How Decision-Making Monetary Desirability Influences Risk Preferences.

The Decision by Sampling (DbS) relative rank model predicts that absolute values and their magnitudes do not influence judgement or choice (Stewart et al., 2006). Specifically, DbS assumes that the subjective worth of an attribute value (e.g., a monetary amount) is its relative rank position within the distribution of sampled attribute values. In contrast, we propose that the decision-makers’ preferences are also influenced by the desirability of monetary amounts. We tested this proposal using a DbS method, where participants had to choose between a risk-averse and a risk-seeking gamble, after sampling monetary amounts. We found that human decision-makers use relative ranking only when the risk choice options are non-desirable (negligible monetary amounts). However, when the decision-making task includes a risk choice option that is desirable (a large monetary amount), participants chose the desirable risk option regardless of how sampled values were distributed. Accordingly, the results revealed that desirability of absolute values (and not the sampling experience and relative ranking) influenced participants’ risk preferences

The First Attribute Heuristic in Risky Decision-Making.

Behavioural science theorists suggest that people’s judge- ments and decisions are often determined by the use of heuristics (e.g., Gigerenzer & Gaissmaier, 2011; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974) rather than computational processing (e.g., computing probability and money) as assumed by expected utility theory (von Neumann & Morgenstern, 1947) and prospect theory (Tversky & Kahneman, 1992). Accordingly, we propose that people’s preferences are deter- mined by binary comparison on the first contextually available attri- bute. Thus, we argue for first attribute heuristic (FAH) where human decision-makers prefer the option with the higher value on the first contextually available attribute. We explored FAH in an experiment where participants had to choose between a hypothetical safe (high probability of winning a smaller monetary prize) and risky (low probability of winning a larger monetary prize) gambles. Congru- ent with FAH predictions, we found that participants chose the risky gamble relatively more when the first contextually available attribute was money than when the first contextually available attribute was probability. In contrast, participants chose the safe gamble when the first contextually available attribute was probability

Save the Best for First: First Attribute Heuristic in Consumer Choice

We propose a novel decision-making mechanism (the First Attribute Heuristic [FAH]), where people’s preferences are determined by binary comparison on the first con- textually available attribute. Accordingly, we argue that human deci- sion-makers prefer the option with the dominant value on the first contextually available attribute. In two experiments, we explore the influence of FAH and the attribute chosen by the participants as more important (e.g., brightness or warranty) on their willingness to pay (WTP) for TVs A and B. We found that only when the attribute cho- sen as more important is also the first contextually available attri- bute, participants paid more money for the TV with dominant value on that attribute (experiment one). Moreover, in experiment two, we introduced a new task, where the first contextually available attribute is nonnumerical (ethics of the TV manufacturer: ethical or unethical manufacturer), task irrelevant (the decision attributes are brightness and warranty), and with decision consequences (endorsing an ethi- cal or unethical manufacturer). Accordingly, the results revealed that only FAH influenced participants’ WTP judgements for TVs

Participants’ Utilitarian Choice Is Influenced by Gamble Presentation and Age

No prior behavioral science research has delved into the impact of gamble presentation (horizontal or vertical) on individuals’ utilitarian behavior, despite evidence suggesting that such choices can be influenced by comparing attributes like probability and money in gambles. This article addresses this gap by exploring the influence of gamble presentation on utilitarian behavior. A two-factor independent measures design was employed to explore the influence of the type of gamble presentation and age on participants’ utilitarian decision-making preferences. The findings showed a reduced likelihood of participants choosing the non-utilitarian gamble with vertically presented gambles compared to horizontal ones. Consequently, participants’ utilitarian behavior was influenced by between-gamble comparisons of available attributes, with utilitarian choices (e.g., choosing Gamble A) being more prevalent in vertical presentations due to a straightforward comparison on the probability attribute. Furthermore, the results also revealed that older participants take more time than their younger counterparts when making utilitarian errors. We attribute this to their abundant knowledge and experience. Future research should explore the comparative psychological processing used by participants in risky decision-making tasks

How Perceived Privacy Risk Determines People’s Willingness to Use Online Fashion Technologies

The subjective perception of Risk, Security, and Privacy in using online platforms and technologies determines to a large extent customers’ behaviours on these platforms. Accordingly, in this applied research project we have empirically explored how procedural anonymity and privacy influence customers’ willingness to use an online fitting application for fashion. Moreover, we have developed a psychometric tool that captures the psycholog ical variables (e.g., trust, perceived privacy risk, perceived privacy control, and online self-disclosure behaviour) of using online fashion technology. Furthermore, we will report the psychological factors that predict customers’ willingness to use online technology for fashion (e.g., online fitting application)

Finite element modelling of cochlear electrical coupling

The operation of each hair cell within the cochlea generates a change in electrical potential at the frequency of the vibrating basilar membrane beneath the hair cell. This electrical potential influences the operation of the cochlea at nearby locations and can also be detected as the cochlear microphonic signal. The effect of such potentials has been proposed as a mechanism for the non-local operation of the cochlear amplifier, and the interaction of such potentials has been thought to be the cause of the broadness of cochlea microphonic tuning curves. The spatial extent of influence of these potentials is an important parameter for determining the significance of their effects. Calculations of this extent have typically been based on calculating the longitudinal resistance of each of the scalae from the scala cross sectional area, and the conductivity of the lymph. In this paper, the range of influence of the electrical potential is examined using an electrical finite element model. It is found that the range of influence of the hair cell potential is much shorter than the conventional calculation, but is consistent with recent measurements

The Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke has global importance and it causes an increasing amount of human suffering and economic burden, but its management is far from optimal. The unsuccessful outcome of several research programs highlights the need for reliable data on which to plan future clinical trials. The Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive aims to aid the planning of clinical trials by collating and providing access to a rich resource of patient data to perform exploratory analyses. METHODS: Data were contributed by the principal investigators of numerous trials from the past 16 years. These data have been centrally collated and are available for anonymized analysis and hypothesis testing. RESULTS: Currently, the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive contains 21 trials. There are data on \u3e15,000 patients with both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Ages range between 18 and 103 years, with a mean age of 69+/-12 years. Outcome measures include the Barthel Index, Scandinavian Stroke Scale, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, Orgogozo Scale, and modified Rankin Scale. Medical history and onset-to-treatment time are readily available, and computed tomography lesion data are available for selected trials. CONCLUSIONS: This resource has the potential to influence clinical trial design and implementation through data analyses that inform planning

Monitoring Grape Berry Moth (Paralobesia viteana: Lepidoptera) in Commercial Vineyards using a Host Plant Based Synthetic Lure

For some Lepidopteran pests, such as the grape berry moth Paralobesia viteana (Clemens), poor correlation between males captured in traps baited with sex pheromone and oviposition activities of female moths has called into question the value of pheromone-based monitoring for these species. As an alternative, we compared the capture of female and male grape berry moth in panel traps baited with synthetic host volatiles with captures of males in pheromone-baited wing traps over two growing seasons in two blocks of grapes in a commercial vineyard in central New York. Lures formulated in hexane to release either 7-component or 13-component host volatile blends captured significantly more male and female grape berry moth on panel traps compared with the numbers captured on panel traps with hexane-only lures. For both sexes over both years, the same or more moths were captured in panel traps along the forest edge compared with the vineyard edge early in the season but this pattern was reversed by mid-season. Male moths captured in pheromone-baited wing traps also displayed this temporal shift in location. There was a significant positive correlation between captured males and females on panel traps although not between females captured on panel traps and males captured in pheromone-baited traps for both years suggesting pheromone traps do not accurately reflect either female or male activity. Male moths captured in pheromone traps indicated a large peak early in each season corresponding to first flight followed by lower and variable numbers that did not clearly indicate second and third flights. Panel trap data, combining males and females, indicated three distinct flights, with some overlap between the second and third flights. Peak numbers of moths captured on panel traps matched well with predictions of a temperature-based phenology model, especially in 2008. Although effective, panel traps baited with synthetic host lures were time consuming to deploy and maintain and captured relatively few moths making them impractical, in the current design, for commercial purpose