Nobuhiro Mifune

THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE HEURISTIC MANAGING ERRORS IN SOCIAL EXCHANGE

We extend the logic of Haselton and Busss (2000) error management theory to the domain of social exchange and propose that a psychological mechanism, referred to as the social exchange heuristic (SEH), produces certain cognitive biases that affect how individuals manage these errors. We predicted that the SEH would remain dormant in individuals who failed to realize that they were in a situation that involved social exchange. In the first experiment (n = 78), PD players who had a chance, before they played the game, to think both about the nature of the game they were playing and about their partners choice were less cooperative compared to players of the standard one-shot PDG. In the second experiment (n = 105), PD players were again less cooperative when they made their decision before they were matched with a particular partner than after they had been matched with a partner. Results strongly suggest the operation of a SEH.

Apathy/depression, but not subjective fatigue, is related with cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis

BackgroundCognitive impairment could affect quality of life for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), and cognitive function may be correlated with several factors such as depression and fatigue. This study aimed to evaluate cognitive function in Japanese patients with MS and the association between cognitive function and apathy, fatigue, and depression.MethodsThe Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological tests (BRB-N) was performed in 184 Japanese patients with MS and 163 healthy controls matched for age, gender, and education. The Apathy Scale (AS), Fatigue Questionnaire (FQ), and Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) were used to evaluate apathy, fatigue, and depression, respectively. Student’s t-test was used to compare MS patients and healthy controls. Correlations between two factors were assessed using the Pearson correlation test, and multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate how much each factor affected the BRB-N score.ResultsIn all BRB-N tests, patients with MS scored significantly lower than controls, and the effect size of symbol digit modalities test was the highest among the 9 tests of the BRB-N. Patients with MS had higher AS (p < 0.001), FQ (p < 0.0001), and BDI-II (p < 0.0001) scores than controls. In patients with MS, scores on most of the BRB-N tests correlated with scores on the AS and BDI-II; however, there was little correlation between scores on the BRB-N tests and those on the FQ.ConclusionsCognitive function was impaired, particularly information-processing speed, and decreased cognitive function was correlated with apathy and depression in Japanese patients with MS. Despite the association between cognitive variables and depression/apathy, cognitive function was impaired beyond the effect of depression and apathy. However, subjective fatigue is not related with cognitive impairment. Taken together, this suggests that different therapeutic approaches are needed to improve subjective fatigue and cognition, and thereby quality of life, in patients with MS.

Association of cognitive impairment with magnetic resonance imaging findings and social activities in patients with multiple sclerosis

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and social activity with cognitive function in Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Validation of the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis in Japan

Background The Brief International Cognitive Assessment for MS (BICAMS) is a practical battery for measuring cognitive function in multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives We aimed to validate a Japanese version of the BICAMS in patients with MS and healthy controls. Methods The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT2) and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test Revised (BVMTR) were administered to 156 patients with MS and 126 healthy controls (HCs). The BICAMS was re-administered in a subset of 27 MS patients and 30 HCs. Results The mean (±SD) raw scores in the MS and HC groups were as follows: SDMT: MS 47.9 ± 14.0, HC 61.0 ± 9.5; CVLT2: MS 48.6 ± 12.6, HC 55.7 ± 10.5; BVMTR: MS 23.5 ± 8.4, HC 28.3 ± 5.4, respectively, and significant differences were found between the two groups on all tests (p < 0.0001). Cohen’s d values were 1.07, 0.60, and 0.67 in SDMT, CVLT2, and BVMTR, respectively. The test-retest reliability coefficients for each test were as follows: SDMT: r = 0.93; CVLT2: r = 0.82; and BVMTR: r = 0.77 (p < 0.0001). Conclusions This study provides results that support the reliability and validity of the BICAMS in Japan.

Negotiating with the future: incorporating imaginary future generations into negotiations

People to be born in the future have no direct influence on current affairs. Given the disconnect between people who are currently living and those who will inherit the planet left for them, individuals who are currently alive tend to be more oriented toward the present, posing a fundamental problem related to sustainability. In this study, we propose a new framework for reconciling the disconnect between the present and the future whereby some individuals in the current generation serve as an imaginary future generation that negotiates with individuals in the real-world present. Through a laboratory-controlled intergenerational sustainability dilemma game (ISDG), we show how the presence of negotiators for a future generation increases the benefits of future generations. More specifically, we found that when faced with members of an imaginary future generation, 60% of participants selected an option that promoted sustainability. In contrast, when the imaginary future generation was not salient, only 28% of participants chose the sustainable option.

Intergroup Biases in Fear-induced Aggression

Using a recently created preemptive strike game (PSG) with 176 participants, we investigated if the motivations of spite and/or fear promotes aggression that requires a small cost to the aggressor and imposes a larger cost on the opponent, and confirmed the earlier finding that fear does but spite does not promote intergroup aggression when the groups are characterized as minimal groups; additionally, the rate of intergroup aggression did not vary according to the group membership of the opponent. The PSG represents a situation in which both the motivations of spite and of fear can logically drive players to choose an option of aggression against an opponent. Participants decide whether or not to attack another participant, who also has the same capability. The decision is made in real time, using a computer. We discuss theoretical implications of our findings on the evolutionary foundations of intragroup cooperation and intergroup aggression. The evolutionary model of intergroup aggression, or the parochial altruism model, posits that intragroup cooperation and intergroup aggression have co-evolved, and thus it predicts both intragroup cooperation and intergroup aggression to emerge even in a minimal group devoid of a history of intergroup relationships. The finding that only intragroup cooperation but not intergroup aggression emerged in the minimal group experiments strongly suggests that intergroup aggression involves a psychological mechanism that is independent from that of intragroup cooperation. We further discuss the implications of these findings on real-world politics and military strategy.

Preemptive striking in individual and group conflict

In this study, we conducted a laboratory experiment to assess preemptive striking by and towards individuals or groups. In the framework of a preemptive strike game, we set the following four conditions: one person faced another person, one person faced a three-person group, a three-person group faced an individual, and a three-person group faced another three-person group. Previous studies have revealed that greed is activated when participants belong to a group, while fear is activated when participants interact with a group, and further, that attacking behaviors in the preemptive strike game are driven by fear. These observations led to a hypothesis that high attack rates would be realized when participants interact with a group, regardless of whether the participants make decisions as individuals or a group. The results of our experiment, however, rejected this hypothesis. Among the four conditions, the attack rate was highest when a three-person group faced an individual. As possible reasons for our observation, we discuss the potential threat stemming from the imbalance in the effectiveness of attack between individuals and groups, and the (incorrect) belief by groups that single individuals would be more likely to attack out of fear.

Providing compensation promotes forgiveness for replaceable, but not irreplaceable, losses

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to examine how the replaceability of a loss moderates the effectiveness of compensation. In Study 1, we sampled real-life experiences of experiential loss, material loss, or loss of materials to which the victims had special attachment, and assayed subsequent feelings toward the transgressor who caused the loss. The results showed that for those who reported losses of an experience or cherished material object, perpetrators’ offers of compensation did not facilitate forgiveness. In Study 2, by manipulating replaceability of hypothetical losses in vignettes, we showed that compensation for replaceable losses effectively elicits forgiveness from a victim, but compensation for irreplaceable losses is ineffective. A series of mediation analyses showed that the effect of replaceability on forgiveness is explained by the victim’s perception of whether their loss was sufficiently recovered. We discuss the function of compensation and its inherent limitations.

Erratum to: Negotiating with the future: incorporating imaginary future generations into negotiations

The article, Negotiating with the future: incorporating imaginary future generations into negotiations, written by Yoshio Kamijo, Asuka Komiya, Nobuhiro Mifune and Tatsuyoshi Saijo, was originally published Online First without open access. After publication in volume 12, issue 3, page 409–420 the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an open access publication. Therefore, the copyright of the article has been changed to The Author(s) 2017 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, duplication, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

War or Peace? How the Subjective Perception of Great Power Interdependence Shapes Preemptive Defensive Aggression

Why do great powers with benign intentions end up fighting each other in wars they do not seek? We utilize an incentivized, two-person “Preemptive Strike Game” (PSG) to explore how the subjective perception of great power interdependence shapes defensive aggression against persons from rival great powers. In Study 1, college students from the United States (N = 115), China (N = 106), and Japan (N = 99) made PSG decisions facing each other. This natural experiment revealed that Chinese and Japanese participants (a) made more preemptive attacks against each other and Americans than against their compatriots, and that (b) greater preexisting perceptions of bilateral competition increased intergroup attack rates. In Study 2, adult Americans (N = 127) watched real CNN expert interviews portraying United States–China economic interdependence as more positive or negative. This randomized experiment revealed that the more positive portrayal reduced preemptive American strikes against Chinese (but not Japanese), while the more negative portrayal amplified American anger about China’s rise, increasing preemptive attacks against Chinese. We also found, however, that preemptive strikes were primarily defensive and not offensive. Interventions to reduce defensive aggression and promote great power peace are discussed.