The martyrdom effect : when pain and effort increase prosocial contributions

Most theories of motivation and behavior (and lay intuitions alike) consider pain and effort to be deterrents. In contrast to this widely held view, we provide evidence that the prospect of enduring pain and exerting effort for a prosocial cause can promote contributions to the cause. Specifically, we show that willingness to contribute to a charitable or collective cause increases when the contribution process is expected to be painful and effortful rather than easy and enjoyable. Across five experiments, we document this “martyrdom effect,” show that the observed patterns defy standard economic and psychological accounts, and identify a mediator and moderator of the effect. Experiment 1 showed that people are willing to donate more to charity when they anticipate having to suffer to raise money. Experiment 2 extended these findings to a non-charity laboratory context that involved real money and actual pain. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the martyrdom effect is not the result of an attribute substitution strategy (whereby people use the amount of pain and effort involved in fundraising to determine donation worthiness). Experiment 4 showed that perceptions of meaningfulness partially mediate the martyrdom effect. Finally, Experiment 5 demonstrated that the nature of the prosocial cause moderates the martyrdom effect: the effect is strongest for causes associated with human suffering. We propose that anticipated pain and effort lead people to ascribe greater meaning to their contributions and to the experience of contributing, thereby motivating higher prosocial contributions. We conclude by considering some implications of this puzzling phenomenon. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Об оптимизации смешанной зарядной инфраструктуры электробусов для городских маршрутов

Objectives. When transition from a fleet of diesel buses to a fleet of electric buses, it is important to optimize the charging infrastructure, which combines the slow-charging technologies at the depot overnight and fast recharging at the terminals of the routes. The purpose of the study is to create models and methods for developing the cost-effective solutions for selecting this type of charging infrastructure for a fleet of electric buses serving the city route system, taking into account a number of specific conditions. The operation of the fleet and charging infrastructure is modeled both for the depot at night and for the terminal stops in the most representative period of the day, characterized by the highest intensity of passenger traffic and maximum power consumption.Methods. Methods of set theory, graph theory and linear approximation are used.Results. A mathematical model has been developed for the problem of optimizing a mixed-type charging infrastructure for an electric bus fleet. The total daily cost of charging stations, degradation of electric bus batteries and consumed electricity was chosen as the objective function. The model is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem.Conclusion. To solve the formulated problem, standard solvers like IBM ILOG CPLEX can be used. The solution of the problem lies in the choice of durations and schedules for charging electric buses at low-capacity charging stations in the depot at night and at high-capacity charging stations of terminal stops in a given range of peak hours.Цели. При переходе от парка дизельных автобусов к парку электробусов актуальной является оптимизация зарядной инфраструктуры, совмещающей технологии медленной зарядки батарей в депо в ночное время и быстрой подзарядки на конечных остановках маршрутов. Цель исследования заключается в создании моделей и методов выработки экономически эффективных решений по выбору зарядной инфраструктуры такого типа для парка электробусов, обслуживающих систему городских маршрутов с учетом ряда специфических условий. Функционирование парка и зарядной инфраструктуры моделируется как для депо в ночной период, так и для конечных остановок в наиболее представительный период дня, характеризующийся наибольшей интенсивностью пассажиропотока и максимальным расходом электроэнергии.Методы. Используются методы теории множеств, теории графов и линейной аппроксимации.Результаты. Разработана математическая модель задачи оптимизации зарядной инфраструктуры смешанного типа для парка электробусов. В качестве целевой функции выбрана суммарная дневная стоимость зарядных станций, износа батарей электробусов парка и потребленной электроэнергии. Модель сформулирована в виде задачи смешанного целочисленного линейного программирования.Заключение. Для решения сформулированной задачи целочисленного линейного программирования могут использоваться стандартные решатели типа IBM ILOG CPLEX. Решение задачи заключается в выборе длительностей и расписаний зарядки электробусов на зарядных станциях малой мощности в депо в ночное время и на зарядных станциях большой мощности конечных остановок в заданном диапазоне часов пик

ОПТИМИЗАЦИЯ РАЗМЕЩЕНИЯ ГРУППЫ ДЕТАЛЕЙ НА МНОГОПОЗИЦИОННОМ ПОВОРОТНОМ СТОЛЕ АГРЕГАТНОГО СТАНКА

The problem of minimizing the mass of rotary transfer machine by placing a batch of workpieces at the rotary table is considered. To solve this problem the mathematical model and heuristic PSO algorithm are proposed. The results of numerical experiments for series of real problems are reported. The experiments revealed that the PSO algorithm on average is more effective for the solution of the problem compared to methods of random search and LP-search.Рассматривается задача минимизации массы агрегатного станка с многопозиционным поворотным столом за счет размещения каждой детали группы на столе при их групповой последовательно-параллельной обработке. Предлагаются математическая модель и эвристический алгоритм «роя частиц» для решения данной задачи. Приводятся результаты численных экспериментов по решению предложенным методом задач этого типа

Differential disgust responding in people with cancer and implications for psychological wellbeing

Objectives: Evidence suggests that disgust responses, known to negatively affect psychological wellbeing, may differ in people with cancer. We performed the first quantitative investigation of three discrete types of disgust trait - disgust propensity, sensitivity, and self-directed disgust - in people diagnosed with a broad range of cancers (versus cancer-free controls), and explored their associations with psychological wellbeing. Design: In a cross-sectional survey design, 107 participants with heterogeneous cancer diagnoses, recruited from cancer charities and support groups, were matched with cancer-free controls by age and gender. Outcome measures: Measures of the three disgust traits were taken alongside measures of anxiety and depression. Results: Disgust sensitivity and physical self-disgust were significantly higher in the cancer than control sample, while disgust propensity and behavioural self-disgust were lower. The disgust traits had a different pattern of associations to psychological wellbeing across the two groups, with disgust sensitivity predicting depressive symptoms to a significantly greater extent in the cancer than control group. Conclusions: People with cancer differ from matched controls in their disgust responses and these responses have significant predictive relationships with aspects of their psychological wellbeing. The results suggest that emotion-based interventions may be useful for improving psychological wellbeing in people with cancer

ОПТИМИЗАЦИЯ ВЫПУСКА И ИНТЕНСИВНОСТЕЙ ОБРАБОТКИ ГРУППЫ ДЕТАЛЕЙ ПРИ НЕСТАЦИОНАРНОМ СПРОСЕ

We consider a problem of optimizing the output of a batch of parts and intensities of its processing with tool blocks on a multiposition equipment under non-stationary demand and predetermined time intervals. The batch content does not vary from one interval to another. The objective function is the sum of production cost, storage cost of excess parts, and penalties for unmet demand. The production cost depends on processing intensities. A decomposition method for solving the problem is proposed.Рассматривается задача оптимизации размеров выпуска группы деталей и интенсивностей их обработки на многопозиционном оборудовании блоками инструментов при нестационарном спросе на заданных временных интервалах. Состав группы не меняется от интервала к интервалу. В качестве целевой функции принята сумма затрат на производство, хранение избытков деталей и штрафы за неудовлетворенный спрос на них. Затраты на выпуск группы деталей зависят от интенсивностей их обработки. Предложен декомпозиционный метод решения задачи

ЛИНЕЙНАЯ АППРОКСИМАЦИЯ ЗАДАЧИ ОПТИМИЗАЦИИ ИНТЕНСИВНОСТЕЙ ПОСЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬНО-ПАРАЛЛЕЛЬНОГО ВЫПОЛНЕНИЯ ПЕРЕСЕКАЮЩИХСЯ МНОЖЕСТВ ОПЕРАЦИЙ

The mathematical model and method for the problem of optimization of intensities of sequen-tial-parallel execution of intersecting operation sets are proposed. The proposed method is based on the approximation of the problem by linear programming problem.Предлагаются математическая модель и метод оптимизации интенсивностей последова-тельно-параллельного выполнения пересекающихся множеств операций. Интенсивность любой опе-рации остается неизменной в составе любого множества. Зависимости материальных и временных затрат на выполнение любой операции в составе конкретного множества от ее интенсивности представимы выпуклыми функциями. Предложенный метод основывается на аппроксимации исходной задачи задачей линейного программирования. Приводится интерпретация в терминах рассмотренной задачи одной из задач оптимизации режимов групповой многоинструментальной обработки деталей на многопозиционном оборудовании

Fighting the flinch : experimentally induced compassion makes a difference in healthcare providers

Objectives: Although healthcare providers are required to sustain care in difficult circumstances, some patients challenge this principle. Evoking compassion seems likely to be helpful in such situations. This research aimed to evaluate whether inducing compassion in healthcare providers might mitigate disengagement with patients who have challenging presenting features such as those with disgusting symptoms and/or are to blame for their own health problems. Design: An online experimental study with clinical healthcare providers. Methods: Medical students (n=219) and qualified healthcare professionals (n=108) took part in an online experiment. Participants were randomised to view a slideshow of either neutral images (control) or compassion-inducing images (compassion condition) and were then presented with a series of patient vignettes where presenting problems systematically varied on patient responsibility and disgusting symptoms. Engagement was assessed by asking participants how caring they felt, how much they would want to help, how challenging it would be, and whether they would wear a mask. Results: Participants reported less engagement with patients who were responsible for their illness and who presented with disgusting symptoms. Induced compassion offset disengagement and qualified health professionals were more caring and willing to help patients than medical students. The compassion induction eliminated some differences between experienced and trainee clinicians. Conclusions: This research demonstrates that disgust and patient responsibility impacts clinical engagement and that medical students are more impacted by such scenarios than qualified health providers. Inducing compassion may help to mitigate these differences and further investigation into strategies that foster engagement with difficult patients is warranted

Positive words carry less information than negative words

We show that the frequency of word use is not only determined by the word length \cite{Zipf1935} and the average information content \cite{Piantadosi2011}, but also by its emotional content. We have analyzed three established lexica of affective word usage in English, German, and Spanish, to verify that these lexica have a neutral, unbiased, emotional content. Taking into account the frequency of word usage, we find that words with a positive emotional content are more frequently used. This lends support to Pollyanna hypothesis \cite{Boucher1969} that there should be a positive bias in human expression. We also find that negative words contain more information than positive words, as the informativeness of a word increases uniformly with its valence decrease. Our findings support earlier conjectures about (i) the relation between word frequency and information content, and (ii) the impact of positive emotions on communication and social links.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

ОПТИМИЗАЦИЯ ДИНАМИЧЕСКИ ИЗМЕНЯЕМЫХ РЕЖИМОВ ГРУППОВОЙ ОБРАБОТКИ РЕЗАНИЕМ НА МНОГОПОЗИЦИОННОМ МНОГОИНСТРУМЕНТАЛЬНОМ ОБОРУДОВАНИИ

One of the problems of defining the rational cutting modes of batch processing of different parts on multi-position multi-tool equipment is considered. It is assumed that the modes for identical parts should be the same and the modes for different parts could be different while maintaining the kinemat-ic relations between rotational speeds of the spindles of one spindle box. The mathematical model of the problem is developed. The model is aimed at minimizing the cost of batch processing taking into account the required throughput and technological constraints for each of the tools. The two-level de-composition approach to solve the problem is proposed.Рассматривается одна из задач определения рациональных режимов групповой обработки ре-занием следующих друг за другом идентичных подпоследовательностей заготовок деталей различных наименований на многопозиционном многоинструментальном оборудовании. Предполагается, что для деталей одного наименования режимы обработки должны быть одинаковыми, а для деталей разных наименований режимы могут быть различными при сохранении кинематических связей между частотами вращения шпинделей одной шпиндельной коробки. Разработанная математиче-ская модель задачи ориентирована на минимизацию технологической себестоимости обработки группы заготовок деталей с учетом требуемой производительности и основных конструктивно-технологи¬ческих ограничений по каждому из инструментов. Предлагается двухуровневый декомпо-зиционный подход к решению поставленной задачи