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Cognitive
Risky Choice in the Limelight
January 30, 2014
This paper examines how risk behavior in the limelight differs from that in anonymity. In two separate experiments we find that subjects are more risk averse in the limelight. However, risky choices are similarly path dependent in the different treatments. Under both limelight and anonymous laboratory conditions, a simple prospect theory model with a path-dependent reference point provides a better explanation for subjects’ behavior than a flexible specification of expected utility theory. Additionally,...
January 30, 2014
This paper examines how risk behavior in the limelight differs from that in anonymity. In two separate experiments we find that subjects are more risk averse in the limelight. However, risky choices are similarly path dependent in the different treatments. Under both limelight and anonymous laboratory conditions, a simple prospect theory model with a path-dependent reference point provides a better explanation for subjects’ behavior than a flexible specification of expected utility theory. Additionally,...
Picture It Settled® Helps Technology Company Settle Longshot Case
January 30, 2014
Picture It Settled® Helps Technology Company Settle Longshot Case Negotiation Moves Predicted Within 3.5% in New Case Study...
January 30, 2014
Picture It Settled® Helps Technology Company Settle Longshot Case Negotiation Moves Predicted Within 3.5% in New Case Study...
Choosing Not to Choose
January 29, 2014
Choice is both a great benefit and an immense burden. In some contexts, people choose not to choose, or would do so if they were asked. For example, many people prefer not to make choices about their health or retirement plans; they want to delegate those choices to a private or public institution that they trust (and may well be willing to pay a considerable amount for such delegations). This point suggests that however well-accepted, the line between active choosing and paternalism is often illusory....
January 29, 2014
Choice is both a great benefit and an immense burden. In some contexts, people choose not to choose, or would do so if they were asked. For example, many people prefer not to make choices about their health or retirement plans; they want to delegate those choices to a private or public institution that they trust (and may well be willing to pay a considerable amount for such delegations). This point suggests that however well-accepted, the line between active choosing and paternalism is often illusory....
Too Much Crystallized Thinking Lowers Fluid Intelligence
January 27, 2014
In a digital age—that puts a premium on facts, figures, and data—crystallized intelligence has become disproportionately valued over fluid intelligence. A wide range of new studies are finding that motor skills, hand-eye coordination, aerobic conditioning and daily physicality are important for maintaining working memory and fluid intelligence. Fluid intelligence is the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. Fluid intelligence...
January 27, 2014
In a digital age—that puts a premium on facts, figures, and data—crystallized intelligence has become disproportionately valued over fluid intelligence. A wide range of new studies are finding that motor skills, hand-eye coordination, aerobic conditioning and daily physicality are important for maintaining working memory and fluid intelligence. Fluid intelligence is the capacity to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge. Fluid intelligence...
What’s the Evidence on Using Rational Argument to Change People’s Minds?
January 26, 2014
What’s the evidence on using rational argument to change people’s minds?. Here’s something from the proposal: Is it true that “you can’t tell anybody anything”? From pub arguments to ideology-driven party political disputes it can sometimes seem like people have their minds all made up, that there’s no point trying to persuade anybody of anything. Popular psychology books reinforce the idea that we’re emotional, irrational creatures (Dan Ariely “Predictably irrational”, David...
January 26, 2014
What’s the evidence on using rational argument to change people’s minds?. Here’s something from the proposal: Is it true that “you can’t tell anybody anything”? From pub arguments to ideology-driven party political disputes it can sometimes seem like people have their minds all made up, that there’s no point trying to persuade anybody of anything. Popular psychology books reinforce the idea that we’re emotional, irrational creatures (Dan Ariely “Predictably irrational”, David...
Can Neuro-Music Boost Your Productivity?
January 25, 2014
Work environments today are noisy and distracting. As Maria Konnikova writes in arecent New Yorker article, open office plans are a big culprit. One study describes the effects of open environments as “damaging to the workers’ attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and satisfaction.” One effect of open environments is that now many office workers sport headphones and use music to reduce distraction levels. Music isn’t necessarily a panacea for increasing productivity; it can be a distraction...
January 25, 2014
Work environments today are noisy and distracting. As Maria Konnikova writes in arecent New Yorker article, open office plans are a big culprit. One study describes the effects of open environments as “damaging to the workers’ attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and satisfaction.” One effect of open environments is that now many office workers sport headphones and use music to reduce distraction levels. Music isn’t necessarily a panacea for increasing productivity; it can be a distraction...
High Emotional Intelligence Dramatically Improves Decision-Making
January 24, 2014
A new study finds that people with high emotional intelligence make smarter decisions because they aren’t swayed by their current emotional state. The emotions can provide very useful information, but sometimes they are not related to the decisions we are trying to make. Being able to tell one from the other is part of what constitutes emotional intelligence. Stéphane Côté, the co-author of a new article published in Psychological Science explained: “People are driving and it’s...
January 24, 2014
A new study finds that people with high emotional intelligence make smarter decisions because they aren’t swayed by their current emotional state. The emotions can provide very useful information, but sometimes they are not related to the decisions we are trying to make. Being able to tell one from the other is part of what constitutes emotional intelligence. Stéphane Côté, the co-author of a new article published in Psychological Science explained: “People are driving and it’s...
Judicial Decisionmaking: A Behavioral Perspective
January 24, 2014
This chapter, forthcoming in the Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Economics and the Law, critically reviews the behavioral literature on judicial decisionmaking. Among other things, it presents general theories of judicial decisionmaking, such as the story model and coherence-based reasoning. It also examines the susceptibility of judicial decisionmaking to various well-known cognitive biases, including the compromise and contrast effects, the hindsight bias, the omission bias, and anchoring. The chapter...
January 24, 2014
This chapter, forthcoming in the Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Economics and the Law, critically reviews the behavioral literature on judicial decisionmaking. Among other things, it presents general theories of judicial decisionmaking, such as the story model and coherence-based reasoning. It also examines the susceptibility of judicial decisionmaking to various well-known cognitive biases, including the compromise and contrast effects, the hindsight bias, the omission bias, and anchoring. The chapter...
Readings on Positive Psychology and Law
January 23, 2014
Here is a list of readings taken from Professor James Elkins’s course on Psychology for Lawyers. But first, a definition of “positive psychology”: "Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play." --Positive Psychology...
January 23, 2014
Here is a list of readings taken from Professor James Elkins’s course on Psychology for Lawyers. But first, a definition of “positive psychology”: "Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play." --Positive Psychology...
When, and How, Should Cognitive Bias Matter to Law?
January 23, 2014
Recent work in the behavioral sciences asserts that we are subject to a variety of cognitive biases. For example, we mourn...
January 23, 2014
Recent work in the behavioral sciences asserts that we are subject to a variety of cognitive biases. For example, we mourn...
