An evolved cognitive bias for social norms

Social norms are a widely used concept for explaining human behavior, but there are few studies exploring how we cognitively utilize them. We incorporate here an evolutionary approach to studying social norms, predicting that if norms have been critical to biological fitness, then individuals should have adaptive mechanisms to conform to, and avoid violating, norms. A cognitive bias toward norms is one specific means by which individuals could achieve this. To test this, we assessed whether individuals have greater recall for normative information than for nonnormative information. Three experiments were performed in which participants read a text and were then tested on their recall of behavioral content. The data suggest that individuals have superior recall for normative social information and that performance is not related to rated importance. We discuss how such a cognitive bias may ontogenetically develop and identify possible hypotheses that distinguish between alternative explanatory accounts for social norms

Effect of time yield in concrete upon deformation stresses in a reinforced concrete arch bridge : a report

Cover title.Prepared as part of an investigation conducted by the Engineering Experiment Station, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Noise-robust preparation contextuality shared between any number of observers via unsharp measurements

Multiple observers who independently harvest nonclassical correlations from a single physical system share the system's ability to enable quantum correlations. We show that any number of independent observers can share the preparation contextual outcome statistics enabled by state ensembles in quantum theory. Furthermore, we show that even in the presence of any amount of white noise, there exists quantum ensembles that enable such shared preparation contextuality. The findings are experimentally realised by applying sequential unsharp measurements to an optical qubit ensemble which reveals three shared demonstrations of preparation contextuality.Comment: H. A. and N. W. contributed equally to this wor

Psychometric Evaluation of an Instrument to Measure Prospective Pregnancy Preferences: The Desire to Avoid Pregnancy Scale.

BACKGROUND:Existing approaches to measuring women's pregnancy intentions suffer important limitations, including retrospective assessment, overly simple categories, and a presumption that all women plan pregnancies. No psychometrically valid scales exist to prospectively measure the ranges of women's pregnancy preferences. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Using a rigorous construct modeling approach, we developed a scale to measure desire to avoid pregnancy. We developed 60 draft items from existing research, assessed comprehension through 25 cognitive interviews, and administered items in surveys with 594 nonpregnant women in 7 primary and reproductive health care facilities in Arizona, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas in 2016-2017. We used item response theory to reduce the item set and assess the scale's reliability, internal structure validity, and external validity. Items were included based on fit to a random effects multinomial logistic regression model (partial credit item response model), correspondence of item difficulty with participants' pregnancy preference levels, and consistency of each item's response options with overall scale scores. RESULTS:The 14 final items covered 3 conceptual domains: cognitive preferences, affective feelings, and practical consequences. Items fit the unidimensional model, with a separation reliability of 0.90 (Cronbach α: 0.95). The scale met established criteria for internal validity, including correspondence between each item's response categories and overall scale scores. We found no important differential item functioning by participant characteristics. CONCLUSIONS:A robust measure is available to prospectively measure desire to avoid pregnancy. The measure can aid in identifying women who could benefit from contraceptive care and research on less desired pregnancy

Insect Problems that Develop on Alfalfa Following Treatment with Certain Insecticides

Author Institution: Departments of Entomology and Agronomy, Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, Lafayette, Indian

State of Play in Western New York: Analysis and Recommendations

This report offers an independent assessment of the state of play for kids and sports in the eight-county region comprising Western New York-Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming counties. It is anchored in the notion that all stakeholders will benefit if all children in the region, regardless of zip code or ability, are provided access to a quality sport experience. The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program research team produced this State of Play report, analyzing sport programs and facilities in the region through the eight strategic filters ( plays ) highlighted in the Aspen Institute\u27s seminal 2015 report, Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game. Supporting Aspen were the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, and a task force consisting of youth sport and other leaders from across the regio

Board Changes and the Director Labor Market: The Case of Mergers

We provide benchmarks for board changes over time and in response to the evolution of firm structure. Boards are more stable in the modern era. At the same time, shifts made around mergers are substantial and significantly different than those at non-merging firms. Changes to acquiring boards reflect firm needs, increased demand for executive and merger experience and bargaining between targets and acquirers, rather than agency motives. Conversely, director selection at non-merging firms is driven by general skills and diversity. Our analyses provide insight into the dynamic nature of board structure and characteristics demanded in the director labor market