Is that the answer you had in mind? The effect of perspective on unethical behavior

We explored how the perspective through which individuals view their actions influences their ethicality, comparing a narrow perspective that allows for evaluation of each choice in isolation, to a broad perspective that promotes an aggregate view of one’s choices. To examine unethical behavior we employed a computerized variation of a trivia game that challenges the player’s integrity because, rather than choosing the correct answer, players indicate whether the correct highlighted answer is the answer they had in mind. In Experiment 1 perspective was modified through the choice procedure: broad perspective evoked by an aggregate decision regarding the upcoming test items and narrow perspective evoked by a segregated decision regarding each upcoming test item. In Experiment 2 perspective was evoked through differential priming. Across both experiments, when given a monetary incentive to succeed, the adoption of a narrow perspective increased cheating, as evidenced by overall higher reported success rates

The effect of unpleasant experiences on evaluation and behavior

Analyses of the impact of unpleasant experiences reveal two contradictory effects: direct studies of experienced utility reflect overweighting the peak (rare and most extreme) experience, but studies of decisions from experience reflect underweighting of the peak and reliance on the frequent experiences. The present research highlights the role of two contributors to this pattern. First, the results suggest that evaluations are more sensitive to rare events than decisions. It seems that the implied weighting of the peak experiences is a reflection of beliefs that affect evaluation and decisions in different ways. Second, the results show clear indications of underweighting rare events in ongoing decisions, but not in planning decisions. This pattern can be explained with the assertion of beliefs concerning the probability of the peak event is approximately accurate on average, but it changes from trial to trial. The potential value of these results is highlighted with a discussion of safety enhancement in industrial settings

Is that the answer you had in mind? The effect of perspective on unethical behavior

We explored how the perspective through which individuals view their actions influences their ethicality, comparing a narrow perspective that allows for evaluation of each choice in isolation, to a broad perspective that promotes an aggregate view of one's choices. To examine unethical behavior we employed a computerized variation of a trivia game that challenges the player's integrity because, rather than choosing the correct answer, players indicate whether the correct highlighted answer is the answer they had in mind. In Experiment 1 perspective was modified through the choice procedure: broad perspective evoked by an aggregate decision regarding the upcoming test items and narrow perspective evoked by a segregated decision regarding each upcoming test item. In Experiment 2 perspective was evoked through differential priming. Across both experiments, when given a monetary incentive to succeed, the adoption of a narrow perspective increased cheating, as evidenced by overall higher reported success rates

Qualifying Faults - The Role of Professionalism and Accountability in Bidding Procedures

Competitive Bidding is the most common method used by organizations and governments to receive bids from prospective suppliers. Although the method is designed to ensure objectivity when considering proposals, here we suggest that it may be biased in favor of lower priced bids, a phenomenon termed lower bid bias (LBB). Importantly, we demonstrate that this bias leads people to qualify and choose bids that are faulty and should be outright rejected. We also provide insights into cognitive and attentional mechanisms underlying the bias, suggesting that it stems from intuitive information processing. This notion is supported by demonstrating that professionalism and process accountability moderate the bias, and by results we obtain when using eye-tracking methodology

Comparison of glucose and lactate as substrates during NMDA-induced activation of hippocampal slices

It has been postulated that lactate released from astrocytes may be the preferred metabolic substrate for neurons, particularly during intense neuronal activity (the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle hypothesis). We examined this hypothesis by exposing rat hippocampal slices to artificial cerebrospinal fluid containing either glucose or lactate and either N-methyl- d-aspartate, which activates neurons without stimulating astrocytic glucose uptake, or α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate, which blocks monocarboxylate transport across plasma and mitochondrial membranes. When exposed to N-methyl- d-aspartate, slices lost synaptic transmission and K + homeostasis more slowly in glucose-containing artificial cerebrospinal fluid than in lactate-containing artificial cerebrospinal fluid. After N-methyl- d-aspartate exposure, slices recovered synaptic transmission more completely in glucose. These results suggest that hippocampal neurons can use glucose more effectively than lactate when energy demand is high. In experiments with α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate, 500 μM α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate caused loss of K + homeostasis and synaptic transmission in hippocampal slices during normoxia. When 200 μM α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate was used, synaptic activity and intracellular pH in slices decreased significantly during normoxia. These results suggest that α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate may have blocked mitochondrial oxidative metabolism along with lactate transport. Thus, studies using α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate to demonstrate the presence of a lactate shuttle in the brain tissue may need reevaluation. Our findings, together with observations in the literature that (1) glucose is available to neurons during activation, (2) heightened energy demand rapidly activates glycolysis in neurons, and (3) activation of glycolysis suppresses lactate utilization, suggests that glucose is the primary substrate for neurons during neuronal activation and do not support the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle hypothesis