Maik Bieleke

Bio: Maik Bieleke is an academic researcher from University of Vienna. The author has contributed to research in topics: Boredom & Psychology. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 36 publications receiving 416 citations. Previous affiliations of Maik Bieleke include University of Konstanz.

High Boredom Proneness and Low Trait Self-Control Impair Adherence to Social Distancing Guidelines during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract: Social distancing during the coronavirus-disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is crucial to reduce the spread of the virus. However, its effectiveness hinges on adherence by individuals who face substantial burdens from the required behavioral restrictions. Here, we investigate sources of individual variation in adhering to social distancing guidelines. In a high-powered study (N = 895), we tested direct and indirect effects of boredom and self-control on adherence. The results showed that both traits were important predictors of adherence but the underlying mechanisms differed. Specifically, individuals high in boredom perceived social distancing as more difficult, which in turn reduced their adherence (i.e., a mediated effect). In contrast, individuals high in self-control adhered more to the guidelines without perceiving them as more or less difficult; however, self-control moderated the effect of difficulty on adherence. Our results are immediately relevant to improve the efficacy of social distancing guidelines in the COVID-19 response.

Social Value Orientation Moderates the Effects of Intuition versus Reflection on Responses to Unfair Ultimatum Offers

Abstract: We investigated whether social value orientation (SVO) moderates the effects of intuitive versus reflective information processing on responses to unfair offers. We measured SVO one week prior to an ultimatum game experiment in which participants had to accept or reject a series of 10 ultimatum offers including very low (unfair) ones. Before making these decisions, participants mentally contrasted their individual goals with the obstacle of pondering at length or acting in a hasty way; then they made the plan to adopt an intuitive or a reflective mode of processing (intuitive and reflective condition, respectively), or made no such plans (control condition). Participants with rather high (prosocial) SVO scores were more likely to accept unfair offers in the reflective than the intuitive condition. This effect also evinced for a subset of selfish individuals; however, the majority with rather low (selfish) scores made similar decisions in both conditions. This pattern of results suggests that SVO moderates the effects of intuitive versus reflective modes of processing on responses to low ultimatum offers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. key words ultimatum game; social value orientation (SVO); dual-process models; fairness; intuition versus reflection Many people dislike being treated in an unfair manner, and they are willing to spend resources to punish those who treat them unfairly (Camerer & Thaler, 1995; Fehr, Fischbacher, & Gächter, 2002; Fehr & Gächter, 2000; Kahneman, Knetsch, & Thaler, 1986; Rabin, 1993). This preference has often been analyzed with the ultimatum game (Güth, Schmittberger, & Schwarze, 1982; for review see Güth & Kocher, 2014). In this two-player game, the proposer receives a certain amount of money and offers the responder an allocation of this amount. If the responder accepts the offer, the amount is allocated as proposed; otherwise both players receive no money. Assuming common knowledge of rationality and selfishness, responders will accept any positive offer and proposers will make the smallest possible offer. In contradiction to this account, however, proposers commonly make offers in the range of 40–50% of the money, while many responders reject low offers below 20% (review by Camerer, 2003). The large offers made by proposers can at least partially be explained by strategic considerations (Bolton & Zwick, 1995), but responder rejections of low offers are purely non-strategic and hence interpreted by most researchers as indicating a preference for being treated fairly (Fehr & Gächter, 2000). In recent years, it has been debated whether and how the way people process information in the ultimatum game affects the decision to accept or reject unfair offers. This question lies at the heart of dual-process models which distinguish between two modes of information processing, an intuitive and a reflective one, that govern decision making (J. St. B. T. Evans, 2008; Haidt, 2001; Kahneman, 2011; Strack & Deutsch, 2004; Weber & Johnson, 2009). The intuitive mode is assumed to concert processes that are fast, efficient, and affect-based, permitting swift and effortless responses. The reflective mode, in contrast, is thought to rely on time and cognitive resources, affording prudent and considered decisions. But how does adopting one or the other mode of processing affect responses to unfair offers as observed in the ultimatum game? Are people more likely to accept unfair offers when they reflect upon their decisions, or when they rely on their intuition? A growing body of literature addresses this question and consistently reports that adopting different modes of processing is consequential for the decision to accept or reject unfair offers. However, the nature of these consequences is still an open question. EFFECTS OF ADOPTING INTUITIVE VERSUS REFLECTIVE MODES OF PROCESSING ON RESPONSES TO UNFAIR ULTIMATUM OFFERS On the one hand, there is considerable research suggesting that low acceptance rates for unfair offers result from negative affect (e.g., anger and disgust) or scarce cognitive resources, both characteristic of an intuitive mode of processing. For instance, acceptance decisions have been observed to correlate negatively with self-reported feelings of anger (Pillutla & Murnighan, 1996) as well as with activity in brain areas that are associated with intuitive processing (e.g., *Correspondence to: Maik Bieleke, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, 78457Konstanz, Germany. E-mail maik.bieleke@uni-konstanz.de Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, J. Behav. Dec. Making (2016) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/bdm.1975 Sanfey, Rilling, Aronson, Nystrom, & Cohen, 2003; Tabibnia, Satpute, & Lieberman, 2008). Speaking to the causal role of negative emotions for these effects, providing people with emotion-regulation strategies increases acceptance rates (Kirk, Gollwitzer, & Carnevale, 2011; van ’t Wout, Chang, & Sanfey, 2010), whereas depleting the resources required for self-regulation reduces them (Halali, Bereby-Meyer, & Meiran, 2013, Exp. 1). Additional supportive evidence comes from studies in which the cognitive resources available to participants were strained, tantamount to promoting intuitive modes of processing which, in contrast to reflective modes, do not require such resources. For instance, forcing people to make their decisions in short time resulted in lower acceptance rates of unfair offers compared with imposing rather loose time constraints (Sutter, Kocher, & Strauß, 2003), whereas people obliged to pause before making their decision exhibit higher acceptance rates compared with situations without such a delay (Grimm & Mengel, 2011; Neo, Yu, Weber, & Gonzalez, 2013). Taken together, these studies yield profound support for the assumption that adopting a reflective mode of processing increases the likelihood of accepting unfair offers, as compared with an intuitive mode. Interestingly, there are also studies with opposite results, demonstrating that unfair offers are more likely to be accepted in an intuitive than a reflective mode of processing. For instance, Knoch, Gianotti, Baumgartner, and Fehr (2010) have shown that baseline activity in prefrontal cortex areas is negatively correlated with acceptance rates for unfair offers. As lower baseline activity in these areas is commonly associated with less reflective processing (Miller & Cohen, 2001), this finding suggests that people intuitively act in a selfish manner and accept unfair offers. If the relation is causal, derogation of the prefrontal cortex should lead to an increase in acceptance rates. This hypothesis was supported by applying repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to disrupt the prefrontal cortex, causing responders to accept more unfair offers (Knoch et al., 2008; Knoch, Pascual-Leone, Meyer, Treyer, & Fehr, 2006; van ’t Wout, Kahn, Sanfey, & Aleman, 2005). Although physiological studies using rTMS are commonly considered a valuable complement in research on social decision making processes (e.g., Rilling & Sanfey, 2011), these results should be taken with a grain of salt. rTMS provides researchers with strong experimental control but in turn lacks ecological validity, compared with other processing manipulations (e.g., cognitive load). Consequently, it is not clear whether impeded prefrontal cortex activity can be directly equated with intuitive processing, or rather reflects a mere lack of reflective processing. It is thus important to note that the findings from rTMS studies have been replicated using more common manipulations; once by depleting selfregulatory resources (Achziger, Alós-Ferrer, & Wagner, 2016) and once again by instructing participants to make quick decisions rather than thoughtful ones (Hochman, Ayal, & Ariely, 2015). Both manipulations promoted an intuitive over a reflective mode of processing in a way that resembles everyday contexts (i.e., being exhausted and intending to use one processing mode over the other) and rendered participants more likely to accept unfair offers. At the bottom line, all of these studies share the observation that adopting an intuitive versus a reflective mode of processing has consequences for the decision to accept unfair offers in the ultimatum game. Research linking ultimatum rejections to intuitive processing has so far generated more support in terms of the quantity and diversity of experimental evidence (e.g., ego depletion, emotion regulation, and time pressure) than research linking them to reflective processing, especially because the latter is still primarily based on evidence from rTMS studies. Yet, none of the hypotheses can be clearly rejected at this point, leaving the nature of intuitive versus reflective processing consequences on responder decisions unclear. How can we move on and address such inconsistent findings? A promising approach is to identify moderators of intuitive versus reflective processing effects on responses to unfair offers. THE MODERATING ROLE OF SOCIAL VALUE ORIENTATION In the present research, we turned to the concept of social value orientation (SVO) (Messick & McClintock, 1968; Murphy & Ackermann, 2014; van Lange, 1999), a simple measure of prosociality that is likely related to the decision to accept or reject unfair offers in an ultimatum game (see below). SVO captures preferences for allocating resources between oneself and another person, and two main types of preferences are commonly distinguished (Au & Kwong, 2004; Bogaert, Boone, & Declerck, 2008). Individuals with cooperative (prosocial) preferences are willing to sacrifice their own resources to establish equal allocations and/or to maximize the mutual benefit. Individuals with individualistic (selfish) preferences, in contrast, solely focus on their personal benefits, trying to maximize their own resources and largely ignoring consequences

The benefit of no choice: goal-directed plans enhance perceptual processing

Abstract: Choosing among different options is costly. Typically, response times are slower if participants can choose between several alternatives (free-choice) compared to when a stimulus determines a single correct response (forced-choice). This performance difference is commonly attributed to additional cognitive processing in free-choice tasks, which require time-consuming decisions between response options. Alternatively, the forced-choice advantage might result from facilitated perceptual processing, a prediction derived from the framework of implementation intentions. This hypothesis was tested in three experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 were PRP experiments and showed the expected underadditive interaction of the SOA manipulation and task type, pointing to a pre-central perceptual origin of the performance difference. Using the additive-factors logic, Experiment 3 further supported this view. We discuss the findings in the light of alternative accounts and offer potential mechanisms underlying performance differences in forced- and free-choice tasks.

Increase in prefrontal cortex oxygenation during static muscular endurance performance is modulated by self-regulation strategies

Abstract: Enduring physical strain is an important ability and prototypically required in athletic activities. However, little is known about the psychological determinants of endurance performance and their underlying neural mechanisms. Here, we investigated self-regulation as one such factor. We recruited 60 participants who hold intertwined rings for as long as possible while avoiding contacts between them, either with a goal intention or an implementation intention to perform well. Performance was measured in terms of time-to-failure and contact errors. Additionally, we repeatedly assessed ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and pain (RPP) and used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to continuously monitor cerebral oxygenation in dorsal and ventral parts of the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), brain regions associated with effortful attentional control and response inhibition, respectively. Performance, RPE and RPP were similar in the goal and the implementation intention condition. LPFC activity increased over time, but its activation level was generally lower in the implementation intention condition. Both effects were particularly pronounced in the dorsal LPFC. Moreover, the balance between effortful and more automatic regulation seems to differ between self-regulation strategies. Our results indicate that self-regulation plays an important role in endurance performance and that self-regulatory processes during endurance performance might be reflected in LPFC activation.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Abstract: NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

Advances in experimental social psychology

Abstract: Advances in Experimental Social Psychology continues to be one of the most sought after and most often cited series in this field. Containing contributions of major empirical and theoretical interest, this series represents the best and the brightest in new research, theory, and practice in social psychology. This serial is part of the Social Sciences package on ScienceDirect. Visit info.sciencedirect.com for more information. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology is available online on ScienceDirect - full-text online of volume 32 onward. Elsevier book series on ScienceDirect gives multiple users throughout an institution simultaneous online access to an important complement to primary research. Digital delivery ensures users reliable, 24-hour access to the latest peer-reviewed content. The Elsevier book series are compiled and written by the most highly regarded authors in their fields and are selected from across the globe using Elsevier's extensive researcher network. For more information about the Elsevier Book Series on ScienceDirect Program, please visit store.elsevier.com. * One of the most sought after and most often cited series in this field* Contains contributions of major empirical and theoretical interest* Represents the best and the brightest in new research, theory, and practice in social psychology

Personality and prosocial behavior: A theoretical framework and meta-analysis.

Abstract: Decades of research document individual differences in prosocial behavior using controlled experiments that model social interactions in situations of interdependence. However, theoretical and empirical integration of the vast literature on the predictive validity of personality traits to account for these individual differences is missing. Here, we present a theoretical framework that identifies 4 broad situational affordances across interdependent situations (i.e., exploitation, reciprocity, temporal conflict, and dependence under uncertainty) and more specific subaffordances within certain types of interdependent situations (e.g., possibility to increase equality in outcomes) that can determine when, which, and how personality traits should be expressed in prosocial behavior. To test this framework, we meta-analyzed 770 studies reporting on 3,523 effects of 8 broad and 43 narrow personality traits on prosocial behavior in interdependent situations modeled in 6 commonly studied economic games (Dictator Game, Ultimatum Game, Trust Game, Prisoner's Dilemma, Public Goods Game, and Commons Dilemma). Overall, meta-analytic correlations ranged between -.18 ≤ ρ ≤ .26, and most traits yielding a significant relation to prosocial behavior had conceptual links to the affordances provided in interdependent situations, most prominently the possibility for exploitation. Moreover, for several traits, correlations within games followed the predicted pattern derived from a theoretical analysis of affordances. On the level of traits, we found that narrow and broad traits alike can account for prosocial behavior, informing the bandwidth-fidelity problem. In sum, the meta-analysis provides a theoretical foundation that can guide future research on prosocial behavior and advance our understanding of individual differences in human prosociality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Behavior modification: What it is and how to do it.

Abstract: In this important book, one of the most exciting and promising developments in clinical psychology-behavior modification is applied to the treatment of the mentally retarded, particularly those whose behavior poses difficult problems for institutions. Professor Gardner presents an easily intelligible yet detailed account of the concepts and practices of behavior modification and the underlying learning systems, with numerous clinical illustrations of applying specific techniques to various educational and rehabilitation problems. A thorough discussion of the inadequacies of the psychological evaluation systems normally used in education and rehabilitation is offered, along with an alternative behavior analysis approach that provides a method of translating evaluation data into treatment practices. In explaining behavior analysis, the author takes into account the limited behavioral repertoire of the retarded and environmental deficits. Individual chapters on respondent, operant, and observational learning, and a detailed discussion of a functional analysis approach to evaluation, are included. Proven behavior modification strategies are presented along with a review of related research and clinical studies. The book closes with a detailed description of a research program for the design and testing of sheltered workshop systems for the retarded and emotionally disturbed. The positive approach inherent in the belief that behavior is modifiable-even in the severely limited retarded-is in marked contrast to the pessimism of other systems of therapy, education, and training. Also, the author has concentrated throughout on making the book understandable to clinicians and students with no previous knowledge of behavior modification. Besides serving as a valuable handbook for all treatment personnel, the book can also be used as a basic text for various courses dealing with mental retardation. Using a unique behavioral assessment and treatment planning framework, the updated Sixth Edition provides a systematic overview of behavioral and cognitive principles and their applications to a wide range of issues and situations encountered in human services professions. Up-to-date practice examples drawn from eight diverse case studies illustrate the range and versatility of the behavior change approach in an increasingly diverse and multicultural society, while an innovative chapter on clinical applications of behavioral and cognitive intervention techniques also addresses current influences in the field. This edition embraces the rigorous empirical foundations that have made this approach such a significant contributor to the national and international therapeutic milieu of the 21st century. During the past decade, research and practice in the field of behavior modification have experienced phenomenal growth. Behavioral inter vention strategies that were considered strictly experimental a few years ago are now accepted therapeutic modalities, and behavioral method ology has been instrumental in creating an atmosphere conducive to the development of scientific rigor in the area of mental health. But behav ioral influence has not been limited to mental health. There has been considerable impact in education, industry, government, and general health care. Although behavior modification has made a significant impact on psychology in general, there has been a noticeable lack of theorizing and empirical research on issues primarily related to black populations. In fact, the black community in general, and black psychologists in partic ular, often have viewed behavioral approaches with suspicion. We hope that the material presented in this volume will serve to clarify what the behavioral approach is and what it is not and that it will help to foster an understanding of the behavioral approach. Moreover, empirical data demonstrating the effectiveness of behavioral procedures with black populations are presented. It is our hope that the material will provide some insight into how behavioral theory, methodology, and therapeutic strategies can be used to the benefit of black mental health in particular and the overall psychological health of the black community in general. This book is an account of a personal journey through a research program. A number of people have helped guide my way. To them I am deeply grateful. Special thanks are offered to my students, whose constant stimulation and provocation were incentives to write this book. Moreover, in the belief that they would never show the initiative to put together a festschrift for me (Le., a book dedicated to someone for his contributions), I decided to do it myself. Several people cared enough to offer editorial criticisms, namely, Myles Genest, Barney Gilmore, Roy Cameron, Sherryl Goodman, and Dennis Turk. The reader benefits from their perspicacity. Finally, to my parents, who taught me to talk to myself, and to my family, without whose constant input this book would have been completed much sooner, but would have been much less fun, I dedicate this book. D.M. 5

Weakness of the will : Is a quick fix possible?

Abstract: Weakness of the will may lead to ineffective goal striving in the sense that people lacking willpower fail to get started, to stay on track, to select instrumental means, and to act efficiently. However, using a simple self-regulation strategy (i.e., forming implementation intentions or making if-then plans) can get around this problem by drastically improving goal striving on the spot. After an overview of research investigating how implementation intentions work, I will discuss how people can use implementation intentions to overcome potential hindrances to successful goal attain- ment. Extensive empirical research shows that implemen- tation intentions help people to meet their goals no matter whether these hindrances originate from within (e.g., lack of cognitive capabilities) or outside the person (i.e., difficult social situations). Moreover, I will report recent research demonstrating that implementation intentions can even be used to control impulsive cognitive, affective, and behav- ioral responses that interfere with one's focal goal striving. In ending, I will present various new lines of implementation intention research, and raise a host of open questions that still deserve further empirical and theoretical analysis.