained by a transcranial magnetic stimulation experiment, where subjects whose frontal control was temporarily disrupted made biased choices more often than a control group. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/3711647-15$15.00/0.

Rotary acceleration of a subject inhibits choice reaction time to motion in peripheral vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borkenhagen, J. M.

1974-01-01

Twelve pilots were tested in a rotation device with visual simulation, alone and in combination with rotary stimulation, in experiments with variable levels of acceleration and variable viewing angles, in a study of the effect of S's rotary acceleration on the choice reaction time for an accelerating target in peripheral vision. The pilots responded to the direction of the visual motion by moving a hand controller to the right or left. Visual-plus-rotary stimulation required a longer choice reaction time, which was inversely related to the level of acceleration and directly proportional to the viewing angle.

Sustained Attention is Associated with Error Processing Impairment: Evidence from Mental Fatigue Study in Four-Choice Reaction Time Task

PubMed Central

Xiao, Yi; Ma, Feng; Lv, Yixuan; Cai, Gui; Teng, Peng; Xu, FengGang; Chen, Shanguang

2015-01-01

Attention is important in error processing. Few studies have examined the link between sustained attention and error processing. In this study, we examined how error-related negativity (ERN) of a four-choice reaction time task was reduced in the mental fatigue condition and investigated the role of sustained attention in error processing. Forty-one recruited participants were divided into two groups. In the fatigue experiment group, 20 subjects performed a fatigue experiment and an additional continuous psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) for 1 h. In the normal experiment group, 21 subjects only performed the normal experimental procedures without the PVT test. Fatigue and sustained attention states were assessed with a questionnaire. Event-related potential results showed that ERN (p < 0.005) and peak (p < 0.05) mean amplitudes decreased in the fatigue experiment. ERN amplitudes were significantly associated with the attention and fatigue states in electrodes Fz, FC1, Cz, and FC2. These findings indicated that sustained attention was related to error processing and that decreased attention is likely the cause of error processing impairment. PMID:25756780

The Role of Aspiration Level in Risky Choice: A Comparison of Cumulative Prospect Theory and SP/A Theory.

PubMed

Lopes; Oden

1999-06-01

In recent years, descriptive models of risky choice have incorporated features that reflect the importance of particular outcome values in choice. Cumulative prospect theory (CPT) does this by inserting a reference point in the utility function. SP/A (security-potential/aspiration) theory uses aspiration level as a second criterion in the choice process. Experiment 1 compares the ability of the CPT and SP/A models to account for the same within-subjects data set and finds in favor of SP/A. Experiment 2 replicates the main finding of Experiment 1 in a between-subjects design. The final discussion brackets the SP/A result by showing the impact on fit of both decreasing and increasing the number of free parameters. We also suggest how the SP/A approach might be useful in modeling investment decision making in a descriptively more valid way and conclude with comments on the relation between descriptive and normative theories of risky choice. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Learners' choices and beliefs about self-testing.

PubMed

Kornell, Nate; Son, Lisa K

2009-07-01

Students have to make scores of practical decisions when they study. We investigated the effectiveness of, and beliefs underlying, one such practical decision: the decision to test oneself while studying. Using a flashcards-like procedure, participants studied lists of word pairs. On the second of two study trials, participants either saw the entire pair again (pair mode) or saw the cue and attempted to generate the target (test mode). Participants were asked either to rate the effectiveness of each study mode (Experiment 1) or to choose between the two modes (Experiment 2). The results demonstrated a mismatch between metacognitive beliefs and study choices: Participants (incorrectly) judged that the pair mode resulted in the most learning, but chose the test mode most frequently. A post-experimental questionnaire suggested that self-testing was motivated by a desire to diagnose learning rather than a desire to improve learning.

The Strategic Nature of Changing Your Mind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Matthew M.; Anderson, John R.

2009-01-01

In two experiments, we studied how people's strategy choices emerge through an initial and then a more considered evaluation of available strategies. The experiments employed a computer-based paradigm where participants solved multiplication problems using mental and calculator solutions. In addition to recording responses and solution times, we…

Instrument report: Planetary X-ray experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, K. A.

1972-01-01

Design studies for an X-ray experiment to investigate planetary magnetospheres using solid state detectors, or proportional counters are reported. The detectors, background counting rate, and leakage fluxes are discussed. It is concluded that the best choice of instruments appears to be two separate multiproportional counters for redundancy.

[What is important for Israeli women who give birth? Estimation of the preference structure using a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE)].

PubMed

Neuman, Tzahi; Neuman, Einat

2009-10-01

This article aims to estimate the preference structure of attributes of maternity-wards, as expressed by Israeli women who recently gave birth. The estimation is based on data generated by an experiment that simulates actual choices of hospital (Discrete Choice experiment). The sample includes 323 women who gave birth in the year 2003 in three large hospitals in the central part of Israel (The Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; The Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva; and the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba). It was found that the ranking of attributes (in a descending order in terms of importance) is: professionalism of the staff, attention of staff towards the patient, transfer of information, and travel time from residence to the hospital. Most women who gave birth did not care about the number of beds in the room at hospitalization (that represents the physical facilities). The technique used in this study is unique and can assist policymakers in allocation of funds, analysis of new policies even before they have been implemented and inclusion of new services.

Concurrent performance in a three-alternative choice situation: response allocation in a Rock/Paper/Scissors game.

PubMed

Kangas, Brian D; Berry, Meredith S; Cassidy, Rachel N; Dallery, Jesse; Vaidya, Manish; Hackenberg, Timothy D

2009-10-01

Adult human subjects engaged in a simulated Rock/Paper/Scissors game against a computer opponent. The computer opponent's responses were determined by programmed probabilities that differed across 10 blocks of 100 trials each. Response allocation in Experiment 1 was well described by a modified version of the generalized matching equation, with undermatching observed in all subjects. To assess the effects of instructions on response allocation, accurate probability-related information on how the computer was programmed to respond was provided to subjects in Experiment 2. Five of 6 subjects played the counter response of the computer's dominant programmed response near-exclusively (e.g., subjects played paper almost exclusively if the probability of rock was high), resulting in minor overmatching, and higher reinforcement rates relative to Experiment 1. On the whole, the study shows that the generalized matching law provides a good description of complex human choice in a gaming context, and illustrates a promising set of laboratory methods and analytic techniques that capture important features of human choice outside the laboratory.

[Choice of Hospital for Childbirth in Switzerland: Decision Factors and Sources of Information].

PubMed

Wiedenhöfer, D; Keppler, S

2017-06-01

The introduction of Swiss DRG in 2012 offers women in Switzerland free choice of hospital. The objective of this study was to identify decision factors affecting the choice of hospital birth in Switzerland and to rate the degree of utilization of information sources. In seven Swiss hospitals, located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, women in childbed were interviewed in writing. When choosing a hospital, factors rated by women as important were professional competence, good medical care, good obstetric competence, good nursing care and a neat and clean atmosphere. Important sources of information are recommendations of friends, own experience gained during previous hospital stays, the specialist, family, and the hospital homepage. Information meetings for pregnant women are essential for hospitals because they encourage women's decision to use the hospital. Web presence of the hospital and a good relationship with the specialists or family doctors are important, but experience of friends, family or one's own experience with stay at the hospital play a more important role. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Testing of the palatability of Thymus vulgaris L. and Origanum vulgare L. as flavouring feed additive for weaner pigs on the basis of a choice experiment.

PubMed

Jugl-Chizzola, Martina; Ungerhofer, Elisabeth; Gabler, Cornelia; Hagmüller, Werner; Chizzola, Remigius; Zitterl-Eglseer, Karin; Franz, Chlodwig

2006-01-01

The objective of the study at hand was to investigate within the framework of a pilot project the preference of weaner pigs for either an ad libitum standard feed with thyme or oregano herb as flavouring additive or an ad libitum standard feed without any herbal additive. Thyme or oregano herbs or a combination of both were offered in two different concentrations each (1% and 0.1%) as additive (experimental diets) in standard diet in comparison to the latter without herbal additive (control diet) free of choice. The dosage of the two herbs in terms of total essential oil(s) in the feeds used in the study was 0.02% or 0.002% (v/w), which was equivalent to 1% or 0.1% herbs in the mixture, respectively. A Latin square according to Williams (1949) was used with 6 groups in order to record possible differences in feed intake. All experimental diets aside from that mixed with 0.1% thyme herb were, in comparison to the control diet, significantly less ingested. Where the weanling was given the choice, it did not choose feed with any flavouring additive. Further studies aimed at assessing the use of herbs as aroma additive in the form of a choice experiment are recommended.

Association of Sleep Adequacy With More Healthful Food Choices and Positive Workplace Experiences Among Motor Freight Workers

PubMed Central

Quintiliani, Lisa M.; Yang, May H.; Ebbeling, Cara B.; Stoddard, Anne M.; Pereira, Lesley K.; Sorensen, Glorian

2009-01-01

Objectives. We assessed whether adequate sleep is linked to more healthful eating behaviors among motor freight workers and whether it mediates the effects of workplace experiences. Methods. Data were derived from a baseline survey and assessment of permanent employees at 8 trucking terminals. Bivariate and multivariate regression models were used to examine relationships between work environment, sleep adequacy, and dietary choices. Results. The sample (n = 542) was 83% White, with a mean age of 49 years and a mean body mass index of 30 kg/m2. Most of the participants were satisfied with their job (87.5%) and reported adequate sleep (51%); 30% reported job strain. In our first model, lack of job strain and greater supervisor support were significantly associated with adequate sleep. In our second model, educational level, age, and adequate sleep were significantly associated with at least 2 of the 3 healthful eating choices assessed (P < .05). However, work experiences were not significant predictors of healthful food choices when adequate sleep was included. Conclusions. Adequate sleep is associated with more healthful food choices and may mediate the effects of workplace experiences. Thus, workplace health programs should be responsive to workers' sleep patterns. PMID:19890169

"Eating Beans ... that Is a "No-No" for Our Times": Young Cypriots' Consumer Meanings of "Healthy" and "Fast" Food

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ioannou, Soula

2009-01-01

Objective: To investigate in-depth beliefs and experiences relating to the choice of fast and/or healthy foods from a group of young people living in Cyprus. Design: Data for the study were generated from one-to-one qualitative interviews which encouraged the participants to articulate the symbolic value of eating choices in their day-to-day…

Influence of social norms and palatability on amount consumed and food choice.

PubMed

Pliner, Patricia; Mann, Nikki

2004-04-01

In two parallel studies, we examined the effect of social influence and palatability on amount consumed and on food choice. In Experiment 1, which looked at amount consumed, participants were provided with either palatable or unpalatable food; they were also given information about how much previous participants had eaten (large or small amounts) or were given no information. In the case of palatable food, participants ate more when led to believe that prior participants had eaten a great deal than when led to believe that prior participants had eaten small amounts or when provided with no information. This social-influence effect was not present when participants received unpalatable food. In Experiment 2, which looked at food choice, some participants learned that prior participants had chosen the palatable food, others learned that prior participants had chosen the unpalatable food, while still others received no information about prior participants' choices. The social-influence manipulation had no effect on participants' food choices; nearly all of them chose the palatable food. The results were discussed in the context of Churchfield's (1995) distinction between judgments about matters of fact and judgments about preferences. The results were also used to illustrate the importance of palatability as a determinant of eating behavior.

The "Tyranny of Choice": Choice Overload as a Possible Instance of Effort Discounting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Derek D.; Reed, Florence D. DiGennaro; Chok, James; Brozyna, Gary A.

2011-01-01

When making a choice, people like to have options, but an emerging literature on "choice overload" suggests that the provision of too many options results in adverse experiences, including a depletion of cognitive resources and postdecision feelings of regret. A strong implication is that individuals should shy away from situations…

The Stay/Switch Model of Concurrent Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDonall, James S.

2009-01-01

This experiment compared descriptions of concurrent choice by the stay/switch model, which says choice is a function of the reinforcers obtained for staying at and for switching from each alternative, and the generalized matching law, which says choice is a function of the total reinforcers obtained at each alternative. For the stay/switch model…

Farmers' Preferences for PES Contracts to Adopt Silvopastoral Systems in Southern Ecuador, Revealed Through a Choice Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raes, Leander; Speelman, Stijn; Aguirre, Nikolay

2017-08-01

This study investigates farmers' preferences to participate in payment contracts to adopt silvopastoral systems in Ecuador. A choice experiment was used to elicit preferences between different contract attributes, including differing payment amounts and land management requirements. The research was carried out in the buffer zone of Podocarpus National Park in Southern Ecuador, an area where most land is dedicated to cattle husbandry. A choice experiment was conducted to measure farmers' interest in different types of contracts. Based on existing incentive programs, contract choices varied with respect to the type of silvopastoral system, extra land-use requirements, payment levels and contract duration. In addition, contracts differed with regards to access by cattle to streams. Although the farmers did not show strong preferences for every contract attribute, the majority of farmers in the area showed interest in the proposed contracts. A latent class model identified three classes of respondents, based on their preferences for different contracts attributes or the "business as usual" option. The results suggest that farmland area, agricultural income, and landowners' perceptions of environmental problems provide a partial explanation for the heterogeneity observed in the choices for specific contracts. Participation might increase if contracts were targeted at specific groups of farmers, such as those identified through our latent class model. Offering flexible contracts with varying additional requirements within the same scheme, involving farmers from the start in payments for environmental services design, and combining payments for environmental services with integrated conservation and development projects may be a better way to convince more farmers to adopt silvopastoral systems.

Farmers' Preferences for PES Contracts to Adopt Silvopastoral Systems in Southern Ecuador, Revealed Through a Choice Experiment.

PubMed

Raes, Leander; Speelman, Stijn; Aguirre, Nikolay

2017-08-01

This study investigates farmers' preferences to participate in payment contracts to adopt silvopastoral systems in Ecuador. A choice experiment was used to elicit preferences between different contract attributes, including differing payment amounts and land management requirements. The research was carried out in the buffer zone of Podocarpus National Park in Southern Ecuador, an area where most land is dedicated to cattle husbandry. A choice experiment was conducted to measure farmers' interest in different types of contracts. Based on existing incentive programs, contract choices varied with respect to the type of silvopastoral system, extra land-use requirements, payment levels and contract duration. In addition, contracts differed with regards to access by cattle to streams. Although the farmers did not show strong preferences for every contract attribute, the majority of farmers in the area showed interest in the proposed contracts. A latent class model identified three classes of respondents, based on their preferences for different contracts attributes or the "business as usual" option. The results suggest that farmland area, agricultural income, and landowners' perceptions of environmental problems provide a partial explanation for the heterogeneity observed in the choices for specific contracts. Participation might increase if contracts were targeted at specific groups of farmers, such as those identified through our latent class model. Offering flexible contracts with varying additional requirements within the same scheme, involving farmers from the start in payments for environmental services design, and combining payments for environmental services with integrated conservation and development projects may be a better way to convince more farmers to adopt silvopastoral systems.

Encoding and choice in the task span paradigm.

PubMed

Reiman, Kaitlin M; Weaver, Starla M; Arrington, Catherine M

2015-03-01

Cognitive control during sequences of planned behaviors requires both plan-level processes such as generating, maintaining, and monitoring the plan, as well as task-level processes such as selecting, establishing and implementing specific task sets. The task span paradigm (Logan in J Exp Psychol Gen 133:218-236, 2004) combines two common cognitive control paradigms, task switching and working memory span, to investigate the integration of plan-level and task-level processes during control of sequential behavior. The current study expands past task span research to include measures of encoding processes and choice behavior with volitional sequence generation, using the standard task span as well as a novel voluntary task span paradigm. In two experiments, we consider how sequence complexity, defined separately for plan-level and task-level complexity, influences sequence encoding (Experiment 1), sequence choice (Experiment 2), sequence memory, and task performance of planned sequences of action. Results indicate that participants were sensitive to sequence complexity, but that different aspects of behavior are most strongly influenced by different types of complexity. Hierarchical complexity at the plan level best predicts voluntary sequence generation and memory; while switch frequency at the task level best predicts encoding of externally defined sequences and task performance. Furthermore, performance RTs were similar for externally and internally defined plans, whereas memory was improved for internally defined sequences. Finally, participants demonstrated a significant sequence choice bias in the voluntary task span. Consistent with past research on choice behavior, volitional selection of plans was markedly influenced by both the ease of memory and performance.

Internet and telephonic IVR mixed-mode survey for longitudinal studies: choice, retention, and data equivalency.

PubMed

Verma, Santosh K; Courtney, Theodore K; Lombardi, David A; Chang, Wen-Ruey; Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Brennan, Melanye J; Perry, Melissa J

2014-01-01

This study examined data equivalency and loss to follow-up rates from Internet and interactive voice response (IVR) system surveys in a prospective-cohort study. 475 limited-service restaurant workers participating in the 12-week study were given a choice to report their weekly slipping experience by either IVR or Internet. Demographic differences, loss to follow-up, self-reported rates of slipping, and selection of first and last choices were compared. Loss to follow-up rates were slightly higher for those choosing the IVR mode. Rates of slipping and selection of first and last choices were not significantly different between survey modes. Propensity to choose an Internet survey decreased with increasing age, and was the lowest among Spanish speakers (5%) and those with less than a high school education (14%). Studies relying solely on Internet-based data collection may lead to selective exclusion of certain populations. Findings suggest that Internet and IVR may be combined as survey modalities within longitudinal studies. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Staying in the Middle: Latinos/as as Negotiators of Their Social, Cultural, and Linguistic Capital

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alvarado, Nora V.

2013-01-01

This study examines the educational and societal experiences that lead students to maintain or lose their heritage language to see how these experiences affect the language choices that young Latino/a adults are making after high school. Examining the experiences that lead language learners to lose or maintain their native language is important…

The Experiences of Low-Income Latina/o Families in an Urban Voucher, Parochial School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Tatiana; Vélez, William; Antrop-González, René

2017-01-01

Catholic schools have become a popular choice for many low income families Latino/a families. Families enrollment in these schools are often faced with the mandate to participate. However, regardless of the mandate, some schools often experience low parental participation. The purpose of this study is to document the experiences of low income,…

Exchange asymmetry in experimental settings

Treesearch

Thomas C. Brown; Mark D. Morrison; Jacob A. Benfield; Gretchen Nurse Rainbolt; Paul A. Bell

2015-01-01

We review past trading experiments and present 11 new experiments designed to show how the trading rate responds to alterations of the experimental procedure. In agreement with earlier studies, results show that if the trade decision is converted to one resembling a choice between goods the exchange asymmetry disappears, but otherwise the asymmetry is...

Attention mediates the effect of nutrition label information on consumers' choice. Evidence from a choice experiment involving eye-tracking.

PubMed

Bialkova, Svetlana; Grunert, Klaus G; Juhl, Hans Jørn; Wasowicz-Kirylo, Grazyna; Stysko-Kunkowska, Malgorzata; van Trijp, Hans C M

2014-05-01

In two eye-tracking studies, we explored whether and how attention to nutrition information mediates consumers' choice. Consumers had to select either the healthiest option or a product of their preference within an assortment. On each product a particular label (Choices logo, monochrome GDA label, or color-coded GDA label) communicated the product's nutrient profile. In study 1, participants had to select from 4 products differentiated, in addition to the nutrition information, by flavor (strawberry, muesli, apple, chocolate; varied within participants) and brand (local vs. global, varied between participants). Study 2 further explored brand effect within-participants, and thus only 2 flavors (strawberry, chocolate) were presented within an assortment. Actual choice made, response time and eye movements were recorded. Respondents fixated longer and more often on products with color-coded GDAs label than on products with monochrome GDAs or Choices logo. A health goal resulted in longer and more frequent fixations in comparison to a preference goal. Products with color-coded and monochrome GDAs had the highest likelihood of being chosen, and this effect was related to the attention-getting property of the label (irrespective of brand and flavor effects). The product fixated most had the highest likelihood of being chosen. These results suggest that attention mediates the effect of nutrition labels on choice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Noradrenergic modulation of vicarious trial-and-error behavior during a spatial decision-making task in rats.

PubMed

Amemiya, S; Noji, T; Kubota, N; Nishijima, T; Kita, I

2014-04-18

Deliberation between possible options before making a decision is crucial to responding with an optimal choice. However, the neural mechanisms regulating this deliberative decision-making process are still unclear. Recent studies have proposed that the locus coeruleus-noradrenaline (LC-NA) system plays a role in attention, behavioral flexibility, and exploration, which contribute to the search for an optimal choice under uncertain situations. In the present study, we examined whether the LC-NA system relates to the deliberative process in a T-maze spatial decision-making task in rats. To quantify deliberation in rats, we recorded vicarious trial-and-error behavior (VTE), which is considered to reflect a deliberative process exploring optimal choices. In experiment 1, we manipulated the difficulty of choice by varying the amount of reward pellets between the two maze arms (0 vs. 4, 1 vs. 3, 2 vs. 2). A difficulty-dependent increase in VTE was accompanied by a reduction of choice bias toward the high reward arm and an increase in time required to select one of the two arms in the more difficult manipulation. In addition, the increase of c-Fos-positive NA neurons in the LC depended on the task difficulty and the amount of c-Fos expression in LC-NA neurons positively correlated with the occurrence of VTE. In experiment 2, we inhibited LC-NA activity by injection of clonidine, an agonist of the alpha2 autoreceptor, during a decision-making task (1 vs. 3). The clonidine injection suppressed occurrence of VTE in the early phase of the task and subsequently impaired a valuable choice later in the task. These results suggest that the LC-NA system regulates the deliberative process during decision-making. Copyright © 2014 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When choice matters: task-dependent memory effects in older adulthood.

PubMed

Depping, Miriam K; Freund, Alexandra M

2013-12-01

As goal orientation shifts across adulthood from a primary orientation toward gains to an increased importance of the prevention of losses, older adults' information processing may be particularly sensitive to potential losses if there is a possibility of avoiding them. In line with these motivational changes, we expected older adults to remember more loss-related information when choosing between 2 options than when not having to make a decision and when compared with younger adults. Using an incidental memory paradigm, we asked younger and older adults to recall as much information as possible of 2 previously presented hypothetical travel packages (Experiment 1) or 2 hospitals (Experiment 2) containing positive (gain-related), negative (loss-related), and neutral information in either a decision or a control condition (evaluating the readability of the texts). Experiment 1 showed that older adults remembered more negative information than younger adults and more negative than positive information in the choice but not in the control condition. Experiment 2 followed the same procedure using a choice between 2 hospitals for minor surgery. This choice was assumed to trigger a stronger orientation toward the prevention of losses than the choice between travel packages. As expected, in this situation, both age groups remembered more negative information relative to neutral and positive information regardless of the condition (choice vs. control). Importantly, older adults remembered more negative information in the choice condition compared with younger adults. Taken together, results suggest that the processing of decision-relevant information promotes a stronger focus on negative information in older adults. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Domain-specific rationality in human choices: violations of utility axioms and social contexts.

PubMed

Wang, X T

1996-07-01

This study presents a domain-specific view of human decision rationality. It explores social and ecological domain-specific psychological mechanisms underlying choice biases and violations of utility axioms. Results from both the USA and China revealed a social group domain-specific choice pattern. The irrational preference reversal in a hypothetical life-death decision problem (a classical example of framing effects) was eliminated by providing a small group or family context in which most subjects favored a risky choice option regardless of the positive/negative framing of choice outcomes. The risk preference data also indicate that the subjective scope of small group domain is larger for Chinese subjects, suggesting that human choice mechanisms are sensitive to culturally specific features of group living. A further experiment provided evidence that perceived fairness might be one major factor regulating the choice preferences found in small group (kith-and-kin) contexts. Finally, the violation of the stochastic dominance axiom of the rational theory of choice was predicted and tested. The violations were found only when the "life-death" problem was presented in small group contexts; the strongest violation was found in a family context. These results suggest that human decisions and choices are regulated by domain-specific choice mechanisms designed to solve evolutionary recurrent and adaptively important problems.

Health on impulse: when low self-control promotes healthy food choices.

PubMed

Salmon, Stefanie J; Fennis, Bob M; de Ridder, Denise T D; Adriaanse, Marieke A; de Vet, Emely

2014-02-01

Food choices are often made mindlessly, when individuals are not able or willing to exert self-control. Under low self-control, individuals have difficulties to resist palatable but unhealthy food products. In contrast to previous research aiming to foster healthy choices by promoting high self-control, this study exploits situations of low self-control, by strategically using the tendency under these conditions to rely on heuristics (simple decision rules) as quick guides to action. More specifically, the authors associated healthy food products with the social proof heuristic (i.e., normative cues that convey majority endorsement for those products). One hundred seventy-seven students (119 men), with an average age of 20.47 years (SD = 2.25) participated in the experiment. This study used a 2 (low vs. high self-control) × 2 (social proof vs. no heuristic) × 2 (trade-off vs. control choice) design, with the latter as within-subjects factor. The dependent variable was the number of healthy food choices in a food-choice task. In line with previous studies, people made fewer healthy food choices under low self-control. However, this negative effect of low self-control on food choice was reversed when the healthy option was associated with the social proof heuristic. In that case, people made more healthy choices under conditions of low self-control. Low self-control may be even more beneficial for healthy food choices than high self-control in the presence of a heuristic. Exploiting situations of low self-control is a new and promising method to promote health on impulse. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

The eyes have it: Using eye tracking to inform information processing strategies in multi-attributes choices.

PubMed

Ryan, Mandy; Krucien, Nicolas; Hermens, Frouke

2018-04-01

Although choice experiments (CEs) are widely applied in economics to study choice behaviour, understanding of how individuals process attribute information remains limited. We show how eye-tracking methods can provide insight into how decisions are made. Participants completed a CE, while their eye movements were recorded. Results show that although the information presented guided participants' decisions, there were also several processing biases at work. Evidence was found of (a) top-to-bottom, (b) left-to-right, and (c) first-to-last order biases. Experimental factors-whether attributes are defined as "best" or "worst," choice task complexity, and attribute ordering-also influence information processing. How individuals visually process attribute information was shown to be related to their choices. Implications for the design and analysis of CEs and future research are discussed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The relationship between reinforcement and gaming machine choice.

PubMed

Haw, John

2008-03-01

The present study assessed whether prior reinforcement experiences were related to gaming machine choice and the decision to change gaming machines during a session of gambling. Seventy undergraduate students (48 women, 22 men; mean age = 22.05 years) were presented with two visually identical simulated gaming machines in a practice phase. These simulated machines differed only in the rate of reinforcement. After the practice phase, participants were asked to choose a machine to play in the test phase and were allowed to change machines at will. Two measures of reinforcement were employed; frequency of wins and payback rate. Results indicated that neither measure of reinforcement was related to machine choice, but both were predictors of when participants changed machines. A post-hoc analysis of the 33 participants who changed machines during the test phase found a significant relationship between machine choice and prior reinforcement. For these participants, payback rate was significantly related to machine choice, unlike frequency of wins.

Normalization is a general neural mechanism for context-dependent decision making

PubMed Central

Louie, Kenway; Khaw, Mel W.; Glimcher, Paul W.

2013-01-01

Understanding the neural code is critical to linking brain and behavior. In sensory systems, divisive normalization seems to be a canonical neural computation, observed in areas ranging from retina to cortex and mediating processes including contrast adaptation, surround suppression, visual attention, and multisensory integration. Recent electrophysiological studies have extended these insights beyond the sensory domain, demonstrating an analogous algorithm for the value signals that guide decision making, but the effects of normalization on choice behavior are unknown. Here, we show that choice models using normalization generate significant (and classically irrational) choice phenomena driven by either the value or number of alternative options. In value-guided choice experiments, both monkey and human choosers show novel context-dependent behavior consistent with normalization. These findings suggest that the neural mechanism of value coding critically influences stochastic choice behavior and provide a generalizable quantitative framework for examining context effects in decision making. PMID:23530203

Effects of different discount levels on healthy products coupled with a healthy choice label, special offer label or both: results from a web-based supermarket experiment.

PubMed

Waterlander, Wilma E; Steenhuis, Ingrid H M; de Boer, Michiel R; Schuit, Albertine J; Seidell, Jacob C

2013-05-16

Two strategies commonly recommended to improve population diets include food labels and food taxes/subsidies. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of both strategies separately and in combination. An experiment with a 3x3 factorial design was conducted, including: three levels of price reduction (10%; 25%; and 50%) x three labels ('special offer', 'healthy choice' and 'special offer & healthy choice') on healthy foods defined following the Choices front-of-pack nutrition label. N=109 participants completed the experiment by conducting a typical weekly shop for their household at a three-dimensional web-based supermarket. Data were analysed using analysis of covariance. Participants receiving a 50% price discount purchased significantly more healthy foods for their household in a typical weekly shop than the 10% discount (+8.7 items; 95%CI=3.8-13.6) and the 25% discount group (+7.7 items; 95%CI=2.74 - 12.6). However, the proportion of healthy foods was not significantly higher and the discounts lead to an increased amount of energy purchased. No significant effects of the labels were found. This study brings some relevant insights into the effects of price discounts on healthier foods coupled with different labels and shows that price effects over shadowed food labels. However, price discounts seem to have ambiguous effects; they do encourage the purchase of healthy products, but also lead to increased energy purchases. More research is needed to examine how pricing strategies can work in directing consumers towards interchanging unhealthier options for healthier alternatives.

The Two-Year College as a First Choice, Second Chance Institution for Baccalaureate-Degree Holders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Townsend, Barbara K.

2009-01-01

This study focused on degree-seeking baccalaureate-degree holders at one two-year technical institute in the Midsouth to determine why they chose to study at the two-year college and how they compared their two-year college experience with their baccalaureate educational experience. Findings indicated the technical college was their first choice…

Mission Information: Worksite Interview, Shadow Community Workers, Work Experience Program. CHOICE (Challenging Options in Career Education).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gans, Connie; And Others

The work-study guide is the third volume in the advanced level of a career education curriculum for elementary-secondary migrant children. Complementing the secondary level job information text and a workbook about decision making and self-awareness, the work-study guide is designed to accompany work exploration and experience programs. It…

A multiple choice testing program coupled with a year-long elective experience is associated with improved performance on the internal medicine in-training examination.

PubMed

Mathis, Bradley R; Warm, Eric J; Schauer, Daniel P; Holmboe, Eric; Rouan, Gregory W

2011-11-01

The Internal Medicine In-Training Exam (IM-ITE) assesses the content knowledge of internal medicine trainees. Many programs use the IM-ITE to counsel residents, to create individual remediation plans, and to make fundamental programmatic and curricular modifications. To assess the association between a multiple-choice testing program administered during 12 consecutive months of ambulatory and inpatient elective experience and IM-ITE percentile scores in third post-graduate year (PGY-3) categorical residents. Retrospective cohort study. One hundred and four categorical internal medicine residents. Forty-five residents in the 2008 and 2009 classes participated in the study group, and the 59 residents in the three classes that preceded the use of the testing program, 2005-2007, served as controls. A comprehensive, elective rotation specific, multiple-choice testing program and a separate board review program, both administered during a continuous long-block elective experience during the twelve months between the second post-graduate year (PGY-2) and PGY-3 in-training examinations. We analyzed the change in median individual percent correct and percentile scores between the PGY-1 and PGY-2 IM-ITE and between the PGY-2 and PGY-3 IM-ITE in both control and study cohorts. For our main outcome measure, we compared the change in median individual percentile rank between the control and study cohorts between the PGY-2 and the PGY-3 IM-ITE testing opportunities. After experiencing the educational intervention, the study group demonstrated a significant increase in median individual IM-ITE percentile score between PGY-2 and PGY-3 examinations of 8.5 percentile points (p < 0.01). This is significantly better than the increase of 1.0 percentile point seen in the control group between its PGY-2 and PGY-3 examination (p < 0.01). A comprehensive multiple-choice testing program aimed at PGY-2 residents during a 12-month continuous long-block elective experience is associated with improved PGY-3 IM-ITE performance.

Are Health State Valuations from the General Public Biased? A Test of Health State Reference Dependency Using Self-assessed Health and an Efficient Discrete Choice Experiment.

PubMed

Jonker, Marcel F; Attema, Arthur E; Donkers, Bas; Stolk, Elly A; Versteegh, Matthijs M

2017-12-01

Health state valuations of patients and non-patients are not the same, whereas health state values obtained from general population samples are a weighted average of both. The latter constitutes an often-overlooked source of bias. This study investigates the resulting bias and tests for the impact of reference dependency on health state valuations using an efficient discrete choice experiment administered to a Dutch nationally representative sample of 788 respondents. A Bayesian discrete choice experiment design consisting of eight sets of 24 (matched pairwise) choice tasks was developed, with each set providing full identification of the included parameters. Mixed logit models were used to estimate health state preferences with respondents' own health included as an additional predictor. Our results indicate that respondents with impaired health worse than or equal to the health state levels under evaluation have approximately 30% smaller health state decrements. This confirms that reference dependency can be observed in general population samples and affirms the relevance of prospect theory in health state valuations. At the same time, the limited number of respondents with severe health impairments does not appear to bias social tariffs as obtained from general population samples. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Experiments to Generate New Data about School Choice: Commentary on "Defining Continuous Improvement and Cost Minimization Possibilities through School Choice Experiments" and Merrifield's Reply

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, Nathan; Merrifield, John

2009-01-01

Benefiting from new data provided by experimental economists, behavioral economics is now moving beyond empirical tests of standard behavioral assumptions to the problem of designing improved institutions that are tuned to fit real-world behavior. It is therefore worthwhile to consider the potential for new experiments to advance school choice…

A study of International Baccalaureate science teachers' choices in curriculum and instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jauss, Lanett S.

This study was designed to investigate the choices International Baccalaureate (IB) science teachers make in curriculum and instruction. Data was gathered via a survey completed by IB science teachers who had attended either an April, 2007 workshop in Reston, Virginia or a January, 2008 IB roundtable discussion in Kansas City, Missouri. Surveys solicited the different choices IB science teachers make for options, Internal Assessment (IA) activities, Theory of Knowledge (TOK) emphasis, and demographics. Teachers' reasons for their option choices were also analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlations, and linear regression. It was found that IB science teachers' most frequent reasons for their option choices were related to ease, interest, background, and available resources. IB science teachers used a variety of IA activities, with hands-on activities and worksheets being most frequent. IB science teachers did not emphasize inquiry, although they did include some aspects of it among their choices. IB science teachers preferred to use activities they design or those designed by other teachers. Years of teaching experience, both total and IB, were correlated to the level of use of some TOK tenets.

Selectively bred crossed high-alcohol-preferring mice drink to intoxication and develop functional tolerance, but not locomotor sensitization during free-choice ethanol access.

PubMed

Matson, Liana M; Kasten, Chelsea R; Boehm, Stephen L; Grahame, Nicholas J

2014-01-01

Crossed high-alcohol-preferring (cHAP) mice were selectively bred from a cross of the HAP1 × HAP2 replicate lines and demonstrate blood ethanol concentrations (BECs) during free-choice drinking reminiscent of those observed in alcohol-dependent humans. In this report, we investigated the relationship between free-choice drinking, intoxication, tolerance, and sensitization in cHAP mice. We hypothesized that initially mice would become ataxic after drinking alcohol, but that increased drinking over days would be accompanied by increasing tolerance to the ataxic effects of ethanol (EtOH). Male and female cHAP mice had free-choice access to 10% EtOH and water (E), while Water mice (W) had access to water alone. In experiment 1, the first drinking experience was monitored during the dark portion of the cycle. Once E mice reached an average intake rate of ≥1.5 g/kg/h, they, along with W mice, were tested for footslips on a balance beam, and BECs were assessed. In experiments 2, 3, and 4, after varying durations of free-choice 10% EtOH access (0, 3, 14, or 21 days), mice were challenged with 20% EtOH and tested for number of footslips on a balance beam or locomotor stimulant response. Blood was sampled for BEC determination. We found that cHAP mice rapidly acquire alcohol intakes that lead to ataxia. Over time, cHAP mice developed behavioral tolerance to the ataxic effects of alcohol, paralleled by escalating alcohol consumption. However, locomotor sensitization did not develop following 14 days of free-choice EtOH access. Overall, we observed increases in free-choice drinking with extended alcohol access paralleled by increases in functional tolerance, but not locomotor sensitization. These data support our hypothesis that escalating free-choice drinking over days in cHAP mice is driven by tolerance to alcohol's behavioral effects. These data are the first to demonstrate that escalating free-choice consumption is accompanied by increasing alcohol tolerance. In addition to buttressing the hypothesized importance of tolerance in drinking, our findings suggest that cHAP mice may be a unique, translational resource for studying tolerance as a contributor to and consequence of chronic, excessive EtOH consumption. Copyright © 2013 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Dental students' perceptions of and experiences with prosthodontics: ten graduating classes at one institution.

PubMed

Shin, Jane H; Kinnunen, Taru H; Zarchy, Marisa; Da Silva, John D; Chang, Brian Myung W; Wright, Robert F

2015-01-01

It is important for members of the dental specialties to understand what motivates students to enter the specialty in order to ensure its continuing development and ability to meet patient needs. The aim of this study was to compare ten graduating classes at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) regarding students' experiences with and perceptions of prosthodontics and factors influencing those interested in pursuing prosthodontics as a specialty. In 2013, HSDM students in the classes of 2012-16 were surveyed, achieving a response rate of 81%. Survey questions sought information regarding specialty choice, factors influencing the choice, student experiences with prosthodontics, and student perceptions of the dental disciplines. Responses were compared to those from a prior study of the HSDM classes of 2007-11. The responses showed a decrease in negative student experiences with prosthodontics. The students regarded prosthodontics highly for its impact on patient quality of life; however, students interested in pursuing prosthodontics as a specialty decreased. All students said provider enjoyment was most important in choice of specialty. Cost of program, patient type, and program location were factors that especially influenced students interested in prosthodontics. The improved student experiences with and perspectives on prosthodontics may be a result of a curriculum change that led to more prosthodontics procedures and case completions by students. The fall in students interested in prosthodontics may have resulted from prosthodontic faculty transitions that occurred when the survey was conducted, as well as large debt burdens in spite of the fact that prosthodontists' earnings are among the highest in dentistry. Faculty must educate and mentor students about the realities of the profession, provide positive learning experiences in the field, and encourage students who enjoy prosthodontics to pursue specialty training.

Cross-cultural adaptation and translation of a quality of life tool for new mothers: a methodological and experiential account from six countries.

PubMed

Symon, Andrew; Nagpal, Jitender; Maniecka-Bryła, Irena; Nowakowska-Głąb, Agata; Rashidian, Arash; Khabiri, Roghayeh; Mendes, Isabel; Pinheiro, Ana Karina Bezerra; de Oliveira, Mirna Fontenele; Wu, Liping

2013-04-01

To examine the challenges and solutions encountered in the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of an English language quality of life tool in India, China, Iran, Portugal, Brazil, and Poland. Those embarking on research involving translation and cross-cultural adaptation must address certain practical and conceptual issues. These include instrument choice, linguistic factors, and cultural or philosophical differences, which may render an instrument inappropriate, even when expertly translated. Publication bias arises when studies encountering difficulties do not admit to these, or are not published at all. As an educative guide to the potential pitfalls involved in the cross-cultural adaptation process, this article reports the conceptual, linguistic, and methodological experiences of researchers in six countries, who translated and adapted the Mother-Generated Index, a quality of life tool originally developed in English. Principal investigator experience from six stand-alone studies (two published) ranging from postgraduate research to citywide surveys. DISCUSSION/IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: This analysis of a series of stand-alone cross-cultural studies provides lessons about how conceptual issues, such as the uniqueness of perceived quality of life and the experience of new motherhood, can be addressed. This original international approach highlights practical lessons relating to instrument choice, and the resources available to researchers with different levels of experience. Although researchers may be confident of effective translation, conceptual and practical difficulties may be more problematic. Instrument choice is crucial. Researchers must negotiate adequate resources for cross-cultural research, including time, translation facilities, and expert advice about conceptual issues. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Consumer satisfaction with primary care provider choice and associated trust

PubMed Central

Chu-Weininger, Ming Ying L; Balkrishnan, Rajesh

2006-01-01

Background Development of managed care, characterized by limited provider choice, is believed to undermine trust. Provider choice has been identified as strongly associated with physician trust. Stakeholders in a competitive healthcare market have competing agendas related to choice. The purpose of this study is to analyze variables associated with consumer's satisfaction that they have enough choice when selecting their primary care provider (PCP), and to analyze the importance of these variables on provider trust. Methods A 1999 randomized national cross-sectional telephone survey conducted of United States residential households, who had a telephone, had seen a medical professional at least twice in the past two years, and aged ≥ 20 years was selected for secondary data analyses. Among 1,117 households interviewed, 564 were selected as the final sample. Subjects responded to a core set of questions related to provider trust, and a subset of questions related to trust in the insurer. A previously developed conceptual framework was adopted. Linear and logistic regressions were performed based on this framework. Results Results affirmed 'satisfaction with amount of PCP choice' was significantly (p < .001) associated with provider trust. 'PCP's care being extremely effective' was strongly associated with 'satisfaction with amount of PCP choice' and 'provider trust'. Having sought a second opinion(s) was associated with lower trust. 'Spoke to the PCP outside the medical office,' 'satisfaction with the insurer' and 'insurer charges less if PCP within network' were all variables associated with 'satisfaction with amount of PCP choice' (all p < .05). Conclusion This study confirmed the association of 'satisfaction with amount of PCP choice' with provider trust. Results affirmed 'enough PCP choice' was a strong predictor of provider trust. 'Second opinion on PCP' may indicate distrust in the provider. Data such as 'trust in providers in general' and 'the role of provider performance information' in choice, though import in PCP choice, were not available for analysis and should be explored in future studies. Results have implications for rethinking the relationships among consumer choice, consumer behaviors in making trade-offs in PCP choice, and the role of healthcare experiences in 'satisfaction with amount of PCP choice' or 'provider trust.' PMID:17059611

Patient Preferences for Pain Management in Advanced Cancer: Results from a Discrete Choice Experiment.

PubMed

Meads, David M; O'Dwyer, John L; Hulme, Claire T; Chintakayala, Phani; Vinall-Collier, Karen; Bennett, Michael I

2017-10-01

Pain from advanced cancer remains prevalent, severe and often under-treated. The aim of this study was to conduct a discrete choice experiment with patients to understand their preferences for pain management services and inform service development. Focus groups were used to develop the attributes and levels of the discrete choice experiment. The attributes were: waiting time, type of healthcare professional, out-of-pocket costs, side-effect control, quality of communication, quality of information and pain control. Patients completed the discrete choice experiment along with clinical and health-related quality of life questions. Conditional and mixed logit models were used to analyse the data. Patients with cancer pain (n = 221) and within palliative care services completed the survey (45% were female, mean age 64.6 years; age range 21-92 years). The most important aspects of pain management were: good pain control, zero out-of-pocket costs and good side-effect control. Poor or moderate pain control and £30 costs drew the highest negative preferences. Respondents preferred control of side effects and provision of better information and communication, over access to certain healthcare professionals. Those with lower health-related quality of life were less willing to wait for treatment and willing to incur higher costs. The presence of a carer influenced preferences. Outcome attributes were more important than process attributes but the latter were still valued. Thus, supporting self-management, for example by providing better information on pain may be a worthwhile endeavour. However, service provision may need to account for individual characteristics given the heterogeneity in preferences.

Rats' Visual-Spatial Working Memory: New Object Choice Accuracy as a Function of Number of Objects in the Study Array

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Jerome; Han, Xue; Matei, Anca; Parameswaran, Varakini; Zuniga, Robert; Hlynka, Myron

2010-01-01

When rats had to find new (jackpot) objects for rewards from among previously sampled baited objects, increasing the number of objects in the sample (study) segment of a trial from 3 to 5 and then to 7 (Experiment 1) or from 3 to 6 and 9 (Experiments 2 and 3) or from 6 to 9 and 12 (Experiment 4) did not reduce rats' test segment performance.…

Choice, perceived control, and customer satisfaction: the psychology of online service recovery.

PubMed

Chang, Chia-Chi

2008-06-01

Service failures and consequent recoveries have been identified as critical determinants of customer retention. Therefore, effective service recovery programs warrant further exploration, particularly in the online shopping environment, where consumers can receive immediate and tangible service recovery. The results of the present study suggest that by providing a choice of recovery options, customers' sense of control is increased, as is their satisfaction with the particular recovery efforts and their overall satisfaction with the entire service experience. Also, service importance accentuated the impact of choice on perceived control. Specifically, when the service was of greater importance, giving customers a choice of recovery options augmented customers' sense of control more than when the service was of lesser importance. The implications of the findings are also discussed.

Optimal Decision Stimuli for Risky Choice Experiments: An Adaptive Approach.

PubMed

Cavagnaro, Daniel R; Gonzalez, Richard; Myung, Jay I; Pitt, Mark A

2013-02-01

Collecting data to discriminate between models of risky choice requires careful selection of decision stimuli. Models of decision making aim to predict decisions across a wide range of possible stimuli, but practical limitations force experimenters to select only a handful of them for actual testing. Some stimuli are more diagnostic between models than others, so the choice of stimuli is critical. This paper provides the theoretical background and a methodological framework for adaptive selection of optimal stimuli for discriminating among models of risky choice. The approach, called Adaptive Design Optimization (ADO), adapts the stimulus in each experimental trial based on the results of the preceding trials. We demonstrate the validity of the approach with simulation studies aiming to discriminate Expected Utility, Weighted Expected Utility, Original Prospect Theory, and Cumulative Prospect Theory models.

Asymmetrically dominated choice problems, the isolation hypothesis and random incentive mechanisms.

PubMed

Cox, James C; Sadiraj, Vjollca; Schmidt, Ulrich

2014-01-01

This paper presents an experimental study of the random incentive mechanisms which are a standard procedure in economic and psychological experiments. Random incentive mechanisms have several advantages but are incentive-compatible only if responses to the single tasks are independent. This is true if either the independence axiom of expected utility theory or the isolation hypothesis of prospect theory holds. We present a simple test of this in the context of choice under risk. In the baseline (one task) treatment we observe risk behavior in a given choice problem. We show that by integrating a second, asymmetrically dominated choice problem in a random incentive mechanism risk behavior can be manipulated systematically. This implies that the isolation hypothesis is violated and the random incentive mechanism does not elicit true preferences in our example.

The role of first impression in operant learning.

PubMed

Shteingart, Hanan; Neiman, Tal; Loewenstein, Yonatan

2013-05-01

We quantified the effect of first experience on behavior in operant learning and studied its underlying computational principles. To that goal, we analyzed more than 200,000 choices in a repeated-choice experiment. We found that the outcome of the first experience has a substantial and lasting effect on participants' subsequent behavior, which we term outcome primacy. We found that this outcome primacy can account for much of the underweighting of rare events, where participants apparently underestimate small probabilities. We modeled behavior in this task using a standard, model-free reinforcement learning algorithm. In this model, the values of the different actions are learned over time and are used to determine the next action according to a predefined action-selection rule. We used a novel nonparametric method to characterize this action-selection rule and showed that the substantial effect of first experience on behavior is consistent with the reinforcement learning model if we assume that the outcome of first experience resets the values of the experienced actions, but not if we assume arbitrary initial conditions. Moreover, the predictive power of our resetting model outperforms previously published models regarding the aggregate choice behavior. These findings suggest that first experience has a disproportionately large effect on subsequent actions, similar to primacy effects in other fields of cognitive psychology. The mechanism of resetting of the initial conditions that underlies outcome primacy may thus also account for other forms of primacy. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Feedback produces divergence from prospect theory in descriptive choice.

PubMed

Jessup, Ryan K; Bishara, Anthony J; Busemeyer, Jerome R

2008-10-01

A recent study demonstrated that individuals making experience-based choices underweight small probabilities, in contrast to the overweighting observed in a typical descriptive paradigm. We tested whether trial-by-trial feedback in a repeated descriptive paradigm would engender choices more correspondent with experiential or descriptive paradigms. The results of a repeated gambling task indicated that individuals receiving feedback underweighted small probabilities, relative to their no-feedback counterparts. These results implicate feedback as a critical component during the decision-making process, even in the presence of fully specified descriptive information. A model comparison at the individual-subject level suggested that feedback drove individuals' decision weights toward objective probability weighting.

Factors affecting food choices of older adults from high and low socioeconomic groups: a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Kamphuis, Carlijn B M; de Bekker-Grob, Esther W; van Lenthe, Frank J

2015-04-01

Healthiness, price, and convenience are typically indicated as important motives for food choices; however, it is largely unknown to what extent older adults from high and low socioeconomic groups differ in these underlying motives. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) is an innovative way to elicit implicit motives for food choices. The aim was to investigate differences in food motives between socioeconomic groups by means of a DCE. A DCE was carried out during a face-to-face interview among older adults as part of the Health and Living Conditions in Eindhoven and surrounding cities (GLOBE) cohort study, The Netherlands. Participants (n = 399; mean age: 63.3 y) were offered a series of choice sets about a usual dinner at home and were asked to choose in each choice set between 2 meals and an opt-out choice, with different combinations of attribute levels. We included 5 meal attributes (taste, healthiness, preparation time, travel time to shops, and price) and 3 or 4 levels for each attribute. Data were analyzed by multinomial logit models. Healthiness, taste, price, and travel time to the grocery store proved to significantly influence older adults' meal decisions; preparation time was not significant. Healthiness was the most important attribute for all of the participants. More highly educated participants rated a healthy and less expensive meal to be more important than did less educated participants. Those with a high income rated a meal that was healthy and very tasteful to be more important than did those with a lower income. Healthiness, taste, price, and travel time to grocery shops influenced older adults' meal decisions. Higher socioeconomic groups valued health more than did lower socioeconomic groups. DCEs represent a promising method to gain insight into the relative importance of motives for food choices. This trial was registered at www.isrctn.com as ISRCTN60293770. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Measuring the loss of consumer choice in mandatory health programmes using discrete choice experiments.

PubMed

Parkinson, Bonny; Goodall, Stephen; Norman, Richard

2013-04-01

Economic evaluation of mandatory health programmes generally do not consider the utility impact of a loss of consumer choice upon implementation, despite evidence suggesting that consumers do value having the ability to choose. The primary aim of this study was to explore whether the utility impact of a loss of consumer choice from implementing mandatory health programmes can be measured using discrete choice experiments (DCEs). Three case studies were used to test the methodology: fortification of bread-making flour with folate, mandatory influenza vaccination of children, and the banning of trans-fats. Attributes and levels were developed from a review of the literature. An orthogonal, fractional factorial design was used to select the profiles presented to respondents to allow estimation of main effects. Overall, each DCE consisted of 64 profiles which were allocated to four versions of 16 profiles. Each choice task compared two profiles, one being voluntary and the other being mandatory, plus a 'no policy' option, thus each respondent was presented with eight choice tasks. For each choice task, respondents were asked which health policy they most preferred and least preferred. Data was analysed using a mixed logit model with correlated coefficients (200 Halton draws). The compensating variation required for introducing a programme on a mandatory basis (versus achieving the same health impacts with a voluntary programme) that holds utility constant was estimated. Responses were provided by 535 participants (a response rate of 83 %). For the influenza vaccination and folate fortification programmes, the results suggested that some level of compensation may be required for introducing the programme on a mandatory basis. Introducing a mandatory influenza vaccination programme required the highest compensation (Australian dollars [A$] 112.75, 95 % CI -60.89 to 286.39) compared with folate fortification (A$18.05, 95 % CI -3.71 to 39.80). No compensation was required for introducing the trans-fats programme (-A$0.22, 95 % CI -6.24 to 5.80) [year 2010 values]. In addition to the type of mandatory health programme, the compensation required was also found to be dependent on a number of other factors. In particular, the study found an association between the compensation required and stronger libertarian preferences. DCEs can be used to measure the utility impact of a loss of consumer choice. Excluding the utility impact of a loss of consumer choice from an economic evaluation taking a societal perspective may result in a sub-optimal, or incorrect, funding decision.

Using an abstract geometry in virtual reality to explore choice behaviour: visual flicker preferences in honeybees.

PubMed

Van De Poll, Matthew N; Zajaczkowski, Esmi L; Taylor, Gavin J; Srinivasan, Mandyam V; van Swinderen, Bruno

2015-11-01

Closed-loop paradigms provide an effective approach for studying visual choice behaviour and attention in small animals. Different flying and walking paradigms have been developed to investigate behavioural and neuronal responses to competing stimuli in insects such as bees and flies. However, the variety of stimulus choices that can be presented over one experiment is often limited. Current choice paradigms are mostly constrained as single binary choice scenarios that are influenced by the linear structure of classical conditioning paradigms. Here, we present a novel behavioural choice paradigm that allows animals to explore a closed geometry of interconnected binary choices by repeatedly selecting among competing objects, thereby revealing stimulus preferences in an historical context. We used our novel paradigm to investigate visual flicker preferences in honeybees (Apis mellifera) and found significant preferences for 20-25 Hz flicker and avoidance of higher (50-100 Hz) and lower (2-4 Hz) flicker frequencies. Similar results were found when bees were presented with three simultaneous choices instead of two, and when they were given the chance to select previously rejected choices. Our results show that honeybees can discriminate among different flicker frequencies and that their visual preferences are persistent even under different experimental conditions. Interestingly, avoided stimuli were more attractive if they were novel, suggesting that novelty salience can override innate preferences. Our recursive virtual reality environment provides a new approach to studying visual discrimination and choice behaviour in animals. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Undergraduate female science-related career choices: A phenomenological study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curry, Kathy S.

This qualitative phenomenological study used a modified Groenewald's five steps method with semi-structured, recorded, and transcribed interviews to focus on the underrepresentation of females in science-related careers. The study explored the lived experiences of a purposive sample of 25 senior female college students attending a college in Macon, Georgia. Ten major themes emerged from the research study that included (a) journey to a science-related career; (b) realization of career interest; (c) family support (d) society's role; (e) professors' treatment of students; (f) lack of mentors and models; (g) gender and career success; (h) females and other disadvantages in science-related careers; (i) rewards of the journey; and (j) advice for the journey. The three minor themes identified were (a) decision-making; (b) career awareness; and (c) guidance. The key findings revealed that females pursuing a science degree or subsequent science-related career, shared their experience with other females interested in science as a career choice, dealt with barriers standing in the way of their personal goals, lack role models, and received little or no support from family and friends. The study findings may offer information to female college students interested in pursuing science-related careers and further foundational research on gender disparities in career choice.

Engaging adolescent girls in transactional sex through compensated dating.

PubMed

Cheung, Chau-Kiu; Jia, Xinshan; Li, Jessica Chi-Mei; Lee, Tak-Yan

2016-10-01

Transactional sex through so-called compensated dating in adolescent girls is a problem in need of public concern. Compensated dating typically involves the use of information communication technology to advertise, search, bargain, and eventually arrange for transactional sex. The technology enables the sexual partners to maintain privacy and secrecy in transactional sex. Such secrecy necessitates the girls' disclosure about their life experiences in order to address the concern. The disclosure is the focus of the present qualitative study of 27 girls practicing the dating in Hong Kong, China. Based on the disclosure, the study presents a grounded theory that epitomizes engagement in compensated dating by referential choice. Such a referential choice theory unravels that choice with reference to the family push and social norms sustains the engagement. Meanwhile, the choice rests on expectancy and reinforcement from experiential learning about compensated dating. The theory thus implies ways to undercut the engagement through diverting the referential choice of the dating. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A likelihood-based biostatistical model for analyzing consumer movement in simultaneous choice experiments.

PubMed

Zeilinger, Adam R; Olson, Dawn M; Andow, David A

2014-08-01

Consumer feeding preference among resource choices has critical implications for basic ecological and evolutionary processes, and can be highly relevant to applied problems such as ecological risk assessment and invasion biology. Within consumer choice experiments, also known as feeding preference or cafeteria experiments, measures of relative consumption and measures of consumer movement can provide distinct and complementary insights into the strength, causes, and consequences of preference. Despite the distinct value of inferring preference from measures of consumer movement, rigorous and biologically relevant analytical methods are lacking. We describe a simple, likelihood-based, biostatistical model for analyzing the transient dynamics of consumer movement in a paired-choice experiment. With experimental data consisting of repeated discrete measures of consumer location, the model can be used to estimate constant consumer attraction and leaving rates for two food choices, and differences in choice-specific attraction and leaving rates can be tested using model selection. The model enables calculation of transient and equilibrial probabilities of consumer-resource association, which could be incorporated into larger scale movement models. We explore the effect of experimental design on parameter estimation through stochastic simulation and describe methods to check that data meet model assumptions. Using a dataset of modest sample size, we illustrate the use of the model to draw inferences on consumer preference as well as underlying behavioral mechanisms. Finally, we include a user's guide and computer code scripts in R to facilitate use of the model by other researchers.

Patient preferences for osteoporosis in Spain: a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Darbà, J; Restovic, G; Kaskens, L; Balbona, M A; Carbonell, A; Cavero, P; Jordana, M; Prieto, C; Molina, A; Padró, I

2011-06-01

In Spain, various treatments are available to prevent osteoporotic fractures. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was used to investigate the importance of different treatment aspects and its influence on patients' preferences. All attributes included as type and place of drug administration as well as costs showed to be significant predictors of choice. Spanish osteoporosis patients have well-defined preferences and accept trade-offs among attributes. This study was designed to identify patient preferences for different aspects of osteoporosis treatments in Spain. Main attributes of severe osteoporosis treatments were determined by literature review and consultations with nurses. The discrete choice experiment included three attributes: type of drug administration, place of administration, plus a cost attribute in order to estimate willingness to pay for improvements in attribute levels. A pilot study with 50 patients was performed to identify the areas of misunderstanding. One hundred sixty-six patients with a diagnosis of osteoporosis and severe osteoporosis were presented with pairs of hypothetical treatment profiles with different type of administration levels, places of administration and costs. Questions to collect socio-demographic and disease-related treatment data were also included. Data were analysed using a random effects probit model. All attributes had the expected polarity and were significant predictors of choice. Patients were willing to pay 183 euro/month to have a subcutaneous injection once per day rather than an intravenous injection once per year. Patients with osteoporosis were willing to pay 121 euro/month to have medical support when administering the drug treatment at home rather than being admitted several hours to a hospital for drug administration. Spanish osteoporosis patients have well-defined preferences among treatment attributes and are willing to accept trade-offs among attributes. Participants indicated that they are willing to accept self medication with medical support rather than being hospitalised for several hours. The perspective of the patients should be taken into account when making treatment decisions.

What We Know about School Choice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Froese-Germain, Bernie

1998-01-01

School choice is a market-driven reform in which schools compete for students. Discusses characteristics of choice and lessons drawn from the international experience: increased segregation, unimproved learning, low participation, parental criteria, inequity, lack of options, administrative emphasis on management, and right-wing support. Describes…

[Woman's experience with the choice of the Billings Ovulation Method].

PubMed

de Magalhães, Adriana Cristina; Pereira, Daliane da Silva Alves; Jardim, Danúbia Mariane Barbosa; Caillaux, Michelle; Sales, Vinícius Bernardo Lemos

2013-01-01

This is a case study with a qualitative approach, carried out between February and November 2010 with 10 women, mean age of 34 years old, users of this Billings Ovulation Method (MOB) for over than two years, with the objective of understand the experience of women by choosing the MOB. Data was obtained from interviews, and analyzed through content analysis technique. The categories of analysis showed that the reasons for the choices of the MOB were: religion; natural method, and benefits of self-knowledge. It was concluded that women show confidence in carrying out the method, that it brings benefits for users and that there is a need for professional guidance for its correct practice.

Improving the experience of pregnancy and childbirth for deaf people and their families.

PubMed

Sporek, Paulina

2014-04-01

Deafness is unique in that it crosses barriers of age, gender, economic status and ethnicity. It is particularly complex in the context of the 'disabled/abled binary'. Generalisation is unhelpful since impairment is individualised and manifests itself in emotional, psychological, social and physical dimensions of a person's life. The 'Deaf Nest' project aims to improve deaf users' personal experience, equality of access, choice and control over maternity care. The implementation of clear guidance, an early assessment form, effective referrals, deaf awareness study days and 'Deaf Nest' support packs will result in improved deaf access to information, the ongoing assessment of need, improved health and lifestyle choices and greater family involvement.

Pre-registration paid employment choice: the views of newly qualified nurses.

PubMed

Phillips, Craig; Kenny, Amanda; Smith, Colleen; Esterman, Adrian

2012-01-01

In Australia, nurse education was transferred from hospital based nursing schools to the higher education sector. This transfer resulted in a change for students, from hospital employee to an unpaid, supernumerary role during professional placements. The majority of undergraduate nursing students now combine part time employment with their studies, working mainly within health settings or service sectors such as hospitality and retail. The aims of this study were to identify if newly qualified registered nurses engaged in paid employment during their final year of undergraduate studies, the types of employment they chose, reasons for that choice, skills acquired and their views on any link between employment choice and transition to practice. Focus group interviews involving sixty seven new graduates were conducted. From the data, four organising themes were identified; financial independence and autonomy, confidence and experience, future opportunity and ease of transition. The global theme maximising opportunity describes nurse's views about their decisions on student employment. Participants had differing views on employment choice and transition to practice. Further research is needed in the area to identify whether there is any link between student employment choice and transition to practice. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Money Earlier or Later? Simple Heuristics Explain Intertemporal Choices Better than Delay Discounting1

PubMed Central

Marzilli Ericson, Keith M.; White, John Myles; Laibson, David; Cohen, Jonathan D.

2015-01-01

Heuristic models have been proposed for many domains of choice. We compare heuristic models of intertemporal choice, which can account for many of the known intertemporal choice anomalies, to discounting models. We conduct an out-of-sample, cross-validated comparison of intertemporal choice models. Heuristic models outperform traditional utility discounting models, including models of exponential and hyperbolic discounting. The best performing models predict choices by using a weighted average of absolute differences and relative (percentage) differences of the attributes of the goods in a choice set. We conclude that heuristic models explain time-money tradeoff choices in experiments better than utility discounting models. PMID:25911124

Music Ensemble Participation: Personality Traits and Music Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torrance, Tracy A.; Bugos, Jennifer A.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to examine the relationship between personality type and ensemble choice and (2) to examine the differences in personality across age and music experience in young adults. Participants (N = 137; 68 instrumentalists, 69 vocalists) completed a demographic survey and the Big Five Personality Inventory.…

New Jersey Graduated Work Incentive Experiment. Summary Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathematica, Princeton, NJ.

The study is described as a carefully controlled field test of the effects on recipient families of eight different negative income tax or benefit formulas. The most striking finding was that observed changes in labor supply in response to the experimental payments were generally quite small. Chapter One, The Experiment: Background and Choices,…

Revealing a Child's Pathology: Physicians' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scelles, Regine; Aubert-Godard, Anne; Gargiulo, Marcela; Avant, Monique; Gortais, Jean

2010-01-01

In this study, 12 physicians and 12 care-givers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. We explored physicians' experiences when they revealed a diagnosis. We also tried to understand which family members the physician was thinking of, with whom they identified themselves, and their first choice of the person to whom they prefer to…

Forms of School Experience in France's Vocational Training Track Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capdevielle-Mougnibas, Valérie; Courtinat-Camps, Amélie

2017-01-01

This article examines the existing relations between the social background, the cognitive skills, the sense of schooling experience, the relation to learning and the professional project in the construction of the meaning of their course choice for French boys living in working-class families and guided to vocational studies. It presents the…

Exploring the Impact of Integrated Fieldwork, Reflective and Metacognitive Experiences on Student Environmental Learning Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ballantyne, Roy; Anderson, David; Packer, Jan

2010-01-01

Although the important role of providing fieldwork experiences for students in the natural environment is now well-established within environmental education literature, there is still little research evidence to guide teachers in their choice of effective teaching strategies. This paper presents findings from an interpretive case study designed…

Defining Continuous Improvement and Cost Minimization Possibilities through School Choice Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrifield, John

2009-01-01

Studies of existing best practices cannot determine whether the current "best" schooling practices could be even better, less costly, or more effective and/or improve at a faster rate, but we can discover a cost effective menu of schooling options and each item's minimum cost through market accountability experiments. This paper describes…

Parents' Experience with School Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zaich, Daniel Anthony

2013-01-01

This qualitative case study sought to understand the experiences of a group of parents residing in the Novato Unified School District, Marin County, CA., as they engaged in the process of deciding where to send their children to school as the students matriculated from eighth to ninth grade, or middle school to high school. The four major…

How can group experience influence the cue priority? A re-examination of the ambiguity-ambivalence hypothesis.

PubMed

Shimizu, Kazumi; Udagawa, Daisuke

2011-01-01

Since the discovery of the "framing effect" by Kahneman and Tversky, the sensitivity of the "framing effect" - its appearance and in some cases its disappearance - has long been an object of study. However there is little agreement as to the reasons for this sensitivity. The "ambiguity-ambivalence hypothesis" (Wang, 2008) aims to systematically explain the sensitivity of this effect by paying particular attention to people's cue priority: it states that the framing effect occurs when verbal framing is used to compensate for the absence of higher prioritized decision cues. The main purpose of our study is to examine and develop this hypothesis by examining cue priority given differences in people's "group experience." The main result is that the framing effect is absent when the choice problem is presented in a group context that reflects the actual size of the group that the participant has had experience with. Thus, in order to understand the choices that people make in life and death decisions, it is important to incorporate the decision maker's group experience explicitly into the ambiguity-ambivalence hypothesis.

Token reinforcement, choice, and self-control in pigeons.

PubMed Central

Jackson, K; Hackenberg, T D

1996-01-01

Pigeons were exposed to self-control procedures that involved illumination of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a form of token reinforcement. In a discrete-trials arrangement, subjects chose between one and three LEDs; each LED was exchangeable for 2-s access to food during distinct posttrial exchange periods. In Experiment 1, subjects generally preferred the immediate presentation of a single LED over the delayed presentation of three LEDs, but differences in the delay to the exchange period between the two options prevented a clear assessment of the relative influence of LED delay and exchange-period delay as determinants of choice. In Experiment 2, in which delays to the exchange period from either alternative were equal in most conditions, all subjects preferred the delayed three LEDs more often than in Experiment-1. In Experiment 3, subjects preferred the option that resulted in a greater amount of food more often if the choices also produced LEDs than if they did not. In Experiment 4, preference for the delayed three LEDs was obtained when delays to the exchange period were equal, but reversed in favor of an immediate single LED when the latter choice also resulted in quicker access to exchange periods. The overall pattern of results suggests that (a) delay to the exchange period is a more critical determinant of choice than is delay to token presentation; (b) tokens may function as conditioned reinforcers, although their discriminative properties may be responsible for the self-control that occurs under token reinforcer arrangements; and (c) previously reported differences in the self-control choices of humans and pigeons may have resulted at least in part from the procedural conventions of using token reinforcers with human subjects and food reinforcers with pigeon subjects. PMID:8755699

Sequencing actions: an information-search study of tradeoffs of priorities against spatiotemporal constraints.

PubMed

Gärling, T

1996-09-01

How people choose between sequences of actions was investigated in an everyday errand-planning task. In this task subjects chose the preferred sequence of performing a number of errands in a fictitious environment. Two experiments were conducted with undergraduate students serving as subjects. One group searched information about each alternative. The same information was directly available to another group. In Experiment 1 the results showed that for two errands subjects took into account all attributes describing the errands, thus suggesting a tradeoff between priority, wait time, and travel distance with priority being the most important. Consistent with this finding predominantly intraalternative information search was observed. These results were replicated in Experiment 2 for three errands. In addition choice outcomes, information search, and sequence of responding suggested that for more than two actions sequence choices are made in stages.

Is more choice always desirable? Evidence and arguments from leks, food selection, and environmental enrichment.

PubMed

Hutchinson, John M C

2005-02-01

Recent studies on humans show that too much choice can make subjects less likely to choose any item. I consider general adaptive and non-adaptive explanations of why such choice aversion, or its converse, might occur in animals. There are three questions: is more choice always preferred, does it ever lead to less consumption (or a lower probability of consumption), and may it result in worse items being selected ? A preference for choice is one of the main explanations for lek formation and I draw attention to previously unrecognised parallels with models of human shopping behaviour. There is indeed evidence of female preference for larger leks, although much of the observational data are open to other interpretations. Unfortunately nobody has looked for choice aversion where it is most to be expected, in leks larger than normally occur. Evidence that too much choice of males confuses females is strongest in acoustically advertising frogs, but the widespread decrease of mating skew in larger leks might also have this explanation. A model reanalyses data on skew in black grouse Tetrao tetrix and suggests that considering only a random subset of a large lek may increase the chances of selecting the better males: larger leks are more likely to include better males, but these are less likely to be selected. These opposing effects may lead to an optimum lek size, but only with a sufficient decline in choice accuracy with size. With food choice, very few studies have avoided confounding choice with food quality, by manipulating only flavour. The widespread phenomena of stimulus-specific satiety and novelty seeking imply that monotonous diets are aversive, but no studies test whether animals choose sites where they know food diversity to be greater. Operant experiments that demonstrate mild preferences for free choice concern choice about the means to get food rather than the food itself. In some insect species even moderate choice of diet can be deleterious, and studies on search images and the confusion effect may be evidence of this in vertebrates. Environmental enrichment of captive animals often relies on increasing the options available, but it need not be the choice itself that is beneficial. I consider briefly further areas in biology where choice preference or aversion are potentially important.

Choice.

PubMed

Greenberg, Jay

2008-09-01

Understanding how and why analysands make the choices they do is central to both the clinical and the theoretical projects of psychoanalysis. And yet we know very little about the process of choice or about the relationship between choices and motives. A striking parallel is to be found between the ways choice is narrated in ancient Greek texts and the experience of analysts as they observe patients making choices in everyday clinical work. Pursuing this convergence of classical and contemporary sensibilities will illuminate crucial elements of the various meanings of choice, and of the way that these meanings change over the course of psychoanalytic treatment.

Sandwiching it in: spillover of work onto food choices and family roles in low- and moderate-income urban households.

PubMed

Devine, Carol M; Connors, Margaret M; Sobal, Jeffery; Bisogni, Carole A

2003-02-01

Lower status jobs, high workloads and lack of control at work have been associated with less healthful diets, but the ways through which work is connected to food choices are not well understood. This analysis was an examination of workers' experience of the relationship of their jobs to their food choices. Fifty-one multi-ethnic, urban, low- and moderate-income adults living in Upstate New York in 1995 participated in a qualitative interview study of fruit and vegetable choices and discussed employment and food choices. The workers who participated in this study described a dynamic relationship between work and food choices that they experienced in the context of their other roles and values. These workers presented a relationship that was characterized by positive and negative spillover between their jobs and their ability to fulfill family roles and promote personal health, linked by a spectrum of food choice strategies. Participants' narratives fit into three different domains: characterizations of work and their resources for food choice, strategies used to manage food choices within the constraints of work, and affect related to the negative and positive spillover of these strategies on family roles and on personal food choices. Characterizations of work as demanding and limiting or demanding and manageable differentiated participants who experienced their food choice strategies as a source of guilt and dissatisfaction (negative spillover) from those who experienced food choices as a source of pride and satisfaction (positive spillover). Ideals and values related to food choice and health were balanced against other values for family closeness and nurturing and personal achievement. Some participants found work unproblematic. These findings direct attention to a broad conceptualization of the relationship of work to food choices in which the demands and resources of the work role are viewed as they spill over into the social and temporal context of other roles and values.

Impact of stimulus format and reward value on quantity discrimination in capuchin and squirrel monkeys.

PubMed

Gazes, Regina Paxton; Billas, Alison R; Schmitt, Vanessa

2018-03-01

Quantity discrimination abilities are seen in a diverse range of species with similarities in performance patterns, suggesting common underlying cognitive mechanisms. However, methodological factors that impact performance make it difficult to draw broad phylogenetic comparisons of numerical cognition across studies. For example, some Old World monkeys selected a higher quantity stimulus more frequently when choosing between inedible (pebbles) than edible (food) stimuli. In Experiment 1 we presented brown capuchin (Cebus [Sapajus] paella) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) with the same two-choice quantity discrimination task in three different stimulus conditions: edible, inedible, and edible replaced (in which choice stimuli were food items that stood in for the same quantity of food items that were given as a reward). Unlike Old World monkeys, capuchins selected the higher quantity stimulus more in the edible condition and squirrel monkeys showed generally poor performance across all stimulus types. Performance patterns suggested that differences in subjective reward value might motivate differences in choice behavior between and within species. In Experiment 2 we manipulated the subjective reinforcement value of the reward by varying reward type and delay to reinforcement and found that delay to reinforcement had no impact on choice behavior, while increasing the value of the reward significantly improved performance by both species. The results of this study indicate that species presented with identical tasks may respond differently to methodological factors such as stimulus and reward types, resulting in significant differences in choice behavior that may lead to spurious suggestions of species differences in cognitive abilities.

The evolution of mate choice: a dialogue between theory and experiment.

PubMed

Roff, Derek A

2015-12-01

Research on the evolution of mate choice has followed three avenues of investigation: (1) theoretical models of the evolution of preference and the preferred trait; (2) proposed models of mate choice; and (3) experiments and observations on mate choice, both in the laboratory and with free-ranging animals. However, there has been relatively little dialogue among these three areas. Most attempts to account for observations of mate choice using theoretical mate-choice models have focused only upon a subset of particular models and have generally failed to consider the difference between probabilistic and deterministic models. In this review, I outline the underlying reasoning of the commonly cited mate-choice models and review the conclusions of the empirical investigations. I present a brief outline of how one might go about testing these models. It remains uncertain if, in general, mate-choice models can be realistically analyzed. Although it is clear that females frequently discriminate among males, data also suggest that females may typically have a very limited number of males from which to choose. The extent to which female choice under natural conditions is relatively random because of limited opportunities remains an open question for the majority of species. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Group choice: the ideal free distribution of human social behavior.

PubMed

Kraft, J R; Baum, W M

2001-07-01

Group choice refers to the distribution of group members between two choice alternatives over time. The ideal free distribution (IFD), an optimal foraging model from behavioral ecology, predicts that the ratio of foragers at two resource sites should equal the ratio of obtained resources, a prediction that is formally analogous to the matching law of individual choice, except that group choice is a social phenomenon. Two experiments investigated the usefulness of IFD analyses of human group choice and individual-based explanations that might account for the group-level events. Instead of nonhuman animals foraging at two sites for resources, a group of humans chose blue and red cards to receive points that could earn cash prizes. The groups chose blue and red cards in ratios in positive relation to the ratios of points associated with the cards. When group choice ratios and point ratios were plotted on logarithmic coordinates and fitted with regression lines, the slopes (i.e., sensitivity measures) approached 1.0 but tended to fall short of it (i.e., undermatching), with little bias and little unaccounted for variance. These experiments demonstrate that an IFD analysis of group choice is possible and useful, and suggest that group choice may be explained by the individual members' tendency to optimize reinforcement.

Valence of emotions and moral decision-making: increased pleasantness to pleasant images and decreased unpleasantness to unpleasant images are associated with utilitarian choices in healthy adults

PubMed Central

Carmona-Perera, Martina; Martí-García, Celia; Pérez-García, Miguel; Verdejo-García, Antonio

2013-01-01

Moral decision-making is a key asset for humans’ integration in social contexts, and the way we decide about moral issues seems to be strongly influenced by emotions. For example, individuals with deficits in emotional processing tend to deliver more utilitarian choices (accepting an emotionally aversive action in favor of communitarian well-being). However, little is known about the association between emotional experience and moral-related patterns of choice. We investigated whether subjective reactivity to emotional stimuli, in terms of valence, arousal, and dominance, is associated with moral decision-making in 95 healthy adults. They answered to a set of moral and non-moral dilemmas and assessed emotional experience in valence, arousal and dominance dimensions in response to neutral, pleasant, unpleasant non-moral, and unpleasant moral pictures. Results showed significant correlations between less unpleasantness to negative stimuli, more pleasantness to positive stimuli and higher proportion of utilitarian choices. We also found a positive association between higher arousal ratings to negative moral laden pictures and more utilitarian choices. Low dominance was associated with greater perceived difficulty over moral judgment. These behavioral results are in fitting with the proposed role of emotional experience in moral choice. PMID:24133433

Valence of emotions and moral decision-making: increased pleasantness to pleasant images and decreased unpleasantness to unpleasant images are associated with utilitarian choices in healthy adults.

PubMed

Carmona-Perera, Martina; Martí-García, Celia; Pérez-García, Miguel; Verdejo-García, Antonio

2013-01-01

Moral decision-making is a key asset for humans' integration in social contexts, and the way we decide about moral issues seems to be strongly influenced by emotions. For example, individuals with deficits in emotional processing tend to deliver more utilitarian choices (accepting an emotionally aversive action in favor of communitarian well-being). However, little is known about the association between emotional experience and moral-related patterns of choice. We investigated whether subjective reactivity to emotional stimuli, in terms of valence, arousal, and dominance, is associated with moral decision-making in 95 healthy adults. They answered to a set of moral and non-moral dilemmas and assessed emotional experience in valence, arousal and dominance dimensions in response to neutral, pleasant, unpleasant non-moral, and unpleasant moral pictures. Results showed significant correlations between less unpleasantness to negative stimuli, more pleasantness to positive stimuli and higher proportion of utilitarian choices. We also found a positive association between higher arousal ratings to negative moral laden pictures and more utilitarian choices. Low dominance was associated with greater perceived difficulty over moral judgment. These behavioral results are in fitting with the proposed role of emotional experience in moral choice.

Mechanisms of impulsive choice: III. The role of reward processes

PubMed Central

Marshall, Andrew T.

2015-01-01

Two experiments examined the relationship between reward processing and impulsive choice. In Experiment 1, rats chose between a smaller-sooner (SS) reward (1 pellet, 10 s) and a larger-later (LL) reward (1, 2, and 4 pellets, 30 s). The rats then experienced concurrent variable-interval 30-s schedules with variations in reward magnitude to evaluate reward magnitude discrimination. LL choice behavior positively correlated with reward magnitude discrimination. In Experiment 2, rats chose between an SS reward (1 pellet, 10 s) and an LL reward (2 and 4 pellets, 30 s). The rats then received either a reward intervention which consisted of concurrent fixed-ratio schedules associated with different magnitudes to improve their reward magnitude discrimination, or a control task. All rats then experienced a post-intervention impulsive choice task followed by a reward magnitude discrimination task to assess intervention efficacy. The rats that received the intervention exhibited increases in post-intervention LL choice behavior, and made more responses for larger-reward magnitudes in the reward magnitude discrimination task, suggesting that the intervention heightened sensitivities to reward magnitude. The results suggest that reward magnitude discrimination plays a key role in individual differences in impulsive choice, and could be a potential target for further intervention developments. PMID:26506254

An Experimental Decision-Making Paradigm to Distinguish Guilt and Regret and Their Self-Regulating Function via Loss Averse Choice Behavior.

PubMed

Wagner, Ullrich; Handke, Lisa; Dörfel, Denise; Walter, Henrik

2012-01-01

Both guilt and regret typically result from counterfactual evaluations of personal choices that caused a negative outcome and are thought to regulate human decisions by people's motivation to avoid these emotions. Despite these similarities, studies asking people to describe typical situations of guilt and regret identified the social dimension as a fundamental distinguishing factor, showing that guilt but not regret specifically occurs for choices in interpersonal (social) contexts. However, an experimental paradigm to investigate this distinction systematically by inducing emotions of guilt and regret online is still missing. Here, extending existing procedures, we introduce such a paradigm, in which participants choose in each trial between two lotteries, with the outcome of the chosen lottery (gain or loss) being either assigned to themselves (intrapersonal trials) or to another person (interpersonal trials). After results of both the chosen and the unchosen lottery were shown, subjects rated how they felt about the outcome, including ratings of guilt and regret. Trait Guilt (TG) was determined for all participants in order to take their general inclination to experience guilt into account. Results confirmed that guilt but not regret specifically occurred in an interpersonal context. Percentages of loss averse choices (choosing the lottery with the lower possible monetary loss) were determined as indicators of regulation via guilt and regret avoidance. High TG scorers generally made more loss averse choices than low TG scorers, while trial-by-trial analyses showed that low TG scorers used their feelings of guilt more specifically to avoid the same emotional experience in subsequent choices. Our results confirm the social dimension as the critical factor distinguishing guilt from regret and identify TG as an important moderator determining the way in which guilt vs. regret can regulate their own occurrence by influencing choice strategies.

The effect of personal experience on choice-based preferences for wildfire protection programs

Treesearch

Tom Holmes; Armando Gonzalez-Caban; John Loomis; Jose Sanchez

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate homeowner preferences and willingness to pay for wildfire protection programs using a choice experiment with three attributes: risk, loss and cost. Preference heterogeneity among survey respondents was examined using three econometric models and risk preferences were evaluated by comparing willingness to pay for wildfire protection...

Investigating Student Choices in Performing Higher-Level Comprehension Tasks Using TED

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bianchi, Francesca; Marenzi, Ivana

2016-01-01

The current paper describes a first experiment in the use of TED talks and open tagging exercises to train higher-level comprehension skills, and of automatic logging of the student's actions to investigate the student choices while performing analytical tasks. The experiment took advantage of an interactive learning platform--LearnWeb--that…

Dopamine prediction error responses integrate subjective value from different reward dimensions

PubMed Central

Lak, Armin; Stauffer, William R.; Schultz, Wolfram

2014-01-01

Prediction error signals enable us to learn through experience. These experiences include economic choices between different rewards that vary along multiple dimensions. Therefore, an ideal way to reinforce economic choice is to encode a prediction error that reflects the subjective value integrated across these reward dimensions. Previous studies demonstrated that dopamine prediction error responses reflect the value of singular reward attributes that include magnitude, probability, and delay. Obviously, preferences between rewards that vary along one dimension are completely determined by the manipulated variable. However, it is unknown whether dopamine prediction error responses reflect the subjective value integrated from different reward dimensions. Here, we measured the preferences between rewards that varied along multiple dimensions, and as such could not be ranked according to objective metrics. Monkeys chose between rewards that differed in amount, risk, and type. Because their choices were complete and transitive, the monkeys chose “as if” they integrated different rewards and attributes into a common scale of value. The prediction error responses of single dopamine neurons reflected the integrated subjective value inferred from the choices, rather than the singular reward attributes. Specifically, amount, risk, and reward type modulated dopamine responses exactly to the extent that they influenced economic choices, even when rewards were vastly different, such as liquid and food. This prediction error response could provide a direct updating signal for economic values. PMID:24453218

Career choices for paediatrics: national surveys of graduates of 1974-2002 from UK medical schools.

PubMed

Turner, G; Lambert, T W; Goldacre, M J; Turner, Steve

2007-05-01

Knowledge of UK doctors' career intentions and pathways is essential for understanding future workforce requirements. The aim of this study was to report career choices for and career progression in paediatrics in the UK. Postal questionnaire surveys of qualifiers from all UK medical schools in nine qualification years since 1974. In total, 74% (24 621/33 412) and 73% (20 720/28 459) of doctors responded at 1 and 3 years after graduation. Choices for paediatrics 1 year after qualifying fell from 7.8% of 1974 graduates to 5.0% of 1983 graduates, increased to 7.2% of 1993 graduates, and since the level has remained fairly constant. Approximately twice the percentage of women graduates than men graduates indicated a long-term career choice for paediatrics. A total of 44% of those who chose paediatrics 1 year after graduation were working in it 10 years after qualifying. Experience of the subject as a student, and enthusiasm/commitment: what I really want to do, affected long-term career choices more for paediatrics than for other medical careers. The proportion of junior doctors wishing to become paediatricians has not changed much during the last 30 years. The planned increase in the number of medical school graduates is necessary to increase the number of UK-trained consultant paediatricians. Medical students who experience enthusiastic and stimulating training in paediatrics may be more likely to become paediatricians.

Do the right thing: the assumption of optimality in lay decision theory and causal judgment.

PubMed

Johnson, Samuel G B; Rips, Lance J

2015-03-01

Human decision-making is often characterized as irrational and suboptimal. Here we ask whether people nonetheless assume optimal choices from other decision-makers: Are people intuitive classical economists? In seven experiments, we show that an agent's perceived optimality in choice affects attributions of responsibility and causation for the outcomes of their actions. We use this paradigm to examine several issues in lay decision theory, including how responsibility judgments depend on the efficacy of the agent's actual and counterfactual choices (Experiments 1-3), individual differences in responsibility assignment strategies (Experiment 4), and how people conceptualize decisions involving trade-offs among multiple goals (Experiments 5-6). We also find similar results using everyday decision problems (Experiment 7). Taken together, these experiments show that attributions of responsibility depend not only on what decision-makers do, but also on the quality of the options they choose not to take. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating psychological markers for human nicotine dependence: tobacco choice, extinction, and Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer.

PubMed

Hogarth, Lee; Chase, Henry W

2012-06-01

Individual differences in drug dependence may be mediated by several abnormalities in associative learning, including perseveration of drug-seeking following contingency change, greater control over drug-seeking by Pavlovian stimuli, or greater sensitivity to drug reinforcement establishing higher rates of drug-seeking. To evaluate these three candidate markers for nicotine dependence, Experiment 1 contrasted daily (N = 22) and nondaily smoker groups (N = 22) on a novel instrumental learning task, where one S+ was first trained as a predictor of tobacco reward before being extinguished. Experiment 2 compared daily (N = 18) and nondaily smoker groups (N = 18) on a concurrent-choice task for tobacco and chocolate reward before an extinction test in which the tobacco response was extinguished, followed by a Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer test, wherein the impact of tobacco and chocolate cues on concurrent choice was measured (gender was balanced within each smoker group). The results showed no group difference in sensitivity to extinction of either the stimulus-drug or response-drug contingency in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively, nor did groups show a difference in Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer of control over tobacco choice. By contrast, nicotine-dependence status was marked by a higher frequency of tobacco choice in the concurrent-choice procedure, and this choice preference was associated with subjective craving (gender did not affect any behavioral measure). These results favor the view that nicotine dependence in this sample is not determined by individual predilection for perseveration or stimulus-control over drug-seeking, but by greater sensitivity to reinforcement of instrumental drug choice. Value-based decision theories of dependence are discussed.

Physician specialty and the quality of medical care experiences in the context of the Taiwan national health insurance system.

PubMed

Tsai, Jenna; Shi, Leiyu; Yu, Wei-Lung; Hung, Li-Mei; Lebrun, Lydie A

2010-01-01

Based on a recent patient survey from Taiwan, where there is universal health insurance coverage and unrestricted physician choice, this study examined the relationship between physician specialty and the quality of primary medical care experiences. We assessed ambulatory patients' experiences with medical care using the Primary Care Assessment Tool, representing 7 primary care domains: first contact (ie, accessibility and utilization); longitudinality (ie, ongoing care); coordination (ie, referrals and information systems); comprehensiveness (ie, services available and provided); family centeredness; community orientation; and cultural competence. Having a primary care physician was significantly associated with patients reporting higher quality of primary care experiences. Specifically, relative to specialty care physicians, primary care physicians enhanced accessibility, achieved better community orientation and cultural competence, and provided more comprehensive services. In an area with universal health insurance and unrestricted physician choice, ambulatory patients of primary care physicians rated their medical care experiences as superior to those of patients of specialists. In addition to providing health insurance coverage, promoting primary care should be included as a health policy to improve patients' quality of ambulatory medical care experiences.

Choice of hunting site as a consequence of experience in late-instar crab spiders.

PubMed

Morse, Douglass H

1999-08-01

Earlier experiences may play an important role in the choice of hunting sites, but their effects on the foraging repertoire of most animals remain poorly understood. I tested the role of previous flower choices (hunting sites) by penultimate-instar female crab spiders Misumena vatia in making subsequent patch-choice decisions. M. vatia is a sit-and-wait predator, and the two flower species used, ox-eye daisy Chrysanthemum leucanthemum and common buttercup Ranunculus acris, are important hunting sites. Spiders with different immediate experience showed similar short-term (<1 day) giving-up times on the two flower species, independent of their previous substrate. However, four-fifths of the individuals that remained a day or longer tended to leave buttercups sooner than daisies, especially if they had previously occupied daisies. Thus they may directly assess the quality of a potential hunting site, perhaps in response to prey abundance, but previous experience may play a minor role as well. Of spiders that made several consecutive choices of hunting sites, those on daisies often confined these runs to daisies (one of two years); those on buttercups did not exhibit comparable fidelity. Spiders molting into the adult stage almost always subsequently chose the same flower species (either daisy or buttercup) as the one on which they molted. Thus, juvenile experiences may influence adults, the critical stage when virtually all of the spiders' reproductive resources are gathered, even if this resulted from imprinting on their molt sites rather than carrying information over the molt.

Cuttlefish dynamic camouflage: responses to substrate choice and integration of multiple visual cues.

PubMed

Allen, Justine J; Mäthger, Lydia M; Barbosa, Alexandra; Buresch, Kendra C; Sogin, Emilia; Schwartz, Jillian; Chubb, Charles; Hanlon, Roger T

2010-04-07

Prey camouflage is an evolutionary response to predation pressure. Cephalopods have extensive camouflage capabilities and studying them can offer insight into effective camouflage design. Here, we examine whether cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, show substrate or camouflage pattern preferences. In the first two experiments, cuttlefish were presented with a choice between different artificial substrates or between different natural substrates. First, the ability of cuttlefish to show substrate preference on artificial and natural substrates was established. Next, cuttlefish were offered substrates known to evoke three main camouflage body pattern types these animals show: Uniform or Mottle (function by background matching); or Disruptive. In a third experiment, cuttlefish were presented with conflicting visual cues on their left and right sides to assess their camouflage response. Given a choice between substrates they might encounter in nature, we found no strong substrate preference except when cuttlefish could bury themselves. Additionally, cuttlefish responded to conflicting visual cues with mixed body patterns in both the substrate preference and split substrate experiments. These results suggest that differences in energy costs for different camouflage body patterns may be minor and that pattern mixing and symmetry may play important roles in camouflage.

Determining Preferences Related to HIV Counselling and Testing Services Among High School Learners in KwaZulu-Natal: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

PubMed

Strauss, Michael; George, Gavin L; Rhodes, Bruce D

2018-01-01

A key strategy of the South African national response to HIV is the scale-up of HIV counselling and testing (HCT) in the 15-49 years age group. The integrated school health policy aims to guide the roll out of youth-friendly health services including the provision of HCT in schools. Using a discrete choice experiment to examine preferences regarding the attributes of HCT service packages, this study identifies barriers to and facilitators of HCT among high school learners. Monetary considerations were found to have the strongest effect of any attribute on choice, whilst confidentiality was found to be a primary concern for learners considering HCT. Policy makers and service providers must ensure that confidentiality is maintained, and could consider using monetary incentives as a way of increasing uptake of HCT. Programmes designed to reduce social stigma and improve education and knowledge dissemination around HCT and HIV, are vital in creating demand for HCT and changing attitudes among young people.

Measuring stroke patients' exercise preferences using a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Geidl, Wolfgang; Knocke, Katja; Schupp, Wilfried; Pfeifer, Klaus

2018-03-30

Physical activity post stroke improves health, yet physical inactivity is highly prevalent. Tailored exercise programs considering physical activity preferences are a promising approach to promote physical activity. Therefore, this study seeks to measure exercise preferences of stroke survivors. Stroke survivors conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE). DCE was presented in a face-to-face interview where patients had to choose eight times between two different exercise programs. Exercise programs differed by characteristics, with the six attributes under consideration being social situation, location, type of exercise, intensity, frequency, and duration. Utilities of the exercise attributes were estimated with a logit choice model. Stroke survivors (n=103, mean age: 67, SD=13.0; 60% male) show significant differences in the rated utilities of the exercise attributes (P<0.001). Participants had strong preferences for light and moderate intense physical activity and favored shorter exercise sessions. Stroke survivors have remarkable exercise preferences especially for intensity and duration of exercise. Results contribute to the tailoring of physical activity programs after stroke thereby facilitating maintenance of physical activity.

Cave spiders choose optimal environmental factors with respect to the generated entropy when laying their cocoon

PubMed Central

Chiavazzo, Eliodoro; Isaia, Marco; Mammola, Stefano; Lepore, Emiliano; Ventola, Luigi; Asinari, Pietro; Pugno, Nicola Maria

2015-01-01

The choice of a suitable area to spiders where to lay eggs is promoted in terms of Darwinian fitness. Despite its importance, the underlying factors behind this key decision are generally poorly understood. Here, we designed a multidisciplinary study based both on in-field data and laboratory experiments focusing on the European cave spider Meta menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) and aiming at understanding the selective forces driving the female in the choice of the depositional area. Our in-field data analysis demonstrated a major role of air velocity and distance from the cave entrance within a particular cave in driving the female choice. This has been interpreted using a model based on the Entropy Generation Minimization - EGM - method, without invoking best fit parameters and thanks to independent lab experiments, thus demonstrating that the female chooses the depositional area according to minimal level of thermo-fluid-dynamic irreversibility. This methodology may pave the way to a novel approach in understanding evolutionary strategies for other living organisms. PMID:25556697

Evaluating residents' preferences for remediation technologies: A choice experiment approach.

PubMed

Huynh, Elisabeth; Araña, Jorge E; Prior, Jason

2018-04-15

The choice of technologies used to remediate contaminated environments is increasingly made through engagement with a multitude of stakeholders including affected residents. Despite this, little is known about how residents perceive remediation technology applications. In this study a choice experiment is designed to explore ways of understanding and measuring residents' preferences for different remediation technologies approaches using a sample of 944 residents in New South Wales, Australia. Analysis reveals that the residents' acceptability of remediation technologies can be explained by both the efficacy of the technology in improving the environmental quality of the community, and the reputational value of the technology. In particular it is found that residents prefer Monitor Natural Attenuation and Bioremediation to other remediation technologies. In particular they are willing to pay an increase in yearly taxes of $44.60 and $41.15 respectively for implementing such technologies instead of alternative remediation technologies like Chemical remediation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Red Color and Risk-Taking Behavior in Online Environments.

PubMed

Gnambs, Timo; Appel, Markus; Oeberst, Aileen

2015-01-01

In many situations red is associated with hazard and danger. As a consequence, it was expected that task-irrelevant color cues in online environments would affect risk-taking behaviors. This assumption was tested in two web-based experiments. The first study (N = 383) demonstrated that in risky choice dilemmas respondents preferred the less risky option when the displayed university logo was in red (versus gray); but only when both choice alternatives were at least moderately risky. The second study (N = 144) replicated these results with a behavioral outcome: Respondents showed more cautious behavior in a web-based game when the focal stimuli were colored red (versus blue). Together, these findings demonstrate that variations in the color design of a computerized environment affect risk taking: Red color leads to more conservative choices and behaviors.

Are dogs (Canis familiaris) misled more by their owners than by strangers in a food choice task?

PubMed

Marshall-Pescini, S; Prato-Previde, E; Valsecchi, P

2011-01-01

Dogs are highly skilled in understanding a large variety of human social cues and use them appropriately to solve a number of different cognitive tasks. They rely on human signals even when these are contradictory or misleading and ultimately prevent them from correctly solving a task. In the following two experiments, we investigated whether the owner and a stranger differently influenced dogs' choices in food discrimination tasks. In Experiment 1, 48 dogs were tested in 3 different conditions: (1) choice between a large and a small amount of dog pellets with no demonstration; (2) choice between a large and a small amount of dog pellets after having witnessed the owner/stranger favouring the small quantity; (3) choice between two single food pellets after observing the owner/stranger choosing one of them. In Experiment 2, 48 dogs could choose between two foods of different palatability: in Condition 1, dogs chose between a slice of sausage and a dry pellet with no demonstration. In Condition 2, the same choice was available but with a person (owner/stranger) showing a preference for the dry pellet. In Condition 3, dogs chose between a single dry pellet and 8 slices of sausage, with the person (owner/stranger) showing a preference for the pellet. In both experiments, dogs conformed to the human's indications even though these led to the selection of the less advantageous option (i.e. the smaller amount of food in Experiment 1 or the low quality food in Experiment 2). However, the owner and the stranger did not differently influence the dogs' behaviour. Results show that dogs are willing to follow a person's indication even when this is visibly (if perhaps only mildly) counterproductive to them and that they are socially prepared to rely equally on cues given by the owner and an unfamiliar friendly person.

Women in construction management: Creating a theory of career choice and development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Jennifer Dawn

2006-12-01

The purpose of this study was to create a theory of women's career choice and development in the context of the construction industry. Focused on female constructors, or those engaged in the management of construction projects or companies, this study investigated the relevant factors, processes, and experiences of women who choose to enter the construction industry through construction management degree programs. The goal was to communicate as a theoretically and practically grounded theory of career choice and development an understanding of who female constructors are and those factors which led them to the construction industry and those influencing their career development. As a grounded theory research design, qualitative research methods were employed as the primary means of collecting and analyzing data. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to garner a sample of 24 women who had graduated within a ten year period and were actively employed as constructors. Participants' views and experiences, captured through small focus group interviews, were analyzed with quantitative data of demographics, education, construction experience, self-efficacy, personality, and career satisfaction and commitment gathered from a written questionnaire, to create a profile of female constructors used in this theory. The profiles completed from these data are complex, providing for an extensive understanding of their career choice and development process. The strongest common characteristic in the career development of these women was a mentor. This influence in cannot be overlooked, especially in light of the rather constant sense of isolation many of these women expressed as a significant minority in every facet of their careers. Recommendations for academia and industry are in many ways related to these findings. Recommendations for recruitment center on educating youth and those able to influence the career choice making process of youth about the career paths available within the construction industry. Suggestions for retention centered on: (a) the need for mentoring programs and support networks, and (b) modification of industry demands to allow for a better work-family balance. In all, this study provides insights and recommendations for those focused on attracting, hiring, and retaining the employees necessary to meet ever-increasing staffing demands.

Experience theory, or How desserts are like losses.

PubMed

Martin, Jolie M; Reimann, Martin; Norton, Michael I

2016-11-01

Although many experiments have explored risk preferences for money, few have systematically assessed risk preferences for everyday experiences. We propose a conceptual model and provide convergent evidence from 7 experiments to suggest that, in contrast to a typical "zero" reference point for choices on money, reference points for choices of experiences are set at more extreme outcomes, leading to concave utility for negative experiences but convex utility for positive experiences. As a result, people are more risk-averse for negative experiences such as disgusting foods-as for monetary gains-but more risk-seeking for positive experiences such as desserts-as for monetary losses. These risk preferences for experiences are robust to different methods of elicitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

An investigation of factors affecting elementary female student teachers' choice of science as a major at college level in Zimbabwe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mlenga, Francis Howard

The purpose of the study was to determine factors affecting elementary female student teachers' choice of science as a major at college level in Zimbabwe. The study was conducted at one of the Primary School Teachers' Colleges in Zimbabwe. A sample of two hundred and thirty-eight female student teachers was used in the study. Of these one hundred and forty-two were non-science majors who had been randomly selected, forty-one were science majors and forty-five were math majors. Both science and math majors were a convenient sample because the total enrollment of the two groups was small. All the subjects completed a survey questionnaire that had sixty-eight items. Ten students from the non-science majors were selected for individual interviews and the same was done for the science majors. A further eighteen were selected from the non-science majors and divided into three groups of six each for focus group interviews. The same was done for the science majors. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Data from the survey questionnaires were analyzed using Binary Logistic Regression which predicted factors that affected students' choice of science as a major. The transcribed interview data were analyzed used using domain, taxonomic and componential analyses. Results of the study indicated that elementary female students' choice of science as a major at college level is affected by students' attitudes toward science, teacher behavior, out-of-school experiences, role models, gender stereotyping, parental influence, peer influence, in-school experiences, and societal expectations, namely cultural and social expectations.

The Association between Freedom of Choice and Effectiveness of Home Care Services.

PubMed

Steffansson, Marina; Pulliainen, Marjo; Kettunen, Aija; Linnosmaa, Ismo; Halonen, Miikka

2016-03-31

The aim of this paper is to study home care clients' freedom to choose their services, as well the association between the effectiveness of home care services and freedom of choice, among other factors. A structured postal survey was conducted among regular home care clients (n = 2096) aged 65 or older in three towns in Finland. Freedom of choice was studied based on clients' subjective experiences. The effectiveness of the services was evaluated by means of changes in the social-care-related quality of life. Regression analyses were used to test associations. As much as 62% of home care recipients reported having some choice regarding their services. Choosing meals and visiting times for the care worker were associated with better effectiveness. The basic model, which included needs and other factors expected to have an impact on quality of life, explained 15.4% of the changes in quality of life, while the extended model, which included the freedom-of-choice variables, explained 17.4%. The inclusion of freedom-of-choice variables increased the adjusted coefficient of determination by 2%. There was a significant positive association between freedom of choice and the effectiveness of public home care services. Freedom of choice does not exist for all clients of home care who desire it. By changing social welfare activities and structures, it is possible to show respect for clients' opinions and to thereby improve the effectiveness of home care services.

The Association between Freedom of Choice and Effectiveness of Home Care Services

PubMed Central

Pulliainen, Marjo; Kettunen, Aija; Linnosmaa, Ismo; Halonen, Miikka

2016-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to study home care clients’ freedom to choose their services, as well the association between the effectiveness of home care services and freedom of choice, among other factors. Methods: A structured postal survey was conducted among regular home care clients (n = 2096) aged 65 or older in three towns in Finland. Freedom of choice was studied based on clients’ subjective experiences. The effectiveness of the services was evaluated by means of changes in the social-care-related quality of life. Regression analyses were used to test associations. Results: As much as 62% of home care recipients reported having some choice regarding their services. Choosing meals and visiting times for the care worker were associated with better effectiveness. The basic model, which included needs and other factors expected to have an impact on quality of life, explained 15.4% of the changes in quality of life, while the extended model, which included the freedom-of-choice variables, explained 17.4%. The inclusion of freedom-of-choice variables increased the adjusted coefficient of determination by 2%. There was a significant positive association between freedom of choice and the effectiveness of public home care services. Conclusion: Freedom of choice does not exist for all clients of home care who desire it. By changing social welfare activities and structures, it is possible to show respect for clients’ opinions and to thereby improve the effectiveness of home care services. PMID:27616949

Factors affecting choice of sponsoring institution for residency among medical students in Singapore.

PubMed

Ng, Chew Lip; Liu, Xuan Dao; Murali Govind, Renuka; Tan, Jonathan Wei Jian; Ooi, Shirley Beng Suat; Archuleta, Sophia

2018-03-16

Postgraduate medical education in Singapore underwent major transition recently, from a British-style system and accreditation to a competency-based residency programme modelled after the American system. We aimed to identify the relative importance of factors influencing the choice of residency sponsoring institutions (SIs) among medical students during this transition period. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of Singaporean undergraduate medical students across all years of study was performed in 2011. Participants rated 45 factors (including research, academia and education, marketing, reputation of faculty, working conditions, posting experience and influence by peers/seniors) for degree of importance to their choice of SIs on a five-point Likert scale. Differences with respect to gender and seniority were compared. 705 of 1,274 students completed the survey (response rate 55.3%). The top five influencing factors were guidance by mentor (4.48 ± 0.74), reputation for good teaching (4.46 ± 0.76), personal overall experience in SIs (4.41 ± 0.88), quality of mentorship and supervision (4.41 ± 0.75), and quality and quantity of teaching (4.37 ± 0.78). The five lowest-rated factors were social networking (2.91 ± 1.00), SI security (3.01 ± 1.07), open house impact (3.15 ± 0.96), advertising paraphernalia (3.17 ± 0.95) and research publications (3.21 ± 1.00). Female students attributed more importance to security and positive work environment. Preclinical students rated research and marketing aspects more highly while clinical students valued positive work environment more. Quality of education, mentorship, experiences during clerkship and positive working environment were the most important factors influencing the choice of SIs.

The use of choice experiments in the analysis of tourist preferences for ecotourism development in Costa Rica.

PubMed

Hearne, Robert R; Salinas, Zenia M

2002-06-01

Many nations promote nature-based tourism in order to promote the dual goals of nature conservation and income generation. To be most effective in providing services that facilitate achievement of these goals, decision makers will need to understand and incorporate tourist preferences for nature appreciation, infrastructure, use restrictions, and other attributes of national parks and protected areas. This paper presents the use of choice experiments as a mechanism to analyze preferences of national and international tourists in relation to the development of Barva Volcano Area in Costa Rica. In this section of the Braulio Carrillo National Park, managers are faced with an immediate need to plan for greatly increased visitation rates due to a new road, which will greatly improve access. Choice sets were developed in collaboration with park managers. A survey was conducted of 171 Costa Rican and 271 foreign tourists who visited Poás Volcano, a well-visited alternative site to Barva Volcano. Survey data was analyzed using conditional multinomial logit models. Results of the study demonstrate, that both sets of tourists preferred: (i) improved infrastructure; (ii) aerial trams with observation towers and picnic areas; (iii) more information; and (iv) low entrance fees. Foreign tourists demonstrated strong preferences for the inclusion of restrictions in the access to some trails, whereas Costa Ricans did not show any significant preference for restrictions. Marginal willingness-to-pay for greater information was estimated to be $1.54 for foreign tourists and $1.01 for Costa Rican visitors. The study concludes that choice experiments are a useful tool in the analyses of tourist preferences for the development of protected areas in developing countries.

Engagement in decision-making and patient satisfaction: a qualitative study of older patients' perceptions of dialysis initiation and modality decisions.

PubMed

Ladin, Keren; Lin, Naomi; Hahn, Emily; Zhang, Gregory; Koch-Weser, Susan; Weiner, Daniel E

2017-08-01

Although shared decision-making (SDM) can better align patient preferences with treatment, barriers remain incompletely understood and the impact on patient satisfaction is unknown. This is a qualitative study with semistructured interviews. A purposive sample of prevalent dialysis patients ≥65 years of age at two facilities in Greater Boston were selected for diversity in time from initiation, race, modality and vintage. A codebook was developed and interrater reliability was 89%. Codes were discussed and organized into themes. A total of 31 interviews with 23 in-center hemodialysis patients, 1 home hemodialysis patient and 7 peritoneal dialysis patients were completed. The mean age was 76 ± 9 years. Two dominant themes (with related subthemes) emerged: decision-making experiences and satisfaction, and barriers to SDM. Subthemes included negative versus positive decision-making experiences, struggling for autonomy, being a 'good patient' and lack of choice. In spite of believing that dialysis initiation should be the patient's choice, no patients perceived that they had made a choice. Patients explained that this is due to the perception of imminent death or that the decision to start dialysis belonged to physicians. Clinicians and family frequently overrode patient preferences, with patient autonomy honored mostly to select dialysis modality. Poor decision-making experiences were associated with low treatment satisfaction. Despite recommendations for SDM, many older patients were unaware that dialysis initiation was voluntary, held mistaken beliefs about their prognosis and were not engaged in decision-making, resulting in poor satisfaction. Patients desired greater information, specifically focusing on the acuity of their choice, prognosis and goals of care. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of ERA-EDTA. All rights reserved.

Beyond traffic : the smart city challenge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Beyond Traffic 2045: Trends and Choices study indicates that many communities will experience rapid population increases and rapidly growing demands on their transportation infrastructure in the next few ...

A Multiple-Choice Task with Changes of Mind

PubMed Central

Albantakis, Larissa; Branzi, Francesca M.; Costa, Albert; Deco, Gustavo

2012-01-01

The role of changes of mind and multiple choices has recently received increased attention in the study of perceptual decision-making. Previously, these extensions to standard two-alternative tasks have been studied separately. Here we explored how changes of mind depend on the number of choice-alternatives. To this end, we tested 14 human subjects on a 2- and 4-alternative direction-discrimination task. Changes of mind in the participants' movement trajectories could be observed for two and for four choice alternatives. With fewer alternatives, participants responded faster and more accurately. The frequency of changes of mind, however, did not significantly differ for the different numbers of choice alternatives. Nevertheless, mind-changing improved the participants' final performance, particularly for intermediate difficulty levels, in both experimental conditions. Moreover, the mean reaction times of individual participants were negatively correlated with their overall tendency to make changes of mind. We further reproduced these findings with a multi-alternative attractor model for decision-making, while a simple race model could not account for the experimental data. Our experiment, combined with the theoretical models allowed us to shed light on: (1) the differences in choice behavior between two and four alternatives, (2) the differences between the data of our human subjects and previous monkey data, (3) individual differences between participants, and (4) the inhibitory interaction between neural representations of choice alternatives. PMID:22916216

Considering Roads Taken and Not Taken: How Psychological Distance Influences the Framing of Choice Events.

PubMed

Valenti, Greta; Libby, Lisa K

2017-09-01

After people make choices, they can frame the choice event in terms of what they chose, or in terms of what they did not choose. The current research proposes psychological distance as one factor influencing this framing and suggests implications. Three experiments manipulated dimensions of distance to demonstrate people's greater tendency to frame choice events in terms of chosen options at greater psychological distances. Additional findings demonstrate that these effects occur regardless of whether the decision turned out well or poorly. In a final experiment, framing a decision in terms of choosing (versus not choosing) a task made people more likely to believe their choice reflected their liking for the chosen task, which led to more favorable expectations for it. The discussion focuses on possible implications of these findings for understanding prior work on self-other differences in decision making, motivations for past decisions, reactions to decision outcomes, and counterfactual thinking.

The impact of choice on retributive reactions: how observers' autonomy concerns shape responses to criminal offenders.

PubMed

van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; Kerpershoek, Emiel F P

2013-06-01

The present research examined the psychological origins of retributive reactions, which are defined as independent observers' anger-based emotions, demonized perceptions, and punishment intentions in response to criminal offenders. Based on the idea that society's justice system has an autonomy-protective function, we reason that chronic autonomy interacts with situational autonomy cues (i.e., opportunities to make choices) to predict retributive reactions to criminal offenders. More specifically, we hypothesized that choice opportunities in an unrelated decision-making context would prompt people to display stronger retributive reactions to offenders than no-choice opportunities, and that these effects of choice would be particularly pronounced among people who chronically experience deprivation of autonomy needs. Results from two experiments supported this hypothesis. It is concluded that retributive reactions to criminal offenders originate from a desire to regulate basic autonomy needs. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

Optimal Decision Stimuli for Risky Choice Experiments: An Adaptive Approach

PubMed Central

Cavagnaro, Daniel R.; Gonzalez, Richard; Myung, Jay I.; Pitt, Mark A.

2014-01-01

Collecting data to discriminate between models of risky choice requires careful selection of decision stimuli. Models of decision making aim to predict decisions across a wide range of possible stimuli, but practical limitations force experimenters to select only a handful of them for actual testing. Some stimuli are more diagnostic between models than others, so the choice of stimuli is critical. This paper provides the theoretical background and a methodological framework for adaptive selection of optimal stimuli for discriminating among models of risky choice. The approach, called Adaptive Design Optimization (ADO), adapts the stimulus in each experimental trial based on the results of the preceding trials. We demonstrate the validity of the approach with simulation studies aiming to discriminate Expected Utility, Weighted Expected Utility, Original Prospect Theory, and Cumulative Prospect Theory models. PMID:24532856

Replication Rate, Framing, and Format Affect Attitudes and Decisions about Science Claims.

PubMed

Barnes, Ralph M; Tobin, Stephanie J; Johnston, Heather M; MacKenzie, Noah; Taglang, Chelsea M

2016-01-01

A series of five experiments examined how the evaluation of a scientific finding was influenced by information about the number of studies that had successfully replicated the initial finding. The experiments also tested the impact of frame (negative, positive) and numeric format (percentage, natural frequency) on the evaluation of scientific findings. In Experiments 1 through 4, an attitude difference score served as the dependent measure, while a measure of choice served as the dependent measure in Experiment 5. Results from a diverse sample of 188 non-institutionalized U.S. adults (Experiment 2) and 730 undergraduate college students (Experiments 1, 3, and 4) indicated that attitudes became more positive as the replication rate increased and attitudes were more positive when the replication information was framed positively. The results also indicate that the manner in which replication rate was framed had a greater impact on attitude than the replication rate itself. The large effect for frame was attenuated somewhat when information about replication was presented in the form of natural frequencies rather than percentages. A fifth study employing 662 undergraduate college students in a task in which choice served as the dependent measure confirmed the framing effect and replicated the replication rate effect in the positive frame condition, but provided no evidence that the use of natural frequencies diminished the effect.

Cognitive dissonance resolution is related to episodic memory.

PubMed

Salti, Moti; El Karoui, Imen; Maillet, Mathurin; Naccache, Lionel

2014-01-01

The notion that our past choices affect our future behavior is certainly one of the most influential concepts of social psychology since its first experimental report in the 50 s, and its initial theorization by Festinger within the "cognitive dissonance" framework. Using the free choice paradigm (FCP), it was shown that choosing between two similarly rated items made subjects reevaluate the chosen items as more attractive and the rejected items as less attractive. However, in 2010 a major work by Chen and Risen revealed a severe statistical flaw casting doubt on most previous studies. Izuma and colleagues (2010) supplemented the traditional FCP with original control conditions and concluded that the effect observed could not be solely attributed to this methodological flaw. In the present work we aimed at establishing the existence of genuine choice-induced preference change and characterizing this effect. To do so, we replicated Izuma et al.' study and added a new important control condition which was absent from the original study. Moreover, we added a memory test in order to measure the possible relation between episodic memory of choices and observed behavioral effects. In two experiments we provide experimental evidence supporting genuine choice-induced preference change obtained with FCP. We also contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon by showing that choice-induced preference change effects are strongly correlated with episodic memory.

Cognitive Dissonance Resolution Is Related to Episodic Memory

PubMed Central

Maillet, Mathurin; Naccache, Lionel

2014-01-01

The notion that our past choices affect our future behavior is certainly one of the most influential concepts of social psychology since its first experimental report in the 50 s, and its initial theorization by Festinger within the “cognitive dissonance” framework. Using the free choice paradigm (FCP), it was shown that choosing between two similarly rated items made subjects reevaluate the chosen items as more attractive and the rejected items as less attractive. However, in 2010 a major work by Chen and Risen revealed a severe statistical flaw casting doubt on most previous studies. Izuma and colleagues (2010) supplemented the traditional FCP with original control conditions and concluded that the effect observed could not be solely attributed to this methodological flaw. In the present work we aimed at establishing the existence of genuine choice-induced preference change and characterizing this effect. To do so, we replicated Izuma et al.’ study and added a new important control condition which was absent from the original study. Moreover, we added a memory test in order to measure the possible relation between episodic memory of choices and observed behavioral effects. In two experiments we provide experimental evidence supporting genuine choice-induced preference change obtained with FCP. We also contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon by showing that choice-induced preference change effects are strongly correlated with episodic memory. PMID:25264950

Preferences for policy options for cannabis in an Australian general population: A discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Shanahan, Marian; Gerard, Karen; Ritter, Alison

2014-07-01

Policy choices for illicit drugs such as cannabis entail consideration of competing factors such as individual health, societal views about pleasure, and criminal justice impacts. Society must weigh up these factors in determining the preferred cannabis policy; although often cast as a contest between legalisation of cannabis or full prohibition the actual policy choices are not so black and white. This study assessed societal preferences for different cannabis policies and multiple consequences. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) quantified value-based preferences for alternative cannabis policies described by the five key attributes legal status, health harms, criminal justice service costs, rates of cannabis use and purchase location. An online survey was conducted on a population sample of 1020 Australians. The analytical model was based on stated choices for Policy A, B or Current Policy. The results revealed a strong general preference for either civil penalties or legalisation compared to cannabis cautioning (Current Policy) and a strong dislike of criminalising possession and use of cannabis. Results also demonstrate difference in preferences among those with different demographics and beliefs. Understanding these nuances help to quantify the range of preferences held within the population and can be used to inform policy. This is the first known DCE survey applied to the area of illicit drugs policy. It demonstrates the public hold disparate views on the most appropriate status for cannabis offences and they are able to make trade-offs between policy choices and outcomes in complex areas of social policy. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Listening and learning from women about mifepristone: implications for counseling and health education.

PubMed

Castle, M A; Harvey, S M; Beckman, L; Coeytaux, F; Garrity, J M

1995-01-01

The careful, reflective, and honest way in which the women in the study analyzed, questioned, and explored the benefits and disadvantages of a mifepristone abortion compared with vacuum aspiration yielded an extensive list of information needed by women to make informed choices as well as an understanding of the diverse social contexts in which choices are made. Needed information identified by this study included technical information about the drugs themselves and their mechanisms of action, roles and responsibilities of health personnel, and descriptions of other women's experiences with mifepristone. A multiplicity of factors entered the decision-making process, demonstrating at the same time a complexity and flexibility of thought. In their hypothetical evaluation of mifepristone, women weighed such factors as experience with childbirth, spontaneous abortion and vacuum aspiration, specific issues for teenagers, lack of a support system, experience with herbal emenagogues and nonprescription drugs intended as abortifacients, and the relative dependence on health care providers. Social, personal, and cultural factors entered into women's interpretation of the different options. These socio-cultural contexts can profoundly influence decisions and potentially affect clinical outcomes. If health care professionals are not proactive, do not fully provide answers to questions (even if unasked), and fail to probe for specific life circumstances, then poor choices and poor outcomes may follow with long term negative consequences for clients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Sexual display and mate choice in an energetically costly environment.

PubMed

Head, Megan L; Wong, Bob B M; Brooks, Robert

2010-12-09

Sexual displays and mate choice often take place under the same set of environmental conditions and, as a consequence, may be exposed to the same set of environmental constraints. Surprisingly, however, very few studies consider the effects of environmental costs on sexual displays and mate choice simultaneously. We conducted an experiment, manipulating water flow in large flume tanks, to examine how an energetically costly environment might affect the sexual display and mate choice behavior of male and female guppies, Poecilia reticulata. We found that male guppies performed fewer sexual displays and became less choosy, with respect to female size, in the presence of a water current compared to those tested in still water. In contrast to males, female responsive to male displays did not differ between the water current treatments and females exhibited no mate preferences with respect to male size or coloration in either treatment. The results of our study underscore the importance of considering the simultaneous effects of environmental costs on the sexual behaviors of both sexes.

Student reflections on choosing to study science post-16

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pike, Angela G.; Dunne, Máiréad

2011-06-01

The research recounted in this paper was designed primarily to attempt to understand the reasons for the low uptake of the natural sciences beyond compulsory education in England. This has caused widespread concern within governmental quarters, university science departments and the scientific community as a whole. This research explored the problem from the position of the students who recently made their choices. The student voices were heard through a series of interviews which highlighted the complexities of the process of post-16 choice. Social theories of pedagogy and identity, such as those of Basil Bernstein, were used in an analysis of the interview texts. Dominant themes used by the students in rationalising their post-16 subject choice related to their past pedagogical experiences, school discourses of differentiation and the students' notions of their future educational and occupational pathways. This study provides no simple solutions but highlights the importance of student voice to our understandings of what influences subject choice at this critical post-16 stage.

A journey of negotiation and belonging: understanding students' transitions to science and engineering in higher education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmegaard, Henriette Tolstrup; Madsen, Lene Møller; Ulriksen, Lars

2014-09-01

The paper presents results from a longitudinal study of students' decisions to enrol on a higher education science programme and their experiences of it. The aim is to give insights into students' transition process and negotiation of identity. This is done by following a cohort of 38 students in a series of qualitative interviews during a 3-year period starting as they were about to finish upper secondary school. We find that the students' choice of study is an ongoing process of meaning-making, which continues when the students enter higher education and continuously work on their identities to gain a sense of belonging to their science or engineering programme. The use of a narrative methodology provides understanding of choice of study as involving changes in future perspectives and in the interpretation of past experiences. Further, we gain access into how this meaning-making process over time reflects the students' negotiations in terms of belonging to higher education and their coping strategies when their expectations of their new programme interact with their first-year experiences.

Investigation of the disposal of dead pigs by pig farmers in mainland China by simulation experiment.

PubMed

Wu, Linhai; Xu, Guoyan; Li, Qingguang; Hou, Bo; Hu, Wuyang; Wang, Jianhua

2017-01-01

Dead pigs are a major waste by-product of pig farming. Thus, safe disposal of dead pigs is important to the protection of consumer health and the ecological environment by preventing marketing of slaughtered and processed dead pigs and improper dumping of dead pigs. In this study, a probability model was constructed for the disposal of dead pigs by pig farmers by selecting factors affecting disposal. To that end, we drew on the definition and meaning of behavior probability based on survey data collected from 654 pig farmers in Funing County, Jiangsu Province, China. Moreover, the role of influencing factors in pig farmers' behavioral choices regarding the disposal of dead pigs was simulated by simulation experiment. The results indicated that years of farming had a positive impact on pig farmers' choice of negative disposal of dead pigs. Moreover, there was not a simple linear relationship between scale of farming and pig farmers' behavioral choices related to the disposal of dead pigs. The probability for farmers to choose the safe disposal of dead pigs increased with the improvement of their knowledge of government policies and relevant laws and regulations. Pig farmers' behavioral choice about the disposal of dead pigs was also affected by government subsidy policies, regulation, and punishment. Government regulation and punishment were more effective than subsidy. The findings of our simulation experiment provide important decision-making support for the governance in preventing the marketing of dead pigs at the source.

Consumer preferences for sustainable aquaculture products: Evidence from in-depth interviews, think aloud protocols and choice experiments.

PubMed

Risius, Antje; Janssen, Meike; Hamm, Ulrich

2017-06-01

Fish from aquaculture is becoming more important for human consumption. Sustainable aquaculture procedures were developed as an alternative to overcome the negative environmental impacts of conventional aquaculture procedures and wild fisheries. The objective of this contribution is to determine what consumers expect from sustainable aquaculture and whether they prefer sustainable aquaculture products. A combination of qualitative research methods, with think aloud protocols and in-depth interviews, as well as quantitative methods, using choice experiments and face-to-face interviews, was applied. Data was collected in three different cities of Germany. Results revealed that sustainable aquaculture was associated with natural, traditional, local, and small scale production systems with high animal welfare standards. Overall, participants paid a lot of attention to the declaration of origin; in particular fish products from Germany and Denmark were preferred along with local products. Frequently used sustainability claims for aquaculture products were mostly criticized as being imprecise by the participants of the qualitative study; even though two claims tested in the choice experiments had a significant positive impact on the choice of purchase. Similarly, existing aquaculture-specific labels for certified sustainable aquaculture had an impact on the buying decision, but were not well recognized and even less trusted. Overall, consumers had a positive attitude towards sustainable aquaculture. However, communication measures and labelling schemes should be improved to increase consumer acceptance and make a decisive impact on consumers' buying behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Episodic Memory Encoding Interferes with Reward Learning and Decreases Striatal Prediction Errors

PubMed Central

Braun, Erin Kendall; Daw, Nathaniel D.

2014-01-01

Learning is essential for adaptive decision making. The striatum and its dopaminergic inputs are known to support incremental reward-based learning, while the hippocampus is known to support encoding of single events (episodic memory). Although traditionally studied separately, in even simple experiences, these two types of learning are likely to co-occur and may interact. Here we sought to understand the nature of this interaction by examining how incremental reward learning is related to concurrent episodic memory encoding. During the experiment, human participants made choices between two options (colored squares), each associated with a drifting probability of reward, with the goal of earning as much money as possible. Incidental, trial-unique object pictures, unrelated to the choice, were overlaid on each option. The next day, participants were given a surprise memory test for these pictures. We found that better episodic memory was related to a decreased influence of recent reward experience on choice, both within and across participants. fMRI analyses further revealed that during learning the canonical striatal reward prediction error signal was significantly weaker when episodic memory was stronger. This decrease in reward prediction error signals in the striatum was associated with enhanced functional connectivity between the hippocampus and striatum at the time of choice. Our results suggest a mechanism by which memory encoding may compete for striatal processing and provide insight into how interactions between different forms of learning guide reward-based decision making. PMID:25378157

Mastery matters: consumer choice, psychiatric symptoms and problematic substance use among adults with histories of homelessness.

PubMed

Greenwood, Ronni Michelle; Manning, Rachel M

2017-05-01

Previous research demonstrated the importance of consumer choice and mastery to residential stability and psychiatric functioning for adults with histories of homelessness. In the present study, we investigated whether these relationships hold, even in the context of problem-related substance misuse. Questionnaire data were collected in Ireland from 101 residents of long-term homeless accommodation in 2010. Hayes' PROCESS macro for mediation and moderation analysis in SPSS was employed to test our hypotheses. Findings demonstrated that the indirect effect of choice through mastery on psychiatric functioning was stronger for individuals with more recent problem-related substance use than for those with no or distant histories of problem-related substance use. Our findings confirm that consumer choice in housing and services is important to homeless services users' recovery experiences. Because of its relationship with mastery, consumer choice in housing and services protects homeless services users' psychiatric functioning, especially when substance use-related choices have had negative consequences. Our findings suggest that if homeless services take away consumer choice when substance use causes problems, they may actually undermine, rather than foster, service users' psychiatric functioning. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Choice and dissonance in a European cultural context: the case of Western and Eastern Europeans.

PubMed

Kokkoris, Michail D; Kühnen, Ulrich

2013-01-01

Prior research demonstrates that members of collectivistic cultures are less likely to reduce cognitive dissonance after making a choice, compared to members of individualistic cultures. This difference has been attributed to different conceptualizations of choice that derive from different self-construals across cultures. In individualistic cultures, choice leads to stronger commitment to the chosen option compared to collectivistic cultures, because it implicates core aspects of the independent self, such as personal preferences. However, this cultural variation in postchoice dissonance has thus far been studied exclusively by comparing East Asians and North Americans. Building on the assumption that this difference is due to different construals of the self, we conducted an experiment with movie choices using the classic free-choice paradigm to examine differences in dissonance reduction between Western and Eastern Europeans, two populations known to differ with respect to interdependence. The results show that Eastern Europeans are less likely than Western Europeans to reduce postchoice dissonance by spreading their alternatives. Our findings speak to the generalizability of the hypothesis that in cultures differing in independence or interdependence people also differ in the way they construe choice, as well as in the way the act of choosing affects their self-concept.

Money earlier or later? Simple heuristics explain intertemporal choices better than delay discounting does.

PubMed

Ericson, Keith M Marzilli; White, John Myles; Laibson, David; Cohen, Jonathan D

2015-06-01

Heuristic models have been proposed for many domains involving choice. We conducted an out-of-sample, cross-validated comparison of heuristic models of intertemporal choice (which can account for many of the known intertemporal choice anomalies) and discounting models. Heuristic models outperformed traditional utility-discounting models, including models of exponential and hyperbolic discounting. The best-performing models predicted choices by using a weighted average of absolute differences and relative percentage differences of the attributes of the goods in a choice set. We concluded that heuristic models explain time-money trade-off choices in experiments better than do utility-discounting models. © The Author(s) 2015.

Natural Choice in Chimpanzees ("Pan troglodytes"): Perceptual and Temporal Effects on Selective Value

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beran, Michael J.; Ratliff, Chasity L.; Evans, Theodore A.

2009-01-01

In three experiments, four chimpanzees made choices between two visible food options to assess the validity of the "selective value effect" (the assignment of value to only the most preferred type of food presented in a comparison). In Experiment 1, we established that all chimpanzees preferred single banana pieces to single apple pieces before…

Learning a Generative Probabilistic Grammar of Experience: A Process-Level Model of Language Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolodny, Oren; Lotem, Arnon; Edelman, Shimon

2015-01-01

We introduce a set of biologically and computationally motivated design choices for modeling the learning of language, or of other types of sequential, hierarchically structured experience and behavior, and describe an implemented system that conforms to these choices and is capable of unsupervised learning from raw natural-language corpora. Given…

Schools' Responses to Voucher Policy: Participation Decisions and Early Implementation Experiences in the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Megan J.

2015-01-01

Little is known about the supply side of voucher programs, despite schools' central role in program effectiveness. Using survey and interview data on the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program (ICSP), I analyze schools' participation decisions and early implementation experiences to understand better how schools respond to program regulations. I find…

Young People's Views on Choice and Fairness through Their Experiences of Curriculum as Examination Specifications at GCSE

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrance, Rhian; Elwood, Jannette

2018-01-01

This paper presents data that consider ways in which young people experience the curriculum through the lens of subject examination syllabuses (for GCSEs), their associated assessment techniques and structures, and educational policies at national and school level concerning subject choice. Drawing upon an original qualitative dataset from a…

Complexity of Choice: Teachers' and Students' Experiences Implementing a Choice-Based Comprehensive School Health Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sulz, Lauren; Gibbons, Sandra; Naylor, Patti-Jean; Wharf Higgins, Joan

2016-01-01

Background: Comprehensive School Health models offer a promising strategy to elicit changes in student health behaviours. To maximise the effect of such models, the active involvement of teachers and students in the change process is recommended. Objective: The goal of this project was to gain insight into the experiences and motivations of…

International Student Destination Choice: The Influence of Home Campus Experience on the Decision to Consider Branch Campuses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkins, Stephen; Huisman, Jeroen

2011-01-01

Previous research has found that the country and institution choices of international students are greatly influenced by recommendations they receive from others who have experience of undertaking higher education overseas. For Western universities, it is of utmost importance to satisfy their international students, who can then encourage the next…

Hitting a High Note on Math Tests: Remembered Success Influences Test Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finn, Bridgid; Miele, David B.

2016-01-01

Remembered utility is the retrospective evaluation about the pleasure and pain associated with a past experience. It can influence choices about repeating or avoiding similar situations in the future (Kahneman, 2000). A set of 5 experiments explored the remembered utility of effortful test episodes and how it impacted future test choices.…

Does personal experience affect choice-based preferences for wildfire protection programs?

Treesearch

Armando González-Cabán; Thomas P. Holmes; John B. Loomis; José J. Sánchez

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate homeowner preferences and willingness to pay for wildfire protection programs using a choice experiment with three attributes: risk, loss, and cost. A phone-mail-phone survey was used to collect data from homeowners predominantly living in medium and high wildfire risk communities in Florida. We tested three hypotheses: (1) homeowner...

Relative Reinforcer Rates and Magnitudes Do Not Control Concurrent Choice Independently

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliffe, Douglas; Davison, Michael; Landon, Jason

2008-01-01

One assumption of the matching approach to choice is that different independent variables control choice independently of each other. We tested this assumption for reinforcer rate and magnitude in an extensive parametric experiment. Five pigeons responded for food reinforcement on switching-key concurrent variable-interval variable-interval…

"Eligiendo Escuelas": English Learners and Access to School Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mavrogordato, Madeline; Harris, Julie

2017-01-01

School choice has emerged as the linchpin of President Trump's urban education reform plan, but it remains unclear how school choice policies will shape the educational experiences of the most underserved student groups, particularly English learners (ELs). Using quantitative data from one large urban school district, we examine EL participation…

Privatizing Education and Educational Choice: Concepts, Plans, and Experiences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hakim, Simon, Ed.; And Others

This book contains articles by educational researchers who examine the issues surrounding educational choice in public school systems and the voucher system for private schools. They discuss when choice should be considered, methods of implementation, and the extent to which government should be involved. Descriptions and evaluations of choice…

Out of the Academic Closet: Heteronormativity, Hidden Curriculum, and the Experiences of Lesbian and Gay Students in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bible, Dana E.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of lesbian and gay students in higher education with respect to heteronormativity, overt and covert discrimination, and the hidden curriculum that is occurring in higher education. This researcher explored students' perceptions regarding their choices of majors, professors, and…

Balancing tradeoffs in the Denali Wilderness: an expanded approach to normative research using stated choice analysis

Treesearch

Steven R. Lawson; Robert Manning

2002-01-01

Wilderness experiences are thought to be comprised of or defined by three dimensions, including social, resource, and management conditions. Decisions about how to manage wilderness recreation in Denali National Park involve potential tradeoffs among the conditions of resource, social, and managerial attributes of the wilderness experience. This study expands the...

Relational Themes in Counseling Supervision: Broadening and Narrowing Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gazzola, Nicola; Theriault, Anne

2007-01-01

This study investigated the experiences of broadening (i.e., thinking and acting creatively and being open to exploring new ways of being) and narrowing (i.e., the experience of perceiving one's choices as limited) in the supervisory process with the aim of identifying key relational themes from the perspective of supervisees. We interviewed 10…

Decisions from Experience: Why Small Samples?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertwig, Ralph; Pleskac, Timothy J.

2010-01-01

In many decisions we cannot consult explicit statistics telling us about the risks involved in our actions. In lieu of such data, we can arrive at an understanding of our dicey options by sampling from them. The size of the samples that we take determines, ceteris paribus, how good our choices will be. Studies of decisions from experience have…

The Emergence of a Regional Hub: Comparing International Student Choices and Experiences in South Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jon, Jae-Eun; Lee, Jenny J.; Byun, Kiyong

2014-01-01

As the demand for international education increases, middle-income non-English speaking countries, such as South Korea, play an increasing role in hosting the world's students. This mixed-methods study compares the different motivations and experiences of international students within and outside the East Asian region. Based on findings, this…

When Your "Problem" Becomes Mine: Adult Female Siblings' Perspectives of Having a Brother with a Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pompeo, Michelle N.

2009-01-01

This study is a retrospective look at adult female siblings' perspectives of their childhoods and present identities based on having a brother with a disability. This paper focuses on siblings' experiences within educational and public domains, and how such experiences have shaped their personalities and career choices. Qualitative findings were…

Intellectually Gifted Females and Their Perspectives of Lived Experience in the AP and IB Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanderbrook, Carrie M.

2006-01-01

The Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs serve as popular choices for many intellectually gifted high school students. This article describes an aspect of a larger study that examined 5 intellectually gifted females' perceptions of their educational experience while enrolled in one of the programs. Using the…

Trajectories of Female Student's Career Decision between High School and College: Organizationally Separate but Developmentally Linked

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Kyung-Nyun

2012-01-01

This study examined the relationships between experiences in high school, the choice of college majors, and postcollege career decisions among female college students in Korea, applying growth curve modeling. Findings revealed that as students gained college experience, the possibility of a career-related decision increased each year, but slowly.…

Women's preferences for childbirth experiences in the Republic of Ireland; a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Larkin, Patricia; Begley, Cecily M; Devane, Declan

2017-01-10

How women experience childbirth is acknowledged as critical to the postnatal wellbeing of mother and baby. However there is a knowledge deficit in identifying the important elements of these experiences in order to enhance care. This study elicits women's preferences for the most important elements of their childbirth experiences. A mixed methods design was used. An initial qualitative phase (reported previously) was followed by a second quantitative one using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), which is reported on here. Participants who had experienced labour, were over 18 and had a healthy baby were recruited from four randomly selected and one pilot hospital in the Republic of Ireland. Data were collected by means of a DCE survey instrument. Questions were piloted, refined, and then arranged in eight pair-wise scenarios. Women identified their preferences by choosing one scenario over another. Nine hundred and five women were sent the DCE three months after childbirth, with a response rate of 59.3% (N =531). Women clearly identified priorities for their childbirth experiences as: the availability of pain relief, partnership with the midwife, and individualised care being the most important attributes. In the context of other choices, women rated decision-making, presence of a consultant, and interventions as less important elements. Comments from open questions provided contextual information about their choices. Most women did not want to be typified as wanting the dichotomy of 'all natural' or 'all technology' births but wanted 'the best of both worlds'. The results suggest that availability of pain relief was the most important element of women's childbirth experiences, and superseded all other elements including partnership with the midwife which was the second most important attribute. The preferences identified might reflect the busy medicalised hospital environments, in which the vast majority of women had given birth, and may differ in settings such as midwifery led care or home births.

Assessing Pupils' Skills in Experimentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammann, Marcus; Phan, Thi Thanh Hoi; Ehmer, Maike; Grimm, Tobias

2008-01-01

This study is concerned with different forms of assessment of pupils' skills in experimentation. The findings of three studies are reported. Study 1 investigates whether it is possible to develop reliable multiple-choice tests for the skills of forming hypotheses, designing experiments and analysing experimental data. Study 2 compares scores from…

Decision-Making under Ambiguity Is Modulated by Visual Framing, but Not by Motor vs. Non-Motor Context. Experiments and an Information-Theoretic Ambiguity Model

PubMed Central

Grau-Moya, Jordi; Ortega, Pedro A.; Braun, Daniel A.

2016-01-01

A number of recent studies have investigated differences in human choice behavior depending on task framing, especially comparing economic decision-making to choice behavior in equivalent sensorimotor tasks. Here we test whether decision-making under ambiguity exhibits effects of task framing in motor vs. non-motor context. In a first experiment, we designed an experience-based urn task with varying degrees of ambiguity and an equivalent motor task where subjects chose between hitting partially occluded targets. In a second experiment, we controlled for the different stimulus design in the two tasks by introducing an urn task with bar stimuli matching those in the motor task. We found ambiguity attitudes to be mainly influenced by stimulus design. In particular, we found that the same subjects tended to be ambiguity-preferring when choosing between ambiguous bar stimuli, but ambiguity-avoiding when choosing between ambiguous urn sample stimuli. In contrast, subjects’ choice pattern was not affected by changing from a target hitting task to a non-motor context when keeping the stimulus design unchanged. In both tasks subjects’ choice behavior was continuously modulated by the degree of ambiguity. We show that this modulation of behavior can be explained by an information-theoretic model of ambiguity that generalizes Bayes-optimal decision-making by combining Bayesian inference with robust decision-making under model uncertainty. Our results demonstrate the benefits of information-theoretic models of decision-making under varying degrees of ambiguity for a given context, but also demonstrate the sensitivity of ambiguity attitudes across contexts that theoretical models struggle to explain. PMID:27124723

Decision-Making under Ambiguity Is Modulated by Visual Framing, but Not by Motor vs. Non-Motor Context. Experiments and an Information-Theoretic Ambiguity Model.

PubMed

Grau-Moya, Jordi; Ortega, Pedro A; Braun, Daniel A

2016-01-01

A number of recent studies have investigated differences in human choice behavior depending on task framing, especially comparing economic decision-making to choice behavior in equivalent sensorimotor tasks. Here we test whether decision-making under ambiguity exhibits effects of task framing in motor vs. non-motor context. In a first experiment, we designed an experience-based urn task with varying degrees of ambiguity and an equivalent motor task where subjects chose between hitting partially occluded targets. In a second experiment, we controlled for the different stimulus design in the two tasks by introducing an urn task with bar stimuli matching those in the motor task. We found ambiguity attitudes to be mainly influenced by stimulus design. In particular, we found that the same subjects tended to be ambiguity-preferring when choosing between ambiguous bar stimuli, but ambiguity-avoiding when choosing between ambiguous urn sample stimuli. In contrast, subjects' choice pattern was not affected by changing from a target hitting task to a non-motor context when keeping the stimulus design unchanged. In both tasks subjects' choice behavior was continuously modulated by the degree of ambiguity. We show that this modulation of behavior can be explained by an information-theoretic model of ambiguity that generalizes Bayes-optimal decision-making by combining Bayesian inference with robust decision-making under model uncertainty. Our results demonstrate the benefits of information-theoretic models of decision-making under varying degrees of ambiguity for a given context, but also demonstrate the sensitivity of ambiguity attitudes across contexts that theoretical models struggle to explain.

Do pet dogs (Canis familiaris) follow ostensive and non-ostensive human gaze to distant space and to objects?

PubMed

Duranton, Charlotte; Range, Friederike; Virányi, Zsófia

2017-07-01

Dogs are renowned for being skilful at using human-given communicative cues such as pointing. Results are contradictory, however, when it comes to dogs' following human gaze, probably due to methodological discrepancies. Here we investigated whether dogs follow human gaze to one of two food locations better than into distant space even after comparable pre-training. In Experiments 1 and 2, the gazing direction of dogs was recorded in a gaze-following into distant space and in an object-choice task where no choice was allowed, in order to allow a direct comparison between tasks, varying the ostensive nature of the gazes. We found that dogs only followed repeated ostensive human gaze into distant space, whereas they followed all gaze cues in the object-choice task. Dogs followed human gaze better in the object-choice task than when there was no obvious target to look at. In Experiment 3, dogs were tested in another object-choice task and were allowed to approach a container. Ostensive cues facilitated the dogs' following gaze with gaze as well as their choices: we found that dogs in the ostensive group chose the indicated container at chance level, whereas they avoided this container in the non-ostensive group. We propose that dogs may perceive the object-choice task as a competition over food and may interpret non-ostensive gaze as an intentional cue that indicates the experimenter's interest in the food location she has looked at. Whether ostensive cues simply mitigate the competitive perception of this situation or they alter how dogs interpret communicative gaze needs further investigation. Our findings also show that following gaze with one's gaze and actually choosing one of the two containers in an object-choice task need to be considered as different variables. The present study clarifies a number of questions related to gaze-following in dogs and adds to a growing body of evidence showing that human ostensive cues can strongly modify dog behaviour.

Risk preferences and aging: The “Certainty Effect” in older adults’ decision making

PubMed Central

Mather, Mara; Mazar, Nina; Gorlick, Marissa A.; Lighthall, Nichole R.; Burgeno, Jessica; Schoeke, Andrej; Ariely, Dan

2013-01-01

A prevalent stereotype is that people become less risk taking and more cautious as they get older. However, in laboratory studies, findings are mixed and often reveal no age differences. In the current series of experiments, we examined whether age differences in risk seeking are more likely to emerge when choices include a certain option (a sure gain or a sure loss). In four experiments, we found that age differences in risk preferences only emerged when participants were offered a choice between a risky and a certain gamble but not when offered two risky gambles. In particular, Experiments 1 and 2 included only gambles about potential gains. Here, compared with younger adults, older adults preferred a certain gain over a chance to win a larger gain and thus, exhibited more risk aversion in the domain of gains. But in Experiments 3 and 4, when offered the chance to take a small sure loss rather than risking a larger loss, older adults exhibited more risk seeking in the domain of losses than younger adults. Both their greater preference for sure gains and greater avoidance of sure losses suggest that older adults weigh certainty more heavily than younger adults. Experiment 4 also indicates that older adults focus more on positive emotions than younger adults do when considering their options and that this emotional shift can at least partially account for age differences in how much people are swayed by certainty in their choices. PMID:23066800

Discovering Factors that Influence the Decision to Pursue a Chemistry-Related Career: A Comparative Analysis of the Experiences of Non Scientist Adults and Chemistry Teachers in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salta, Katerina; Gekos, Michael; Petsimeri, Irene; Koulougliotis, Dionysios

2012-01-01

This study aims at identifying factors that influence students' choice not to pursue a chemistry-related career by analyzing the experiences of secondary education chemistry teachers in Greece and of Greek adults who have not pursued studies related to science. Data collection was done with the method of individual structured interviews. The…

An Exploration of Dual Systems via Time Pressure Manipulation in Decision-making Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Lisa

Every day, decisions need to be made where time is a limiting factor. Regardless of situation, time constraints often place a premium on rapid decision-making. Researchers have been interested in studying this human behavior and understanding its underlying cognitive processes. In previous studies, scientists have believed that the cognitive processes underlying decision-making behavior were consistent with dual-process modes of thinking. Critics of dual-process theory question the vagueness of its definition, and claim that single-process accounts can explain the data just as well. My aim is to elucidate the cognitive processes that underlie decisions which involve some level of risk through the experimental manipulation of time pressure. Using this method, I hope to distinguish between competing hypotheses related to the origin of the effect. I will explore three types of decisions that illustrate these concepts: risky decision-making involving gambles, intertemporal choice, and one-shot public goods games involving social cooperation. In our experiments, participants made decisions about gambles framed as either gains or losses; decided upon intertemporal choices for smaller but sooner rewards or larger but later rewards; and played a one-shot public goods game involving social cooperation and contributing an amount of money to a group. In each case, we experimentally manipulated time pressure, either within subjects or among individuals. Results showed under time pressure, increased framing effects under in both hypothetical and incentivized choices; and greater contributions and cooperation among individuals, lending support to the dual process hypothesis that these effects arise from a fast, intuitive system. However, our intertemporal choice experiment showed that time constraints led to increased selection of the larger but later options, which suggests that the magnitude of the reward may play larger role in choice selection under cognitive load than previously studied. This diverges from the current dual-process interpretation that myopic choices under time pressure favor smaller but sooner rewards, and suggests that more studies are needed in this realm to disentangle the intuitive from the deliberative system through the manipulation of cognitive load.

Neural correlates of value, risk, and risk aversion contributing to decision making under risk.

PubMed

Christopoulos, George I; Tobler, Philippe N; Bossaerts, Peter; Dolan, Raymond J; Schultz, Wolfram

2009-10-07

Decision making under risk is central to human behavior. Economic decision theory suggests that value, risk, and risk aversion influence choice behavior. Although previous studies identified neural correlates of decision parameters, the contribution of these correlates to actual choices is unknown. In two different experiments, participants chose between risky and safe options. We identified discrete blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) correlates of value and risk in the ventral striatum and anterior cingulate, respectively. Notably, increasing inferior frontal gyrus activity to low risk and safe options correlated with higher risk aversion. Importantly, the combination of these BOLD responses effectively decoded the behavioral choice. Striatal value and cingulate risk responses increased the probability of a risky choice, whereas inferior frontal gyrus responses showed the inverse relationship. These findings suggest that the BOLD correlates of decision factors are appropriate for an ideal observer to detect behavioral choices. More generally, these biological data contribute to the validity of the theoretical decision parameters for actual decisions under risk.

Hospital sector choice and support for public hospital care in New Zealand: Results from a labeled discrete choice survey.

PubMed

Brown, Paul; Panattoni, Laura; Cameron, Linda; Knox, Stephanie; Ashton, Toni; Tenbensel, Tim; Windsor, John

2015-09-01

This study uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to measure patients' preferences for public and private hospital care in New Zealand. A labeled DCE was administered to 583 members of the general public, with the choice between a public and private hospital for a non-urgent surgery. The results suggest that cost of surgery, waiting times for surgery, option to select a surgeon, convenience, and conditions of the hospital ward are important considerations for patients. The most important determinant of hospital choice was whether it was a public or private hospital, with respondents far more likely to choose a public hospital than a private hospital. The results have implications for government policy toward using private hospitals to clear waiting lists in public hospitals, with these results suggesting the public might not be indifferent to policies that treat private hospitals as substitutes for public hospitals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Helping physics teacher-candidates develop questioning skills through innovative technology use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milner-Bolotin, Marina

2015-12-01

Peer Instruction has been used successfully in undergraduate classrooms for decades. Its success depends largely on the quality of multiple-choice questions. Yet it is still rare in secondary schools because of teachers' lack of experience in designing, evaluating, and implementing conceptual questions. Research-based multiple-choice conceptual questions are also underutilized in physics teacher education. This study explores the implementation of Peer Instruction enhanced by PeerWise collaborative online system, in a physics methods course in a physics teacher education program.

Decision dynamics of departure times: Experiments and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xiaoyan; Han, Xiao; Bao, Jian-Zhang; Jiang, Rui; Jia, Bin; Yan, Xiaoyong; Zhang, Boyu; Wang, Wen-Xu; Gao, Zi-You

2017-10-01

A fundamental problem in traffic science is to understand user-choice behaviors that account for the emergence of complex traffic phenomena. Despite much effort devoted to theoretically exploring departure time choice behaviors, relatively large-scale and systematic experimental tests of theoretical predictions are still lacking. In this paper, we aim to offer a more comprehensive understanding of departure time choice behaviors in terms of a series of laboratory experiments under different traffic conditions and feedback information provided to commuters. In the experiment, the number of recruited players is much larger than the number of choices to better mimic the real scenario, in which a large number of commuters will depart simultaneously in a relatively small time window. Sufficient numbers of rounds are conducted to ensure the convergence of collective behavior. Experimental results demonstrate that collective behavior is close to the user equilibrium, regardless of different scales and traffic conditions. Moreover, the amount of feedback information has a negligible influence on collective behavior but has a relatively stronger effect on individual choice behaviors. Reinforcement learning and Fermi learning models are built to reproduce the experimental results and uncover the underlying mechanism. Simulation results are in good agreement with the experimentally observed collective behaviors.

What determines patient preferences for treating low risk basal cell carcinoma when comparing surgery vs imiquimod? A discrete choice experiment survey from the SINS trial.

PubMed

Tinelli, Michela; Ozolins, Mara; Bath-Hextall, Fiona; Williams, Hywel C

2012-10-04

The SINS trial (Controlled Clinical Trials ISRCTN48755084; Eudract No. 2004-004506-24) is a randomised controlled trial evaluating long term success of excisional surgery vs. imiquimod 5% cream for low risk nodular and superficial basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The trial included a discrete choice experiment questionnaire to explore patient preferences of a cream versus surgery for the treatment of their skin cancer. The self-completed questionnaire was administered at baseline to 183 participants, measuring patients' strength of preferences when choosing either alternative 'surgery' or 'imiquimod cream' instead of a fixed 'current situation' option (of surgical excision as standard practice in UK). The treatments were described according to: cost, chance of complete clearance, side effects and appearance. Participants had to choose between various scenarios. Analysis was performed using a mixed logit model, which took into account the impact of previous BCC treatment and sample preference variability. The analysis showed that respondents preferred 'imiquimod cream' to their 'current situation' or 'surgery', regardless of previous experience of BCC symptoms and treatment. Respondents were more likely to be worried about their cosmetic outcomes and side effects they might experience over and above their chance of clearance and cost. Those with no experience of surgery (compared with experience) valued more the choice of 'imiquimod cream' (£1013 vs £781). All treatment characteristics were significant determinants of treatment choice, and there was significant variability in the population preferences for all of them. Patients with BCC valued more 'imiquimod cream' than alternative 'surgery' options, and all treatment characteristics were important for their choice of care. Understanding how people with a BCC value alternative interventions may better inform the development of health care interventions.

Development of chemistry attitudes and experiences questionnaire (CAEQ)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalgety, Jacinta; Coll, Richard K.; Jones, Alister

2003-09-01

In this article we describe the development of the Chemistry Attitudes and Experiences Questionnaire (CAEQ) that measures first-year university chemistry students' attitude toward chemistry, chemistry self-efficacy, and learning experiences. The instrument was developed as part of a larger study and sought to fulfill a need for an instrument to investigate factors that influence student enrollment choice. We set out to design the instrument in a manner that would maximize construct validity. The CAEQ was piloted with a cohort of science and technology students (n = 129) at the end of their first year. Based on statistical analysis the instrument was modified and subsequently administered on two occasions at two tertiary institutions (n = 669). Statistical data along with additional data gathered from interviews suggest that the CAEQ possesses good construct validity and will prove a useful tool for tertiary level educators who wish to gain an understanding of factors that influence student choice of chemistry enrolment.

Characterizing traffic under uncertain disruptions : an experimental approach.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

The objective of the research is to study long-term traffic patterns under uncertain disruptions using : data collected from human subjects who simultaneously make route choices in controlled PC-based : laboratory experiments. Uncertain disruptions t...

Maternity experiences of mothers with multiple disadvantages in England: A qualitative study.

PubMed

McLeish, Jenny; Redshaw, Maggie

2018-06-14

Disadvantaged mothers and their babies are at increased risk of poor perinatal outcomes and have less positive experiences of maternity care. To explore the maternity care experiences of mothers with multiple disadvantages. A qualitative descriptive study based on semi-structured interviews with 40 mothers with multiple disadvantages, using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: 'A confusing and frightening time', 'Longing to be respected as an individual', 'The importance of choice and control', and 'Needing trust to feel safe'. Mothers brought feelings of powerlessness and low self-esteem to their encounters with maternity professionals, which could be significantly worsened by disrespectful care. They needed support to navigate the complex maternity system. Positive experiences were much more likely where the mother had received continuity of care from a specialist midwife or small team. Mothers with multiple disadvantages value being treated as an individual, making informed choices, and feeling safe, but they may lack the confidence to ask questions or challenge disrespectful treatment. Training and supervision should enable maternity professionals to understand how confusing maternity care can be to very disadvantaged mothers. It should emphasise the need to provide accessible and empowering information and guidance to enable all mothers to make choices and understand the system. Leaders of maternity services need to do more to challenge negative staff attitudes and ensure that that all mothers are treated at all times with kindness, respect and dignity. Specialist midwives can deliver a high quality service to mothers experiencing multiple disadvantages. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Infant feeding and HIV positive mothers in the Capricorn District of Limpopo province.

PubMed

Ramara, N S; Maputle, M S; Lekhuleni, M E

2010-03-01

HIV-positive mothers who practise infant feeding of their choice at Mankweng clinic in the Limpopo province are experiencing specific problems with various feeding methods. This study was undertaken with the aim to explore and describe the socioeconomic and cultural experiences of HIV-positive mothers who practise infant feeding of their choice. The research design was exploratory, descriptive, qualitative and contextual in nature. A phenomenological approach was adopted to focus on the lived experiences of HIV-positive mothers. The study sample was purposely selected. Ten HIV-positive mothers volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected through in-depth unstructured interviews. All participants responded to an open-ended question: "Could you please tell me, in detail, your experience on infant feeding of your choice?" Interviews were conducted until saturation, as was reflected in repeating themes, was reached. The model of trustworthiness, as outlined in Guba and Lincoln (1985:301-318), to ensure credibility and dependability, was used in this study. The study adhered to the ethical standards as set by DENOSA (1998:2.3.2-2.3.4). Data were analysed according to Tesch's method, as outlined in Creswell (2003:192) and De Vos (1998:343). Literature control was performed to verify the results. Two main categories that emerged were guided by options for infant feeding; namely those that chose formula feeding for their babies and those participants who opted to breast-feed their babies. The study proposed to recommend guidelines for the development of relevent content for inclusion in health education programmes of registered midwives who, in turn, can use such information to educate mothers.

German Value Set for the EQ-5D-5L.

PubMed

Ludwig, Kristina; Graf von der Schulenburg, J-Matthias; Greiner, Wolfgang

2018-06-01

The objective of this study was to develop a value set for EQ-5D-5L based on the societal preferences of the German population. As the first country to do so, the study design used the improved EQ-5D-5L valuation protocol 2.0 developed by the EuroQol Group, including a feedback module as internal validation and a quality control process that was missing in the first wave of EQ-5D-5L valuation studies. A representative sample of the general German population (n = 1158) was interviewed using a composite time trade-off and a discrete choice experiment under close quality control. Econometric modeling was used to estimate values for all 3125 possible health states described by EQ-5D-5L. The value set was based on a hybrid model including all available information from the composite time trade-off and discrete choice experiment valuations without any exclusions due to data issues. The final German value set was constructed from a combination of a conditional logit model for the discrete choice experiment data and a censored at -1 Tobit model for the composite time trade-off data, correcting for heteroskedasticity. The value set had logically consistent parameter estimates (p < 0.001 for all coefficients). The predicted EQ-5D-5L index values ranged from -0.661 to 1. This study provided values for the health states of the German version of EQ-5D-5L representing the preferences of the German population. The study successfully employed for the first time worldwide the improved protocol 2.0. The value set enables the use of the EQ-5D-5L instrument in economic evaluations and in clinical studies.

Shared decision making in the management of children with newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia.

PubMed

Beck, Carolyn E; Boydell, Katherine M; Stasiulis, Elaine; Blanchette, Victor S; Llewellyn-Thomas, Hilary; Birken, Catherine S; Breakey, Vicky R; Parkin, Patricia C

2014-10-01

This study aimed to examine the treatment decision-making process for children hospitalized with newly diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Using focus groups, we studied children with ITP, parents of children with ITP, and health care professionals, inquiring about participants' experience with decision support and decision making in newly diagnosed ITP. Data were examined using thematic analysis. Themes that emerged from children were feelings of "anxiety, fear, and confusion"; the need to "understand information"; and "treatment choice," the experience of which was age dependent. For parents, "anxiety, fear, and confusion" was a dominant theme; "treatment choice" revealed that participants felt directed toward intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) for initial treatment. For health care professionals, "comfort level" highlighted factors contributing to professionals' comfort with offering options; "assumptions" were made about parental desire for participation in shared decision making (SDM) and parental acceptance of treatment options; "providing information" was informative regarding modes of facilitating SDM; and "treatment choice" revealed a discrepancy between current practice (directed toward IVIG) and the ideal of SDM. At our center, families of children with newly diagnosed ITP are not experiencing SDM. Our findings support the implementation of SDM to facilitate patient-centered care for the management of pediatric ITP.

Drug choice as a self-handicapping strategy in response to noncontingent success.

PubMed

Berglas, S; Jones, E E

1978-04-01

In two closely related experiments, college student subjects were instructed to choose between a drug that allegedly interfered with performance and a drug that allegedly enhanced performance. This choice was the main dependent measure of the experiment. The drug choice intervened between work on soluble or insoluble problems and a promised retest on similar problems. In Experiment 1, all subjects received success feedback after their initial problem-solving attempts, thus creating one condition in which the success appeared to be accidental (noncontingent on performance) and one in which the success appeared to be contingent on appropriate knowledge. Males in the noncontingent-success condition were alone in preferring the performance-inhibiting drug, presumably because they wished to externalize probable failure on the retest. The predicted effect, however, did not hold for female subjects. Experiment 2 replicated the unique preference shown by males after noncontingent success and showed the critical importance of success feedback.

"Choosing Life": Birth Mothers on Abortion and Reproductive Choice.

PubMed

Sisson, Gretchen

2015-01-01

As the least-chosen option when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, adoption remains largely unexamined as a reproductive choice. Although the anti-abortion movement promotes adoption as its preferred alternative to abortion, little is known of birth mothers' pregnancy decision making and whether adoption was chosen in lieu of abortion. I conducted in-depth interviews with 40 women who had placed infants for adoption from 1962 to 2009. Participants were asked about all aspects of their adoption experiences, including their pregnancy decision making and thoughts on abortion. Interview transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory to find unifying themes speaking to reproductive choice. Participants' stories revealed widely varying ideas about abortion. Many were opposed to abortion, but a greater number supported abortion as a reproductive choice, although one they did not choose for themselves. Birth mothers were most often choosing between adoption and parenting, not adoption and abortion. Most participants would have preferred to parent, but did not because of external variables. Mixed experiences with adoption also influenced participants' long-term ideas about reproductive choice. Findings suggest that the anti-abortion framing of adoption as a preferable alternative to abortion is inconsistent with birth mothers' pregnancy decision-making experiences and their feelings about adoption. Reducing social barriers to both abortion and parenting will ensure that adoption is situated as a true reproductive choice. Copyright © 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving children's affective decision making in the Children's Gambling Task.

PubMed

Andrews, Glenda; Moussaumai, Jennifer

2015-11-01

Affective decision making was examined in 108 children (3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) using the Children's Gambling Task (CGT). Children completed the CGT and then responded to awareness questions. Children in the binary_experience and binary_experience+awareness (not control) conditions first completed two simpler versions. Children in the binary_experience+awareness condition also responded to questions about relational components of the simpler versions. Experience with simpler versions facilitated decision making in 4- and 5-year-olds, but 3-year-olds' advantageous choices declined across trial blocks in the binary_experience and control conditions. Responding to questions about relational components further benefited the 4- and 5-year-olds. The 3-year-olds' advantageous choices on the final block were at chance level in the binary_experience+awareness condition but were below chance level in the other conditions. Awareness following the CGT was strongly correlated with advantageous choices and with age. Awareness was demonstrated by 5-year-olds (all conditions) and 4-year-olds (binary_experience and binary_experience+awareness) but not by 3-year-olds. The findings demonstrate the importance of complexity and conscious awareness in cognitive development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Researchers' choice of the number and range of levels in experiments affects the resultant variance-accounted-for effect size.

PubMed

Okada, Kensuke; Hoshino, Takahiro

2017-04-01

In psychology, the reporting of variance-accounted-for effect size indices has been recommended and widely accepted through the movement away from null hypothesis significance testing. However, most researchers have paid insufficient attention to the fact that effect sizes depend on the choice of the number of levels and their ranges in experiments. Moreover, the functional form of how and how much this choice affects the resultant effect size has not thus far been studied. We show that the relationship between the population effect size and number and range of levels is given as an explicit function under reasonable assumptions. Counterintuitively, it is found that researchers may affect the resultant effect size to be either double or half simply by suitably choosing the number of levels and their ranges. Through a simulation study, we confirm that this relation also applies to sample effect size indices in much the same way. Therefore, the variance-accounted-for effect size would be substantially affected by the basic research design such as the number of levels. Simple cross-study comparisons and a meta-analysis of variance-accounted-for effect sizes would generally be irrational unless differences in research designs are explicitly considered.

The cost-effectiveness and consumer acceptability of taxation strategies to reduce rates of overweight and obesity among children in Australia: study protocol.

PubMed

Comans, Tracy A; Whitty, Jennifer A; Hills, Andrew P; Kendall, Elizabeth; Turkstra, Erika; Gordon, Louisa G; Byrnes, Josh M; Scuffham, Paul A

2013-12-14

Childhood obesity is a recognised public health problem and around 25% of Australian children are overweight or obese. A major contributor is the obesogenic environment which encourages over consumption of energy dense nutrient poor food. Taxation is commonly proposed as a mechanism to reduce consumption of poor food choices and hence reduce rates of obesity and overweight in the community. An economic model will be developed to assess the lifetime benefits and costs to a cohort of Australian children by reducing energy dense nutrient poor food consumption through taxation mechanisms. The model inputs will be derived from a series of smaller studies. Food options for taxation will be derived from literature and expert opinion, the acceptability and impact of price changes will be explored through a Citizen's Jury and a discrete choice experiment and price elasticities will be derived from the discrete choice experiment and consumption data. The health care costs of managing rising levels of obesity are a challenge for all governments. This study will provide a unique contribution to the international knowledge base by engaging a variety of robust research techniques, with a multidisciplinary focus and be responsive to consumers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

The cost-effectiveness and consumer acceptability of taxation strategies to reduce rates of overweight and obesity among children in Australia: study protocol

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Childhood obesity is a recognised public health problem and around 25% of Australian children are overweight or obese. A major contributor is the obesogenic environment which encourages over consumption of energy dense nutrient poor food. Taxation is commonly proposed as a mechanism to reduce consumption of poor food choices and hence reduce rates of obesity and overweight in the community. Methods/Design An economic model will be developed to assess the lifetime benefits and costs to a cohort of Australian children by reducing energy dense nutrient poor food consumption through taxation mechanisms. The model inputs will be derived from a series of smaller studies. Food options for taxation will be derived from literature and expert opinion, the acceptability and impact of price changes will be explored through a Citizen’s Jury and a discrete choice experiment and price elasticities will be derived from the discrete choice experiment and consumption data. Discussion The health care costs of managing rising levels of obesity are a challenge for all governments. This study will provide a unique contribution to the international knowledge base by engaging a variety of robust research techniques, with a multidisciplinary focus and be responsive to consumers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. PMID:24330325

Motives of former interns in general practice for speciality-choice − Results of a cross-sectional study among graduates 2007 to 2012

PubMed Central

Abendroth, Jens; Schnell, Ute; Lichte, Thomas; Oemler, Matthias; Klement, Andreas

2014-01-01

Background: The influence of a final-year elective internship in general practice (IGP) on motives affecting graduates’ choice of specialty is the object of great public interest, yet still insufficiently evaluated. Longitudinal studies show the influence of numerous motives (e.g. work-life balance), but not following the IGP experience itself. Thus, we performed a cross-sectional questionnaire study of all graduates who completed the IGP in Saxony-Anhalt during 2007-2012 regarding their motives for choosing a speciality. Method: A standardized questionnaire was sent to 109 former interns in general practice. The questionnaire contained 29 items addressing three topics (personal attitudes, concept of personal and professional life, motives for speciality choice) and used single-choice and multiple-choice answers, as well as Likert scales. Correlation analysis was carried out by means of Kendall's tau. Results: The questionnaire reached 97 former interns, of which 45 (46%) responded. In the overall ranking of motives for speciality choice, family (71%), leisure time (66%) and job opportunities (48%) rated as more important than income (36%), mentoring (20%), status or scientific work (20%). Only 29% of the respondents stated that their speciality choice was changed by the IGP. If the speciality choice was already established before the IGP, the influence of the IGP on speciality choice was significantly low (r=-.5; p<.01). However, if the IGP had an influence on speciality choice, it was correlated with a new perception of general practice (r=.36; p<.01). This new perception was associated with a positive influence of the medical teacher during the IGP. Conclusion: The final-year IGP is an opportunity to change the perception of general practice in students who are still undecided. This can lead to different speciality choices in a subgroup. Personal attitudes and concepts of personal life and career were also important factors affecting speciality choice. The aspects of the positive influence exerted by medical teachers on those students who are still undecided during the IGP should be carefully evaluated. PMID:24575153

Motives of former interns in general practice for speciality-choice--results of a cross-sectional study among graduates 2007 to 2012.

PubMed

Abendroth, Jens; Schnell, Ute; Lichte, Thomas; Oemler, Matthias; Klement, Andreas

2014-01-01

The influence of a final-year elective internship in general practice (IGP) on motives affecting graduates' choice of specialty is the object of great public interest, yet still insufficiently evaluated. Longitudinal studies show the influence of numerous motives (e.g., work-life balance), but not following the IGP experience itself. Thus, we performed a cross-sectional questionnaire study of all graduates who completed the IGP in Saxony-Anhalt during 2007-2012 regarding their motives for choosing a speciality. A standardized questionnaire was sent to 109 former interns in general practice. The questionnaire contained 29 items addressing three topics (personal attitudes, concept of personal and professional life, motives for speciality choice) and used single-choice and multiple-choice answers, as well as Likert scales. Correlation analysis was carried out by means of Kendall's tau. The questionnaire reached 97 former interns, of which 45 (46%) responded. In the overall ranking of motives for speciality choice, family (71%), leisure time (66%) and job opportunities (48%) rated as more important than income (36%), mentoring (20%), status or scientific work (20%). Only 29% of the respondents stated that their speciality choice was changed by the IGP. If the speciality choice was already established before the IGP, the influence of the IGP on speciality choice was significantly low (r = -.5; p < .01). However, if the IGP had an influence on speciality choice, it was correlated with a new perception of general practice (r = .36; p<.01). This new perception was associated with a positive influence of the medical teacher during the IGP. The final-year IGP is an opportunity to change the perception of general practice in students who are still undecided. This can lead to different speciality choices in a subgroup. Personal attitudes and concepts of personal life and career were also important factors affecting speciality choice. The aspects of the positive influence exerted by medical teachers on those students who are still undecided during the IGP should be carefully evaluated.

Quality of public information matters in mate-choice copying in female zebra finches.

PubMed

Kniel, Nina; Schmitz, Jennifer; Witte, Klaudia

2015-01-01

Mate-choice copying is a form of social learning in which an individual gains information about potential mates by observing conspecifics. However, it is still unknown what kind of information drives the decision of an individual to copy the mate choice of others. Among zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis), only females (not males) copy the mate choice of others. We tested female zebra finches in a binary choice test where they, first, could choose between two males of different phenotypes: one unadorned male and one male artificially adorned with a red feather on the forehead. After this mate-choice test, females could observe a single unadorned male and a pair of zebra finches, i.e. a wild-type female and her adorned mate. Pair interactions were either restricted to acoustic and visual communication (clear glass screen between pair mates) or acoustic communication alone (opaque screen between pair mates). After the observation period, females could again choose between new males of the two phenotypes in a second mate-choice test. In experiments with a clear glass screen, time spent with the respective males changed between the two mate-choice tests, and females preferred adorned over unadorned males during the second mate-choice test. In experiments with an opaque screen, time spent with the respective males did not change between the two mate-choice tests, although females lost an initial preference for unadorned males. Our results demonstrate that the quality of the received public information (visual and acoustic interaction of the observed pair) influences mate-choice copying in female zebra finches.