Beyond Valence: Until recently, most theories regarding decision processes and choice outcomes adopt a valence-based approach, only examining the effects of positive and negative emotion states.

Specific Emotions : The Appraisal Tendency Framework, or ATF, explores the distinct effects of specific emotions on judgment and decision making. Specific emotions are (a) defined by a set of central dimensions and (b) direct cognition to address specific problems or opportunities. An appraisal-tendency is defined as a “cognitive predisposition to appraise future events in line with the central-appraisal events that triggered the emotion” (Lerner & Tetlock, 2000).

Cognitive Dimensions: The six appraisal dimensions are (a) certainty, (b) pleasantness, (c) attentional activity, (d) control, (e) anticipated effort, and (f) responsibility.

Emotion-Imbued Choice Model

A Decision-Making Process: The Emotion-Imbued Choice Model

Importance of Accountability: Accountability refers to “the implicit or explicit expectation that one may be called on to justify one’s beliefs, feelings, and actions to others. Research suggests that accountability attenuates the effects of incidental emotions. Accountability manipulations can be induced by: (a) mere presence of another, (b) identifiability (participants’ responses will be linked to their identity), (c) evaluation (participants expect that their performance will be assessed), and (d) reason-giving (participants must justify their actions) (Lerner & Tetlock, 1999).

Introduction: The Appraisal-TendencyFramework

The Role of Accountability in Decision-Science ResearchCharlotte D’Acierno and Paul MeoskyAdvisor: Dr. Jennifer Lerner Acknowledgements: Joowon “Jo” Kim, Dr. Brian Gill, Dr. Bryan Pendleton, Dr. Richard Zeckhauser, & Dr. Jeffrey Friedman

Gill, B.P., Lerner, J.S., & Meosky, P. (2014). Re-imagining accountability in K-12 schooling. Manuscript in preparation, Mathematica Policy Research. | Lerner, J.S. & Keltner, D. (2000). Beyond valence: Toward a model of emotion-specific influences on judgment and choice. Cognition and Emotion, 14(4), 473-493. | Lerner, J., & Tetlock, P. (1999.). Accounting For The Effects Of Accountability. Psychological Bulletin, 255-275.

How does accountability affect military decisions? Due to the necessity of maintaining impartial researchers, the exact hypotheses of this study are unavailable. Two studies were conducted: (a) National War College Study: February 26, 2015 and (b) Maxwell Air Force Base Study: April 12, 2015.

Experimental Design: A 23 Factorial design was conducted, with dimensions (a) Accountability (A), (b) Emotions (E), and (c) Probability (P).

Research Protocol: A baseline state of all participants, including affect and trait anger was established. Participants were then notified of accountability or control measures, and then anger or neutral emotions were induced. Participants were then asked to make a series of military decisions consistent with what they might face in military careers and to evaluate their decision-making processes.

Integrative Complexity: Responses were coded according to the Suedfeld metric of integrative complexity, which refers to the degree to which each participant identified (differentiation) and incorporated (integration) multiple perspectives and possible outcomes in their decision makingprocess.

*A total of 190 subjects at the National War College completed the protocol,including 164 U.S. citizens and 26 non-U.S. citizens.

E1 (Control) E2 (Anger)

E1A2P2Group A-2

E2A2P2Group B-2

E1A2P1Group A-1

E2A2P1Group B-1

E1A1P2Group C-2

E2A1P2Group D-2

E1A1P1Group C-1

E2A1P1Group D-1

P2

P1

P2

P1

A2

A1

Accountabilityin the Education System

Distinct Types: There are four types of accountability that could be incorporated into the K-12 education system. These include:

(a) Outcome-Based Accountability, in which the Decision Maker is punished or rewarded for specific resultsà High-stakes Testing

(b) Rule-Based Accountability, in which the Decision Maker must act within certain mandatesà Government Regulations

(c) Market-Based Accountability, in which the Decision Maker is accountable to clientele who can replace themà Charter Schools

(d) Professional Accountability, in which the Decision Maker must follow standards of their practice with access to resources to improve performanceà Coaching & Collaboration

Multiple Solutions: There are multiple ways to incorporate accountability measures into K-12 schooling.

(a)  Include multiple types of accountability (discussed above)

(b) Use many measures of practice and outcomes

(c) Promote practical improvement

Accountabilityin the Military