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No description available.

According to economic rational choice theory greater choice will deliver well-being by increasing the likelihood that individuals satisfy personal preferences (Mas-Colell, Whinston, & Green, 1995). Consequently, extensive choice has become a fundamental aspect of both consumer markets and public policy (Schwartz, 2000; 2004; Botti & Iyengar, 2006). Crucially however, recent psychological research has begun to challenge the assumption that more choice leads to greater well-being. In several instances evidence has been found that whilst some choice is good, more choice can lead to reduced post-decisional satisfaction (e.g. Iyengar & Lepper, 2000; Shar & Wolford, 2007; Reutskaja & Hogarth, 2009). This is referred to as the Excess Choice Effect (ECE). If widespread, this ECE may mean that policies aimed at increasing well-being via choice actually deliver the opposite of their objectives. Although subject to much theoretical speculation, surprisingly little is known about the underlying cause of this effect. In light of this lacuna, the main aim of the current thesis was to investigate an alternative explanation for the ECE – namely, increased counterfactual thought. Across 7 experiments various factors known to influence the availability of counterfactual thoughts were manipulated, and the impact upon the prevalence of the ECE was explored, whilst another experiment (Experiment 7) aimed to determine individuals’ predicted affective responses to extensive choice. Overall, evidence was found that counterfactual thinking appears to play an important role in driving the dissatisfaction often associated with extensive choice. Specifically, the ECE was found to be most prevalent where counterfactual alternatives were made readily available, for example when under low cognitive load, when reflecting upon a recent, real-life decision, and when choice outcomes were negative. Further, in Experiment’s 1, 5, 6, and 8 these ECE’s were found to be significantly mediated by increased counterfactual thought, or the heightened experience of counterfactual emotion, following extensive choice. No evidence for any impact of choice level upon (psychological) satisfaction levels was found when the capacity to think counterfactually was reduced, i.e. via high cognitive load, over time, when reflecting upon a hypothetical scenario, or following a positive choice outcome. Ideas for future research are considered, and the potential implications of these findings for our theoretical understanding of the ECE, for the psychology of choice, for consumer well-being, retailers and the construction of public policy are discussed.

Background: Steinernematid nematodes form obligate symbioses with bacteria from the genus Xenorhabdus. Together Steinernema nematodes and their bacterial symbionts successfully infect, kill, utilize, and exit their insect hosts. During this process the nematodes and bacteria disassociate requiring them to re-associate before emerging from the host. This interaction can be complicated when two different nematodes co-infect an insect host. Results: Non-cognate nematode-bacteria pairings result in reductions for multiple measures of success, including total progeny production and virulence. Additionally, nematode infective juveniles carry fewer bacterial cells when colonized by a non-cognate symbiont. Finally, we show that Steinernema nematodes can distinguish heterospecific and some conspecific non-cognate symbionts in behavioral choice assays. Conclusions: Steinernema-Xenorhabdus symbioses are tightly governed by partner recognition and fidelity. Association with non-cognates resulted in decreased fitness, virulence, and bacterial carriage of the nematode-bacterial pairings. Entomopathogenic nematodes and their bacterial symbionts are a useful, tractable, and reliable model for testing hypotheses regarding the evolution, maintenance, persistence, and fate of mutualisms.

This paper analyzes the role that demographics, health services utilization, and knowledge play in determining the choice of insurance plan. Using data from a 2014 National Opinion Research Center (NORC) report and by estimating a probit model, I examine the effect of the three variable categories on the probability of selecting a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). While many of the results align with the existing literature, I contribute to prior insurance studies by finding that confusion over health services and plan benefits is the largest driver in HDHP choice, as it increases the probability that an individual enrolls in an HDHP by over 15 percentage points. This result provides evidence to policymakers that insurance education should be more widely available to ensure that individuals are choosing a plan that best fits their needs.

The aim of this research is to develop an understanding of why people become vegetarian and why the diet is currently enjoying a steady increase in popularity in contemporary Britain, through addressing the 'hidden agenda' of vegetarianism. Vegetarianism offers an example of food choice which highlights the non-nutritional aspects of food and eating, and represents far more than a pragmatic aversion to eating meat. The research incorporates both qualitative and quantitative studies. Two data sets were collected from 137 vegetarians in Greater London; qualitative information about the values and attitudes of vegetarians regarding diet, health and related issues, and quantitative information regarding the dietary intake of different categories of vegetarian. The findings of both studies are presented, but the thesis focuses on the qualitative data which was analysed using a symbolic approach to the study of food and eating as developed within anthropology. It was found that the decision to become vegetarian, and attitudes regarding food and health, formed a complex package of ideas which ranged from concrete issues, such as concern about the quality of the food supply, to ethical and abstract concerns, such as the character of the relationships between human society, nature and the animal world. There were differences between types of vegetarian in both diet and attitudes; as the diet became more extreme (excluding more animal foods) so attitudes became progressively more heterodox. It is concluded that vegetarianism does not deserve the label of 'fad' or 'cult' diet, but that it articulates a complex and potentially subversive ideology and demonstrates the need to incorporate social and cultural factors into analyses of food choice.

Agritourism is increasingly prevalent in Canadian society and affords individuals the opportunity to experience and learn about agriculture. Social networking sites can allow agritourism providers and consumers to engage outside of the agritourism context. This research used qualitative and quantitative content analysis and semi-structured interviews to understand how agritourism providers and consumers interact on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; why agritourism providers are using social networking sites in general; and if social networking sites can be used to facilitate free-choice learning. Customer Relationship Management and the Contextual Model of Learning were used as frameworks to better understand these interactions. The results and findings are discussed and confirm that agritourism providers believe educational opportunities can be fostered on social networking sites, but are primarily using Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to promote connections between consumers and agritourism organizations. / October 2016

Currently, there is a shortage of professors preparing personnel to teach in high need areas (e.g., special education, English language learners) at institutions of higher education (IHE). The purpose of the present study was to examine the motivations or influencers that impelled individuals to pursue careers in IHEs as professors in personnel preparation. Data were collected using Motivations for Choosing Academia as a Profession (MCAP) and a 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10). Two hundred eighty-nine professors of education representing the four U.S. census regions participated in the present study. The MCAP is a 25-item instrument designed to measure retrospective motivation of faculty decisions to enter the professoriate. The development of the MCAP is described and an exploratory factor analysis was employed to examine the psychometric validity of the instrument. Three factors emerged and implications are discussed. Data were analyzed using logistic regression with the dichotomous outcome variable being the area of education in which the professor works (i.e., general or special education).