U.S.-Philippines Cooperative Research: Choice in Decisions of Uncertain or Diminishing Returns

本提案要求资金允许坦普尔大学心理学教授Philip N. Hineline博士与菲律宾大学心理学教授F. G. David博士进行为期24个月的合作研究项目，研究在不确定或收益递减情况下的选择。拟议的研究经费将使大卫博士能够继续参与天普大学心理学实验室的研究项目。David教授在为期一年的博士后奖学金期间全面参与了该项目的形成阶段，另外还有一年的休假。继续参与将需要1991年和1992年在坦普尔大学的两个夏季期间，并在其间和以后期间通过电子邮件就数据分析和手稿编写进行通信。这项研究涉及鸽子在不同分布的食物交付之间的选择：一组实验解决了最优觅食理论的预测，即鸟类在负能量预算下变得容易冒险。其他实验涉及鸽子对不同形式的食物递送的敏感性和偏好，第三组涉及在固定和不断升级的工作要求之间的选择。这些最后的过程模拟了觅食过程中的消耗斑块，因此其结果将与觅食理论相关；这是特别有趣的，因为有利的短期选择在长期内是不利的。该项目与“发展中国家科学项目”的目标相关，该项目旨在通过科学信息、思想、技能和技术的交流以及在互利问题上的合作，提高美国科学家和工程师与发展中国家同行之间的合作水平。

This proposal requests funds to permit Dr. Philip N. Hineline, Professor of Psychology, Temple University, to pursue with Dr. F. G. David, Professor of Psychology, University of the Philippines, for a period of 24 months, a program of cooperative research on choice in situations of uncertain or diminishing returns. The proposed research grant will enable Dr. David to continue his involvement in a research project in the psychology laboratories of Temple University. Professor David has been integrally involved in the formative stages of that project during a one-year post-doctoral fellowship supplemented by an additional year via sabbatical leave. The continuing participation would entail two summer periods at Temple University, during 1991 and 1992, and communications via electronic mail concerning data analyses and manuscript preparations during the intervening and subsequent periods. The research concerns pigeons' choices between differently distributed food deliveries: One set of experiments addresses a prediction of optimal foraging theory, that birds become risk-prone under negative energy budgets. Other experiments concern pigeons' sensitivities to, and preferences among, differing forms of variability in food delivery, and a third set concerns choices between fixed vs. escalating work require- ments for food delivery. These last procedures mimic the depleting patches of a foraging situation, so its results will be relevant to foraging theory; it is of special interest because advantageous short-term choices are disadvantageous in the longer term. This project is relevant to the objectives of the Science in Developing Countries Program which seeks to increase the level of cooperation between U.S. scientists and engineers and their counterparts in developing countries through the exchange of scientific information, ideas, skills, and techniques and through collaboration on problems of mutual benefit.