Psychology colloquium examines utility concept
Hilary Brady
Issue date: 2/3/09 Section: News
For that reason, "medical studies who take retrospective health surveys may not be a good survey of experience," Burkett said. Rather, determining the immediate reaction to the procedure would be more accurate.
Burkett also discussed the relationship between the probability of gains and losses and human behavior.
When the probability of gain is low or the probability of loss is high, people tend to be more risk seeking. For example, people who participate in the lottery have a low probability of winning, but are more willing to take a risk by purchasing a ticket.
If the probability of gain is high or the probability of loss is low, people are more averse to taking risks. People who invest in a stable stock market, for example, tend to spend money more conservatively.
Burkett also explained a recent experiment he conducted at the URI dining halls. He measured the context in which students order meals in terms of their long-term health versus immediate need.
Burkett polled students and asked them to "place" an order with him, keeping in mind the meal would occur in the future, and then asked for a different order judged on the student's "immediate" need. When students ordered food ahead of time, "they give more weight to long-term health consequences than immediate satisfaction," Burkett said. "The patient planner may overpower the impatient actor."
The lecture, which was attended by about a dozen students and faculty members, had a strong ties to those involved in the health profession.
"How people think about health gains and losses is very relevant to the work we do in helping people to make healthy decisions," Colleen Redding, professor of health psychology said after the lecture. Redding is also a member of the URI psychology research faculty.
Burkett also discussed the relationship between the probability of gains and losses and human behavior.
When the probability of gain is low or the probability of loss is high, people tend to be more risk seeking. For example, people who participate in the lottery have a low probability of winning, but are more willing to take a risk by purchasing a ticket.
If the probability of gain is high or the probability of loss is low, people are more averse to taking risks. People who invest in a stable stock market, for example, tend to spend money more conservatively.
Burkett also explained a recent experiment he conducted at the URI dining halls. He measured the context in which students order meals in terms of their long-term health versus immediate need.
Burkett polled students and asked them to "place" an order with him, keeping in mind the meal would occur in the future, and then asked for a different order judged on the student's "immediate" need. When students ordered food ahead of time, "they give more weight to long-term health consequences than immediate satisfaction," Burkett said. "The patient planner may overpower the impatient actor."
The lecture, which was attended by about a dozen students and faculty members, had a strong ties to those involved in the health profession.
"How people think about health gains and losses is very relevant to the work we do in helping people to make healthy decisions," Colleen Redding, professor of health psychology said after the lecture. Redding is also a member of the URI psychology research faculty.
