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This paper examines the relationships of construals of the properties of psychological distance dimensions with well-being. Construal-Level-Theory (CLT) has identified space, time, social distance, and hypotheticality as psychological distance dimensions. Close objects are construed, or mentally represented, in terms of low-level features. These are concrete, specific, unstructured, and contextualized representations. Distant objects are construed in terms of high-level features. These are abstract, global, coherent, and decontextualized representations. Additionally, the properties of construals, like values, give them meaning and importance. These dimensions, properties, and construals have been shown to guide evaluations, decisions, predictions, and other behaviors. Little research, however, has applied them to issues of mental health and psychological well-being. This paper examines identity, security, value, and control as important properties of psychological distance dimensions. The review demonstrates that, in many circumstances, when these properties of distance dimensions are construed at high-levels, they are associated with psychological well-being and behavioral adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though self-injury and aggression are common in tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), understanding of these behaviours in adults with TSC and intellectual disability (ID) is limited. Little is known about their frequency in comparison to other ID-related genetic disorders or their association with other TSC-Associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders (TAND). This study determined the caregiver-reported frequency of self-injury and aggression in adults with TSC plus ID in comparison to Down syndrome (DS) and Angelman syndrome (AS), and assessed demographic and behavioural characteristics associated with the occurrence of each behaviour in TSC. Rates of self-injury and aggression in adults with TSC plus ID were 31% and 37.9% respectively. The odds of self-injury for adults with TSC were nearly twice as high as the odds for adults with DS, and the odds of aggression were over 2.5 times higher for adults with TSC than for adults with DS. When compared to adults with AS, odds of self-injury in TSC were around half those of the AS group, and odds of aggression were less than a third of those for adults with AS. These differences were not statistically significant. In adults with TSC, poorer communication and socialisation skills, gastric health problems and impulsivity were associated with self-injury; compulsive behaviour and impulsivity were associated with aggression. Caregivers and professionals should be alert to the likelihood of these behaviours in adults with TSC plus ID, and to characteristics associated with increased risk for their occurrence. We suggest assessment strategies to identify those at elevated risk.What This Paper Adds: This paper adds specific examination of behavioural difficulties in adults with tuberous sclerosis complex who also have intellectual disability, a population at heightened risk of adverse behavioural outcomes which has received limited focussed examination to date. Findings support existing suggestions that there is relatively high risk for both self-injury and aggression, and provide novel insight into characteristics that may be associated with the presence of these behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: User participation emerged as a critical issue for collaborative and social recommender systems as well as for a range of other systems based on the power of user community. A range of mechanisms to encourage user participation in social systems has been proposed over the last few years; however, the impact of these mechanisms on users behavior in recommender systems has not been studied sufficiently. This paper investigates the impact of encouraging user participation in the context of CourseAgent, a community-based course recommender system. The recommendation power of CourseAgent is based on course ratings provided by a community of students. To increase the number of course ratings, CourseAgent applies an incentive mechanism which turns user feedback into a self-beneficial activity. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of our course recommendation system and its incentive mechanism. We also report a dual impact of this mechanism on user behavior discovered in two user studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pedestrians’ illegal mid-block crossing increases the chances of a crash compared to crossing at marked or signalized crosswalks. Therefore, it is necessary to have an accurate understanding of this type of behavior to be able to prevent it. This paper presents the results from a comprehensive study undertaken to gain insight into illegal pedestrian crossing behavior on a high-speed six-lane divided arterial road that runs through a high-density urban area. Pedestrian behavior data were collected during the different stages of illegal crossing including before crossing, during crossing, and after crossing to determine the effect of hindrances, vehicles, and other pedestrians on the crossing behavior. The results showed that the illegal crossing behavior is mostly undertaken by male pedestrians. Over one-third of all pedestrians crossed in the presence of a vehicle on the road. Out of this group, almost one-third crossed using a rolling gap. The waiting time before crossing was affected by the group size, crossing point (curb or median), and the presence of other pedestrians on the opposite side of the road. Most of the pedestrians crossed the road during their first attempt and used the shortest path to cross. The crossing time was affected by gender, age, mobile phone use, type of clothing, crossing in a group, crossing point, path of crossing, and presence of a vehicle. The decision to cross was based on the presence of vehicles in the middle or far lanes for most pedestrians. Overall, the presence of a vehicle, as well as other pedestrians and hindrances, altered the illegal crossing behavior of pedestrians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers are accustomed to coping with year-to-year changes in climate, but climate change is expected to accelerate the need and magnitude of farmers’ adaptation ( Wheeler and Tiffin, 2009 ). Based on a survey of farmers across Denmark (1053 responses), this paper assesses how farmers’ perceive climate change, weigh its attendant risks, and envision the barriers to adaptation as these factors stand to affect their likelihood to undertake adaptive action in the Global North. Descriptive statistics and an ordered probit model were used to disentangle the magnitude and direction of the cognitive factors underpinning farmers’ likelihood to adapt. We also differentiate between adaptation to positive and negative potential impacts of climate change and provide important new insights on loss aversion and, more specifically, the conditions under which loss aversion may give way to a preference for gains. Our results indicate that Danish farmers are not terribly concerned about climate change impacts and perceive many barriers to adaptation, yet they indicate a moderate likelihood to undertake adaptive action in the future, particularly to potential opportunities from climate change impacts. However, we also find that the more concerned a farmer is about climate change, the more he is likely to adapt in response to negative climate impacts − the balance between loss aversion and gain preferences appears to depend on context. In either case, Danish farmers appear to prefer incremental and flexible adaptations in the face of uncertain future climate change impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The P300 is one of the most widely studied components of the human event-related potential. According to a longstanding view, the P300, and particularly its posterior subcomponent (i.e., the P3b), is driven by stimulus categorization. Whether the P3b relates to tactical processes involved in immediate responding or strategic processes that affect future behavior remains controversial, however. It is difficult to determine whether variability in P3b latencies relates to variability in response times because of limitations in the methods currently available to quantify the latency of the P3b during single trials. In this paper, we report results from the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), the Hitchcock Radar Task, and a 3-Stimulus Oddball Task. These represent variants of the one-, two-, and three-stimulus oddball paradigms commonly used to study the P3b. The PVT requires simple detection, whereas the Hitchcock Radar Task and the 3-Stimulus Task require detection and categorization. We apply a novel technique that combines hidden semi-Markov models and multi-voxel pattern analysis (HSMM-MVPA) to data from the three experiments. HSMM-MVPA revealed a processing stage in each task corresponding to the P3b. Trial-by-trial variability in the latency of the processing stage correlated with response times in the Hitchcock Radar Task and the 3-Stimulus Task, but not the PVT. These results indicate that the P3b reflects a stimulus categorization process, and that its latency is strongly associated with response times when the stimulus must be categorized before responding. In addition to those theoretical insights, the ability to detect the onset of the P3b and other components on a single-trial basis using HSMM-MVPA opens the door for new uses of mental chronometry in cognitive neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many ecological economists advocate the need to evolve beyond capitalism if we want to flourish as a society as well as respect the safe boundaries of our planet. While becoming clearer of the shape and underlying value-structure of such a new system, we also need to think about how we can motivate people to take part in such a major social transition. This paper tackles this question by critically evaluating the underlying hedonistic-normative assumptions of current mainstream models for pro-environmental behaviours (PEB). In a self-determination theory perspective on human motivation and well-being, the paper proposes a 2-pathway model of PEB that integrates a relational pathway for environmental motivation. Based on insights from neurobiology and psychology, this paper advances current PEB theories and lays the groundwork for a new category of environmental interventions: experiential strategies. Thus, the 2-pathway model provides important theoretical insights into the link between mindfulness and sustainable lifestyles, as well as the interface between environmental behaviours and well-being. By recognising and investing in the relational capacities of individuals, we might be able to promote a society that prioritises self-actualisation over self-interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underpinned by the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework and the anchoring effect, this paper investigates how perceived message properties of online rumor rebuttals are related to perceived utilitarian and hedonic values, which further could determine rebuttal acceptance. Given the possibility that Internet users can confront a rebuttal when they are not even aware of the rumor, this paper takes into account the role of exposure sequence as a moderator. Data were collected from 322 social media users in a between-participants experiment, which manipulated the exposure sequence. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Perceived message properties were positively associated with perceived utilitarian and hedonic values, both of which were positively related to rebuttal acceptance. Exposure sequence significantly moderated the underlying mechanism of rebuttal acceptance. This paper contributes to the online rebuttal literature by examining how individuals respond to rebuttals in terms of intention to believe and share such messages. It also has implications for practitioners and other Internet users. • Informativeness of rebuttals was positively related to perceived utilitarian value. • Credible source of rebuttals was positively related to perceived utilitarian value. • Persuasiveness of rebuttals was positively related to perceived hedonic value. • Perceived utilitarian and hedonic values determined rebuttal acceptance. • Exposure sequence played a significant role in influencing rebuttal acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we describe a novel approach to the study of individual differences in acquired skilled performance in complex laboratory tasks based on an extension of the methodology of the expert-performance approach (Ericsson & Smith, 1991) to shorter periods of training and practice. In contrast to more traditional approaches that study the average performance of groups of participants, we explored detailed behavioral changes for individual participants across their development on the Space Fortress game. We focused on dramatic individual differences in learning and skill acquisition at the individual level by analyzing the archival game data of several interesting players to uncover the specific structure of their acquired skill. Our analysis revealed that even after maximal values for game-generated subscores were reached, the most skilled participant's behaviors such as his flight path, missile firing, and mine handling continued to be refined and improved (Participant 17 from Boot et al., 2010). We contrasted this participant's behavior with the behavior of several other participants and found striking differences in the structure of their performance, which calls into question the appropriateness of averaging their data. For example, some participants engaged in different control strategies such as “world wrapping” or maintaining a finely-tuned circular flight path around the fortress (in contrast to Participant 17′s angular flight path). In light of these differences, we raise fundamental questions about how skill acquisition for individual participants should be studied and described. Our data suggest that a detailed analysis of individuals' data is an essential step for generating a general theory of skill acquisition that explains improvement at the group and individual levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade there has been significant pressure to minimise emissions and safety risks related to commercial driving. This pressure to meet the triple bottom line of cost, environment, and society has often resulted in the rapid application of vehicle technologies designed to mitigate undesired effects. Often the cognitive and behavioural effects of technologies on the commercial driver have not received in-depth analysis to determine comprehensive viability. As such, this paper aims to identify a timescale for implementation for future technologies for UK road freight, and likely associated human factors issues, improving upon the currently employed 'trial-and-error' approach to implementation which may carry high economic, environmental, safety-related risk. Thought experiments are carried out to broadly explore these future systems. Furthermore, this work aims to examine whether technology alone will be enough to meet future CO2 reduction targets, and assess the role of behavioural and systems interventions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fact that some people who stutter have the ability to anticipate a stuttering moment is essential for several theories of stuttering and important for maximum effectiveness of many currently used treatment techniques. The “anticipation effect,” however, is poorly understood despite much investigation into this phenomenon. In the present paper, we combine (1) behavioral evidence from the stuttering-anticipation literature, (2) speech production models, and (3) models of error detection to propose a theoretical model of anticipation. Integrating evidence from theories such as Damasio's Somatic Marker Hypothesis, Levelt's Perceptual Monitoring Theory, Guenther's The Directions Into Velocities of Articulators (DIVA) model, Postma's Covert Repair Hypothesis, among others, our central thesis is that the anticipation of a stuttering moment occurs as an outcome of the interactions between previous learning experiences (i.e., learnt associations between stuttered utterances and any self-experienced or environmental consequence) and error monitoring. Possible neurological mechanisms involved in generating conscious anticipation are also discussed, along with directions for future research. Educational Objectives : The reader will be able to: (a) describe historical theories that explain how PWS may learn to anticipate stuttering; (b) state some traditional sources of evidence of anticipation in stuttering; (c) describe how PWS may be sensitive to the detection of a stuttering; (d) state some of the neural correlates that may underlie anticipation in stuttering; and (e) describe some of the possible utilities of incorporating anticipation into stuttering interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: This review aims to demonstrate the utility of integrating the insights of evolutionary psychology with sport and exercise psychology. Specifically, we offer a primer on evolutionary psychology that we then discuss in the context of several research avenues in sport and exercise. Next, we discuss how evolutionary psychology can inform our understanding of sporting culture. Design: Review paper. Methods: Theory and research are selectively reviewed in efforts to demonstrate the utility and limits of evolutionary psychology as an approach to sport and exercise psychology. Results and conclusions: Evolutionary psychology offers researchers in sport and exercise psychology an improved capacity to produce proximate explanations (i.e., how psychological mechanisms interact with the environment to produce behavior) by generating productive and novel hypotheses from ultimate explanations (i.e., why a psychological mechanism evolved a particular design; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992, 2005). The worth of integrating proximate and ultimate explanations is demonstrated by the ensuing novel insights of popular avenues of sport and exercise psychology including (a) the interrelation between motivation and reasoning and their relative influence on exercise behavior, (b) sex differences in sport participation, (c) performance in sport, and (d) group dynamics in sport. Unlike specific fields of psychology, evolutionary psychology is a metatheoretical approach that can foster mutually productive linkages between currently disparate areas within sport and exercise psychology, and with neighboring disciplines. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper discusses and illustrates identification problems in personality psychology. The measures used by psychologists to infer traits are based on behaviors, broadly defined. These behaviors are produced from multiple traits interacting with incentives in situations. In general, measures are determined by these multiple traits and do not identify any particular trait unless incentives and other traits are controlled for. Using two data sets, we show, that substantial portions of the variance in achievement test scores and grades, which are often used as measures of cognition, are explained by personality variables. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In a context in which aggressive behavior has been predominantly predicted by self-reports, this paper considers how a theoretical and empirical examination of automatic and deliberative processes in information processing and decision making may contribute to our understanding of aggressive behavior. We review research devoted to distinguishing two types of aggression with regard to the level of automaticity or control they involve, a distinction similar to the one between automatic and deliberative processes. In parallel with this theoretical distinction, implicit measures appear to be a good candidate for measuring aggression and predicting aggressive behavior. Although consideration of automatic processes is essential for a better understanding of how and why people act aggressively, it should not lead to the conclusion that aggressive behavior is fully automatic. This contribution underlines that the interaction between environment and individual differences is the key element at the implicit level, as it is at the explicit level. Some future directions for studying aggression using implicit measures are drawn. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Occupant behavior which is very complex affects evacuation efficiency and route choice a lot. The psychology and behavior of going with the crowd is very common in daily life and also in occupant evacuation. In this paper, a two-dimensional Cellular Automata model is applied to simulate the process of evacuation considering the psychology of going with the crowd with different room structure or occupant density. The psychology of going with the crowd (the abbreviation is GWC) is classified into directional GWC (DGWC) and spatial GWC (SGWC). The influence of two such kinds of psychology on occupant evacuation is discussed in order to provide some useful guidance on the emergency management of evacuation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: All mammals have complex behaviours but these are generally stereotyped in nature and lack the flexibility of human behaviour. Can the flexibility of human behaviour be understood as an evolutionary extension of previous behaviours or is it a departure? Theories pertaining to this question have a long history including, now refuted, theories on neoteny. This paper, using an evolutionary developmental biology approach, outlines some existing theories and suggests some novel ideas. Previous trends during brain evolution are determined by outlining the phylogeny and ontogeny of the six layered mammalian isocortex with particular reference to the primate lineage. These evolutionary trends are extrapolated to hominids to postulate the effect of increasingly large brains. The palaeoanthropological literature is cited to debate the nature and time course of behavioural change during hominid evolution. In particular, when was truly flexible behaviour first evident, and did it occur gradually or suddenly? The proposed isocortical and behavioural changes during hominid evolution are then equated to determine if modern human behaviour can be seen as part of a continuum. It is concluded that a continuation of previous trends in isocortical evolution maybe inadequate to explain human behavioural flexibility. Several possible departures from previous trends that would be compatible with increased behavioural flexibility are suggested. These mainly relate to evolutionary changes in the later stages of isocortical development and in particular during the activity-dependant phase when cortico-cortical connections are refined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Different approaches have investigated the syntax and semantics of agent communication languages. However, these approaches have not indicated how agents should dynamically use communications. Instead of filling this pragmatics gap, most approaches have mainly focused on the ‘structure’ of dialogues even though developers are more interested in agents’ capabilities of having ‘useful’ automated conversations with respect to their goals rather than in their abilities to structure dialogues. This led us to work on a theory of the use of conversations between agents. In this paper, we propose a pragmatics theory which extends and adapts the cognitive dissonance theory (a major theory of social psychology) to multi-agent systems by unifying it with the theory of coherence in thought and action that issues from computational philosophy of mind. Precisely, we show how this theory allows us to provide generic conceptual tools for the automation of both agent communicational behavior and attitude change processes. This new motivational model is formulated in terms of constraints and elements of cognition and allows us to define cognitive incoherences and dialogue utility measures. We show how these measures could be used to solve common problems and answer some critical questions concerning agent communication frameworks use. Finally, our exploration in applying the cognitive coherence pragmatics theory as a new communication layer over classical BDI agents is presented. It relies on our dialogue games based agent communication language (DIAGAL) and our dialogue games simulator toolbox (DGS). The resulting framework provides the necessary theoretical and practical elements for implementing our theory. In doing so, it brings in a general scheme for automatizing agents’ communicational behavior as it is exemplified in this article. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Individual behavior of occupants, which is quite complex, greatly affects the route choice, the evacuation time and the efficiency. The phenomenon of the kin behavior often occurs during evacuation. In this paper, a two-dimensional Cellular Automata model is applied to simulate the process of evacuation with respect to the kin behavior. Many interesting phenomena during real evacuation, such as incoherence, jamming, gathering, backtracking and waiting, are simulated by the variation of the building structure, the occupants'' arrangement, the kin attraction and the route selection. We conclude that the psychology of going with the crowd is not always harmful; the conclusions about the kin behavior in one-exit case are the same as those in two-exits case; the number of the sub-groups and the members in each sub-group influence the evacuation efficiency a lot; the typical phenomena of waiting and backtracking in real evacuation do reduce the evacuation efficiency. We have preliminarily found that the proper kin behavior is beneficial to improve the evacuation efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Seasonal variations in mood and behaviour appear to be best understood through an integration of biological and psychological research. Disturbances in mood are the main psychological component of seasonality. This paper examines the hypothesis that elevated levels of mood variability, decreased average levels of positive affect and increased average levels of negative affect may be characteristic of the overall mood profile associated with acute seasonal disturbances in mood and behaviour. During the winter months of January and February, 59 volunteers (10 males, 49 females; overall mean age=28) completed the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) and subsequently completed the 20-item version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) twice daily for a fortnight. Participants were not clinically diagnosed sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Mood profile co-varied with severity of seasonal disturbances in mood and behaviour. While seasonality was unrelated to average mood levels, it was significantly positively associated with mood variability. Considering SAD as the extreme end of the continuum of intensities of seasonality, further examination of the biological and psychological importance of mood variability within the aetiology of SAD is warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present paper employs a new approach to testing the sufficiency of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in understanding intentions to behave ecologically. Based on two panel surveys, we explore whether the TPB should be extended into the moral domain by applying an aggregated, more reliable, and thus, more valid version of the TPB. The sample used consisted of 895 randomly selected German-speaking Swiss. A year later, 823 people returned a second questionnaire. Structural equation analyses reveal that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control jointly account for 81% and 80% of people''s intention. This, in turn, predicts 51% and 48%, respectively, of people''s behavior variance. The explanatory power of the TPB is not improved by adding moral norms or by including two Just World Belief scales. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this paper is twofold: firstly to investigate whether the association between childhood and adult psychosocial adjustment can be explained by socio-economic adversity experienced during childhood, and secondly to explore the role of family socio-economic disadvantage and psychological development in explaining adult social inequality in psychological well-being. A developmental-contextual perspective is adopted to analyse the pathways linking childhood experiences to adult functioning in a changing socio-historical context. The study draws on longitudinal data collected for two cohorts of about 30,000 individuals born in Great Britain 12 years apart. Structural equation modelling is used to assess the long-term influence of socio-economic adversity on psychosocial adjustment, and to compare different explanatory models of health inequalities. The results reject a simple selection or social causation argument, suggesting that both dynamics operate in life course development. The effects of social risk cumulate throughout the life course, influencing both behaviour adjustment during childhood and adult psychosocial functioning. It is concluded that the explanation of health differences in adult life must account for the reciprocal interaction between individual behaviour and social circumstances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While there is incontrovertible evidence that agents are imbued with cooperative values, considerable ambivalence exists about the rationale for cooperation. Some analysts contend that cooperative behavior is well within the realm of the Benthamite quest for utility maximization, but others perceive cooperation as driven by complex socio-cultural and psychological phenomena. In this paper, we propose an evolutionary-based explanatory framework that uses both insights to explain how cooperative behaviors are formed, as well as how they might change over time. On the basis of evidence from a traditional African society, we show how tension between utility maximization and cultural norms could shape cooperative behaviors in ways that are not easily deciphered by standard economic theory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper selectively reviews available evidence concerning psychological characteristics associated with obesity, psychological changes accompanying very-low-calorie diets (VLCDS), and the influence of certain psychological factors on response to VLCD treatment. The obese population as a whole does not show an elevated incidence of psychopathology. Treatment-seeking obese do show more psychiatric disturbance, at a level comparable to other medical/surgical patients. There appear to be no global personality traits or profiles that are associated with obesity. However, obese people differ from non-obese groups on psychological and behavioral variables related to weight and eating and more frequently display perceptual and emotional body image anomalies. Binge eating appears rather common among obese groups. VLCDS have generally neutral to positive effects on hunger, depression, and anxiety. New data on body image suggest that VLCDs are associated with post-treatment underestimation of body size. Finally, recent data on possible psychological and behavioral correlates of VLCDs outcome are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]