Social decision making is a complex process of selecting an optimal option with the most desirable outcome in the interpersonal context. Because of the involvement of human interactions, social decision making usually demands heavily on the affective neural system. Within the system mood plays a vital role in the social interaction. In this connection, given the fact that depression is characterized as a stable state of low mood, researches have begun focusing on exploring the relationship between depression and social decision making. As yet, research on how the depression influence social decision has been scarce. Moreover, the neural basis underpinning the relationships between depressed mood and altered social interactions is undertermined. This thesis contains two studies conducted to extend the understanding of the behavioural presentation and the neural underpinnings of people with depression when they were involved in a social decision making process. Study one examined altered ability of decision making in the context of social interaction among patients with major depressive disorders (MDD). A modified trust game (social interactive context) was adopted to measure the behavioural differences between 50 female patients with MDD and 49 healthy matched controls. Relatively to the controls, the MDD patients made less frequently and smaller ratio of deceptive decisions when the repayment proportion was high and when the risk was low. They also made less frequently benevolent responses than healthy participants when the repayment proportion was low and medium. These findings indicate that the MDD patients tended to be risk avoidant and fail to adjust their responses even when the risk was low. Study two examined the neural correlates associated with social decision making in people with MDD. They performed on a modified trust game while their brain activities during risky decision making (high vs. low) and choices of behavior (benevolence vs. deception) were monitored by a 3T MRI scanner. Fifteen MDD patients and 15 healthy controls participated in this study. The behavioural patterns of both groups were very comparable to that of study one. Findings revealed that, compared with low risk condition, MDD patients exhibited hyperresponsivity to high risk in the insula, a key brain in decision making. Attenuated differentiated activity in the caudate nucleus, and exaggerated differentiated activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex when displaying deception was observed in the clinical subjects. Healthy participants, on the other hand, exhibited increased activity in the interaction between risk and choice in the middle frontal lobe. These findings indicate that the impaired reward processing, as well as the inflexible adaptation of behaviors to external conditions, is affected by the depressed mood. These neural dysfunctions subserve the altered social decision making in MDD patients. From the observations that MDD patient’s social decision making is altered both in the behavioural pattern and in neural activity, mood is demonstrated to affect social decision making processes and risk is associated with depression. Our findings provide neural evidence of social decision making in MDD patients, which will shed light on the interaction between mood and social cognition, and further extend our insight about possible mechanisms explaining the relationship of depressed moods and the presented social deficits in people with MDD. This knowledge will facilitate future development of cost-effective interventions for people with affective disorders. / published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

從雙加工的角度來看，個人在社會困境中的決策是自動加工和控制加工相互作用的結果。基於對不同方向的研究結論的回顧，我們提出兩個不同的親社會行為模型，自我控制者模型和社會直覺者模型。這兩個模型在對人性有不同的假設，且對自動加工和控制加工在親社會行為中所扮演的角色有不同的分配。具體來說，自我控制者模型假定個人的親社會性是表面的，人們的親社會行為主要來自控制加工--監測並調整以使人們的行為更符合社會規範。社會直覺者模型假定個人的親社會性是天生的，人們的親社會行為主要來自自動加工--社會交換啟發式把人們的行為錨定在教高的親社會水平上。我們在三個實驗中比較並探討了兩個模型在描述人們在資源困境中的親社會行為的適用性，以及自動加工和控制加工在決策過程中所扮演的角色。我們使用了通常用於分離兩種加工模式的範式，包括操控個人的自我調節的資源（實驗1），認知資源（實驗2），加工目標（實驗3）。三個實驗的結果一致地支持自我控制者型，即人類的親社會行為是控制加工的結果。在考慮到社會偏好的個體差異之後，我們發現，親自我個體的行為非常符合自我控制者模型。研究3和探索性分析結果也支持作為理性思考者的親自我個體，他們的親社會行為在很大程度上依賴於控制加工--通過計算和透徹思考來控制自私本能。親社會個體的合作行為沒有符合自我控制者模型的預測。探索性分析表明， 作為直覺思考者的親社會個體， 他們的親社會行為取決於利用啓發式和直覺的自動加工。我們認為，儘管三項研究的證據都支持自我控制者模型，它只反映到故事的一部分。我們需要考慮到社會偏好的個體差異並檢驗社會交換啓發式對親社會個體的合作行為的中介作用以深入對人類親社會性的了解。 / From a dual-processing perspective, individuals’ decision-making in social dilemmas is the result of interplay between automatic processing and controlled processing. Based on review on different lines of research, a self-controller model and an social intuitionist model of decision-making in social dilemmas are proposed with opposing assumptions about nature of human prosociality as well as roles assigned to the automatic processing and controlled processing. Specifically, the self-controller model assumes individuals’ prosociality is skin-deep, and major contribution of one’s prosociality comes from controlled processing, through monitoring and regulating one’s behavior to confirm to social norms; while the social intuitionist model assumes individuals’ prosociality is innate, and major contribution of one’s prosociality comes from the automatic processing through utilizing social exchange heuristics and intuitions that anchor individuals’ behavior on a cooperative end. In three studies, we compared applicability of the two models in depicting prosocial behavior in a resource dilemma with different paradigms that are typically used to dissociate two modes of processing. These include manipulations on individuals’ self-regulatory resources (Experiment 1), cognitive resources (Experiment 2), and processing goals (Experiment 3). Results from three experiments consistently advocated the self-controller model indicating that human’s prosociality is the result of controlled processing. Taking individual differences concerning social preferences into the analyses, we found that proselfs’ behavior was best described by the self-controller model. Results from study 3 and exploratory analysis also support that prosociality of proselfs depend heavily on controlled processing, in which people control their selfish instinct with calculation and deliberation. Prosocials’ cooperative behavior did not follow prediction of the self-controller model. Instead, result from exploratory analyses suggests that prosociality of prosocials, as intuitive thinkers, depend more on automatic processing, in which people express their prosociality through utilizing heuristics and intuitions. We conclude that, although evidence from three studies favors the self-controller model, it only reflects part of the story. We need to take individual difference in social preferences in to consideration in order to deepen our understanding of the human prosociality and more effort should be done in testing mediating role of the social exchange heuristics for prosocials’ cooperativeness. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Lu, Su. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-52). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter CHAPTER ONE: --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Dual-processing of Prosocial Decision-making --- p.3 / A Self-controller Model --- p.4 / A Social Intuitionist Model --- p.6 / Comparison of Two Models --- p.7 / Potential Moderator: Individual Differences in Social Preferences --- p.10 / Differences in Automatic Processing? --- p.11 / Differences in Controlled Processing? --- p.12 / Dissociation of the Two Modes of Processing --- p.13 / Cognitive Load --- p.14 / Ego-depletion --- p.14 / Instruction Induction of the Two Modes of Processing --- p.15 / Chapter CHAPTER TWO: --- OVERVIEW OF CURRENT RESAERCH --- p.16 / Chapter CHAPTER THREE: --- EXPERIMENT ONE --- p.17 / Method --- p.17 / Results --- p.20 / Discussion --- p.22 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR: --- EXPERIMENT TWO --- p.23 / Method --- p.23 / Results --- p.25 / Discussion --- p.27 / Chapter CHAPTER FOUR: --- EXPERIMENT THREE --- p.27 / Method --- p.28 / Results --- p.29 / Discussion --- p.31 / Chapter CHAPTER FIVE: --- EXPLORATORY ANALYSES --- p.32 / Differences in Self-control Capacity/motivation? --- p.32 / Differences in Reliance on Intuitive Thinking? --- p.33 / Chapter CHAPTER SIX: --- GENERAL DISCUSSION --- p.35 / Proselfs as Self-controllers vs. Prosocials as Social Intuitionists --- p.36 / Measuring Social Preferences as the Result of Controlled Processing --- p.37 / Limitations and Future Directions --- p.38 / Implicit vs. Explicit Measure of Social Preferences --- p.40 / Further Issues about Social Exchange Heuristics --- p.41 / REFERENCES --- p.43

With more consumer product companies analysing the requirements for successful entry into African markets, the main factors they seek to determine are concerned with understanding the African consumer, so that these companies are enabled to provide products and services that relate to the inherent needs and wants of these consumers. This research study analysed the factors that affect the consumer decision-making process in East and West Africa. The countries that were focused on for this study were Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana. The results of the study revealed that there is a unique macroeconomic environment in both East and West Africa that has resulted in the rise of low-end and high-end consumers. Profiles of each of these consumer types, as well as regionally specific nuances have been provided. It was also established that there are many factors that affect the consumer decision-making process in these regions. These can be grouped into product factors, marketing factors, environmental factors and purchasing factors. These behavioural nuances can be used by consumer product companies to properly prepare market entry strategies for East and West African markets in order to meet customer demands. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

No description available.

Collaborative processes are widely used to harness resources for addressing community problems. Despite their positive potential, collaborative projects can fragment. Sources of fragmentation include participant misperception of facts, difficulties in defining the problem, and misunderstandings among stakeholders. Disruptions from these elements may impede a group's progress in fostering and implementing agreements. Theoretical and empirical research from conflict resolution has shown that discussing participant interests and the use of facilitation techniques can help negotiators engage in innovative problem solving. Interests are participants' underlying needs, concerns, and desires that shape how individuals perceive issues and the stances they take. Less attention has been given to designing multi–party collaborative processes so that participant interests are explicitly defined and addressed. This comparative case study used mixed methods to examine the role of interests on the evolution of five successfully implemented multi-party collaborative cases. The research examined how participant interests were identified, how facilitation techniques were used, and how stakeholders' interests were addressed in each case. Results show that in all cases, identifying participant interests helped participants understand the central problems, seek information, and use creative problem solving. The use of techniques such as clarifying questions and shared learning experiences in the context of regular face-to–face meetings fostered participant understanding of the issues and each others' interests. In four of the five cases, participants' understanding of other stakeholders' interests affected their perspective on the issues, improved understanding of individual barriers, shaped the agreement, and motivated participants to stay committed to the project. Project staff members and participant leaders used facilitation techniques for identifying actors'’ substantive interests and clarifying issues. These techniques addressed participant relationship and process interests. In the cases with higher levels of fragmentation, participant interests were connected to values, individuals used competitive bargaining tactics, and trust influenced the willingness of participants to share interests. Facilitation techniques were crucial for encouraging trust building among stakeholders and for managing disruptions. These findings indicate that managers will increase problem solving capacity in collaborative processes by explicitly using negotiation-–based facilitation techniques to identify and address participant interests.

This study was conducted using a quantitative design and statistical analysis to determine the extent to which social support will influence an individual's decision to seek treatment for a medical illness. Main findings include significant correlations between measures of perceived and tangible social support and treatment compliance.