Nehemia Friedland

The cost of richness: the effect of the size and diversity of decision sets on post-decision regret.

Decision making is often made difficult by the knowledge that one has to live with the outcomes of ones choices and with the regret that these might engender. Formal theories propose that regret is proportional to the difference between the outcome of the option chosen and the expected outcome of the next best alternative that one may have chosen instead. It follows that the number of alternatives available for choice does not affect post-decisional regret. In this study, however, the authors proposed that regret is related to the comparison between the alternative chosen and the union of the positive attributes of the alternatives rejected. This general proposition yielded 2 hypotheses: (a) the larger number of alternatives from which one can choose and (b) the more diverse those alternatives are, the stronger the regret that an unsatisfactory choice would cause. These hypotheses were tested and supported by 4 experiments.

The effect of stress on the suppression of erroneous competing responses

Abstract Evidence exists that the intention to perform certain cognitive tasks activates, unintentionally, competing responses and computations that intrude on the performance of the intended tasks. For the intended task to be performed effectively, such intrusions must be controlled. Two experiments were carried out to test the hypothesis that stress heightens the difficulty of exercising effective control over erroneous competing responses, a possible explanation of decrements in the performance of cognitive tasks under stress. Participants performed four tasks, which contained features that could potentially prime or activate erroneous responses. The results demonstrated that the interference of these features with performance was more pronounced among stressed than among less-stressed participants. The need for a more comprehensive theory of the effects of stress on information processing is discussed.

Changes of brain anatomy in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder: A pilot magnetic resonance imaging study

No abnormalities in magnetic resonance images were recorded in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder other than an increased incidence (50%) of a small cleft in the callosal-septal interface, a cavum of the septum pellucidum. A similar grade of cavum was obtained in 14% of normal volunteers matched for age, socioeconomic background, and military experience. The cavum is believed to have antedated the disorder and is conceived to be a neurodevelopmental aberration. The possibility that the cavum is a marker of vulnerability to stress in psychopathology is discussed.

Games of luck and games of chance: the effect of luck- versus chance-orientation on gambling decisions

Chance and luck are conceived as two distinct causal agents that effect different results. The present study examined the proposition that persons who habitually attribute the outcome of random events to chance (chance-oriented persons) and those who prefer to attribute such outcomes to luck (luck-oriented persons) cope differently with decision making under uncertainty. Chance-oriented persons decide according to given or estimated odds that define the decision problem. Luck-oriented persons, on the other hand, rely on self-attributions of personal luck, and ignore the probabilities of decision outcomes. The hypothesized qualitative difference between the approaches of chance- and luck-oriented persons to decision making under uncertainty was supported substantially by the findings.

Dilemmas Concerning the Training of Individuals for Task Performance under Stress

The relative effectiveness of five procedures for the training of individuals to perform tasks under stress was tested in a criterion situation, where subjects were requested to perform a visual search task under the threat of electric shocks. During training on the task, different groups of subjects received shocks of criterion-level intensity; milder than criterion-level intensity; gradually increasing intensity; randomly varying intensity. The last group received no shocks at all. The results pointed to three conditions for the enhancement of training effectiveness: minimal interference of exposure to stressors with task acquisition, familiarity with stressors characteristic of the criterion situation, and absence of unrealistic expectations about future stressors. However, none of the five training procedures meets all three conditions. Implications for the design of procedures whereby persons can be trained to perform proficiently under stress are discussed.

The effect of psychological stress and tolerance of ambiguity on stereotypic attributions

Abstract Recent research on the relationship between cognition and affect suggests the prediction that psychological stress encourages stereotyping. Yet the empirical evidence regarding this proposition is inconclusive. This study examined the effect of stress on the perception of illusory correlations, which comprise a particular manifestation of stereotypic attributions, and the moderating role of tolerance of ambiguity. It was predicted, specifically, that the effect of stress on stereotyping will be more pronounced in persons who have a low tolerance of ambiguity than in persons tolerating ambiguity, who generally experience less stress. An Illusory Correlation Inventory and a Tolerance of Ambiguity scale were administered to a group of 46 Airforce cadets, during a particularly stressful phase of flight training, and to a comparable group of 39 cadets, during a relatively relaxed period in the course of training. As expected, stress heightened the tendency to stereotype. In addition, the response of participants whose tolerance of ambiguity is low was more stereotypic than the response of those who tolerate ambiguity. However, the combined effect of the two independent variables was additive rather than interactive. Contrary to prediction, high tolerance of ambiguity did not attenuate the effect of stress on stereotyping.

Social Influence via Threats.

Abstract Influence via threats was investigated in correspondent relationships (characterized by commonality of interest) and in noncorrespondent relationships (characterized by conflict of interest). In addition, the degree of informational power attributed by the influencee to the influencer and to himself, and the severity of threats used by the influencer were manipulated. The results point to the existence of two qualitatively different processes of influence. In correspondent relationships, threats are viewed as conveying the influencers belief about the choice of action that would benefit both parties to the relationship. Further, the more severe the threat, the more confident the influencer would appear to be of his choice of action. As a result, the influencees willingness to rely on the influencers judgment, as conveyed by the threat, becomes an important aspect of the influence process. Such willingness is affected by the influencees attribution of informational power to the influencer and to himself. In noncorrespondent relationships, on the other hand, suspicion and mutual distrust preclude reliance on threats as sources of information. Under such circumstances, social influence via threats becomes a simple process of coercion.

Negotiating with Terrorists

Terrorism has aroused much concern in recent years. Such concern can hardly be attributed to terrorism’s physical effects. As a form of warfare, terrorism is probably the least lethal, and as a source of human suffering it undoubtedly trails far behind certain diseases, natural disasters, or man-made problems such as road accidents or common criminal activity. The undeniable impact that terrorism has had on public mood and, in some cases, on government policies has resulted from factors other than its toll in human lives. Most important among these factors is terrorism’s ability to undermine government legitimacy as a guardian of public peace and as a trustee of the democratic decision-making process. In this regard, the seizure of hostages and the issuing of demands as a condition for their release is the most effective terrorist tactic.

The relationship between intrinsic-extrinsic needs and occupational preferences

Abstract A sample of 80 boys and girls attending the 12th grade of academic high schools in Israel was asked to rank five occupations according to their individual preferences. The sample was divided into four equal groups and given five questionnaires, one for each occupation, consisting of intrinsic and extrinsic needs. The questionnaire was made up of a different combination of needs for each group. A positive correlation was found between the occupational preference ranking and the intrinsic but not the extrinsic needs.