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Subject Pool (subject + pool)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	60%

Selected Abstracts

A choice prediction competition: Choices from experience and from description

JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DECISION MAKING, Issue 1 2010
Ido Erev
Abstract Erev, Ert, and Roth organized three choice prediction competitions focused on three related choice tasks: One shot decisions from description (decisions under risk), one shot decisions from experience, and repeated decisions from experience. Each competition was based on two experimental datasets: An estimation dataset, and a competition dataset. The studies that generated the two datasets used the same methods and subject pool, and examined decision problems randomly selected from the same distribution. After collecting the experimental data to be used for estimation, the organizers posted them on the Web, together with their fit with several baseline models, and challenged other researchers to compete to predict the results of the second (competition) set of experimental sessions. Fourteen teams responded to the challenge: The last seven authors of this paper are members of the winning teams. The results highlight the robustness of the difference between decisions from description and decisions from experience. The best predictions of decisions from descriptions were obtained with a stochastic variant of prospect theory assuming that the sensitivity to the weighted values decreases with the distance between the cumulative payoff functions. The best predictions of decisions from experience were obtained with models that assume reliance on small samples. Merits and limitations of the competition method are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Proteomic Analysis Demonstrates Adolescent Vulnerability to Lasting Hippocampal Changes Following Chronic Alcohol Consumption

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 1 2009
Garth A. Hargreaves
Background:, Excessive teenage alcohol consumption is of great concern because alcohol may adversely alter the developmental trajectory of the brain. The aim of the present study was to assess whether chronic intermittent alcohol intake during the adolescent period alters hippocampal protein expression to a greater extent than during adulthood. Methods:, Adolescent [postnatal day (PND) 27] and adult (PND 55) male Wistar rats were given 8 hours daily access to beer (4.44% ethanol v/v) in addition to ad libitum food and water for 4 weeks. From a large subject pool, subgroups of adolescent and adult rats were selected that displayed equivalent alcohol intake (average of 6.1 g/kg/day ethanol). The 4 weeks of alcohol access were followed by a 2-week alcohol-free washout period after which the hippocampus was analyzed using 2-DE proteomics. Results:, Beer consumption by the adult group resulted in modest hippocampal changes relative to alcohol naïve adult controls. The only changes observed were an up-regulation of citrate synthase (a precursor to the Krebs cycle) and fatty acid binding protein (which facilitates fatty acid metabolism). In contrast, adolescent rats consuming alcohol showed more widespread hippocampal changes relative to adolescent controls. These included an increase in cytoskeletal protein T-complex protein 1 subunit epsilon (TCP-1) and a decrease in the expression of 10 other proteins, including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), triose phosphate isomerise, alpha-enolase, and phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (all involved in glycolysis); glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (an important regulator of glutamate); methylmalonate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (involved in aldehyde detoxification); ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase isozyme L1 (a regulator of protein degradation); and synapsin 2 (involved in synaptogenesis and neurotransmitter release). Conclusions:, These results suggest the adolescent hippocampus is more vulnerable to lasting proteomic changes following repeated alcohol exposure. The proteins most affected include those related to glycolysis, glutamate metabolism, neurodegeneration, synaptic function, and cytoskeletal structure. [source]

The Sequential Prisoner's Dilemma: Evidence on Reciprocation

THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL, Issue 468 2001
Kenneth Clark
We investigate how fairness concerns influence individual behaviour in social dilemmas. Using a Sequential Prisoner's Dilemma experiment we analyse the extent to which co-operation is conditional on first-mover co-operation, repetition, economic incentives, subject pool (United Kingdom vs. United States) and gender. We find the most important variable influencing co-operation is the first-mover's choice, supporting the argument that co-operative behaviour in social dilemmas reflects reciprocation rather than unconditional altruism. However, we also find that co-operation decreases with repetition, and reciprocation falls as its material cost rises. [source]

CULTURAL DIVERSITY, DISCRIMINATION, AND ECONOMIC OUTCOMES: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

ECONOMIC INQUIRY, Issue 2 2007
PAUL J. FERRARO
Does cultural diversity affect economic outcomes? We develop an experimental framework that complements ongoing research on this question. We vary the ethnic mix of bargaining sessions to study intercultural interactions among members of U.S. Hispanic and Navajo cultures. We control for demographic differences in our subject pools and elicit beliefs directly in order to differentiate between statistical discrimination and preference-based discrimination. Hispanic and Navajo subjects behave differently, and their behavior is affected by the ethnic composition of the experimental session. Our experimental framework can shed light on economic behavior and outcomes in societies of mixed ethnicity, race, and religion. (JEL C78, C90, Z10) [source]

Organizational Virtual Communities: Exploring Motivations Behind Online Panel Participation

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2005
Terry Daugherty
One type of virtual community that has emerged prominently within the commercially-driven marketing research industry is the online panel. Online panels are opt-in, informed consent, privacy-protected subject pools recruited for Web-based research. Unlike virtual communities forged from interpersonal motivations, online panels represent a community of participants who have agreed to provide information at regular intervals over a period of time. This study presents and tests a theoretical framework governed by the functional theory of attitude that serves to explain motivations for online panel participation. Analysis of data from a survey administered to an online panel (N=1,822) indicates that a person's attitude toward joining an online panel will vary by his or her source of motivation, and that an online panel is capable of evoking a sense of community despite the lack of social interaction among members. [source]