Improving consumer understanding of pesticide toxicity labels: experimental evidence.

Consumers often inadvertently misperceive the health hazards associated with over-the-counter pesticides under the current textual labeling policy, potentially leading to improper use. We conducted an incentivized framed field experiment with eye tracking to evaluate the effectiveness of the current pesticide labels that convey risk using signal words (Caution, Warning, Danger) compared to two visually focused label alternatives: traffic light colors and skull intensity symbols. A total of 166 participants were randomly assigned to one of three label formats and asked to rank toxicity levels and make purchasing decisions within multiple price lists.

A Light-Responsive Neural Circuit Suppresses Feeding.

Light plays an essential role in a variety of physiological processes, including vision, mood, and glucose homeostasis. However, the intricate relationship between light and an animal's feeding behavior has remained elusive. Here, we found that light exposure suppresses food intake, whereas darkness amplifies it in male mice.

An examination of the effects of eye-tracking on behavior in psychology experiments.

Eye-tracking is emerging as a tool for researchers to better understand cognition and behavior. However, it is possible that experiment participants adjust their behavior when they know their eyes are being tracked. This potential change would be considered a type of Hawthorne effect, in which participants alter their behavior in response to being watched and could potentially compromise the outcomes and conclusions of experimental studies that use eye tracking.

The mental burden of stay-at-home order extensions during COVID-19.

This study evaluates the psychological impact of stay-at-home extension orders during COVID-19 and its relationship with individuals' expectations on the duration of the extensions. An online survey was administered to 1259 US adult residents to measure symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and stress induced by different stay-at-home order extensions using hypothetical length scenarios. We find that individuals exposed to two 2-week order extensions exhibit higher levels of stress and anxiety compared to those exposed to a single 4-week extension.

The unintended detrimental effects of pursuing a professional vocation: The case of veterinarians.

Pursuing one's life calling can be personally fulfilling and professionally rewarding, but it also requires sacrifice. We provide evidence of a strong vocational drive using veterinary students as a case study and find that they willingly contribute higher monetary donations for helping animals relative to students in other fields. We also find a significant reduction in the cognitive performance of veterinarian students when exposed to an animal-in-need manipulation.

Health versus income amid COVID-19: What do people value more?

Public efforts to battle COVID-19 have been portrayed as a trade-off between health and the economy in the U.S. public discourse.

Stability of Risk Preferences During COVID-19: Evidence From Four Measurements.

This article studies the stability of risk-preference during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results differ between risk-preference measurements and also men and women. We use March 13, 2020, when President Trump declared a national state of emergency as a time anchor to define the pre-pandemic and on-pandemic periods.

General Public Preferences for Allocating Scarce Medical Resources During COVID-19.

COVID-19 has overwhelmed healthcare systems across the globe with an unprecedented surge in the demand for hospitalizations. Consequently, many hospitals are facing precarious conditions due to limited capacity, especially in the provision of ventilators. The governing ethical principles of medical practice delineated in (1) favor prioritizing younger patients, largely because of their relatively higher expected life years.

The effect of food anticipation on cognitive function: An eye tracking study.

By randomizing the order in which participants perform a cognitive test and a food choice task in a controlled experiment, we investigate whether cognitive capacity can be enhanced by the simple act of anticipating food intake. Our findings show that overweight and obese participants exhibit an anticipatory food reward effect, which helped enhance their mental resources and improve their performance in a cognitive test. However, we find no anticipation effect among normal weight participants.

Conveniently dependent or naively overconfident? An experimental study on the reaction to external help.

The rapid development and diffusion of new technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence makes life more convenient. At the same time, people may develop overdependence on technology to simplify everyday tasks or to reduce the level of effort required to accomplish them. We conduct a two-phase real-effort laboratory experiment to assess how external assistance affects subsequent revealed preferences for the convenience of a lower level of effort versus monetary rewards requiring greater effort.

Correction: Does California's Low Carbon Fuel Standards reduce carbon dioxide emissions?

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Does California's Low Carbon Fuel Standards reduce carbon dioxide emissions?

The Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) represents a new policy approach designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by applying standards to all stages of motor fuel production. We use the synthetic control and difference-in-differences econometric methods, and Lasso machine learning to analyze the effect of the LCFS on emissions in California's transportation sector. The three different techniques provide robust evidence that the LCFS reduced carbon dioxide emissions in California's transportation sector by around 10%.

Reducing Brain Signal Noise in the Prediction of Economic Choices: A Case Study in Neuroeconomics.

In order to reduce the noise of brain signals, neuroeconomic experiments typically aggregate data from hundreds of trials collected from a few individuals. This contrasts with the principle of simple and controlled designs in experimental and behavioral economics. We use a frequency domain variant of the stationary subspace analysis (SSA) technique, denoted as DSSA, to filter out the noise (nonstationary sources) in EEG brain signals.

Policy determinants affecting the hunger millennium development goal.

The possible effect of Government Consumption (a component of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) on attainment of the hunger Millennium Development Goal (MDG1) was analyzed by evaluating the effect of macroeconomic, social, demographic and policy variables on average undernourished population. Eighty-four developing countries with data available on undernourished population were included in an ecological study. Regression models were applied to explore possible determinants of Undernourished between 1990 and 2004 and consequent achievement of the projected 2004 MDG1.