Introduction to the Special Section on the Role of Psychology in Capacity Evaluations.

Psychologists working in rehabilitation settings are frequently asked to assess patients' decision-making capacity. The following is an introduction to the concept of capacity and its role in the area of rehabilitation psychology. It introduces some of the challenges faced by psychologists in assessing capacity for decision making, the legal factors that psychologists need to consider when assessing decision-making capacity, and clinical judgment of future risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Secondary prevention of excessive alcohol use: assessing the prospects of implementation

BACKGROUND: Alcohol risk and harm reduction is a public health approach that goes beyond specialized treatments for alcoholism. The greatest potential for reducing alcohol risk and harm in a population depends on the extent to which health care practitioners use secondary prevention programmes. OBJECTIVE: We aim to assess the factors that affect the prospects of disseminating comprehensive, secondary prevention programmes into mainstream practice. METHOD: A decision balance was used to assess the prospects of practitioners implementing comprehensive programmes systematically. The stages-of-change model provides perspectives about behaviour change with regard to patients, practitioners and practice settings. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Programme implementation is extremely unlikely given the current organization of health care settings. To maintain the use of such programmes, we need to change the "unit of leverage" in the system: from the clinical encounter--that is, practitioners working with individual patients in a case-finding manner--to an organizational level--that is, the appropriate use of managerial and information systems supporting health care settings to identify at-risk patients systematically as they enter primary care and hospital settings. With appropriate infrastructure support, practitioners will be able to fulfil the potential for as well as maintain the use of comprehensive, secondary prevention programmes to reduce alcohol risk and harm in the population.     

Personality and situational determinants of conformity.

"This study investigated the relationships between dispositional tendencies to respond to interpersonal communications in terms of either (a) the source of the communication, or (b) the message or content of the communication, and yielding to group influence as a function of (a) the amount of discrepancy between group judgment and the individual's own judgment, and (b) the difficulty of the behavioral task in which the individual is engaged. A source-oriented group and a message-oriented group of S's were differentiated on the basis of their habitual manner of interpreting interpersonally communicated information by means of objective analysis of sentence completions." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rational learning and information sampling: On the “naivety” assumption in sampling explanations of judgment biases.

Recent research has argued that several well-known judgment biases may be due to biases in the available information sample rather than to biased information processing. Most of these sample-based explanations assume that decision makers are “naive”: They are not aware of the biases in the available information sample and do not correct for them. Here, we show that this “naivety” assumption is not necessary. Systematically biased judgments can emerge even when decision makers process available information perfectly and are also aware of how the information sample has been generated. Specifically, we develop a rational analysis of Denrell's (2005) experience sampling model, and we prove that when information search is interested rather than disinterested, even rational information sampling and processing can give rise to systematic patterns of errors in judgments. Our results illustrate that a tendency to favor alternatives for which outcome information is more accessible can be consistent with rational behavior. The model offers a rational explanation for behaviors that had previously been attributed to cognitive and motivational biases, such as the in-group bias or the tendency to prefer popular alternatives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The administrative judgment test as related to descriptions of executive judgment behaviors.

"Relationships between the Administrative Judgment Test of the United States Civil Service Commission and ratings by superiors and peers of aspects of executive judgment were studied in a group of 127 federal administrators. A wide variety of rated characteristics correlated significantly with the test. When the ratings were adjusted to correct for the influence of the rater's general impression of effectiveness in making judgments, both superiors and peers described executives who scored highly on the test as competent in making decisions with policy making implications and in screening factual information for relevance and accuracy. Superiors, in addition, described high scoring executives as making decisions which are internally consistent, working successfully with implicit, concealed facets of the problem situation, and timing their decisions appropriately. Peers, on the other hand, viewed their more adequate co-workers, as appraised by the test, as those capable of implementing rather than making policy, and those who know when it is prudent to avoid decision." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4LI57F. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Game relativity: How context influences strategic decision making.

Existing models of strategic decision making typically assume that only the attributes of the currently played game need be considered when reaching a decision. The results presented in this article demonstrate that the so-called "cooperativeness" of the previously played prisoner's dilemma games influence choices and predictions in the current prisoner's dilemma game, which suggests that games are not considered independently. These effects involved reinforcement-based assimilation to the previous choices and also a perceptual contrast of the present game with preceding games, depending on the range and the rank of their cooperativeness. A. Parducci's (1965) range frequency theory and H. Helson's (1964) adaptation level theory are plausible theories of relative judgment of magnitude information, which could provide an account of these context effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactive effects of situational judgment effectiveness and proactive personality on work perceptions and work outcomes.

This study was based on a sample of 139 employees. The results support the hypothesis that proactive personality (PAP) predicts work perceptions (procedural justice perception, perceived supervisor support, and social integration) and work outcomes (job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and job performance) positively among individuals with high situational judgment effectiveness (SJE) but negatively among those with low SJE. The findings on the disordinal SJE = PAP interaction effects show that high levels of PAP may be either adaptive or maladaptive, depending on the individual's level of SJE, and these findings caution against direct interpretations of bivariate associations between PAP and work-relevant criteria. Limitations and implications of the study as well as future research directions on the study of PAP and situational judgment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A "science of complex judgment."

Psychologists tend to neglect the study of complex judgment. "Never before in history have so many been faced with so many complex decisions." Thus, "… it should be the concern of psychologists as an organization to consider effective means for increasing our contributions in the realm of complex decision-making." The concept of scope which "… is defined as the relative omnipotence which observations, measures, or statistics possess in the total decision complex of which they are a part" is proposed and discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral anger, but not moral disgust, responds to intentionality.

We propose that, when people judge moral situations, anger responds to the contextual cues of harm and intentionality. On the other hand, disgust responds uniquely to whether or not a bodily norm violation has occurred; its apparent response to harm and intent is entirely explained by the coactivation of anger. We manipulated intent, harm, and bodily norm violation (eating human flesh) within a vignette describing a scientific experiment. Participants then rated their anger, disgust, and moral judgment, as well as various appraisals. Anger responded independently of disgust to harm and intentionality, whereas disgust responded independently of anger only to whether or not the act violated the bodily norm of cannibalism. Theoretically relevant appraisals accounted for the effects of harm and intent on anger; however, appraisals of abnormality did not fully account for the effects of the manipulations on disgust. Our results show that anger and disgust are separately elicited by different cues in a moral situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The paramorphic representation of clinical judgment.

"This paper has been concerned with the manner in which information is utilized in decision making or in judgment situations. It is shown that mathematical models provide a way of describing mental processes which would otherwise be accessible only through introspection or electro-physiological techniques. A linear model and a configurational model are described, and illustrations furnished for each. Such models make possible the testing of hypotheses concerning method of combination, individual differences in judgment ability, effects of training, personality correlates, idiographic interpretation of case materials, etc." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task Complexity and Older Adults' Decision-Making Competence.

This article reports progress in an ongoing research program examining older adults' decision-making competence (DMC). Using a theoretical framework that emphasizes the person-task fit in assessing DMC, the authors report the results of a study comparing older versus younger adults' decision performance on simple and complex tasks about health, finance, and nutrition. The authors hypothesized and found that increasing age and task complexity were related to greater comprehension errors and inconsistency in decision making. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that a large amount of age-related variance in performance on the decision tasks could be accounted for by exogenous social variables, health measures, basic cognitive skills, and attitudinal measures. The discussion emphasizes several directions for future research, including the need to validate the meaning of performance on these tasks for real-life decision processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conducting risk evaluations for future violence: Ethical practice is possible.

Psychologists frequently testify in court about an individual's risk for future violence. Decades ago, the basis for such testimony was problematic, but the field has made significant progress. However, recent criticisms raise ethical concerns about risk evaluations and state that current methods do not meet admissibility standards. Responding to such criticisms is important for expert witness involvement in these evaluations. We note that it is feasible to conduct thorough ethical evaluations that will aid judicial and clinical decision making. We argue that the courts find this information necessary, and well-informed professionals can make valid and important contributions in these proceedings. To leave the courts without access to the best science available could cause more harm than good. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective processes in perception.

The studies reported in this paper are classified into four general areas: (a) studies of size judgment; (b) studies of the relationships between physiological needs and perception; (c) studies on "selective sensitization" to positively valued stimuli; and (d) studies concerned with "perceptual defense." A section is also included on the various ways of defining the term perception. The author concludes that a need exists for further research, replication of existing studies, improved methodology, and a greater concern for theoretical objectives. 129-item bibliography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social capital and health: implications for public health and epidemiology

Public health and its "basic science", epidemiology, have become colonised by the individualistic ethic of medicine and economics. Despite a history in public health dating back to John Snow that underlined the importance of social systems for health, an imbalance has developed in the attention given to generating "social capital" compared to such things as modification of individual's risk factors. In an illustrative analysis comparing the potential of six progressively less individualised and more community-focused interventions to prevent deaths from heart disease, social support and measures to increase social cohesion faired well against more individual medical care approaches. In the face of such evidence public health professionals and epidemiologists have an ethical and strategic decision concerning the relative effort they give to increasing social cohesion in communities vs expanding access for individuals to traditional public health programs. Practitioners' relative efforts will be influenced by the kind of research that is being produced by epidemiologists and by the political climate of acceptability for voluntary individual "treatment" approaches vs universal policies to build "social capital". For epidemiologists to further our emerging understanding of the link between social capital and health they must confront issues in measurement, study design and analysis. For public health advocates to sensitise the political environment to the potential dividend from building social capital, they must confront the values that focus on individual-level causal models rather than models of social structure (dis)integration. The evolution of explanations for inequalities in health is used to illustrate the nature of the change in values.     

The Hazards of Underspecified Models: The Case of Symmetry in Everyday Predictions.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 115(1) of Psychological Review (see record 2008-00265-009). On p. 772 (Real Data section), some numbers were listed incorrectly. The correct numbers are as follows: For soccer world championships (1930-1978), number of games in which a given team both won and led at halftime = 151, number of games in which a team won the game = 243, number of games in which a team led at halftime = 196, P(WinMid|WinEnd) = .62, and P(WinEnd|WinMid) = .77. For the German Bundesliga (1994-1995), number of games in which a given team both won and led at halftime = 132, number of games in which a team won the game = 223, number of games in which a team led at halftime = 174, P(WinMid|WinEnd) = .59, and P(WinEnd|WinMid) = .76. The conditional probabilities are referred to again on p. 778. There, it should read "These quotients correspond to P(WinMid|WinEnd)/P(WinEnd|WinMid), the empirical values of which were found to be .81 and .78 (.62/.77 and .59/.76, see above)."] Should one be more confident when predicting the whole (or an event based on a larger sample) from the part (or an event based on a smaller sample) than when predicting the reverse? The relevant literature on judgment under uncertainty argues that such predictions are symmetrical but that, as an empirical matter, people often fail to appreciate this symmetry. The authors show that symmetry in prediction does not necessarily hold. In addition to an empirical study involving predictions about soccer games, they develop a theoretical model showing that, at least for the ranges of numerical values usually found in everyday judgment problems, symmetry in predictions is uncommon when 2 different sample sizes are involved. The complexity of the theoretical model used in this analysis raises questions about model specification in judgmental research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experiences of collaborative research.

The author's personal history of the research that led to his recognition in economics is described, focusing on the process of collaboration and on the experience of controversy. The author's collaboration with Amos Tversky dealt with 3 major topics: judgment under uncertainty, decision making, and framing effects. A subsequent collaboration, with the economist Richard Thaler, played a role in the development of behavioral economics. Procedures to make controversies more productive and constructive are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditions for intuitive expertise: A failure to disagree.

This article reports on an effort to explore the differences between two approaches to intuition and expertise that are often viewed as conflicting: heuristics and biases (HB) and naturalistic decision making (NDM). Starting from the obvious fact that professional intuition is sometimes marvelous and sometimes flawed, the authors attempt to map the boundary conditions that separate true intuitive skill from overconfident and biased impressions. They conclude that evaluating the likely quality of an intuitive judgment requires an assessment of the predictability of the environment in which the judgment is made and of the individual’s opportunity to learn the regularities of that environment. Subjective experience is not a reliable indicator of judgment accuracy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of prior reinforcement on the interaction of observer pairs.

"The hypothesis that the interaction of observer pairs is a function of the degree of prior reinforcement of the judgment responses was tested on 38 Ss who first made judgments of lengths of lines when alone, and then in pairs. The pairs were so chosen that the alone judgments of the two Ss overlapped minimally… . On the basis of these findings it is concluded that Ss with a past history of positive reinforcement in a given type of judgment are less influenced by their partners in a group judgment situation than Ss with a history of negative reinforcement." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"I know, you know": Epistemic egocentrism in children and adults.

This article reviews the evidence and theory pertaining to a form of perspective-taking failure--a difficulty in setting aside the privileged information that one knows to be unavailable to another party. The authors argue that this bias (epistemic egocentrism, or EE) is a general feature of human cognition and has been tapped by 2 independent and largely uncommunicating research traditions: the theory-of-mind tradition in developmental psychology and, with more sensitive probes, the "heuristics and biases" tradition in the psychology of human judgment. This article sets the stage for facilitating communication between these traditions as well as for the recognition of EE's breadth and potential interdisciplinary significance. The authors propose a life-span account and a tentative taxonomy of EE; and they highlight the interdisciplinary significance of EE by discussing its implications for normative ethics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)