Articles tagged with Social Decision Making
This study reveals the extent and causes of technology conspiracy beliefs, finding they are widespread among the general population, with at least 20% believing in six out of ten theories. The research highlights the detrimental effects of these beliefs, including a breakdown of social collaboration and constructive political debate.
A three-year research study led by the University of Kansas is establishing best 'managed retreat' practices for communities at risk from repeated flooding and wildfires due to climate change. The study aims to understand how different cities and governments have considered managed retreat, including strategies like buyouts and partner...
Severe obesity can alter metabolism and psyche, leading to impulsive behavior and a willingness to take risks. A study found that massive weight loss improved glucose metabolism and mood, allowing for more metabolically driven decision-making.
Researchers at Georgia Tech developed a neural network that makes decisions similar to humans, using Bayesian neural networks and evidence accumulation processes. The model outperformed rival deterministic models and showed improved performance in high-speed scenarios, demonstrating its potential for more accurate decision-making.
Leadership education should encompass both horizontal and vertical development, with skills like conflict management and wisdom being crucial for effective leaders. The authors provide a comprehensive model for training competent leaders by outlining concepts and strategies that can be embedded in coursework.
A Japanese online survey experiment examines how public confidence in the military is affected by civilian control during an armed conflict. Participants showed significant loss of trust in the military when it deviated from civilian control, but not significantly when the legislature was involved.
A recent study published in PLOS Biology reveals that people can infer hidden social preferences by observing how fast others make social decisions. By analyzing response times and options, participants were able to predict the other person's preference even if they didn't know what choices were made.
A team of scientists has uncovered how our brains simulate possible future actions using stored memories. The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus work together to enable mental simulations, allowing us to make better decisions. This research provides foundational knowledge on brain circuits enabling decision-making.
A new study by Brigham and Women's Hospital found that patients with dementia who underwent surgery for hip fractures experienced lower odds of death compared to those treated non-surgically. The benefit was seen in patients with head and neck of the femur fractures, but not in other locations.
A new global study found that cities with more climate-related health issues were more likely to maintain climate action despite funding shortfalls. Cities in the Global South exhibited higher ambition in climate action and promoted green recovery efforts compared to European and North American cities.
A new study by Virginia Tech researchers reveals that agricultural demand for water is significantly higher than cities, with crops used for feeding cattle being the largest consumers. The researchers also found that reservoir levels are dropping due to overuse and climate change, highlighting the need for efficient water use strategies.
A study published in Nature Human Behaviour reveals that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is critical for prosocial behaviors, including helping others. Participants with vmPFC damage exhibited reduced motivation to help, exert less effort, and earned less money compared to control groups.
A new study found that spending money on experiences, such as concerts, restaurants, or travel, increases feelings of social connection and similarity with others. In contrast, buying material goods has a lesser effect on these connections. The research suggests that this could lead to improved health and happiness.
Researchers found that heart rate synchrony was a reliable measure for assessing and improving team dynamics. The study used fire-walking rituals as an example to demonstrate physiological synchrony, which predicted the probability of groups reaching the correct consensus.
A study published in PLOS Biology found that stressed participants were more likely to help the victim than punish the perpetrator in a simulated third-party intervention task. The researchers observed higher brain activation in regions linked to decision-making and mentalizing when stressed participants chose to help.
A new interface developed by researchers at the University of Sydney aims to reduce the spread of misinformation on social media. The tool adds a 'more information' button to posts, linking users to details about retracted science claims, which can help them make informed decisions about their health.
A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania developed a model that incorporates two forms of gossip to study indirect reciprocity. They found that there is a mathematical relationship between these forms of gossip, allowing them to understand how much gossip is required to foster cooperation and how incorrect information ...
High temperatures reduce emotional control and increase aggression in police officers, resulting in more dismissals of hot-day arrests. Judges also make harsher decisions on hotter-than-average days, issuing longer prison sentences and higher fines.
A new study led by ORNL provides valuable insights into vegetation resilience in response to extreme heat events, informing pathways for climate mitigation. The analysis found that impervious surfaces, moisture conditions, and type of land cover affect vegetation resilience, with preservation and enhancement of vegetation contributing ...
The event, part of CoARA Boost project, examines current research assessment practices that perpetuate a 'publish or perish' culture. Discussants explore efforts such as DORA, FOLEC-CLACSO, and CoARA to promote openness, integrity, and equity.
A new study found that First Nations patients in Alberta are more likely to leave emergency departments without completing treatment, with 6.8% of visits ending in incomplete care compared to 3.7% for non-First Nations patients. Racism and stereotyping, as well as communication issues, transportation barriers, and wait times, were iden...
A study from the Max Planck Institute found that storks choose routes with high densities of other storks, especially for young birds. As they gain migration experience, their preference decreases, suggesting a shift towards independence.
Lehigh University researcher A. Emrah Bayrak explores best practices for human-AI collaboration in complex design tasks, aiming to maximize productivity and job satisfaction. His project uses models that predict human decision-making and combines it with AI's training data analysis to determine strategies for division of labor.
A survey found that social media use significantly increases patient empowerment and informed decision-making in plastic surgery. Patients who used social media to gather information scored higher on key categories of the Cyber Info-Decisional Empowerment Scale.
Researchers develop hypothetical extreme flooding scenarios by shifting precipitation events, showing regions previously spared could have been hit hard. The approach aims to motivate society to prepare for exceptional flooding events in a warming world.
A Rutgers study reveals that nonprofits with a stronger utilitarian identity tend to acknowledge the importance of listening but fail to implement changes. In contrast, those with a normative identity prioritize stakeholder inputs and interests. The study highlights the need for mutually reinforcing identities in NPOs.
A study published in PLOS ONE found that fear specifically provokes different types of time-bound decision making for women versus men. Women experiencing fear tended to prioritize smaller short-term gains compared to men, while men's decisions appeared unaffected by their emotional state.
Researchers developed a web-based decision aid to support pregnant individuals in making informed decisions about tubal sterilization. The study found that those who used the decision aid had significantly higher knowledge of the procedure's permanence and reduced uncertainty, compared to those who did not use it.
Researchers found that adding a note to play up psychological sense of ownership was more effective at convincing people to get the booster. This approach outperformed lab findings and expert insights, highlighting the importance of reproducibility in behavioral science.
Researchers found that patients with impulse control disorder (ICD) are less affected by the consequences of their actions, particularly when on medication. This suggests that ICD patients may experience positive feelings from taking risky actions based on expectations, rather than processing negative feedback.
New research from Ohio State University suggests that people with negative attitudes tend to delay tackling unpleasant tasks due to valence weighting bias. This phenomenon can be shifted towards neutrality to reverse procrastination.
Researchers have discovered a previously unknown neurochemical mechanism behind human tendency to make decisions based on social context. The study reveals the dynamic interactions of dopamine and serotonin in the brain's substantia nigra area, which contribute to our brain's overall assessment of value during social interactions.
A new study conducted by Dr. Ofek Riemer finds that Jewish Israeli citizens experience decreased levels of security after exposure to the new defensive-oriented foreign policy approach, highlighting the importance of understanding the link between foreign policy and citizens' sense of security.
A study by the Universities of Göttingen and Bonn found that reducing effort required to opt out of nudged options and increasing transparency of the nudge significantly improved public support for these interventions. The perception of upholding free choice and effectiveness were key drivers of acceptance.
A new study finds that older adults rely heavily on initial impressions of trustworthiness when making decisions, which can lead to overlooking bad behavior and falling victim to scams. Researchers recommend focusing on a person's actions rather than first impressions to avoid deception.
A new study from MIT researchers found that doctors are less accurate in diagnosing skin diseases based on images of patients with darker skin. The researchers also discovered that an artificial intelligence algorithm can assist doctors in improving their diagnosis, although the improvements were more pronounced for lighter skin tones.
Researchers created mathematical models to examine aspects of human behavior affecting pandemic trends. They found that risk perception and adherence to preventive measures are crucial in understanding why similar policies resulted in different outcomes.
Researchers developed a mathematical model showing how cicadas come to a consensus about local average temperature, leading to large-scale swarms. The model is related to those describing 'avalanches' in decision-making among stock market traders, highlighting the importance of communication in collective behavior.
A team led by UCF College of Nursing Professor Victoria Loerzel developed an innovative educational game for older adults with cancer, simulating symptoms and self-management. The game was successful in increasing the use of preventative strategies among participants, reducing symptom severity and hospital admissions.
A new study from the University of Birmingham suggests that epidemic modeling can significantly overestimate infection numbers due to ignoring network structures. The researchers found that heterogeneous networks can lead to smaller epidemic waves and fewer infections, contradicting standard 'random mixing' models.
A Lancaster University-led study found improvements in mental health and reductions in burglaries among residents involved in the Big Local community empowerment initiative. However, benefits were unequally distributed, with men and those with higher education reporting better outcomes.
A new study published in Neurology found that nearly 30% of caregivers for severe stroke patients experience high levels of anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress during the first year after hospital discharge. Post-traumatic stress was particularly common among Mexican American caregivers.
The University of Illinois initiative brings Denali neighbors together in an online discussion forum to share views on protected area conservation and land management. The study finds that engaging diverse stakeholders leads to collaborative dialogue and thoughtful discussions, despite differing priorities.
Researchers found that social media influencers with distorted messages cause political parties to moderate their policies to win over independent voters. However, this leads to traditional media outlets becoming more extreme in their editorial positions, and citizens swayed by influencers growing more polarized.
Researchers found that male sticklebacks have a unique molecular response when faced with conflicting demands, including genes related to dopamine and neurogenesis. The study provides insights into the underlying mechanisms of animal behavior, suggesting that complex decision-making processes are ancient and widespread among animals.
A study from the University of Ottawa found that sleep deprivation significantly impacts decision-making processes, reducing neural responses to winning and losing outcomes. This can lead to diminished positive emotions in response to winning and negative emotions when faced with losses.
Research published in Nature Human Behaviour suggests that lockdowns and voluntary behaviour change lead to similar economic damage, with lockdowns saving more lives. The study's model simulates the balance between health and economic impact, predicting health-economic outcomes of political and health measures during a pandemic.
A systematic review found that climate change-related concerns are linked to less positive attitudes towards reproduction and a desire for fewer children or none at all. The study identified four key factors: uncertainty about the future of an unborn child, environmentalist views on overpopulation and overconsumption, meeting family su...
A new framework has been developed to guide ethical decision-making in wildlife management. The framework integrates three domains: moral theory, principle- and rule-based approaches, and virtue ethical therapy.
Guinea baboons develop strategies to choose cooperative partners based on past interactions, mirroring human behavior like reciprocity. The study, published in Science Advances, suggests this behavior has been inherited at least 30 million years ago from a common ancestor with humans.
Researchers found that participants preferred 60-70 options from ChatGPT, citing high perceived accuracy and increased intent to purchase. This contradicts traditional choice overload theories, highlighting the impact of personalized recommendations on consumer decision-making.
The UMass Amherst-UT Austin team has been awarded $27.5 million by the CDC to establish the nation's first disease outbreak response and modeling network. The $250 million program will support decision makers during public health emergencies like COVID-19.
Researchers have developed a new method to calculate the health and climate impacts of reducing buildings' energy consumption. The tool estimates co-benefits under different energy use scenarios, providing insights into the economic value of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and premature deaths caused by air pollution.
A novel AI system developed by City University of Hong Kong improves predictive accuracy in dense traffic, reducing latency and increasing efficiency. QCNet achieves speed and accuracy in predicting road users' movements, even with long-term predictions, making autonomous driving safer and more human-like.
A study by University of Washington Bothell and Seattle Pacific University researchers examines how teachers applied a holistic approach to analyze the social and cultural impacts of power plants. The authors found that connecting students with realities beyond the classroom prepares them to engage in community decision making.
A new study reveals that a hotel's own sentiment score and its competitor's sentiment score have a significant impact on booking performance. Hotels that improve their own sentiment score by 1% can increase bookings by .38%, while those that improve their competitors' sentiment score by 1% can decrease bookings by .25%. The research al...
Researchers at Tohoku University found that perceptual decision-making interferes with unrelated eye movements but not hand movements, indicating nerve signals involved in decision-making continuously flow into the oculomotor eye-movement system.
A team of researchers at the University of Waterloo and Dalhousie University have developed a method for forecasting short-term disease progression using limited data. The Sparsity and Delay Embedding-based Forecasting model, or SPADE4, uses machine learning to predict epidemic progressions with high accuracy.
A group of researchers propose that social influence plays a key role in breaking conservation rules, leading to harm for species and ecosystems. They argue that understanding how people are influenced by their environment and social dynamics can help improve conservation efforts.
Researchers found that childhood adversity can reshape an individual's moral development, leading to a 'deformative experience' that pulls them away from their true nature. This asymmetric sensitivity to life history information affects judgments of praise and blame.