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Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Mar 2024Successful cooperation is tightly linked to individuals' beliefs about their interaction partners, the decision setting, and existing norms, perceptions, and values.... (Review)
Review
Successful cooperation is tightly linked to individuals' beliefs about their interaction partners, the decision setting, and existing norms, perceptions, and values. This article reviews and integrates findings from judgment and decision-making, social and cognitive psychology, political science, and economics, developing a systematic overview of the mechanisms underlying motivated cognition in cooperation. We elaborate on how theories and concepts related to motivated cognition developed in various disciplines define the concept and describe its functionality. We explain why beliefs play such an essential role in cooperation, how they can be distorted, and how this fosters or harms cooperation. We also highlight how individual differences and situational factors change the propensity to engage in motivated cognition. In the form of a construct map, we provide a visualization of the theoretical and empirical knowledge structure regarding the role of motivated cognition, including its many interdependencies, feedback loops, and moderating influences. We conclude with a brief suggestion for a future research agenda based on this compiled evidence.
Topics: Humans; Cognition; Judgment; Motivation; Cooperative Behavior
PubMed: 37883800
DOI: 10.1177/17456916231193990 -
Journal of Intelligence Feb 2024There is little consensus about the underlying parameters of human reasoning. Two major theories have been proposed that suppose very different mechanisms. The mental... (Review)
Review
There is little consensus about the underlying parameters of human reasoning. Two major theories have been proposed that suppose very different mechanisms. The mental model theory proposes that people use working memory intensive processes in order to construct limited models of problem parameters. Probabilistic theories propose that reasoning is a process by which people use the sum of their existing knowledge in order to generate an estimate of the probability of a conclusion given problem parameters. Following an initial proposition by Verschueren et al., the dual-strategy model supposes that these different approaches to reasoning are in fact an important individual difference. Specifically, a recently developed diagnostic questionnaire has identified two major categories of reasoners: reasoners use a mental model form of processing, while reasoners use a probabilistic form of processing. In the following, I describe results that show that the Counterexample/Statistical distinction affects information processing across a variety of reasoning and judgment tasks. In addition, strategy use correlates with performance on very different kinds of thinking, such as contingency judgments, processing of negative emotions, or susceptibility to social biases. Although this distinction is related to differences in cognitive ability, it has been found to predict performance over and above these differences. More recent results have shown that it is possible to experimentally modify strategy use. These results suggest that strategy use is an important individual difference that can affect performance in a wide variety of contexts.
PubMed: 38535159
DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence12030025 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Feb 2024A better understanding of age-related differences in judgment and decision making is important from both theoretical and applied perspectives. In this review, we focus... (Review)
Review
A better understanding of age-related differences in judgment and decision making is important from both theoretical and applied perspectives. In this review, we focus on value-based decisions across adulthood and specifically on how loss aversion (a relatively stronger weight of losses than gains on decisions) and the relative motivational impact of gains and losses may change with aging. In doing so, we will also cover recent findings about the effects of gain or loss incentives on performance in cognitive tasks that involve attention, learning, and remembering. We point out open questions and critical moderating variables for future theorizing and research.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Decision Making; Judgment; Motivation; Learning; Aging
PubMed: 38103277
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101765 -
EXCLI Journal 2023Classic decision theory requires that rational agents show description invariance: which description is chosen should not matter for judgments, preferences, or choices... (Review)
Review
Classic decision theory requires that rational agents show description invariance: which description is chosen should not matter for judgments, preferences, or choices given the descriptions are co-extensive. Framing research has amply demonstrated a failure of description invariance by showing that the choice of the description has a systematic effect on judgments, preferences, and choices. Specifically, framing research has shown that linguistically different descriptions of seemingly equivalent options frequently lead to preference reversals. I summarize the research on framing in situations entailing risk. This includes the characterization of different research designs used, the size and robustness of the framing effects reported for those designs, and the theoretical accounts put forward to explain framing effects. The theoretical accounts are evaluated with respect to their merits, empirically and theoretically. I end by providing the implications of framing research. My central point is that the existence of framing effects points to the adaptiveness of the processes underlying human judgment and choice rather than simply showing human irrationality.
PubMed: 37927347
DOI: 10.17179/excli2023-6169 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Nov 2023A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several... (Review)
Review
A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several neurological and psychiatric conditions remain seldom investigated. The aim of this review is to develop a unifying taxonomy of time processing, and a neuropsychological perspective on temporal difficulties. Four main temporal judgments are discussed: duration processing, simultaneity and synchrony, passage of time, and mental time travel. We present an integrated theoretical framework of timing difficulties across psychiatric and neurological conditions based on selected patient populations. This framework provides new mechanistic insights on both (a) the processes involved in each temporal judgement, and (b) temporal difficulties across pathologies. By identifying underlying transdiagnostic time-processing mechanisms, this framework opens fruitful avenues for future research.
Topics: Humans; Time Perception; Mental Disorders; Cognition; Judgment; Auditory Perception
PubMed: 37871780
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105430 -
Personality and Social Psychology... Aug 2023The idea of "purity" transformed moral psychology. Here, we provide the first systematic review of this concept. Although often discussed as one construct, we reveal ~9... (Review)
Review
ACADEMIC ABSTRACT
The idea of "purity" transformed moral psychology. Here, we provide the first systematic review of this concept. Although often discussed as one construct, we reveal ~9 understandings of purity, ranging from respecting God to not eating gross things. This striking heterogeneity arises because purity-unlike other moral constructs-is not understood by what it but what it : obvious interpersonal harm. This poses many problems for moral psychology and explains why purity lacks convergent and divergent validity and why purity is confounded with politics, religion, weirdness, and perceived harm. Because purity is not a coherent construct, it cannot be a distinct basis of moral judgment or specially tied to disgust. Rather than a specific moral domain, purity is best understood as a loose set of themes in moral rhetoric. These themes are scaffolded on cultural understandings of harm-the broad, pluralistic harm outlined by the Theory of Dyadic Morality.
PUBLIC ABSTRACT
People are fascinated by morality-how do people make moral judgments and why do liberals and conservatives seem to frequently disagree? "Purity" is one moral concept often discussed when talking about morality-it has been suggested to capture moral differences across politics and to demonstrate the evolutionary roots of morality, especially the role of disgust in moral judgment. However, despite the many books and articles that mention purity, there is no systematic analysis of purity. Here, we review all existing academic articles focused on purity in morality. We find that purity is an especially messy concept that lacks scientific validity. Because it is so poorly defined and inconsistently measured, it should not be invoked to explain our moral minds or political differences.
Topics: Humans; Morals; Judgment; Disgust; Politics; Religion
PubMed: 36314693
DOI: 10.1177/10888683221124741 -
Acta Psychologica May 2024The aim of this study was to systematically examine the effect of awe-inducing stimuli on the judgment of time. Three experiments were conducted using temporal bisection...
The aim of this study was to systematically examine the effect of awe-inducing stimuli on the judgment of time. Three experiments were conducted using temporal bisection tasks in which participants viewed awe-inducing and no awe-inducing images presented for different durations and were asked to judge whether their duration was similar to a short or long anchor duration. Images of panoramic landscapes and images of the faces of well-known and admired people were used in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. In experiment 3, they did not judge the duration of the images, but that of a neutral stimulus occurring during the presentation of images. In each experiment, participants rated the awe-inducing and no-awe-inducing images according to their components: admiration, beauty, awe, emotional valence, arousal, symbolic self-size, and full-body self-size. Results consistently showed significant time distortions when participants viewed the different awe-inducing images compared to the no-awe images, although the effect was weaker for the images of faces than for those of landscapes. Time distortion took the form of temporal lengthening in Experiments 1 and 2 and shortening in Experiment 3. These different temporal distortions are consistent with attention effects due to awe-inducing stimuli which capture attention to the detriment of time processing.
Topics: Humans; Time Perception; Emotions; Arousal; Time Factors; Judgment
PubMed: 38522351
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104232 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2023Navigating social hierarchies is a ubiquitous aspect of human life. Social status shapes our thoughts, feelings, and actions toward others in various ways. However, it...
Navigating social hierarchies is a ubiquitous aspect of human life. Social status shapes our thoughts, feelings, and actions toward others in various ways. However, it remains unclear how trust is conferred within hierarchies and how status-related cues are used when resources are on the line. This research fills this knowledge gap by examining how ascribed, consensus-based status appearance, and perceived status appearance impact investment decisions for high- and low-status partners during a Trust Game. In a series of pre-registered experiments, we examined the degree to which participants trusted unfamiliar others with financial investments when the only available information about that person was their socioeconomic status (SES). In Study 1, SES was ascribed. Studies 2 and 3 conveyed SES with visual antecedents (clothing). Across all three experiments, participants trusted high SES partners more than low SES partners. In addition, subjective perceptions of status based on visual cues were a stronger predictor of trust than consensus-based status judgments. This work highlights a high status-trust bias for decisions where an individual's money is on the line. In addition, high-status trust bias may occur simply because of an individual's subjective assumptions about another's rank.
Topics: Humans; Social Class; Trust; Cues; Judgment; Consensus
PubMed: 37337115
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36948-x -
Frontiers in Oncology 2023With an increasing number of patients with gastrointestinal cancer, effective and accurate early diagnostic clinical tools are required provide better health care for... (Review)
Review
With an increasing number of patients with gastrointestinal cancer, effective and accurate early diagnostic clinical tools are required provide better health care for patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Recent studies have shown that artificial intelligence (AI) plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with gastrointestinal tumors, which not only improves the efficiency of early tumor screening, but also significantly improves the survival rate of patients after treatment. With the aid of efficient learning and judgment abilities of AI, endoscopists can improve the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment through endoscopy and avoid incorrect descriptions or judgments of gastrointestinal lesions. The present article provides an overview of the application status of various artificial intelligence in gastric and colorectal cancers in recent years, and the direction of future research and clinical practice is clarified from a clinical perspective to provide a comprehensive theoretical basis for AI as a promising diagnostic and therapeutic tool for gastrointestinal cancer.
PubMed: 38144533
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1239788 -
Cognition Aug 2024The social-contract tradition of Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, and Rawls has been widely influential in moral philosophy but has until recently received relatively little...
The social-contract tradition of Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, and Rawls has been widely influential in moral philosophy but has until recently received relatively little attention in moral psychology. For contractualist moral theories, ethics is a matter of forming, adhering to, and enforcing (hypothetical) agreements, and morality is fundamentally about acting according to what would be agreed by rational agents. A recent psychological theory, virtual bargaining, models social interactions in contractualist terms, suggesting that we often act as we would agree to do if we were to negotiate explicitly. However, whether such contractualist tendencies (a propensity to make typically contractualist choices) and forms of reasoning (agreement-based cognitive processes) play a role in moral cognition is still unclear. Drawing upon virtual bargaining, we develop two novel experimental paradigms designed to elicit incentivized decisions and moral judgments. We then test the descriptive relevance of contractualism in moral judgment and decision making in five preregistered online experiments (n = 4103; English-speaking Prolific participants). In the first task, we find evidence that many participants show contractualist tendencies: their choices are "characteristically" contractualist. In the second task, we find evidence consistent with contractualist reasoning influencing some participants' judgments and incentivized decisions. Our findings suggest that a propensity to act as prescribed by tacit agreements may be particularly important in understanding the moral psychology of fleeting social interactions and coordination problems. By complementing the rich literature on deontology and consequentialism in moral psychology, empirical approaches inspired by contractualism may prove fruitful to better understand moral cognition.
Topics: Humans; Morals; Judgment; Adult; Female; Male; Young Adult; Decision Making; Middle Aged; Adolescent; Thinking; Aged
PubMed: 38824696
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105838