Theory Of Choice Behavior Research Articles

Mediators of Effects on Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in an Activity Tracker and Behavior Change Intervention for Adolescents: Secondary Analysis of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundAdolescence is a critical age where steep declines in physical activity and increases in sedentary time occur. Promoting physical activity should therefore be a priority for short- and long-term health benefits. Wearable activity trackers in combination with supportive resources have the potential to influence adolescents’ physical activity levels and sedentary behavior. Examining the pathways through which such interventions work can inform which mediators to target in future studies.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to examine the impact of the Raising Awareness of Physical Activity (RAW-PA) intervention on potential mediators of behavior change after intervention, and whether these mediated the intervention effects on physical activity and sedentary time at 6-month follow-up.MethodsRAW-PA was a 12-week intervention, grounded in social cognitive theory and behavioral choice theory, aimed at increasing physical activity among inactive adolescents through combining a wearable activity tracker with digital resources delivered via a private Facebook group (n=159 complete cases). The targeted potential mediators were identified from previous studies conducted in adolescents and included self-efficacy, peer support, family support, teacher support, self-regulation strategies, barriers, and enjoyment. Outcomes included sedentary time as well as light- and moderate-to-vigorous–intensity physical activity. A series of mixed linear models were used to estimate intervention effects on physical activity and sedentary behavior at follow-up and on potential mediators after intervention and to test whether there were indirect effects of the intervention on physical activity and sedentary behavior via mediators.ResultsAdolescents in the intervention group (n=75) engaged in higher sedentary time and lower light intensity at 6-month follow-up compared to the wait-list controls (n=84). There were no intervention effects for moderate-to-vigorous–intensity physical activity. The intervention group perceived more barriers to physical activity than the wait-list control group at 6-month follow-up (mean adjusted difference=1.77; 95% CI 0.19-3.34; P=.03). However, indirect effects for each outcome were not statistically significant, indicating that perceived barriers to physical activity did not mediate intervention effects for physical activity or sedentary time.ConclusionsRAW-PA did not beneficially impact hypothesized mediators in these inactive adolescents, despite strategies being designed to target them. This suggests that the lack of overall intervention effects on physical activity and sedentary time observed in the RAW-PA study could be due to the limited impact of the intervention on the targeted mediators. Future studies should consider different strategies to target theoretically informed potential mediators and identify intervention strategies that effectively target key mediators to improve physical activity among inactive adolescents. Finally, intervention effects according to level of wearable tracker use or level of engagement with the intervention should be explored. This may provide important insights for designing successful wearable activity tracker interventions.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616000899448; https://anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=370716&isReview=trueInternational Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.1186/s12889-016-3945-5

Reanalysis of Butler and Pogrebna (2018) using true and error model

AbstractButler and Pogrebna (2018) devised triples of three-branch gambles theorized to violate transitivity of preference according to a most probable winner model. According to this model, a person chooses the option that has the higher probability to yield a better outcome than the other alternative. They tested 11 triples with 100 participants and found cases that appeared to violate weak stochastic transitivity and the triangle inequality. But tests of weak stochastic transitivity and the triangle inequality do not provide a proper method to compare transitive and intransitive models that allow mixtures of preference patterns and random errors. Those older methods can yield false conclusions regarding transitivity, for example, if different participants have different true preferences or if different choice problems have different rates of error. This paper reanalyzes their data using a true and error (TE) model, which does not require these unrealistic assumptions, and which provides estimates of the incidence of transitive and intransitive behavior in a mixture. Reanalysis indicated that 3 of the 11 triples showed convincing evidence of violations of transitivity in the opposite direction of the predictions of the most probable winner model. Further, these and other triples showed other significant violations of the most probable winner model. Despite some violations of the true and error model, the data of Butler and Pogrebna appear to contradict not only transitive utility models but they also refute the most probable winner model as a descriptive theory of choice behavior.

Campaign Effects and the Elusive Swing Voter in Modern Machine Politics

Are vote-choice buying attempts successful? Much research across the social sciences argues that political machines expertly turn citizens into clients, undermining core aspects of democracy. Using insights from behavioral theories of vote choice, I argue that standard partisan campaigns can diminish vote-choice buying’s efficiency. Machines face a targeting problem: Local brokers identify good clients using long-term markers but then campaigns shift many citizens’ vote-relevant attitudes in ways that brokers cannot detect, leading to targeting errors. Vote-choice buying remains effective on recipients who are unmoved by the campaigns, but this group is small where campaigns are influential. Tests using panel surveys from Mexico’s 2000 and 2012 elections measure vote-buying attempts with direct questions and list experiments, employ various measures of campaign influence, and rely on new and existing estimation techniques. The findings yield a more optimistic view of the quality of elections in new democracies than current literature implies.

Structured and Unstructured Activities and Alcohol and Marijuana Use in Middle School: The Role of Availability and Engagement

Background: Behavioral Theories of Choice applied to substance use suggests that use depends on availability of substances and alternative activities. Applying this theory to younger adolescents offers the possibility of investigating potentially malleable prevention and intervention targets. Objectives: The current study examines the role of perceived availability and engagement in structured and unstructured activities on adolescent alcohol and marijuana use controlling for substance availability. Methods: Data were collected as part of a longitudinal study of 6th–8th graders (N = 1023; 52% female; 76% White; Mage = 12.23 years). Multiple logistic regressions analyzed the impact of availability and engagement in structured and unstructured activities at Wave 1 on heavy drinking and marijuana use by study end in both unadjusted and adjusted models. Results: Availability of unstructured activities was associated with increased likelihood of both marijuana use (b* = .06, p = .04) and heavy drinking (OR = 1.20, p < .001), while availability of structured activities was not significantly associated with likelihood of either marijuana use (b* = −.10, p = .07) or heavy drinking (OR = 0.86, p = .16). Engagement in unstructured activities was significantly associated with increased likelihood of both marijuana use (b* = .06, p = .03) and heavy drinking (OR = 1.11, p = .003), while engagement in structured activities was significantly associated with decreased likelihood of both marijuana use (b* = −.25, p < .001) and heavy drinking (OR = 0.85, p = .046). Conclusions: Perceived availability of and engagement in unstructured activities may present a risk, while perceived availability of and engagement in structured activities may serve as a protective factor for youth substance use.

Overlapping Mechanisms of Recovery Between Professional Psychotherapies and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Much research over the past 25 years has focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) affects behavioral change in its participants. In addition to research on the spiritual mechanisms for which AA is best known in the popular conception, research on mechanisms of recovery (MOR) has predominantly supported social, cognitive, and affective mechanisms that are also present in many professional psychotherapies. This paper compares and contrasts the theorized MOR of AA with those found in several common professional psychotherapies to illustrate analogous elements. Literature review, summary, and synthesis of studies examining the MOR of both AA and common psychotherapies including analytic/dynamic therapies, cognitive-behavioral therapies, and acceptance and mindfulness-based therapies. There exists a significant overlap in theorized MOR of AA and mainstream, professional psychotherapies. Mechanisms with the greatest overlap include those mobilizing stress and coping theory, behavioral choice theory, and social learning theory, while mechanisms more unique to AA compared to professional psychotherapies mobilize social control theory to a greater degree. In caring for patients with addiction, practicing clinicians will find it useful to be aware of overlapping analogous elements found in the AA program and professional psychotherapies and how they can complement one another.

Identifying Competing Life Reinforcers for Substance Use in First Nation Adolescents

Background: Indigenous youth are at increased risk of initiating substance use at early ages and suffer greater negative consequences related to substance use as compared to non-Indigenous youth. Behavioral Theories of Choice suggests that substance use is contingent on the availability of substances and the availability of alternatives to substance use. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate risk and protective factors associated with substance use in one group of First Nation adolescents. Methods: Using a modified grounded theory approach, the present study conducted qualitative focus groups and individual interviews with fifteen reserve-dwelling (75% female, M age = 15.2 years) First Nation adolescents to assess categories of risk and protective factors based upon Behavioral Theories of Choice. Results: Adolescents identified peer influences, parental/family influences, and community influences and issues as risk and protective factors associated with substance use. Conclusions: Results highlight possible targets of culturally appropriate prevention strategies for Indigenous populations.

Classroom Strategies For Nudging Students Toward Success

Location: JC Room E Research shows faculty can improve student success in their classrooms (and contribute to overall persistence and degree completion) by leveraging insights from behavioral economics and choice theory. Our students spend more time with faculty in classes than with any other university official, so faculty are critical partners in supporting the whole student effectively and efficiently. Why do undergraduate students fail? The answer to this question is complicated and multifaceted. This session will draw upon Mason faculty members' insights about the challenges students face succeeding in our classrooms and introduce empirically tested interventions that they can adopt to change student behaviors. A Nobel Prize winning behavioral economist, Richard Thayer, has written about promoting behaviors that are in people’s best interest without restricting choice. Thayer and Sunstein (2009) give compelling examples of how libertarian paternalism can work in many areas of contemporary life to guide (nudge) people into making decisions that serve themselves and society. Student success leaders are adopting the nudge as a foundation for improving student engagement in higher education, which in turn influences student learning, retention, persistence, and degree completion. Instead of trying to increase students’ desire for the degree, interventions need to focus on changing the near-term behaviors that will help the student make progress toward the degree. Just as the person who wants to lose weight needs help eating right and exercising, college students can benefit from interventions that prompt them to engage in the specific actions that contribute to learning. Rather than focus on the motivation that caused them to their goal, strategies should target the behaviors that lead to achieving the goal that they have already set (Shireman & Price, 2015, p. 117). Examples of interventions include promoting time on task (e.g., creating assignments that requiring students to invest time and attention) and defining assignment points in a way that that makes the cost of not doing an assignment more salient. Each strategy is linked to the research in goal attainment, engagement, and mindset. This session will begin with background data on Mason's course failure rates, retention and degree completion data, and strategic goals for improving these metrics. Participants will engage in a guided brainstorming exercise to identify, from their perspectives, the issues that influence whether a student is successful in the classes they teach. Next, the session will explore what the literature says about student success behaviors and how behavioral economics and choice theory can guide interventions and strategies for improving success, including examples of how to use these principles in the classroom. Finally, either as large group or in several small groups, faculty participants will consider case studies that will inform the key takeaways: concrete strategies for improving student engagement, motivation, and participation (and, therefore, learning). Infographics and handouts will help remind faculty of how they might use what they have learned in their classroom. Faculty who are interested will be invited to participate in a study of the effectiveness of nudges for spring semester.

Behavioral Public Choice, U.S. National Security Interests, and Transnational Executive Decision Making

This article considers how behavioral public choice theory can evolve and apply to U.S. national security, transnational security, and human rights fields. It draws upon the processes by which CIA, Defense Department, and other the Bush-Cheney administration officials implemented a new global detention-interrogation program during the Global War on Terror using techniques that violated the transnational law of torture and longstanding U.S. policy. With a focus on recent scholarly work by Paul Slovic and Cass Sunstein, the article recommends opportunities to study and improve decision making processes and the roles that attorneys play in U.S. national security communities. Leadership and ethics are identified as fields for future interdisciplinary work and attention by government organizations.

Choice among two and three alternatives.

Although choice between two alternatives has been widely researched, fewer studies have examined choice across multiple (more than two) alternatives. Past models of choice behavior predict that the number of alternatives should not affect relative response allocation, but more recent research has found violations of this principle. Five pigeons were presented with three concurrently scheduled alternatives. Relative reinforcement rates across these alternatives were assigned 9:3:1. In some conditions three keys were available; in others, only two keys were available. The number of available alternatives did not affect relative response rates for pairs of alternatives; there were no significant differences in behavior between the two and three key conditions. For two birds in the three-alternative conditions and three birds in the two-alternative conditions, preference was more extreme for the pair of alternatives with the lower overall pairwise reinforcer rate (3:1) than the pair with higher overall reinforcer rate (9:3). However, when responding during the changeover was removed three birds showed the opposite pattern in the three-alternative conditions; preference was more extreme for the pair of alternatives with the higher overall reinforcer rate. These findings differ from past research and do not support established theories of choice behavior.

Fewer voters, higher stakes? The applicability of rational choice for voter turnout in Quebec municipalities

Municipal voter turnout is often considered to be a function of electorate size. According to the rational choice theory of voter behavior, a rational voter is more inclined to abstain in the presence of larger electorates, and more likely to participate in smaller ones. This article examines the impact of electorate size on voter turnout using a multivariate regression model to explain voter participation in Quebec municipalities in the 2009 and 2013 local elections ( N = 1040). Several other assumptions pertaining to the rational voter are also tested. We find that rational choice theory explains 45% of municipal voter participation in these Quebec elections and that it supports the probability of pivotal voting. Our analysis also confirms that the number of electors, number of mayoral candidates, tax rate, presence of a political party, and incumbency have different effects on participation in small and large municipalities.

Delay and probability discounting among payday and title loan recipients

Payday and title loans are short-term loans associated with significant economic impact. Behavioral theories of impulsive choice may provide insight into behavioral processes that underlie the propensity to take out payday and title loans. Adults between the ages of 18 and 30 recruited from the community completed delay and probability discounting tasks for hypothetical money as well as measures of substance use. Patterns of discounting were characterized using a hyperbolic decay model and area under the curve. Participants who took out a payday and/or title loan in the past (n=41) exhibited more impulsive choice patterns on the delay discounting task than did those who did not (n=255). Substance use mediated this relationship between payday and title loan retention and delay discounting. These findings suggest potentially important relationships between payday/title loan borrowing, substance use, and delay discounting.

Rational choice theory and Becker's model of random behavior

According to rational choice theory, rational consumers tend to maximize utility under a given budget constraints. This will be achieved if they choose a combination of goods that can satisfy their needs and provide the maximum level of utility. Gary Becker, on the other hand, imagines irrational consumers who choose bundle on the budget line. As irrational consumers have an equal probability of choosing any bundle on the budget line, on average, we expect that they will pick the bundle lying at the midpoint of the line. The results of research in which artificial Becker's agents choose among more than two commodities, rational choice theory is small and more than two budget/price situations show that the percentage of agents whose behavior violate. Adding some factors to Becker's model of random behavior, experimenters can minimize these minor violations. Therefore, rational choice theory is unfalsifiable. The results of our research have confirmed this theory. In addition, in the paper we discussed about explanatory value of rational choice theory in specific circumstances (positive substitution effect) and we concluded that the explanatory value of rational choice theory was significantly reduced in specific cases.

Policy Anti-Bubbles: Policy Underreaction and Self-Reinforcing Processes

This paper develops both the concept of policy anti-bubble and the analytical contours of its life-cycle dynamics by building on the behavioral theories of human choice and organization, as well as on robust findings in psychology, indicating that pessimism and negative affects exert a great deal of influence on decision making and risk-taking. A policy anti-bubble is a real and/or perceived policy underreaction which is propelled by self-reinforcing processes over an extended period of time. The behavioral understanding of the term advanced here points at a possible process by which different valences of affective states, situational factors, specific emotions, cultural or geographical factors, trigger the emergence of policy anti-bubbles. Self-reinforcing processes interact with the contagion of ideas and emotions to reinforce the lack of confidence in the policy, thereby leading to the undersupply of policy. This process may be interrupted following modest endogenous or exogenous perturbations, as well as following the reduction in negativity bias when the information environment becomes predominantly negative.

The menace of opiate: The socio-psychological and physiological impacts of opiate on addicts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Opiate addiction is a menace and a matter of concern throughout the world, being one of the most hazardous aspects of personal as well as the societal course of life of an individual. This study describes the socio-psychological and physiological impacts of opiate on addicts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Data were collected from 100 pure opiate addicts through simple random sampling technique using structured interview schedule. The collected data were statistically analyzed and presented in the form of tables and bar charts, and tested through statistical tools. The rational choice theory of criminal behavior with classical theory of criminality has been utilized as a theoretical model for the study. The results show that the use of opiate has multidimensional impacts upon the addicts’ social status, psychological and physiological well-being. The study suggests that there is a need for proper policy in order to implement drug-supply-reduction, drug-demand-reduction and drug-harm-reduction; while, severe punishment should be entailed over the violators and traffickers. Key words: Opiate, addiction, social, psychological, physiological, impacts.

Monetary-Based Consequences for Drug Abstinence: Methods of Implementation and Some Considerations about the Allocation of Finances in Substance Abusers

Conceptualizing drug abuse within the framework of behavioral theories of choice highlights the relevance of environmental variables in shifting behavior away from drug-related purchases. Choosing to use drugs results in immediate and certain consequences (e.g., drug high and relief from withdrawal), whereas choosing abstinence typically results in delayed, and often uncertain, consequences (e.g., improved health, interpersonal relationships, money). Methods: This is a selective review of the literature on Contingency management (CM). Results: We highlight a variety of methods to deliver CM in practical, effective, and sustainable ways. We consider a number of parameters that are critical to the success of monetary-based CM, and the role of the context in influencing CM’s effects. To illustrate the broad range of applications of CM, we also review different methods for arranging contingencies to promote abstinence and other relevant behavior. Finally, we discuss some considerations about how drug-dependent individuals allocate their finances in the context of CM interventions. Conclusions: Contingency management (CM) increases choice for drug abstinence via the availability of immediate, financial-based gains, contingent on objective evidence of abstinence.

Contraction consistent stochastic choice correspondence

We model a general choice environment via probabilistic choice correspondences, with (possibly) incomplete domain and infinite universal set of alternatives. We offer a consistency restriction regarding choice when the feasible set contracts. This condition, ‘contraction consistency’, subsumes earlier notions such as Chernoff’s Condition, Sen’s α and β, and regularity. We identify a restriction on the domain of the stochastic choice correspondence (SCC), under which contraction consistency is equivalent to the weak axiom of revealed preference in its most general form. When the universal set of alternatives is finite, this restriction is also necessary for such equivalence. Analogous domain restrictions are also identified for the special case where choice is deterministic but possibly multi-valued. Results due to Sen (Rev Econ Stud 38:307–317, 1971) and Dasgupta and Pattanaik (Econ Theory 31:35–50, 2007) fall out as corollaries. Thus, conditions are established, under which our notion of consistency, articulated only in reference to contractions of the feasible set, suffices as the axiomatic foundation for a general revealed preference theory of choice behaviour.

Feasibility of Reducing Older Adults' Sedentary Time

Sedentary time (too much sitting, as distinct from lack of exercise) is a prevalent risk to health among older adults. Examine the feasibility of an intervention to reduce and break up sedentary time in older adults. A pre-experimental (pre-post) study. A total of 59 participants aged ≥60 years from Brisbane, Australia. Data were collected between May and December 2009 and analyzed in 2010. One face-to-face goal-setting consultation and one individually tailored mailing providing feedback on accelerometer-derived sedentary time, grounded in social cognitive theory and behavioral choice theory. Program reach and retention; changes in accelerometer-derived sedentary time, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) (assessed over 6 days in pre- and post-intervention periods); and participant satisfaction. Reach was 87.5% of those screened and eligible; retention was 100%. From pre- to post-intervention, participants decreased their sedentary time [-3.2% (95% CI= -4.18, -2.14), p<0.001], increased their breaks in sedentary time per day [4.0 (1.48, 6.52), p=0.003], and increased their LIPA [2.2% (1.40, 2.99), p<0.001] and MVPA [1.0% (0.55, 1.38), p<0.001]. Significantly greater reductions in sedentary time were made after 10:00am, with significantly greater number of breaks occurring between 7:00pm and 9:00pm. Participants reported high satisfaction with the program (median 9/10). Sedentary time in older adults can be reduced following a brief intervention based on goal setting and behavioral self-monitoring.

Choice by value encoding and value construction: Processes of loss aversion.

Loss aversion and reference dependence are 2 keystones of behavioral theories of choice, but little is known about their underlying cognitive processes. We suggest an additional account for loss aversion that supplements the current account of the value encoding of attributes as gains or losses relative to a reference point, introducing a value construction account. Value construction suggests that loss aversion results from biased evaluations during information search and comparison processes. We develop hypotheses that identify the influence of both accounts and examine process-tracing data for evidence. Our data suggest that loss aversion is the result of the initial direct encoding of losses that leads to the subsequent process of directional comparisons distorting attribute valuations and the final choice.

About the Authors

About the Authors

Children's Use of Electronic Games: Choices of Game Mode and Challenge Levels

Introduction. Interactive electronic games are popular and are believed to contribute to physical activity accrual. The purpose of this study was to examine children's electronic game use during conditions in which they had free access to selecting interactive and seated screen-based versions of electronic games and during the interactive versions had free choice in making adjustments to the activity intensity. Methods. We systematically observed 60 Hong Kong primary school children during two 60-minute game sessions while simultaneously recording their game mode choices and physical activity levels using SOFIT (System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time). Results. When given free choice, children spent more than half of their available time participating in interactive versions of games. These versions of games provided significantly more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and greater energy expenditure than the computer screen versions. Children with the opportunity to modify intensity levels spent more time playing the interactive versions and accrued more physical activity. Conclusions. The tenets of behavioral choice theory were supported. Access to new-generation interactive games, particularly those with modifiable intensity levels, may facilitate children's participation in physical activity.