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Using a high-throughput experimental design and statistical modelling, the authors show how jurors and lawyers weigh different types of crime and evidence when assessing the guilt of someone accused of a crime.
Jepma and colleagues provide evidence that prior beliefs about pain influence perceived intensity of pain, and the degree of learning about pain intensity. This finding helps to explain why beliefs are often resistant to updating with experience.
Herd and colleagues outline a framework for collaboration between social and population health scientists to better understand how the human microbiome and social environments interact and co-develop.
Analyses of transactions in a new monetary system (Sardex community currency) reveal that transaction cycles increase in prevalence over time and that economic activity within these cycles is higher compared to linear transactions through the network.
Reputational concerns reinforce the instinct to cooperate in social situations. McAuliffe et al. find that cooperative habits can be overturned in one-shot anonymous interactions, when people learn that defection will not damage their self-interest.
Influenza is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. Nudges are small changes to the environment or choice architecture that can be designed to significantly increase influenza vaccination rates.
Registered reports present a substantial departure from traditional publishing models with the goal of enhancing the transparency and credibility of the scientific literature. We map the evolving universe of registered reports to assess their growth, implementation and shortcomings at journals across scientific disciplines.
Having too many choices can lead to choice overload. Reutskaja et al. find that brain activity in striatum and anterior cingulate reflects subjects’ engagement in decision making as a function of choice set size and can serve as an indicator of choice overload.
A five-arm trial with 228,000 participants found that a single mailed letter increased absolute influenza vaccination rates in individuals ≥66 years of age by about 1%. The framing of the letter made no significant difference to the outcome.
Despite being a major cultural group, Arabs are relatively neglected in cultural psychology. Going beyond the prevailing East versus West paradigm, this paper suggests that a unique form of interdependence that is self-assertive typifies Arab culture.
A seven-week school-based field experiment shows that social-rewards schemes increase physical activity in preadolescents, with girls being more receptive to reciprocal and boys to team rewarding schemes.
Increasing gender diversity can bring about substantial benefits for research and society. Nielsen et al. propose a framework for increased diversity not only in the composition of teams, but also in research methods and in the questions targeted by research.
