Two experiments investigated choice in adult humans on a simulated cooperation task to evaluate a risk-reduction account of sharing based on the energy-budget rule. The energy-budget rule is an optimal foraging model that predicts risk-averse choices when net energy gains exceed energy requirements (positive energy budget) and risk-prone choices…

The authors tested source memory across three conditions, one in which 3 strongly associated primes of a target word were presented in the same source as the target, one in which primes were presented in a different source than the target, and one in which no associates of targets were encoded. In the first 2 experiments, target source memory…

Consequential conditionals are defined as "if P then Q" statements, where P is an action, and Q a predicted outcome of this action, which is either desirable or undesirable to the agent. Experiment 1 shows that desirable (viz. undesirable) outcomes invite an inference to the truth (viz. falsity) of their antecedent. Experiment 2 shows that the…

This article introduces the concept of a prediction interval in a gambling context.

When forecasters and decision makers describe uncertain events using verbal probability terms, there is a risk of miscommunication because people use different probability phrases and interpret them in different ways. In an effort to facilitate the communication process, the authors investigated various ways of converting the forecasters' verbal…

This study partially replicates and expands on a previous study that showed women's perceptions of risk to be a strong predictor of reassault among batterers. The current study employed a larger and multisite sample, a longer follow-up period of 15 months, and multiple outcomes including "repeated reassault" (n = 499). According to the multinomial…

Analysis of binary choice behavior in iterated tasks with immediate feedback reveals robust deviations from maximization that can be described as indications of 3 effects: (a) a payoff variability effect, in which high payoff variability seems to move choice behavior toward random choice; (b) underweighting of rare events, in which alternatives…

We investigated optimistic grade expectations among 258 college students from 2 contrasting perspectives: optimism as uninformed wishfulness and as an informed aspirational judgment. Results revealed considerable grade optimism; most students (70%) overestimated an average of 1 full grade. Grade expectations moderately predicted final grade but…

Three experiments compared the learning of lower-dimensional family resemblance categories (4 dimensions) with the learning of higher-dimensional ones (8 dimensions). Category-learning models incorporating error-driven learning, hypothesis testing, or limited capacity attention predict that additional dimensions should either increase learning…

Some simple, nonoptimized coefficients (e.g., correlation weights, equal weights) were pitted against regression in extensive prediction competitions. After drawing calibration samples from large supersets of real and synthetic data, the researchers observed which set of sample-derived coefficients made the best predictions when applied back to…

The NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3) is a modification of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) designed to be more understandable to adolescents. Data from adults aged 21 to 91 showed that the NEO-PI-3 also functions as well or better than the NEO-PI-R in adults. Age trends from combined adolescent (n = 500) and adult (n = 635)…

Bayesian inference on multinomial probabilities is conducted based on data collected from the game Pass the Pigs[R]. Prior information on these probabilities is readily available from the instruction manual, and is easily incorporated in a Dirichlet prior. Posterior analysis of the scoring probabilities quantifies the discrepancy between empirical…

This study investigates recognition of spoken idioms occurring in neutral contexts. Experiment 1 showed that both predictable and non-predictable idiom meanings are available at string offset. Yet, only predictable idiom meanings are active halfway through a string and remain active after the string's literal conclusion. Experiment 2 showed that…

The assumptions of the model for factor analysis do not exclude a class of indeterminate covariances between factors and error variables (Grayson, 2003). The construction of all factors of the model for factor analysis is generalized to incorporate indeterminate factor-error covariances. A necessary and sufficient condition is given for…

The application of Lewis concept that provides students opportunity to predict and understand reaction behavior and themes in introductory chemistry of structure-property relationships of atoms, ions, and molecules is narrated. The general sequence takes the student through atomic structural theory, electronic configuration, periodicity, chemical…