Integrating advice and experience: Learning and decision making with social and nonsocial cues.

When making decisions, people typically gather information from both social and nonsocial sources, such as advice from others and direct experience. This research adapted a cognitive learning paradigm to examine the process by which people learn what sources of information are credible. When participants relied on advice alone to make decisions, their learning of source reliability proceeded in a manner analogous to traditional cue learning processes and replicated the established learning phenomena. However, when advice and nonsocial cues were encountered together as an established phenomenon, blocking (ignoring redundant information) did not occur. Our results suggest that extant cognitive learning models can accommodate either advice or nonsocial cues in isolation. However, the combination of advice and nonsocial cues (a context more typically encountered in daily life) leads to different patterns of learning, in which mutually supportive information from different types of sources is not regarded as redundant and may be particularly compelling. For these situations, cognitive learning models still constitute a promising explanatory tool but one that must be expanded. As such, these findings have important implications for social psychological theory and for cognitive models of learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of depression on social economic decision making.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 119(3) of Journal of Abnormal Psychology (see record 2010-15289-020). In the article, the last revision received date printed on the final page of the article was incorrect due to an error in the production process. The correct publication dates are as follows: Received April 14, 2009; Revision received November 6, 2009; Accepted November 9, 2009.] Although the role of emotion in social economic decision making has been increasingly recognized, the impact of mood disorders, such as depression, on such decisions has been surprisingly neglected. To address this gap, 15 depressed and 23 nondepressed individuals completed a well-known economic task, in which they had to accept or reject monetary offers from other players. Although depressed individuals reported a more negative emotional reaction to unfair offers, they accepted significantly more of these offers than did controls. A positive relationship was observed in the depressed group, but not in controls, between acceptance rates of unfair offers and resting cardiac vagal control, a physiological index of emotion regulation capacity. The discrepancy between depressed individuals' increased emotional reactions to unfair offers and their decisions to accept more of these offers contrasts with recent findings that negative mood in nondepressed individuals can lead to lower acceptance rates. This suggests distinct biasing processes in depression, which may be related to higher reliance on regulating negative emotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Managing discrimination in selection: The influence of directives from an authority and social dominance orientation.

The authors examined one manner in which to decrease the negative impact of social dominance orientation (SDO), an individual difference variable that indicates support for the "domination of 'inferior' groups by 'superior' groups" (J. Sidanius & F. Pratto, 1999, p. 48), on the selection of candidates from low-status groups within society. Consistent with the tenets of social dominance theory, in 2 studies we found that those high in SDO reported that they were less likely to select a potential team member who is a member of a low-status group (i.e., a White female in Study 1 and a Black male in Study 2) than those low in SDO. However, explicit directives from an authority moderated this effect such that those high in SDO were more likely to select both candidates when authority figures clearly communicated that job performance indicators should be used when choosing team members. Thus, our studies suggest that the negative effects of SDO may be attenuated if those high in SDO are instructed by superiors to use legitimate performance criteria to evaluate job candidates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptualizing political orientation in Canadian political candidates: A tale of two (correlated) dimensions.

Political orientation is often operationalized as a unidimensional left–right continuum. However, some research suggests that this conceptualization might be overly simplistic. The present study examined the structure of political orientation in a sample of 190 politicians who were candidates in the 2006 Canadian federal election. Participants completed measures of attitudes toward specific political issues (social conservatism issues, economic competition issues), ideological beliefs (right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation), and abstract values (conservation, self-enhancement) as indicators of political orientation. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the structure of political orientation was explained best by 2 moderately correlated dimensions: social left–right and economic left–right. Differences in the political orientation indicators between political parties are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thick as thieves: The effects of ethical orientation and psychological safety on unethical team behavior.

The purpose of this study was to uncover compositional and emergent influences on unethical behavior by teams. Results from 126 teams indicated that the presence of a formalistic orientation within the team was negatively related to collective unethical decisions. Conversely, the presence of a utilitarian orientation within the team was positively related to both unethical decisions and behaviors. Results also indicated that the relationship between utilitarianism and unethical outcomes was moderated by the level of psychological safety within the team, such that teams with high levels of safety were more likely to engage in unethical behaviors. Implications are discussed, as well as potential directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integration of social and utilitarian factors in decision making.

Decision making is influenced by social cues, but there is little understanding of how social information interacts with other cues that determine decisions. To address this quantitatively, participants were asked to learn which of two faces was associated with a higher probability of reward. They were repeatedly presented with two faces, each with a different, unknown probability of reward, and participants attempted to maximize gains by selecting the face that was most often rewarded. Both faces had the same identity, but one face had a happy expression and the other had either an angry or a sad expression. Ideal observer models predict that the facial expressions should not affect the decision-making process. Our results however showed that participants had a prior disposition to select the happy face when it was paired with the angry but not the sad face and overweighted the positive outcomes associated with happy faces and underweighted positive outcomes associated with either angry or sad faces. Nevertheless, participants also integrated the feedback information. As such, their decisions were a composite of social and utilitarian factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing the neural basis of decision making in social dilemmas of people with different social value orientations, a fMRI study.

Using functional MRI, we investigate the neural correlates of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation to cooperate by comparing people who differ in the personality trait Social Value Orientation. Participants (n = 28) played several one-shot prisoner's dilemma games (offering weak cooperative incentives) and coordination games (offering strong cooperative incentives) with anonymous partners while they were under the scanner. Behavioral results indicate that proself individuals adjust their behavior toward more cooperation when extrinsic incentives were present, while prosocials' decisions are not affected by game context. The neurological data is consistent with a priori developed hypotheses regarding different behavioral strategies, and suggest that extrinsically motivated proself strategies are driven by calculation and a situation-by-situation approach. Increased activation was found in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS), and precuneus. Intrinsically motivated prosocials' strategies reflect norm compliance, routine moral judgment, and social awareness. Increased activation was found in lateral orbitofrontal cortex, anterior STS, and inferior parietal lobule. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal decision making: The resolution of a dyadic conflict.

"The cooperative resolution of a dyadic conflict was studied as a special case of decision making. Two subjects were required to select a joint decision. The instructions and the task were designed to induce a reasoning set and achievement orientation. The efficiency of the joint decisions was related to the type of choice situation (conflict), the magnitude of individual differences, and the nature and amount of interpersonal influence (interaction). Latency and rationality of choice were the measures of efficiency. Maximal inefficiency was associated with the possibility of gambling, outcomes of loss rather than of gain, moderate individual differences, increasing degrees of verbal interaction, and a weak leader-follower relationship. The dyadic resolution of a decision conflict was conservative in strategy." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GE14A. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stepping up to the challenge: A critical examination of face-to-face and computer-mediated team decision making.

The stepladder technique was designed to improve team decision making by staggering members' entry into a discussion (S. G. Rogelberg, J. L. Bames-Farrell, & C. A. Lowe, 1992). After examining the real and perceived influence exerted by members joining the discussion at different stepladder stages, the authors compared the technique's effects on face-to-face versus computer-mediated teamwork. They also tested the impact of electronic communication on members' perceptions of their collaborative processes. Results did not support the hypothesis that stepladder members joining the discussion early in the procedure enjoy disproportionate amounts of perceived influence, yet a prediction concerning the stepladder technique's incongruent effects across different communication media was partially upheld. As expected, face-to-face participants felt more influential and satisfied than their computer-mediated counterparts, regardless of decision technique. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bad apples, bad cases, and bad barrels: Meta-analytic evidence about sources of unethical decisions at work.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 95(4) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2010-13313-015).] As corporate scandals proliferate, practitioners and researchers alike need a cumulative, quantitative understanding of the antecedents associated with unethical decisions in organizations. In this meta-analysis, the authors draw from over 30 years of research and multiple literatures to examine individual (“bad apple”), moral issue (“bad case”), and organizational environment (“bad barrel”) antecedents of unethical choice. Findings provide empirical support for several foundational theories and paint a clearer picture of relationships characterized by mixed results. Structural equation modeling revealed the complexity (multidetermined nature) of unethical choice, as well as a need for research that simultaneously examines different sets of antecedents. Moderator analyses unexpectedly uncovered better prediction of unethical behavior than of intention for several variables. This suggests a need to more strongly consider a new “ethical impulse” perspective in addition to the traditional “ethical calculus” perspective. Results serve as a data-based foundation and guide for future theoretical and empirical development in the domain of behavioral ethics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When birds of a feather flock together and when they do not: Status composition, social dominance orientation, and organizational attractiveness.

Although similarity-attraction notions suggest that similarity--for example, in terms of values, personality, and demography--attracts, the authors found that sometimes demographic similarity attracts and sometimes it repels. Consistent with social dominance theory (J. Sidanius & F. Pratto, 1999), they demonstrated in 3 studies that when prospective employees supported group-based social hierarchies (i.e., were high in social dominance orientation), those in high-status groups were attracted to demographic similarity within an organization, whereas those in low-status groups were repelled by it. An important theoretical implication of the findings is that social dominance theory and traditional similarity-attraction notions together help explain a more complex relationship between demographic similarity and attraction than was previously acknowledged in the organizational literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes and behaviors toward lesbian and gay persons: Critical correlates and mediated relations.

With data from 255 college women and men, this study examined the relative strength of relations of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and traditional gender role attitudes (TGRA) with anti-lesbian and gay (LG) attitudes. This study also tested the mediating role of anti-LG attitudes in the relations of RWA, SDO, and TGRA with LG-rejecting and -affirming behaviors. Results pointed to the importance of the relations of TGRA and RWA, but not SDO, with anti-LG attitudes and LG-rejecting behaviors. Furthermore, anti-LG attitudes mediated the links of RWA and TGRA with LG-rejecting behaviors. With regard to LG-affirming behaviors, TGRA was the only unique correlate, and anti-LG attitudes did not serve as a mediator. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color-blind racial attitudes, social dominance orientation, racial-ethnic group membership and college students' perceptions of campus climate.

Racial-ethnic group membership, color-blind racial attitudes (i.e., unawareness of racial privilege, institutional discrimination, and blatant racial issues), and social dominance orientation were used to predict perceptions of campus climate in general and specifically for people of color among a sample of 144 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at a predominately White university. Results indicate that after controlling for racial-ethnic minority status, perceptions of "general campus climate" (GCC) and "racial-ethnic campus climate" (RECC) are predicted by color-blind racial attitudes. Post hoc analyses indicated that unawareness of racial privilege partially mediated the relationship between race and RECC and fully mediated the relationship between race and GCC. Individuals with higher levels of color-blind racial attitudes tend to perceive the campus climate more positively. Implications for research, training and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group decision making in hidden profile situations: Dissent as a facilitator for decision quality.

The effect of diversity in individual prediscussion preferences on group decision quality was examined in an experiment in which 135 three-person groups worked on a personnel selection case with 4 alternatives. The information distribution among group members constituted a hidden profile (i.e., the correct solution was not identifiable on the basis of the members' individual information and could be detected only by pooling and integrating the members' unique information). Whereas groups with homogeneous suboptimal prediscussion preferences (no dissent) hardly ever solved the hidden profile, solution rates were significantly higher in groups with prediscussion dissent, even if none of these individual prediscussion preferences were correct. If dissent came from a proponent of the correct solution, solution rates were even higher than in dissent groups without such a proponent. The magnitude of dissent (i.e., minority dissent or full diversity of individual preferences) did not affect decision quality. The beneficial effect of dissent on group decision quality was mediated primarily by greater discussion intensity and to some extent also by less discussion bias in dissent groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting student attitudes about racial diversity and gender equity.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 4(3) of Journal of Diversity in Higher Education (see record 2011-16523-001). There are two errors in Table 2 under the RWA heading and the Cog-gender heading. The necessary changes are provided in the erratum.] [Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Journal of Diversity in Higher Education on August 1 2011 (see record 2011-16523-001). There are two errors in Table 2. Under the RWA heading, the SDO row should have indicated a positive correlation of .266**, not -.266**. Under the Cog-gender heading, the SDO row should have indicated a negative correlation of -.438**, not .438**.] Factors related to attitudes about racial diversity and gender equity were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of 432 college students (167 European Americans, 83 African Americans, 81 Asian Americans, and 82 Hispanic Americans). In addition to variables of self-interest (i.e., ethnicity, gender, and political views), social ideology (i.e., social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism) and personality traits (openness to experience) were uniquely predictive of attitudes about racial diversity and gender equity. Hierarchical regressions revealed that social dominance orientation most strongly predicted racial attitudes, while right-wing authoritarianism most strongly predicted gender attitudes. Implications for diversity education efforts related to prejudice reduction are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time orientation and social class: A correction.

The writers recomputed a chi square for data regarding the interaction of time perspective and social class (see 27: 3494) and found by their computation the figure originally arrived at was in error. This cast doubt on the conclusions based upon these findings. From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GC41G. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing leaders via experience: The role of developmental challenge, learning orientation, and feedback availability.

Prior research offers limited insight into the types of work experiences that promote leadership skill development and the ways that the person and context shape the developmental value of these experiences. In this article, the authors develop a series of hypotheses linking leadership skill development to features of the experience (developmental challenge), person (learning orientation), and context (feedback availability). Based on 225 on-the-job experiences across 60 managers, their results demonstrate that the relationship between developmental challenge and leadership skill development exhibits a pattern of diminishing returns. However, access to feedback can offset the diminishing returns associated with high levels of developmental challenge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Majority and minority influence in group negotiation: The moderating effects of social motivation and decision rules.

In organizational groups, often a majority has aligned preferences that oppose those of a minority. Although such situations may give rise to majority coalitions that exclude the minority or to minorities blocking unfavorable agreements, structural and motivational factors may stimulate groups to engage in integrative negotiation, leading to collectively beneficial agreements. An experiment with 97 3-person groups was designed to test hypotheses about the interactions among decision rule, the majority's social motivation, and the minority's social motivation. Results showed that under unanimity rule, minority members block decisions, thus harming the group, but only when the minority has proself motivation. Under majority rule, majority members coalesce at the minority's expense, but only when the majority has a proself motivation. Implications for negotiation research and group decision making are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social endocrinology of dominance: Basal testosterone predicts cortisol changes and behavior following victory and defeat.

Past research suggests that individuals high in basal testosterone are motivated to gain high status. The present research extends previous work by examining endocrinological and behavioral consequences of high and low status as a function of basal testosterone. The outcome of a competition--victory versus defeat--was used as a marker of status. In Study 1, high testosterone men who lost in a dog agility competition rose in cortisol, whereas high testosterone men who won dropped in cortisol. Low testosterone men's cortisol changes did not depend on whether they had won or lost. Study 2 replicated this pattern of cortisol changes in women who participated in an experimental laboratory competition, and Study 2 extended the cortisol findings to behavior. Specifically, high testosterone winners chose to repeat the competitive task, whereas high testosterone losers chose to avoid it. In contrast, low testosterone winners and losers did not differ in their task preferences. These results provide novel evidence in humans that basal testosterone predicts cortisol reactivity and behavior following changes in social status. Implications for the social endocrinology of dominance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirically and clinically useful decision making in psychotherapy: Differential predictions with treatment response models.

In the delivery of clinical services, outcomes monitoring (i.e., repeated assessments of a patient's response to treatment) can be used to support clinical decision making (i.e., recurrent revisions of outcome expectations on the basis of that response). Outcomes monitoring can be particularly useful in the context of established practice research networks. This article presents a strategy to disaggregate patients into homogeneous subgroups to generate optimal expected treatment response profiles, which can be used to predict and track the progress of patients in different treatment modalities. The study was based on data from 618 diagnostically diverse patients treated with either a cognitive-behavioral treatment protocol (n = 262) or an integrative cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal treatment protocol (n = 356). The validity of expected treatment response models to predict treatment in those 2 protocols for individual patients was evaluated. The ways such a procedure might be used in outpatient centers to learn more about patients, predict treatment response, and improve clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)