Strength Of Preference Research Articles

Age, but not hand preference, is related to personality traits in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

The proximate mechanisms underlying animal personalities, i.e. consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, are a matter of discussion. Brain lateralization, expressed as the preferred use of the contralateral limb, has been suggested as one of these mechanisms. In this study, we measured a proxy of brain lateralization in captive common marmosets (N = 28) by testing hand preference in a simple food-reaching task and evaluated personality by coding a wide range of behaviours observed in daily situations. We explored the links between personality and both direction and strength of hand preference, as well as age and sex, using linear models. Principal component analysis revealed that the stable behavioural variables were organized in three personality dimensions: Agreeableness, Extraversion and Neuroticism. Regarding hand preference, 14 individuals were left-handed, seven were right-handed and seven were ambilateral. Contrary to our predictions, we did not find any relationship between personality scores and hand preference or sex. Instead, age was a significant predictor of personality scores, with older individuals being more agreeable and less extraverted. The link between brain lateralization and personality seems to be equivocal and dependent on personality and brain lateralization assessment methods. Further examinations of other proximate mechanisms, such as physiology or (epi)genetics, may elucidate what drives personality variation in common marmosets.

Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) trait preferences by women and men farmers in Jessore and Mymensingh districts of Bangladesh

Research reporting user trait preferences for fish, particularly in relation to guiding genetic improvement programs are rare, even in tilapia where demand for genetically improved fish has underpinned the expansion of fish farming. The present study investigated gender-disaggregated trait preferences for tilapia by fish farmers in Bangladesh using open-ended questions and stated choice experiment, using 1000minds software. Men and women from smallholder fish farming households shared preferences for some traits of tilapia, but differed in others or in the strength of preference, mostly influenced by the prevailing yet constraining social norms around gender-appropriate work for fish farming, mobility and household responsibilities. Feed intake was the shared top priority for ‘improvement’ for both genders, and confirms the relevance of ongoing efforts in breeding program. However, the importance given to body shape by these users was revealed although more work will be needed to understand the precise requirements given potentially contradictory rankings within and between genders. A number of priority traits reacted to as freshness and taste could be easily improved with better farm management practices and/or improvement in value chain practices.

Fuel stacking implications for willingness to pay for cooking fuels in peri-urban Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Overcoming cooking fuel “stacking” is a major challenge impeding transitions to clean cooking in low- and middle-income countries. Though clean fuels are increasingly available in these countries' urban centers, continued use of polluting technology reinforces energy poverty, due to time costs associated with fuel collection, the household air pollution generated, and the contribution of the latter to dangerous levels of ambient air pollution. While there is much evidence of the association between income and clean fuel use, the impacts of policy instruments that alter fuel prices have been underexplored. We conducted a double-bounded contingent valuation experiment with 360 households who use firewood and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in peri-urban areas of Kathmandu Valley, to elicit respondents' strength of preference regarding their primary cooking fuels. We examine the determinants of cooking fuel stacking, the relationship between fuel stacking behavior and preferences for cooking fuel, and calculate willingness to pay (WTP) for households' primary fuels. We find that stacking is associated with household demographic variables and the time burden of firewood collection; meanwhile, wealthier households, those having more empowered women, and those affected by the 2015 trade blockade in Nepal use more LPG. Fuel stacking among primary LPG users is negatively related to demand for LPG. Among primary LPG users, WTP for a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder ranges between 1267 and 1496 NPR (11–15 USD, or between 3.5 and 4.9 NPR/MJ of useful energy), but WTP for 1 MJ of useful cooking energy is considerably higher due to the highly price inelastic demand for firewood (42–145 NPR/MJ, 0.36–1.25 USD/MJ). Our findings have implications for the pricing of clean fuels in urban Nepal, as they indicate an asymmetric response around price changes for LPG and firewood.

Performance on inhibitory tasks does not relate to handedness in several small groups of Callitrichids.

Brain lateralization, a trait ubiquitous in vertebrates and invertebrates, refers to structural differences between the left and right sides of the brain or to the left and right sides controlling different functions or processing information in different ways. Many studies have looked into the advantages of lateralized brains and discovered that cerebral lateralization confers a fitness advantage. Enhancing cognitive ability has been proposed as one of the potential benefits of the lateralized brain, however, this has not been widely validated. In this study, we investigated the handedness of 34 subjects from four groups of Callitrichids, as well as their performance in two inhibitory control tasks (the revised A-not-B task and the cylinder task). The subjects had strong individual hand preferences, and only a few zoo-born individuals were ambidextrous. Sex and generation influence the strength of hand preference. In the cylinder task, the subjects showed differences between groups, and the performance of the second-generation was better than that of the first-generation. We found that neither the strength of hand preferences (ABS-HI) or direction of hand preferences (HI) was linked with success on the two inhibitory tasks. That is, we were unable to support the enhanced cognitive function hypothesis. We believe that individual ontogeny and the type of cognitive task have an impact on the support of this hypothesis. The advantages of lateralized brain may be reflected in tests that require multiple cognitive abilities.

Assortative mate preferences for height across short-term and long-term relationship contexts in a cross-cultural sample.

Height preferences reflecting positive assortative mating for height—wherein an individual’s own height positively predicts the preferred height of their mate—have been observed in several distinct human populations and are thought to increase reproductive fitness. However, the extent to which assortative preferences for height differ strategically for short-term versus long-term relationship partners, as they do for numerous other indices of mate quality, remains unclear. We explore this possibility in a large representative sample of over 500 men and women aged 15–77 from Canada, Cuba, Norway and the United States. Participants’ own heights were measured, and they indicated their height preferences for a long-term and short-term mate using graphic stimuli containing metric indices. Replicating the “male-taller norm,” participants on average preferred taller-than-average male mates, and shorter-than-average female mates. Positive assortative preferences for height were observed across sexes and samples, however the strength of these height preferences varied with relationship context for men, and not for women. Taller men preferred relatively shorter women for short-term relationships than for long-term relationships, indicating stronger assortative preferences for height in a long-term context. These results provide preliminary evidence that, in addition to mate preferences for other physical traits related to mate quality such as masculinity in the body, face, and voice, assortative preferences for height do vary as a function of expected relationship length, but this was surprisingly only observed in preferences for female height.

From the representative to the radical: how novel forms of participation can reform democracy and reduce existential risk

ABSTRACT Existential risk is higher than is commonly thought. This risk can be reduced by improving our democratic processes and institutions. Local government has the opportunity, and therefore the responsibility, to experiment in this field. To inform this experimentation, this paper will discuss two novel types of participation. First, representative deliberative processes that reintroduce the Ancient Athenian practice of random selection, updating it wth modern statistical methods to ensure representativeness. Second, the ‘radical’ processes advocated for by RadicalxChange that permit mass participation but use a quadratic formula to accurately determine the strength of preferences, and not just their direction.

Accelerated MM Algorithms for Inference of Ranking Scores from Comparison Data

Accelerated Algorithms for RankingAssigning ranking scores to items based on observed comparison data (e.g., paired comparisons, choice, and full ranking outcomes) has been of continued interest in a wide range of applications, including information search, aggregation of social opinions, electronic commerce, online gaming platforms, and more recently, evaluation of machine learning algorithms. The key problem is to compute ranking scores, which are of interest for quantifying the strength of skills, relevancies, or preferences, and prediction of ranking outcomes. One of the most popular statistical models of ranking outcomes is the Bradley–Terry model for paired comparisons and its extensions to choice and full ranking outcomes. In “Accelerated MM Algorithms for Inference of Ranking Scores from Comparison Data,” M. Vojnovic, S.-Y. Yun, and K. Zhou show that a popular MM algorithm for inference of ranking scores for generalized Bradley–Terry ranking models suffers a slow convergence issue, and they propose a new accelerated algorithm that resolves this shortcoming and can yield substantial convergence speedups.

The developmental trajectories of racial categorization and explicit racial biases in Singapore

The present study investigated the development of racial categorization and explicit racial biases in Singaporean Chinese preschoolers (N = 73). Three- to six-year-olds were found to be generally adept at categorizing novel faces by race and displayed significant improvements in their racial categorization abilities at six years old. Additionally, the strength of children's racial preferences varied along the developmental trajectory. While three- and four-year-olds did not exhibit own-race preferences, five- and six-year-olds preferred to befriend own-race children and preferentially assigned desirable jobs to own-race adults. None of the age groups, however, displayed preferences for either race when assigning undesirable jobs to adults, pointing to an absence of negative outgroup bias from three to six years old. Lastly, children who were better able to categorize novel faces by race also showed stronger tendencies to assign undesirable jobs to other-race adults and thus stronger outgroup negativity. Together, our findings suggest that ingroup positivity precedes outgroup negativity, and that racial categorization plays an important role in the development of negative outgroup bias, hence providing further support for developmental theories on intergroup bias formation.

Not all men, nor all women: Strength of gender identification and social spending preferences in Sweden

The gender gap in welfare state attitudes is the tendency of men to be less positive toward an encompassing welfare state than women. To study attitudinal gender differences at the individual level, this paper synthesizes prior explanations, focused on self-interest and norms, with a social identity perspective, centered on the process of social identification with a gender group. With representative survey data ( n = 1515), covering social spending preferences in Sweden, this study uses a psychometric instrument to gauge the emotional and psychological centrality of gender to individuals’ concept of self—thus distinguishing between men and women with different degrees of attachment to their gender group (strength of gender identification). The results show a strong gender identification is negatively related to social spending preferences for men, but not for women. The findings are discussed in the light the influence of gender norms and masculinity threat, highlighting the structuring and normative implications of social policy for gender differences in attitudes toward the Swedish welfare state.

Choice Rules Can Affect the Informativeness of Model Comparisons

In cognitive modeling, it is often necessary to complement a core model with a choice rule to derive testable predictions about choice behavior. Researchers can typically choose from a variety of choice rules for a single core model. This article demonstrates that seemingly subtle differences in choice rules’ assumptions about how choice consistency relates to underlying preferences can affect the distinguishability of competing models’ predictions and, as a consequence, the informativeness of model comparisons. This is demonstrated in a series of simulations and model comparisons between two prominent core models of decision making under risk: expected utility theory and cumulative prospect theory. The results show that, all else being equal, and relative to choice rules that assume a constant level of consistency (trembling hand or deterministic), using choice rules that assume that choice consistency depends on strength of preference (logit or probit) to derive predictions can substantially increase the informativeness of model comparisons (measured using Bayes factors). This is because choice rules such as logit and probit make it possible to derive predictions that are more readily distinguishable. Overall, the findings reveal that although they are often regarded as auxiliary assumptions, choice rules can play a crucial role in model comparisons. More generally, the analyses highlight the importance of testing the robustness of inferences in cognitive modeling with respect to seemingly secondary assumptions and show how this can be achieved.

Evolution of choosiness dictates whether search costs of mate choice enhance speciation by sexual selection

The role of sexual selection in speciation is implicated in both empirical case studies and larger comparative works. However, sexual selection faces two major problems in driving speciation. First, because females with novel preferences search for their initially rare males, search costs are expected to curtail initial sexual divergence. Second, if these populations come back into sympatry, sexual divergence may be erased due to hybridization. A major goal is to understand which conditions increase the likelihood of overcoming these problems. Here we generated a diploid population genetic model of how female search costs and evolution of female 'choosiness' (i.e. preference strength) interact to drive speciation in allopatry and secondary contact. We studied the model using numerical simulations in the context of two different male traits, ecologically 'arbitrary' versus 'magic' traits. First, in allopatry, without female search costs only minor and fluctuating sexual isolation evolved. In contrast, with female search costs, sexual isolation was highly curtailed with arbitrary male traits but was greatly facilitated with magic traits. However, because search costs selected for reduced choosiness, sexual isolation with magic traits was eventually eroded, the rate determined by the genetic architecture of choosiness. These factors also played a key role in secondary contact; with evolvable choosiness and female search costs, pure sexual selection models collapsed upon secondary contact. However, when we added selection against hybrids (i.e. reinforcement) to this model, we found that speciation could be maintained under a wide range of conditions with arbitrary male traits, but not with magic male traits. This surprisingly suggests that arbitrary male traits are in some cases more likely to aid speciation than magic male traits. We discuss these findings and relate them to empirical literature on female choosiness within species and in hybrids.

Equal Treatment and the Inelasticity of Tax Policy to Rising Inequality

We argue that tax policy typically does not respond to inequality because many voters hold equal treatment fairness beliefs for which the expectation is that, just as all have one vote, the state should treat citizens equally on other dimensions of policy. In the tax domain, this means all should pay the same rate. We propose a new survey instrument to measure equal treatment beliefs and implement it in surveys in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We document in all three countries a robust negative partial correlation between the strength of individual equal treatment beliefs and preferences for higher taxes on the rich. We also present results from a survey experiment in the United States that exposes respondents to a violation of equal treatment beliefs—voting weighted by educational attainment. Exposure to this treatment both increases the strength of equal treatment beliefs and decreases support for progressive taxation.

Al2O3/ZnO Heterostructure-Based Sensors for Volatile Organic Compounds in Safety Applications

Monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in harsh environments, especially for safety applications, is a growing field that requires specialized sensor structures. In this work, we demonstrate the sensing properties toward the most common VOCs of columnar Al2O3/ZnO heterolayer-based sensors. We have also developed an approach to tune the sensor selectivity by changing the thickness of the exposed amorphous Al2O3 layer from 5 to 18 nm. Columnar ZnO films are prepared by a chemical solution method, where the exposed surface is decorated with an Al2O3 nanolayer via thermal atomic layer deposition at 75 °C. We have investigated the structure and morphology as well as the vibrational, chemical, electronic, and sensor properties of the Al2O3/ZnO heterostructures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies show that the upper layers consist of amorphous Al2O3 films. The heterostructures showed selectivity to 2-propanol vapors only within the range of 12-15 nm thicknesses of Al2O3, with the highest response value of ∼2000% reported for a thickness of 15 nm at the optimal working temperature of 350 °C. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the Al2O3/ZnO(1010) interface and its interaction with 2-propanol (2-C3H7OH), n-butanol (n-C4H9OH), ethanol (C2H5OH), acetone (CH3COCH3), hydrogen (H2), and ammonia (NH3) show that the molecular affinity for the Al2O3/ZnO(1010) interface decreases from 2-propanol (2-C3H7OH) ≈ n-butanol (n-C4H9OH) > ethanol (C2H5OH) > acetone (CH3COCH3) > hydrogen (H2), which is consistent with our gas response experiments for the VOCs. Charge transfers between the surface and the adsorbates, and local densities of states of the interacting atoms, support the calculated strength of the molecular preferences. Our findings are highly important for the development of 2-propanol sensors and to our understanding of the effect of the heterojunction and the thickness of the top nanolayer on the gas response, which thus far have not been reported in the literature.

Strength of preference and decisions under risk

Influential economic approaches as random utility models assume a monotonic relation between choice frequencies and “strength of preference,” in line with widespread evidence from the cognitive sciences, which also document an inverse relation to response times. However, for economic decisions under risk, these effects are largely untested, because models used to fit data assume them. Further, the dimension underlying strength of preference remains unclear in economics, with candidates including payoff-irrelevant numerical magnitudes. We provide a systematic, out-of-sample empirical validation of these relations (both for choices and response times) relying on both a new experimental design and simulations.

Lion-tailed macaques show a stable direction and reinforcement of hand preference in simple reaching tasks over several years

Research on hand preference in non-human primates provides information about the evolutionary origin of population-level bias of human handedness. Human hand preference has been shown to remain stable throughout an individual's lifespan. However, the stability of hand preference and its change with age in non-human primates remains questionable. We recorded hand use in lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) during simple reaching tasks in three time periods over six years. We tested the effect of age and body posture on the direction and strength of hand preference in 23 observed individuals. In a subsample of 13 individuals followed for two or three subsequent time periods, we assessed the stability of hand preference across study periods. The direction of hand preference was highly stable; we detected no individuals changing from a left- to right-, or right- to left- preference and repeated quantitative measures of hand preference were correlated among subsequent study periods. Hand preference was, however, reinforced in older individuals and an individual's hand preference was stronger in postures with both hands free for foraging. Stable hand preference at an individual level, and its reinforcement over an individual's lifetime, is emerging as a robust finding across the primate order.

Waste Classification of Spent Refractory Materials to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals Exploiting Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding Approach

The recycling of used refractory materials in the heavy industry constitutes one of the significant environmental problems in the industry related to environmental and financial issues. This study proposes a multicriteria methodological frame to characterize the refractory material waste and identify the recycling capabilities. Considering the chemical and physical analysis of the refractory material wastes, the proposed methodological frame progresses into a two-phase procedure. The first phase includes an on/off approach that allows discretizing the refractory material wastes to compatible or not compatible as far as their recycling prospects. Then, an additive value model is utilized, including (a) the marginal value functions used for every criterion related to critical environmental factors, and (b) the weight vector reflecting the relative importance of the criteria used. A group of experts concerning the environment and the refractory materials was employed to estimate the additive value model. The assessment of the marginal value function is achieved using the module of the Multicriteria Interactive Intelligence Decision Aiding System (MIIDAS), which is based on a modification of the mid-value split point technique incorporating focused dialogues, artificial intelligence, and visual techniques. The weight vector was assessed using the weight assessment through prioritization method (WAP), which concludes with the estimation of the weights based on the criteria ranking and the pairwise expression of the strength of preferences for the consecutive criteria according to their ranking. The outcome of this approach is to introduce an environmental appropriateness index for refractory materials based on their chemical composition and the judgement of an expert group. The main findings of this research may be useful for engineers, decision-makers, and scientists in the field of circular economy and waste management.

Preferences of avian seed-hoarders in advance of potential American chestnut reintroduction

Nut-bearing trees such as oaks (Quercus genus) and American chestnut (Castanea dentata, hereafter: chestnut) rely on scatter-hoarding animals for seed dispersal. With the pursuit of blight-resistant chestnuts for eventual reintroduction into eastern hardwood forests of the United States, it becomes important to understand how foraging preferences of avian seed-hoarders will influence chestnut dispersal in oak-dominated forests. Using six seed selection trials over three years and two “seasons” (early fall and late fall), we assess the relative seed preferences – when gathering seeds for hoarding or consumption – of five species of avian seed dispersers in southeast Ohio. In each trial, we presented an equal number of chestnuts and two species of common acorns, black (Q. velutina) and white oak (Q. alba), to wild birds on feeding platforms monitored by cameras. We used Bayesian discrete choice models to determine preferences of each species, and estimate the influence of natural variation in background mast availability (i.e., different years and seasons). Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) showed a consistent preference for the seeds of black oak over chestnut over white oak, and the strength of preference for black oak increased in late season when acorns were scarce. Other species showed variable preferences, with White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) the only species to prefer chestnuts over both acorns, though sample size was small (n = 26 selections). Our results suggest chestnuts are used by a host of avian seed-hoarders that may facilitate dispersal of chestnut, particularly in years of black oak mast failure.

The better, the choosier: A meta-analysis on interindividual variation of male mate choice.

Male mate choice occurs in several animal species, but we know little about the factors that influence the expression of this behaviour. Males vary in their capacity to acquire mates (i.e. male quality), which could be crucial to male mate choice expression but it is often overlooked. Using a meta‐analytical approach, we explore interindividual variation in the expression of male mate choice by comparing the mating investment of males of different qualities and phenotypes to high‐ and low‐quality females. We used two datasets that together contained information from 60 empirical studies, comprising 52 species. We found that males of all qualities and phenotypes prefer high‐quality females, but differ in the strength of such preference. High‐ and medium‐quality males are choosier than low‐quality males. Similarly, males that are larger or in greater body condition are choosier than their counterparts. In contrast, male body mass and age are not associated with changes in male mate choice. We also show that experimental design may influence our understanding of male mating investment patterns, which may limit the generalisation of our findings. Nonetheless, we argue that male quality may be an important feature in the expression of male mate choice.

Abstract 067: Outcome Preferences Related To Cardiovascular Preventive Therapies In Older Adults: An Online Survey

Background: Personalized cardiovascular disease (CVD) preventive therapy for older adults is important and emphasized in current clinical guidelines. Older adults often have multiple chronic conditions, are at higher risk for medication side effects, and may have different preferences when weighing multiple health outcomes. However, little is known about preferences for outcomes related to CVD preventive therapies in older adults. Methods: In May 2021, using an online panel, we surveyed US older adults (age 65-84 years) on outcome preferences related to statin (benefit-related outcomes: heart attack and stroke; side effect-related outcomes: diabetes, abnormal liver test, and muscle pain) or aspirin (benefit-related outcomes: heart attack and stroke; side effects: brain bleed, bowel bleed, and stomach ulcer). We used best-worst scaling, a novel stated-preference research method, to quantify relative outcome priorities. A standardized score was calculated for each outcome to indicate the strength of preference, ranging from -1.0 (least worrisome) to +1.0 (most worrisome). Results: 304 participants (median age 75, 45% male) completed the statin survey and 303 participants (median age 74, 46% male) completed the aspirin survey. In both surveys, stroke and heart attack, the two benefit outcomes from CVD prevention, were considered significantly more worrisome than outcomes related to side effects of the preventive therapies ( Table ). The general trend was similar for those age 65-74 vs. 75-84, although those age 75-84 tended to worry more about stroke than heart attack. Conclusions: Older adults considered the outcomes related to the benefits of CVD preventive therapies more important than outcomes related to the therapies’ side effects. These results suggest that older adults tend to prioritize the benefits of CVD preventive therapies over their side effects. Integrating individualized patient preferences with risk prediction to guide personalized shared decision-making is an important next step.

Information efficient learning of complexly structured preferences: Elicitation procedures and their application to decision making under uncertainty

In this paper we propose efficient methods for elicitation of complexly structured preferences and utilize these in problems of decision making under (severe) uncertainty. Based on the general framework introduced in Jansen et al. (2018) [37], we now design elicitation procedures and algorithms that enable decision makers to reveal their underlying preference system (i.e. two relations, one encoding the ordinal, the other the cardinal part of the preferences) while having to answer as few as possible simple ranking questions. Here, two different approaches are followed. The first approach directly utilizes the collected ranking data for obtaining the ordinal part of the preferences, while their cardinal part is constructed implicitly by measuring the decision maker's consideration times. In contrast, the second approach explicitly elicits also the cardinal part of the decision maker's preference system, however, only an approximate version of it. This approximation is obtained by additionally collecting labels of preference strength during the elicitation procedure. For both approaches, we give conditions under which they produce the decision maker's true preference system and investigate how their efficiency can be improved. For the latter purpose, besides data-free approaches, we also discuss ways for statistically guiding the elicitation procedure if data from elicitations of previous decision makers is available. Finally, we demonstrate how the proposed elicitation methods can be utilized in problems of decision under (severe) uncertainty. Precisely, we show that under certain conditions optimal decisions can be found without fully specifying the preference system.