SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Choice Behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,657 records · Page 92Linked to original sources

PubMed2007

Effort-related functions of nucleus accumbens dopamine and associated forebrain circuits.

BACKGROUND: Over the last several years, it has become apparent that there are critical problems with the hypothesis that brain dopamine (DA) systems, particularly in the nucleus accumbens, directly mediate the rewarding or primary motivational characteristics of natural stimuli such as food. Hypotheses related to DA function are undergoing a substantial restructuring, such that the classic emphasis on hedonia and primary reward is giving way to diverse lines of research that focus on aspects of instrumental learning, reward prediction, incentive motivation, and behavioral activation. OBJECTIVE: The present review discusses dopaminergic involvement in behavioral activation and, in particular, emphasizes the effort-related functions of nucleus accumbens DA and associated forebrain circuitry. RESULTS: The effects of accumbens DA depletions on food-seeking behavior are critically dependent upon the work requirements of the task. Lever pressing schedules that have minimal work requirements are largely unaffected by accumbens DA depletions, whereas reinforcement schedules that have high work (e.g., ratio) requirements are substantially impaired by accumbens DA depletions. Moreover, interference with accumbens DA transmission exerts a powerful influence over effort-related decision making. Rats with accumbens DA depletions reallocate their instrumental behavior away from food-reinforced tasks that have high response requirements, and instead, these rats select a less-effortful type of food-seeking behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Along with prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, nucleus accumbens is a component of the brain circuitry regulating effort-related functions. Studies of the brain systems regulating effort-based processes may have implications for understanding drug abuse, as well as energy-related disorders such as psychomotor slowing, fatigue, or anergia in depression.

Animals↗

PubMed1981

Ablation of the area postrema causes exaggerated consumption of preferred foods in the rat.

The area postrema (AP) is a hindbrain circumventricular organ (CVO) with apparent chemoreceptive function. The AP has demonstrated neural and vascular connections with the nucleus of the solitary tract (SOL), a structure which receives the primary visceral afferents from the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. The anatomical structure and connections of the AP suggests a potential role for this CVO in the control of feeding behavior. We have found that rats with surgically produced AP lesions consumed the same amounts of pelleted food ad libitum as control rats. Lesioned and control rats also consumed equal amounts of lab chow after 21 h food deprivation. However, when presented with a preferred food (instant breakfast or cookies), AP-lesioned rats consumed at least double the amount consumed by control rats. It is possible that AP lesions impair sensitivity to satiety cues. However, lesion rats did decrease their instant breakfast intake in response to cholecystokinin injections or gastric preloads. Furthermore, overingestion by AP-lesioned rats occurred only in response to preferred (highly palatable) foods and not in response to lab chow. Lesioned rats rejected quinine-adulterated instant breakfast at the same adulterant concentration as controls. Therefore, the lesioned rats do not suffer from ageusia or from enhanced responsiveness to bitter taste. Rather, the selective overeating by AP-lesioned rats may reflect an enhanced behavioral response to the sensory qualities of normally preferred foods. The close association of the AP with the SOL provides a neuroanatomical avenue by which a putative AP-chemoreceptor could alter the quality or intensity of information arriving via the taste afferents. Such tuning of gustatory mechanisms could be an important component of ingestive control.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Pills and attitude change: misattribution of arousal or excuses for negative actions?

Two experiments evaluated the competing interpretations of cognitive dissonance and impression management theories regarding the pill and misattribution studies of attitude change in the forced compliance situation. Attitude change was eliminated when subjects were told about the tension side effects of taking a placebo, replicating the usual effect. Attitude change was also eliminated, however, when subjects took the pill following counterattitudinal behavior. In one condition of the second experiment, subjects were given instructions about tension side effects but were also told that the drug would not affect their moral judgment or behavior. These instructions eliminated attitude change in a standard pill condition. The typical finding of attitude change was manifested in the misattribution/no-excuse condition. The primary and secondary data from both studies provided more support for the impression management interpretation of the standard misattribution manipulations than for a theory of misattribution of dissonance-produced arousal.

Arousal↗

PubMed2004

Lifestyles of virtual world residents: living in the on-line game "lineage".

This study was conducted to explore the lifestyles of online game players who have adopted the virtual world as part of their life. An online survey was conducted on players of an Internet-based game, Lineage. Lineage is the largest online game where people assume new identities and play various roles in a virtual environment, accommodating over 6 million users worldwide. A total of 4,786 game players participated in this survey, and their lifestyles were compared with their values and attitudes in the virtual world. Upon classification of their real-world lifestyles, their tendencies and desires were compared to lifestyles in the virtual world. This study showed that game players have developed their own distinctive lifestyles, and their lifestyles were a strong criterion for explaining behavior patterns and desires in the virtual world. Lifestyles were classified into three general categories: (1) single-oriented player, (2) community-oriented player, and (3) off-Real world player. Each group displayed distinct differences in their values and game activities, as well as in their anti-social behavior tendencies. The differences reflected not only their personality but also their socio-economic status within the virtual world, which is constructed through game activities. This study serves as a model to understand how players from different real-life backgrounds will behave in various game features and how they adopt the virtual world for their new social identities.

Choice Behavior↗

PubMed2003

Mother-daughter relationships expressed in the food context of postpartum convalescence --- findings from a preliminary study.

The aim of this study was to explore mother-daughter interaction as represented by provision of food during the traditional month-long postpartum convalescence. The clinical field research method was employed. A convenience sample of three pairs of mothers and postpartum daughters were recruited from a medical center. Data from recorded interviews were analyzed. Content analysis was applied to analyze the interaction between the mothers and daughters. The study demonstrated that the mothers exhibited caring behavior toward their daughters during this period. The postpartum daughters reacted to their mothers with approach, nostalgia, and appreciation behaviors. The results of this study deserve the cognitive recognition of nurses, so that they can be aware of and respect the indigenous beliefs and practices that link the events of childbearing, the health status of women, and family relationships especially between the woman and her own mother in order to provide better maternity care for postpartum women.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

From attitude formation to behavioral response in organ donation: using marketing to increase consent rates.

This article presents a theoretical analysis of attitude formation and the relationship to stated behavioral intentions as it relates to the decision to donate organs. This analysis reveals the presence of three distinct paths to behavior of potential donors, groups differing in their involvement with organ donation. Promotional objectives and campaign strategies designed to influence attitudes and behaviors should differ according to the behavioral path in operation and the involvement of the audience. Mass media campaigns are likely to reach high involvement groups only. Therefore, personal selling, underutilized in previous donation campaigns, should be brought into the donation strategy to appeal to low involvement groups. By recognizing differences in audience involvement and implementing different strategies, overall donation rates could substantially increase.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2006

Patterns and correlates of deliberate abstinence among men and women with HIV/AIDS.

OBJECTIVES: We examined correlates of deliberate sexual abstinence among gay/bisexual men, heterosexual men, and women in a national probability sample of adults with HIV. METHODS: Participants in the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS; n=1339) answered questions about oral, anal, or vaginal sexual intercourse in the past 6 months; those who reported none of these behaviors (n=415) were asked about their reasons for abstinence. Of these, 201 participants (11% of gay/bisexual men, 18% of women, 18% of heterosexual men) indicated that their abstinence was deliberate. Multivariate models were used to predict deliberate abstinence. RESULTS: In multivariate analyses, not having a primary relationship partner/spouse was a significant correlate of deliberate abstinence for all 3 groups. Higher perceived responsibility for limiting disease transmission and nondrinking status were related to deliberate abstinence only among gay/bisexual men. Worse health was associated with deliberate abstinence only among heterosexual men. CONCLUSIONS: Perhaps because HIV is more common in gay communities, abstinence choices may be more closely linked to a higher sense of responsibility for reducing transmission among gay/bisexual men, and their illness may be less of an impediment to sexual activity.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1990

Effects of chlordiazepoxide and flumazenil on preference for punished and unpunished response alternatives in rats.

Male food-restricted hooded rats were trained to respond on a two-component multiple schedule. Reinforcement density was several times higher in one component than in the other. However, responses were intermittently punished with shock in the richer reinforcement component (conflict situation). Shock intensities were adjusted to produce mild and strong suppression of responding in two separate phases. Half of the rats controlled which component was operating (Preference group) and half did not (Yoked group). The effect of chlordiazepoxide (CDZ; 0, 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg; IP) was measured on component preference and response rate. Chlordiazepoxide increased both time spent in the conflict situation and response rate in that component. This is the first study employing a schedule that permitted these two behavioral indices to be measured independently in a conflict paradigm. Response rates were also increased in the unpunished response alternative, but to a lesser degree than in the conflict situation. The effects of CDZ were at least partially mediated by the benzodiazepine receptor because CDZ's effects were diminished by flumazenil (10 mg/kg; IP), a benzodiazepine antagonist.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Using a naturalistic ecological approach to examine the factors influencing youth physical activity across grades 7 to 12.

High levels of inactivity in youth have led researchers and practitioners to focus on identifying the factors that influence physical activity behaviors in young people. The present study employed a qualitative ecological framework to examine the intrapersonal, social, and environmental factors influencing youth physical activity. In grade-specific focus group settings, 160 youth in grades 7 through 12 (aged 12 to 18) were asked how they would increase the physical activity levels of youth their age. Participants identified eight factors that they felt should be addressed in programs and interventions designed to increase the physical activity behaviors of youth. These factors included the importance of fun, having the time to be physically active, the benefits of activity, being active with friends, the role of adults, and the importance of being able to access facilities in their neighborhood.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

The induction of oral ethanol self-administration by contingent ethanol delivery.

The necessity of delivering a highly reinforcing stimulus (20% sucrose) contingent upon ethanol consumption in order to induce ethanol self-administration in free-feeding rats was investigated. Rats water deprived for 12-16 h were placed in an environment in which ethanol drinking resulted in the presentation of ethanol. This procedure was successful in inducing and maintaining ethanol self-administration over concentrations of 5-20% (v/v). Compared to a group of rats initially reinforced for drinking ethanol with sucrose presentation, contingent ethanol delivery resulted in greater ethanol self-administration behavior. When 20% ethanol was available the group trained with ethanol had average intake of 0.91 g/kg, whereas the group trained with sucrose had a mean intake of 0.69 g/kg in a 30-min session. The results suggest that ethanol's reinforcing properties are sufficient to establish ethanol self-administration within the context of the inducing environment.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1989

Behavioral bias and left-right response differentiation in the rat.

To examine the proposition that lateral asymmetry facilitates left-right response differentiation in rats, we examined the relationships between the strengths of several behavioral biases and the scores on a learning task requiring left-right response differentiation. No support was found for a simple model positing a monotonic relationship between any behavioral bias and the learning scores. However, performance showed a U-shaped relationship to one behavioral bias. This finding conforms to a curvilinear model in which rats at either extreme of asymmetry are disadvantaged, at low degrees of asymmetry by a lack of navigational reference, and at high degrees by resultant strong position habits; moderately asymmetrical rats have neither disadvantage and are best able to use the asymmetry as a reference in processing left-right information.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Reduction of work-family conflict through the use of selection, optimization, and compensation behaviors.

Prior research has examined both the antecedents to and outcomes of work-family conflict. However, little is known about the existence and efficacy of behavioral strategies that may be used by individuals to reduce the amount of stressors experienced both on the job and at home, which result in work-family conflict. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) behaviors in relation to both job and family stressors and work-in-family (WIF) conflict and family-in-work (FIW) conflict. Results suggest that the use of general SOC behaviors in both the work and family domains are related to lower amounts of job and family stressors and subsequently lower amounts of WIF conflict and FIW conflict. In general, these results held true even when additional variables (e.g., hours worked, gender, job involvement, family involvement, social support, and supervisor support) were controlled. Implications of these results are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

The influences of demographics and individual differences on children's selection of risky pedestrian routes.

OBJECTIVE: Thousands of American children under the age of 10 are injured annually as pedestrians. Despite the scope of this public health problem, knowledge about behavioral factors involved in the etiology of child pedestrian injury remains sparse. The present study considered the roles of age, gender, ethnicity, family income, and inhibitory control on children's selection of safe pedestrian routes. METHODS: Children's selections of risky pedestrian routes were examined in two laboratory analogue tasks. Multiple behavioral and self-report methods were used to measure temperamental inhibitory control. RESULTS: Children from lower-income families, children of ethnic minority background, younger children, and those with less temperamental control selected riskier pedestrian routes. CONCLUSIONS: Prevention efforts might be tailored to focus on children at higher risk for pedestrian injury, such as younger, under-controlled children.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2005

Automatic encoding of polyphonic melodies in musicians and nonmusicians.

In music, multiple musical objects often overlap in time. Western polyphonic music contains multiple simultaneous melodic lines (referred to as "voices") of equal importance. Previous electrophysiological studies have shown that pitch changes in a single melody are automatically encoded in memory traces, as indexed by mismatch negativity (MMN) and its magnetic counterpart (MMNm), and that this encoding process is enhanced by musical experience. In the present study, we examined whether two simultaneous melodies in polyphonic music are represented as separate entities in the auditory memory trace. Musicians and untrained controls were tested in both magnetoencephalogram and behavioral sessions. Polyphonic stimuli were created by combining two melodies (A and B), each consisting of the same five notes but in a different order. Melody A was in the high voice and Melody B in the low voice in one condition, and this was reversed in the other condition. On 50% of trials, a deviant final (5th) note was played either in the high or in the low voice, and it either went outside the key of the melody or remained within the key. These four deviations occurred with equal probability of 12.5% each. Clear MMNm was obtained for most changes in both groups, despite the 50% deviance level, with a larger amplitude in musicians than in controls. The response pattern was consistent across groups, with larger MMNm for deviants in the high voice than in the low voice, and larger MMNm for in-key than out-of-key changes, despite better behavioral performance for out-of-key changes. The results suggest that melodic information in each voice in polyphonic music is encoded in the sensory memory trace, that the higher voice is more salient than the lower, and that tonality may be processed primarily at cognitive stages subsequent to MMN generation.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2005

Attitude importance as a moderator of the relationship between implicit and explicit attitude measures.

The authors examined attitude importance as a moderator of the relationship between the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit attitude measures. In Study 1 (N = 194), as ratings of attitude importance regarding the 2000 presidential election increased, the strength of the relationship between a Bush-Gore IAT and explicit attitude measures also increased. Study 2 provided a conceptual replication of these results using attitudes toward Coke and Pepsi (N = 112). In addition, across both studies, explicit attitude measures were better predictors of deliberative behaviors than IAT scores. In Study 3 (N = 77), the authors examined the role of elaboration as a mechanism by which attitude importance may moderate IAT-explicit attitude correlations. As predicted, increased elaboration resulted in stronger IAT-explicit attitude correlations. Other possible mechanisms by which attitude importance may moderate the IAT-explicit attitude relationship also are discussed.

Attitude↗

PubMed1997

Patient satisfaction and service quality in the formation of customers' future purchase intentions in competitive health service settings.

The following study provides evidence that the relationship between quality perceptions and satisfaction judgements in the formation of future purchase intentions may be very different in health service settings relative to other service settings. The study investigates Taylor and Baker's (1994) assertion that satisfaction judgements moderate the quality-->purchase intention relationship by testing the research model in both for-profit and not-for-profit hospital settings. The results of this study first support the growing view that satisfaction judgements are more closely related to outcome behaviors than quality perceptions in hospital settings. The results further support the assertion that the formation of important consumer outcomes, such as future purchase intentions, appears to be different for health services. Thus, health service managers are cautioned to empirically test models in the literature specific to their own competitive setting. The managerial and research implications of the reported study are presented and discussed.

Choice Behavior↗

PubMed1994

Older consumers' perceptions of health care information sources: the effect on search behavior.

Substantial evidence has been developed regarding the identity of health care information sources preferred by the elderly. However, this research has not empirically investigated why a given source might be more or less important to this segment. To address this gap, this research investigates OTC-health care information sources in terms of their credibility, expertise and associated risk. Differences in perceptions of these characteristics across the derived information source types are then examined across heavy and light users of OTC medications.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

A sensitizing regimen of methamphetamine causes impairments in a novelty preference task of object recognition.

A neurotoxic regimen of methamphetamine impairs object recognition (OR) in rats. The present study investigated whether neurotoxicity is a necessary component of methamphetamine's effect on OR. Animals were exposed to a sensitizing regimen of methamphetamine, and were tested for OR one week, and locomotor behavior two weeks, later. Quantitative autoradiography was used to measure [(125)I]RTI-55 binding to forebrain dopaminergic and serotonergic transporters. Methamphetamine treatment produced significant OR impairments (and increased locomotion), without reducing dopamine or serotonin transporter binding. This study supports the conclusion that factors other than monoamine terminal injury contribute to the methamphetamine-induced cognitive impairments.

Animals↗