Affective and Deliberative Processes in Decision Making: Option Framed Scenarios

As the internet becomes more widely used as a marketplace, consumers are increasingly faced with scenarios where they have to customize products by adding features to a base model or delete features from a fully loaded model, a phenomenon known as option framing. People can now customize their vacations, pizzas, personal computers, shoes and cars with the click of a mouse. Recent research has shown consumers will end up with more features and spend more money when they have to remove features from a fully loaded model versus adding features to a base model (Biswas, 2009; Park & Kim, 2012). Emotion may impact these decision processes. People typically use two modes of information processing: fast and intuitive or deliberate and analytical. Past research has shown positive and neutral emotions can lead people to use a fast and intuitive information processing mode while negative emotions can lead people to use a deliberate and analytical approach (Howard & Barry, 1994; Park & Banji, 2000; Samson & Voyer, 2012; Schwarz, 2013; Schwarz & Bless, 1991). This study investigated how the specific emotions of amusement and sadness impact decisions in an option framing scenario of purchasing a car. Participants were induced with either an amusement or sadness emotion by watching a film clip and then added features to a base model car or removed features from a fully loaded car. The results confirmed past findings in that people spent more money and chose more features when presented with a fully loaded model versus a base model. Emotion did not have an effect in the final product configuration

Decision-making within missing person search

This paper reports the findings of a series of interviews with search and rescue volunteers. Participants were asked to recall accounts of particular incidents which involved searching for a missing adult who could be considered ‘vulnerable’. The purpose of this study was to discover what types of decisions are made during missing incidents; including a consideration of the factors which affect these decisions and the main focuses of attention throughout the incident. Such an understanding may help to shed light on best practices which could inform decision-making support tools for families of the missing and identify the user-requirements of a future technology designed to help find missing people. Interviews were conducted using the critical decision method (CDM) to elicit specific information about the decisions and challenges faced by search and rescue teams during missing person searches. Critical decision points were identified and sequenced for each incident. Emergent thematic analysis (EMA) was applied to the transcripts to identify themes across various incidents; these themes were explored in detail using a mixed-method approach. This study builds upon the methodological approach of CDM using a two-tiered approach to analysis which seeks to discover the focus of practitioners’ attention as they progress through missing person searches. A decision-sequence diagram was created to clearly show the sequence of each decision and trends across all incidents; a table was produced to show the relative importance of each aspect across decisions. Finally, strengths and weaknesses of this approach to incident analysis are discussed

Expertise in Law Enforcement

Book Chapte

Effects of Acute Stress on Aircrew Performance: Literature Review and Analysis of Operational Aspects

Situational stress can adversely affect the cognition and skilled performance of pilots, as well as experts in other domains. Emergencies and other threatening situations require pilots to execute infrequently practiced procedures correctly and to use their skills and judgment to select an appropriate course of action, often under high workload, time pressure, and ambiguous indications, all of which can be stressful. Our current study, consited of three parts, starting with a critical review of the research literature on the effects of stress on skilled performance, going back to World War II and continuing to recent and more sophisticated studies of the cognitive effects of anxiety. In the second part we analyzed the specific ways stress may have impaired the performance of airline crews in twelve major accidents, selected for diversity of the situations the crews encountered. The third part examined the operational significance and practical implications of the findings from the first two parts, suggested specific ways to reduce the harmful effects of stress on flight crews, and identified aspects requiring further research. Even thought this study focused on flight crews, the findings apply to the effects of stress on the skilled performance of experts in almost any domain

Stress Perceptions and Verbal Commands for Law Enforcement in High-Stress Situations

Acute stress can have a negative effect on the physiology and cognitive performance of peace officers when they are engaged in high-stress situations. This could lead to injury or loss of life if a mistaken perception occurs or incorrect decision is made by the officer or suspect. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of stress for peace officers who issue verbal commands to an aggressive role-playing suspect in a use-of-force scenario. The theoretical framework was Lazarus and Folkman\u27s transactional theory of stress and coping. Data were collected from observations, field notes, and semi-structured interviews with 10 peace officers who were immersed in the realistic training scenario. Data from the field notes and interviews were coded and categorized for thematic analysis. Themes that emerged were breathing via verbal commands, realism, stress and anxiety, and perceived control. Implications for social change include increased safety for peace officers and the protection of life

Algorithms and Autonomy

Algorithms influence every facet of modern life. However, delegating important decisions to machines gives rise to deep moral concerns about responsibility, transparency, fairness, and democracy. This book examines these concerns by connecting them to the human value of autonomy. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core

Professional judgement in social work: making sense of the initial home visit

The professional judgements made by child and family social workers are crucially important for the welfare and protection of vulnerable children. Social workers make assessments of need and risk in relation to children, often in the context of suspected abuse or neglect. A key part of assessment involves visiting the child and their parents in the family home. This qualitative study investigated UK child and family social workers’ experiences of undertaking initial home visits. Through a psychosocial analysis of narrative interviews (n=18) and focus groups (n=2), this study captures how social workers use their observations and experiences within the family home in order to arrive at a professional judgement. This research fills a significant gap in the literature in relation to home visiting, which has been identified as an integral, although ‘hidden’, aspect of social work practice. Specifically, this study identifies the initial visit as involving a delicate balance between three interconnected domains of activity: sense-making (generating hypotheses about need, risk and parenting capacity), self-regulation (managing emotional responses during the visit) and managing the encounter (directing the discussion and use of professional role). This thesis extends our current understanding of decision-making in social work, advancing a conceptualisation of the role of emotion in professional judgement. The analysis describes how social worker’s emotions during the home visit can act as a resource informing assessment, alerting them to salient information. The social worker’s emotional responses can also potentially act as a risk for professional judgement, through the creation of bias. The thesis suggests that the extent to which emotions act as a resource or as a risk, depends on individual, situational and organisational factors. Drawing on these findings, this research offers a series of recommendations for practice, including how organisations can facilitate effective professional judgement through the provision of emotionally intelligent support

The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”