We conducted an analysis of the 13-item Maximization Scale (Schwartz et al., 2002) with the goal of establishing its factor structure, reliability and validity. We also investigated the psychometric properties of several proposed refined versions of the scale. Four sets of analyses are reported. The first analysis confirms the 3-part factor structure of the scale and assesses its reliability. The second analysis identifies those items that do not perform well on the basis of internal, external, and judgmental criteria, and develops three shorter versions of the scale. In the third analysis, the three refined versions of the scale are cross-validated to confirm dimensionality, reliability, and validity. The fourth analysis uses an experiment in an investment decision making context to assess the reliability and nomological validity of the refined scales. These analyses lead us to conclude that a shorter, 6-item Maximization Scale performs best and should be used by future researchers. It is hoped that clarification of the conceptual underpinnings of the maximization construct and development of a refined scale will enhance its use among researchers across several of the social science disciplines.

Building on Herbert Simon’s critique of rational choice theory, Schwartz et al. (2002) proposed that when making choices, some individuals — maximizers — search extensively through many alternatives with the goal of making the best choice, whereas others — satisficers — search only until they identify an option that meets their standards, which they then choose. They developed the Maximization Scale (MS) to measure individual differences in maximization, and a substantial amount of research has now examined maximization using the MS, painting a picture of maximizers that is generally negative. Recently, however, several researchers have criticized the MS, and almost a dozen new measures of maximization have now been published, resulting in a befuddling and contradictory literature. We seek to clarify the confusing literature on the measurement of maximization to help make sense of the existing findings and to facilitate future research. We begin by briefly summarizing the understanding of maximizers that has emerged through research using Schwartz et al.’s MS. We then review the literature on the measurement of maximization, attempting to identify the similarities and differences among the 11 published measures of maximization. Next, we propose a two-component model of maximization, outlining our view of how maximization should be conceptualized and measured. Our model posits that maximization is best understood as the pursuit of the maximization goal of choosing the best option through the maximization strategy of alternative search; other constructs such as decision difficulty and regret are best considered outcomes or causes — rather than components — of maximization. We discuss the implications of our review and model for research on maximization, highlighting what we see as pressing unanswered questions and important directions for future investigations.

The present research investigated the relationship between individual differences in maximizing versus satisficing (i.e., seeking to make the single best choice, rather than a choice that is merely good enough) and well-being, in interaction with the society in which an individual lives. Data from three distinct cultural groups (adults), drawn respectively from the U.S. (N=307), Western Europe (N=263), and China (N=218), were analyzed. The results showed that, in societies where choice is abundant (i.e., U.S. and Western Europe), maximizers reported less well-being than satisficers, and this difference was mediated by experienced regret. However, in the non-western society (China), maximizing was unrelated to well-being. Although in China maximizing was associated with more experiences of regret, regret had no substantial relationship to well-being. These patterns also emerged for the individual facets of the maximizing scale, although with a notable difference between the U.S. and Europe for the High Standards facet. It is argued that, in societies where abundant individual choice is highly valued and considered the ultimate route to personal happiness, maximizers’ dissatisfaction and regret over imperfect choices is a detrimental factor in well-being, whereas it is a much less crucial determinant of well-being in societies that place less emphasis on choice as the way to happiness.

Can numerical anchors influence people’s judgments of their own recent behavior? We investigate this question in a series of six studies. In Study 1, subjects’ judgments of how many anagrams they were given assimilated to numerical anchors. Subjects’ judgments of how many math problems they correctly solved and how many stairs they had just walked up were also influenced by numerical anchors (Studies 2A and 3A), and this occurred even when the anchors were extreme and nonsensical (Studies 2B and 3B). Thus, our first five studies showed that anchors can affect people’s judgments of their own recent behavior. Finally, in Study 4, we tested the hypothesis that self-knowledge, despite not eliminating anchoring effects, does still attenuate anchoring. However, we found no evidence that self-knowledge reduced anchoring: subjects’ judgments of their own recent behavior and subjects’ judgments of other people’s recent behavior were equally influenced by anchors. We discuss implications of these findings for research on domain knowledge and anchoring, as well as for research on the malleability of memory.

We connect Bermúdez's arguments to previous theorizing about “leaky” rationality, emphasizing that the decision process (including decision frames) “leaks” into the experience of decision outcomes. We suggest that the implications of Bermúdez's analysis are broadly applicable to the study of virtually all real-world decision making, and that the field needs a substantive and not just a formal theory of rationality.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are at an increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) but the impact of CDI on disease severity is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of CDI on long-term disease outcome in a cohort of IBD patients. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We analyzed patients enrolled in a prospective IBD natural history registry. Patients who tested positive at least once formed the CDI positive group. We generated a 2:1 propensity matched control cohort based on risk factors of CDI in the year before infection. Healthcare utilization data (emergency department use, subsequent hospitalizations, telephone encounters), medications, labs, disease activity, and quality of life metrics were temporally organized. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A total of 198 patients (66 CDI, 132 matched controls) were included [56.6% female; 60.1% Crohn’s disease (CD), 39.9% ulcerative colitis (UC)]. Groups were not significantly different in the year before infection in all metrics but in the year of infection, having CDI was significantly associated with more steroid and antibiotic exposure, elevated C-reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and low vitamin D (all p<0.01). Infection was associated with increased disease activity metrics (UC: p=0.036, CD: p=0.003), worse disease-related quality of life (p=0.003), and increased healthcare utilization (p<0.001). In the next year after infection those with prior CDI continued to have increased exposure to vancomycin or fidaxomicin (p<0.001) and all other antibiotics (p=0.01). They also continued to have more clinic visits (p=0.006), telephone encounters (p=0.001), and worse disease-related quality of life (p=0.03), but disease activity and biomarkers of severity were not significantly different between groups. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: CDI infection in IBD is significantly associated with various surrogate markers of disease severity, increased healthcare utilization and poor quality of life during the year of infection. CDI patients continue to experience poor quality of life after infection with increased clinic visits and antibiotic exposure while disease activity is no longer significantly increased. These findings suggest that CDI infection may have a lasting effect on healthcare utilization beyond the acute treatment period.

It is commonly assumed in affluent, Western, democratic societies that by enhancing opportunities for choice, we enhance freedom and well-being, both by enabling people to get exactly what they want and by enabling people to express their identities. In this paper, we review evidence that the relationships between choice, freedom, and well-being are complex. The value of choice in itself may depend on culture, and even in cultural contexts that value choice, too much choice can lead to paralysis, bad decisions, and dissatisfaction with even good decisions. Policy-makers are often in a position to enhance well-being by limiting choice. We suggest five questions that policy-makers should be asking themselves when they consider promulgating policies that will limit choice in the service of enhanced well-being. The relationships between choice, freedom, and well-being are not simple, and an appreciation of their complexity may help policy-makers target their interventions more effectively.

The objective of this study was to compare efficacy of two meditation protocols for treating patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Patients were randomized to two groups—matched for sex, age, and medication status—and blinded to the comparison protocol. They were told the trial would last for 12 months, unless one protocol proved to be more efficacious. If so, groups would merge, and the group that received the less efficacious treatment would also be afforded 12 months of the more effective one. The study was conducted at Children's Hospital, San Diego, Calif. Patients were selected according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition-Revised (DSM-III-R) criteria and recruited by advertisements and referral. At baseline, Group 1 included 11 adults and 1 adolescent, and Group 2 included 10 adults. Group 1 employed a kundalini yoga meditation protocol and Group 2 employed the Relaxation Response plus Mindfulness Meditation technique. Baseline and 3-month interval testing was conducted using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised Obsessive Compulsive (SCL-90-R OC) and Global Severity Index (SCL-90-R GSI) scales, Profile of Moods scale (POMS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Purpose in Life (PIL) test. Seven adults in each group completed 3 months of therapy. At 3 months, Group 1 demonstrated greater improvements (Student's independent groups t-test) on the Y-BOCS, SCL-90-R OC and GSI scales, and POMS, and greater but nonsignificant improvements on the PSS and PIL test. An intent-to-treat analysis (Y-BOCS) for the baseline and 3-month tests showed that only Group 1 improved. Within-group statistics (Students paired t-tests) showed that Group 1 significantly improved on all six scales, but Group 2 had no improvements. Groups were merged for an additional year using Group 1 techniques. At 15 months, the final group (N=11) improved 71%, 62%, 66%, 74%, 39%, and 23%, respectively, on the Y-BOCS, SCL-90-R OC SCL-90-R GSI, POMS, PSS, and PIL; P<0.003 (analysis of variance). This study demonstrates that kundalini yoga techniques are effective in the treatment of OCD.

Central to American identity have been public memories of events like the struggle for independence and the achievements of key figures from the past. The individual most often subject to hagiographic accounts is Abraham Lincoln, with emphasis both on his epic achievements in saving the Union and ending slavery and on his personal characteristics, such as honesty and the motivation to transcend his “backwoods” childhood and attain positions of local, state, and national leadership. However, a recent study based on extensive survey data found that Lincoln’s connection to emancipation provided the primary content of beliefs about him for most Americans today, with other beliefs mentioned much less often. Our present research supports that emphasis when presidential actions are the focus, but a randomized survey-based experiment shows that with a type of questioning that reflects the distinction between “essence” and “action”—inner character versus public achievements—beliefs about the former become at least as prominent as beliefs about the latter. Preliminary evidence to this effect is replicated decisively in a separate experiment, and the study is then extended to consider changes over time in indicators of essence versus action. Our research highlights the importance of how inquiries are framed, and they show that variations in framing, including those that are unintended, can enlarge our understanding of collective memory of Lincoln and of collective memory generally.

Thin films of zirconium oxide (ZrOx) and hafnium oxide (HfOx) were rf sputtered onto fused silica substrates in an oxygen rich argon environment. Pure zirconium and hafnium targets were used, and the oxygen partial pressure was varied to control the oxygen stoichiometry. Measurement of the EPR characteristics of the ZrOx films indicated two peaks corresponding to two orientations of the magnetic field. This anisotropic response suggested the films were polycrystalline with a preferred orientation. This was confirmed by XRD pole figures. The measured g-values for the ZrOx films were less than the free-spin g-value, indicating the defects corresponded to electron traps. It was further shown that the lower the oxygen partial pressure during deposition, the larger the EPR response, strongly suggesting the traps correspond to oxygen vacancies in ZrOx. Hafnium oxide thin films were also characterized by EPR. The EPR measurements indicated the presence of a single resonance peak, suggesting these films were polycrystalline without a preferred orientation or amorphous. XRD measurements confirmed that the HfOx films were amorphous. The g-value for these films was greater than that the free-spin value, indicating the presence of possibly self-trapped oxygen hole centers. These results will be discussed in the context of prior experimental and theoretical work on these systems.

Portraits of heroes and leaders have been among the most widely diffused and deeply cherished of all political symbols. The political functions of such portraits grow out of distinctive semiotic qualities that set the portrait apart from other types of symbols. Judging from their public reception, George Washington's portraits — and, we believe, many state portraits — have the qualities of likeness, manifestiveness, moral efficaciousness, and sacredness that traditionally were ascribed to religious icons. From these qualities the state portrait gains a special power to bridge the distances of space and time and bring a society's representative men and women to living presence for its members. By evoking loyalties and attachments not only to the persons portrayed but also to the larger collectivities that those persons represent, state portraits function as important agencies of political integration and solidarity.

A prospective study of 3080 Filipino mothers and non-twin births in 33 communities is used to study the determinants of mortality in week 1 postpartum. The results show significant nonlinear birth weight effects and the importance of environmental contamination, particularly for infants born by traditional methods at home, and several other intermediate and underlying determinants of perinatal mortality. The pathways through which important sociodemographic factors affect perinatal mortality are also presented.