PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Investment fears: How does the need for closure increase risk?

2015-04-29
(Press-News.org) Logic would dictate that consumers receiving new market information would jump at the chance to adjust their investments accordingly. In practice, however, many people associate change with loss of control. They crave the idea of permanence or closure to such an extent that they would rather freeze decisions in place even if, ironically, this puts them more at risk, according to a new study in the Journal of Marketing Research.

"The need for closure plays a central role in the way people make decisions," write authors David Disatnik and Yael Steinhart of Tel Aviv University. "They may freeze information into unchangeable opinion, even when new facts comes to light that should change that opinion."

Study participants were told that they were part of an experiment in investment decision making. They were measured for risk aversion, and then given an investment scenario in which they were told that bonds were safer than stocks, and that the portfolio with the larger portion of bonds was considered safer. Some participants were subjected to an irritating noise while completing the tasks. Next, participants were asked to report the percentages of stocks and bonds they would choose for their investment portfolios. Half the participants were then told that breaking new information had become available, and all participants were given the option to remain with their previously chosen portfolio, or to make changes based on the new information.

The findings revealed that when told of a change in the market, individuals with a high need for closure did not update their portfolios even though failing to do so meant that their portfolios were now more risky. An additional stage of the study found, however, that if individuals with a high need for closure received clear guidance about what to do, they were more likely to update their portfolios appropriately.

"The results may be relevant not only to investments but to consumption decisions, such as choosing a health or life insurance program or buying a car or a house. Advisors in some fields ask their clients to complete risk-aversion questionnaires before deciding which path to recommend. The current findings indicate that it may be beneficial to use a "need for closure" questionnaire as well and finally, to give consumers clear guidance on the value of remaining open to change," the authors conclude.

INFORMATION:

David Disatnik and Yael Steinhart. "Need for Cognitive Closure, Risk Aversion, Uncertainty Changes, and their Effect on Investment Decisions." Forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing Research. For more information, contact David Disatnik or Mary-Ann Twist.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Measuring customer value? Don't overlook product returns

2015-04-29
When trying to identify "good" customers, managers often ignore those who return products, or might even consider those customers non-ideal, decreasing the resources devoted to them. In the long term, however, satisfactory product return experiences can actually create a valuable long-term customer whose contributions far outweigh the associated costs, according to a new study in the Journal of Marketing Research. "Product returns are no small part of the firm-customer exchange process, currently costing firms about $100 billion annually," write authors J. Andrew Petersen ...

Preventive Gynaecology Special Issue honors memory of deceased pioneer

2015-04-29
The latest Special Issue from ecancermedicalscience is dedicated to the memory of our late friend, Dr Mario Sideri. The Special Issue, "Prevention of gynaecological cancers: in memory of Mario Sideri," consists of nine articles centred around Dr Sideri's favoured research topic. Dr Sideri was one of the first doctors in the world to identify the connection between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer. He served as the Director of the Preventive Gynecology Unit at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan from 1994 until his tragic death in June ...

Is quality or cost more essential? The international cellphone market

2015-04-29
As businesses move into international markets, they often do so with a "one size fits all" customer satisfaction strategy. But factors as basic as how consumers prioritize pricing and quality can differ sharply across cultures and economic systems, according to a new study in the Journal of International Marketing. Success will depend in part on understanding these perceptions across cultures. "A company's success abroad will depend in part on understanding how people of different cultures sometimes perceive value very differently," write authors Forrest V. Morgeson III ...

Lack of oxygen in the groundwater

Lack of oxygen in the groundwater
2015-04-29
Jena (Germany) Spring has arrived in Europe with mild temperatures and sunshine. Where just a few weeks ago the ground was frozen and partly covered in snow and ice, it is now thawing. This doesn't only have an impact on the flora and fauna. Thawing results in soil and the groundwater at airports being impacted by chemicals, which are contained in melt water. The reason: Airports have to use de-icing agents during the winter, which end up on unpaved areas and infiltrate into the soils during snowmelt. "Admittedly, airport operators in EU-countries are compelled to sustain ...

Even an hour of TV a day ups risk of childhood obesity

2015-04-29
Children who view television as little as an hour a day are significantly more likely to be overweight or obese and gain more unhealthy weight over time, according to a new study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Based on the findings, the researchers say physicians should encourage families to restrict young children's TV viewing to prevent unhealthy weight gain. Many previous studies that have examined the link between television and childhood obesity evaluated the effects of watching at least two hours a day; the UVA researchers, on the other hand, ...

Dust from the Sahara Desert cools the Iberian Peninsula

Dust from the Sahara Desert cools the Iberian Peninsula
2015-04-29
Spanish and Portuguese researchers have analysed the composition and radiative effect of desert aerosols during two episodes which simultaneously affected Badajoz (Spain) and Évora (Portugal) in August 2012. Results show that the intrusion of dust from the Sahara Desert caused radiative cooling of the Earth's surface. Atmospheric aerosols (solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere) are difficult to examine for various reasons. Firstly, they remain in the atmosphere for a short time and secondly, their cause may be natural or anthropogenic. Yet there ...

Cytokine may play a major role in multiple sclerosis

2015-04-29
(PHILADELPHIA) - Multiple sclerosis (MS) is caused by immune cells that activate a cascade of chemicals in the brain, attacking and degrading the insulation that keeps neuronal signals moving. These chemicals, called cytokines, drive the inflammation in the brain, attracting more immune cells, and causing the debilitating disease marked by loss of neurological function. Researchers have long debated which cytokines drive the disease and which are merely accessory. Now, a study published online April 27th, in the Journal of Immunology, confirms that the cytokine GM-CSF ...

Erosion, landslides and monsoon across the Himalayas

2015-04-29
29.04.2015: In these days, it was again tragically demonstrated that the Himalayas are one of the most active geodynamic regions of the world. Landslides belong to the most important geohazards. Besides earthquakes they are triggered mainly by strong rainfall events. A team of scientists from Nepal, Switzerland and Germany was now able to show how erosion processes caused by the monsoon are mirrored in the sediment load of a river crossing the Himalaya. The geoscientists used data from two stations along the Kali Gandaki, a river that traverses the Himalaya from North ...

Making robots more human

2015-04-29
Most people are naturally adept at reading facial expressions -- from smiling and frowning to brow-furrowing and eye-rolling -- to tell what others are feeling. Now scientists have developed ultra-sensitive, wearable sensors that can do the same thing. Their technology, reported in the journal ACS Nano, could help robot developers make their machines more human. Nae-Eung Lee and colleagues note that one way to make interactions between people and robots more intuitive would be to endow machines with the ability to read their users' emotions and respond with a computer ...

Science Academies hand over statements for G7 summit to German Chancellor Merkel

2015-04-29
Today the national science academies of the G7 countries handed three statements to their respective heads of government for discussion during the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau in early June 2015. The papers on antibiotic resistance, neglected and poverty-related diseases, and the future of the ocean were drawn up by the seven national academies under the aegis of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The G7 academies call for a comprehensive strategy to tackle health threats from infectious diseases; progress toward preventing, controlling and eliminating ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Older teens who start vaping post-high school risk rapid progress to frequent use

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

[Press-News.org] Investment fears: How does the need for closure increase risk?