Great Expectations. Part I: On the Customizability of Generalized Expected Utility

We propose a generalization of expected utility that we call generalized EU (GEU), where a decision maker’s beliefs are represented by plausibility measures and the decision maker’s tastes are represented by general (i.e., not necessarily real-valued) utility functions. We show that every agent, “rational” or not, can be modeled as a GEU maximizer. We then show that we can customize GEU by selectively imposing just the constraints we want. In particular, we show how each of Savage’s postulates corresponds to constraints on GEU.     

An Experiment on Rational Insurance Decisions

We describe the results of an experiment on decision making in an insurance context. The experiment was designed to test for the underlying rationality of insurance consumers, where rationality is understood in usual economic terms. In particular, using expected utility as the preference function, we test for positive marginal utility, risk aversion, and decreasing absolute risk aversion, all of which are normal postulates for any microeconomic decision context under uncertainty or risk. We find that there the discrepancy from rational decision making increases with the sophistication of the rationality criteria, that irrationality concerning fair premium contracts is uncharacteristically high, and that the slope of absolute risk aversion seems to depend on the format of the insurance contract. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

从工具到范式：假设检验争议的知识社会学反思

统计工具的建构与运用不能脱离知识生产的情境脉络,其中渗透着建构者和运用者的个人主张与其所在学科的整体价值追求。原假设显著性检验是社会科学实证研究中最为常用的假设检验方法,其流行并非因为方法论本身的精确无误,而在于它虽存有争议并因此招致严厉批评,但仍简洁有效地满足了研究者追求知识的客观性与确定性、以期将自身所在的学科塑造为一门科学分支的主观期待。因此,这一方法就从一个普通的统计工具上升为一种学科范式,起到了收敛学科的精神指向、提供模式化的解题方法、从而实现学科内部知识较快发展的功能。     

Excluding particular information from consent forms

Although the informed consent process is crucial to protecting human research subjects, there are cases when particular information within the consent form may present risks to those subjects. In this paper, we examine a case in which including the sponsor's name on the consent form may allow the form to serve as a surrogate for subjects' HIV status. There is no literature addressing the ethical acceptability of excluding particular information from consent forms, and there exists little regulatory guidance on this issue. We argue that excluding information from the consent form is, in fact, obligatory when that information is disclosed orally during the consent process but its presence on the form poses risks to the subjects the consent process is designed to protect. Further, we argue that the regulations ought to be amended to reflect this obligation.     

Discriminating among probability weighting functions using adaptive design optimization

Probability weighting functions relate objective probabilities and their subjective weights, and play a central role in modeling choices under risk within cumulative prospect theory. While several different parametric forms have been proposed, their qualitative similarities make it challenging to discriminate among them empirically. In this paper, we use both simulation and choice experiments to investigate the extent to which different parametric forms of the probability weighting function can be discriminated using adaptive design optimization, a computer-based methodology that identifies and exploits model differences for the purpose of model discrimination. The simulation experiments show that the correct (data-generating) form can be conclusively discriminated from its competitors. The results of an empirical experiment reveal heterogeneity between participants in terms of the functional form, with two models (Prelec-2, Linear-in-Log-Odds) emerging as the most common best-fitting models. The findings shed light on assumptions underlying these models.     

EXCLUDING PARTICULAR INFORMATION FROM CONSENT FORMS

Although the informed consent process is crucial to protecting human research subjects, there are cases when particular information within the consent form may present risks to those subjects. In this paper, we examine a case in which including the sponsor’s name on the consent form may allow the form to serve as a surrogate for subjects’ HIV status.

There is no literature addressing the ethical acceptability of excluding particular information from consent forms, and there exists little regulatory guidance on this issue. We argue that excluding information from the consent form is, in fact, obligatory when that information is disclosed orally during the consent process but its presence on the form poses risks to the subjects the consent process is designed to protect. Further, we argue that the regulations ought to be amended to reflect this obligation.     

Prerequisites for quantification in the empirical sciences

The present paper discusses the usual classification of qualitative, comparative and quantitative concepts in the language of empirical sciences. The quantification of empirical properties is introduced on the basis of quasi-serial order formed by means of implicitly defined qualitative and comparative concepts and the concept of relative coincidence. The paper introduces conditions of additivity of quantitative concepts relative to the fundamental concepts of quasi-serial order and the corresponding aggregative operations which are based on analogues of Tarski's postulates for the operation of addition.     

Policy Diffusion and Policy Transfer in Comparative Welfare State Research

For many years, comparative welfare state research has followed a ‘methodological nationalism’ in the sense that countries were treated as independent units. Yet the recent ‘spatial turn’ in comparative politics has also influenced welfare state research. For some years now, the field has been witnessing a growing interest in questions about interdependencies and policy diffusion between countries. In this article, we provide a structured overview of the state of the art in the policy diffusion and transfer literature that deals specifically with social policy. We present and critically evaluate existing theoretical concepts and quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches that enable the analysis of interdependencies between countries. Moreover, we summarize the empirical findings of quantitative and qualitative studies on the diffusion and transfer of social policy, from some pioneering studies to the latest findings. Against this background we point out what we believe to be promising avenues for future research. We focus on five areas: theoretical work on the mechanisms underlying diffusion and transfer; methodological approaches; the impact of domestic institutions and policy characteristics on social policy diffusion and transfer; programme‐specific dynamics; and the systematic combination of horizontal and vertical interdependencies.     

Semantic Analysis of the Theoretical Foundations of Biology

生物学理论作为科学哲学研究中的一个另类一直受到关注。它与传统科学模式间的差异是造成这种现象的原因之一。解读这种差异的根源，需要对生物学的理论基础以及理论结构给予充分的关注。生物学特有理论结构所表现出的多元语境与语义结构的复杂性，决定了对生物学理论基础的研究应当重视语义分析的方法，尤其是对理论本身进行语义分解并研究其中的语义关联问题，从而解读生物学模式作为一种不同于理化科学的特殊科学解释观的合理性。     

Exercising moral agency in the contexts of objective reality: toward an integrated account of ethical consumption

This paper engages with two contrasting approaches to conceptualising and studying consumer behaviour that appear to dominate existing research on consumption. On one hand, agency‐focused perspectives take an individual consumer to be the primary author of practice and a basic unit of analysis. On the other hand, socio‐centric paradigms focus on the social roots of consumption activities and the wider societal contexts in which they take place. The need to provide a more balanced view of consumption phenomena has been acknowledged, yet not adequately acted upon. This paper begins to fill this gap through relevant theoretical and empirical contributions. First, we provide a critical review of the dominant theoretical perspectives on consumption in general and ethical consumption in particular, highlight their key ontological assumptions and explain how they preclude a fuller understanding of the ways in which consumer practices are moulded and shaped. Taking a critical realist approach, we then present the findings from qualitative analysis of consumers' ethical food practices to empirically demonstrate the role of human agency and social structure in creating and shaping ethical consumption. Thus, by means of theoretical analysis and empirical research this paper responds to the call for a more comprehensive understanding of consumption and provides a consolidated account of consumer behaviour which acknowledges and explains the complex ensemble of individual and systemic powers in which consumer practices are contained.     

Nonlinear social welfare functions

It is argued that Bayesian decision theory is a solution of an important philosophical problem, viz. the problem of how to define rational behavior under risk and uncertainty. The author has shown in earlier papers that if we take the Bayesian rationality postulates seriously, and take an individualistic point of view about social welfare, then our social welfare function must be a linear function of individual utilities: indeed, it must be their arithmetic mean. The present paper criticizes Diamond's and Sen's contention that one of the Bayesian postulates (viz. the sure-thing principle) does not apply to social decisions, even though it may apply to individual decisions. It also criticizes Sen's proposal of making social welfare a nonlinear function of individual utilities. The social welfare function proposed by the author depends on interpersonal utility comparisons. The use of such comparisons is defended. It is also argued that anybody who feels that the utilitarian (i.e., linear) form of the social welfare function is not egalitarian enough, should reject the author's individualism axiom, instead of trying to reject the Bayesian rationality axioms. However, this would be equivalent to giving egalitarian considerations a priority in many cases over humanitarian considerations. Finally, the paper discusses the reasons why even full agreement on the mathematical form of the social welfare function would not give rise to a Utopian state of moral consensus: moral controversies arising from disagreements about what predictions to make about future empirical facts would still remain.     

The Impact of Structural Reform on County Government Service Provision*

Objective. This study examines the effect that county government structure has on county spending in an environment of rapid population growth. In particular, it looks at the consequence of changing from a traditional commission noncharter form to an appointed administrator/elected executive commission type with a home rule charter. Methods. This study uses a pooled time‐series design to analyze the spending behavior of seven rapid‐growth counties in Florida that adopted a modernized structure between 1980 and 1990. Results. The findings indicate that changing the form of county government leads to a statistically significant increase in total spending as well as for spending for traditional and regional services. Conclusions. In addition to the theoretical implications for studying government structural impacts, there are practical implications for county officials in rapidly growing areas who view the adoption of modernized structures as a means to facilitate the expansion of current services and/or the addition of new services.     

A Review of Adult Attachment Measures: Implications for Theory and Research

There has been increasing interest in adult attachment from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Because the test of a theory is based on our ability to assess theoretical constructs, the review is organized around assessment techniques. Delineating the content, focus, assumptions, and correlates of different attachment measures highlights central issues and problems in conducting research in adult attachment. In this review, we present theoretical issues related to adult attachment, in particular, individual differences, working models, and the role of attachment in adult life. A summary of the measures commonly used in the study of adult attachment follows. The literature review is organized by measure, examining topics such as relations between childhood experiences and adult attachment status, and adult attachment and adult personality and functioning, parenting and partnership behavior. Studies which explore relations between measures are discussed before concluding with thoughts about future directions.     

Cognitive Mechanisms of Ingroup/Outgroup Distinction

People use social categories to perceive and interact with the social world. Different categorizations often share similar cognitive, affective and behavioral features. This leads to a hypothesis of the common representational forms of social categorization. Studies in social categorization often use the terms “ingroup” and “outgroup” without clear conceptualization of the terms. I argue that the ingroup/outgroup distinction should be treated as an elementary relational ego‐centric form of social categorization based on specific cognitive mechanisms. Such an abstract relational form should produce specific effects irrespective of the nature of a particular social category. The article discusses theoretical grounds for this hypothesis as well as empirical evidence from behavioral and brain research. It is argued that what is commonly termed as “ingroup” and “outgroup” can be produced by distinct cognitive operations based on similarity assessment and coalitional computation.     

Motivating the unemployed: A full-range model of motivational strategies that caseworkers use to activate clients

Governments use activation policies to stimulate unemployed citizens in finding work. Caseworkers are, as front-line workers, responsible for concrete activation trajectories based on these activation policies. Little is known about how caseworkers try to get clients to participate in these activation trajectories. In a qualitative, inductive study (consisting of observations and reflective interviews) in two welfare agencies, we identified 10 motivational strategies that caseworkers employed. The full-range leadership model appeared to be an appropriate perspective to understand, systematize, and reflect on these strategies, in particular as our analyses show that these motivational strategies can be placed on a continuum ranging from laissez-faire to transactional and transformational strategies. We found that caseworkers matched their motivational strategy to the situation and client but preferred transformational strategies. Our findings implicate chances but also challenges for activation in practice and literature on front-line workers.     

Equitable Selection in Bilateral Matching Markets

This paper presents a procedure to select equitable stable allocations in two-sided matching markets without side payments. The Equitable set is computed using the Equitable algorithm. The algorithm limits the set of options available for each agent throughout the procedure. The stable matchings selected are generally not extreme, form a lattice and satisfy the condition of being “Ralwsian” in each partition of the market. The Equitable algorithm can also be used to select a particular matching from the Equitable Set favoring particular agents independent of the side of the market to which they belong.     

Minding the Gap: Positivism, Psychology, and the Politics of Qualitative Methods

This article explores the politics and practices of qualitative research, in particular by interrogating the "gap" between qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. Two main claims are elaborated: first, that despite being recommended on grounds of ethical superiority (such as of nonmanipulation and instrumentality), qualitative research is not immune from such problems and may indeed harbor its own practices of exploitation; second, and correspondingly, that the moral high ground associated with qualitative research arises from the ways it is used rather than from any intrinsic features of the methodology. The argument is made that it is important to maintain this distinction in order to counter the tendency toward methodological fetishism so prevalent in scientistic (i.e., aspiring to "natural" scientific status) disciplines such as psychology. After framing these issues with some comments on the current popularity of qualitative methods, the article illustrates these claims by exploring 5 key ways that the positivist agenda of the discovery and control of a natural world can return in qualitative research, especially when this is mistakenly evaluated according to criteria formulated for quantitative analyses. The article concludes with a consideration of the epistemological and political status of attempts either to bridge or exacerbate the gap between qualitative and quantitative approaches.     

Assessing job self-efficacy and organizational commitment considering a mediating role of information asymmetry

This study establishes a model by drawing from key postulates and findings under information asymmetry to explain the formation of organization commitment and job self-efficacy. In the proposed model, organizational commitment and job self-efficacy are influenced indirectly by social support, knowledge creation, and information intensity via the mediation of decision-making quality and perceived opportunism. Knowledge creation is influenced directly by both social support and information intensity. Empirical testing of this model, by investigating personnel from firms in one of Taiwan's well-known industrial zones, confirms the applicability of information asymmetry in understanding employees’ organizational commitment and job self-efficacy. The test results indicate that all the model paths except one (linking perceived opportunism and job self-efficacy) are significant. Finally, the research provides managerial implications and limitations.