Perceptions of Microaggressive Behavior Across the Ideological Spectrum

Harper, Craig A., 2018. “Perceptions of Microaggressive Behavior Across the Ideological Spectrum”. PsyArXiv. April 2. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/973V8

Abstract: Microaggressions–subtle slights that communicate implicit bias–have become a widespread concern in recent years.However, the empirical credibility of microaggression theory has been questioned due  to a lack  of  conceptual  clarity  and  the  prevalence  of methodological  biases within   microaggression   research. Challenging   the   empirical   validity   of   the traditional demographics-based microaggression  concept,  this  study  examined  the  potential  for  cross-spectrum  microaggression perception being  a  method  for  derogating  opposition  viewpoints, consistent with existing work on ideological prejudice. Using an experimental online survey (N= 404), there was a significant association between participants’ ideological orientation and their judgements of the ‘perpetrators’and ‘victims’of microaggressions when ‘victims’were associated with leftist causes, but not right-wing causes. These associations were not moderated by emotional investment in ideological orientation (i.e., collective narcissism). Implications for microaggression  theory, diversity  training  programs, and  the  study  of  politically-salient individual differences are subsequently discussed.

h/t: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf

The cosmic gorilla effect or the problem of undetected non terrestrial intelligent signals: It is worse for those with reflexive cognitive style

The cosmic gorilla effect or the problem of undetected non terrestrial intelligent signals. Gabriel G. De la Torre, Manuel A.Garcia. Acta Astronautica, Volume 146, May 2018, Pages 83-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.02.036

Highlights
•    New ETI/NTI classification is provided and discussed.
•    Inattentional blindness experiment shows potential explanation for silence.
•    Role of dark matter in new forms of ETI is discussed.
•    Reflexive cognitive style resulted less effective in the inattentional blindness task.

Abstract: This article points to a long lasting problem in space research and cosmology, the problem of undetected signs of non terrestrial life and civilizations. We intentionally avoid the term extraterrestrial as we consider other possibilities that may arise but not fall strictly within the extraterrestrial scope. We discuss the role of new physics including dark matter and string theory in the search for life and other non terrestrial intelligence. A new classification for non terrestrial civilizations with three types and five dimensions is also provided. We also explain how our own neurophysiology, psychology and consciousness can play a major role in this search of non terrestrial civilizations task and how they have been neglected up to this date. To test this, 137 adults were evaluated using the cognitive reflection test, an attention/awareness questionnaire and a visuospatial searching task with aerial view images to determine the presence of inattentional blindness.

h/t: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf

Men, but not women, who experienced greater intensity of an earthquake became more risk tolerant a year after it. Risk preferences are persistent even five years after the Earthquake at almost the same magnitude as those shortly after it. Also, these men gamble more.

Do Risk Preferences Change? Evidence from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Chie Hanaoka, Hitoshi Shigeoka, and Yasutora Watanabe. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. Apr 2018, Vol. 10, No. 2: Pages 298-330. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/app.20170048

Abstract: We investigate whether individuals' risk preferences change after experiencing a natural disaster, specifically, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Exploiting the panels of nationally representative surveys on risk preferences, we find that men who experienced greater intensity of the earthquake became more risk tolerant a year after the Earthquake. Interestingly, the effects on men's risk preferences are persistent even five years after the Earthquake at almost the same magnitude as those shortly after the Earthquake. Furthermore, these men gamble more, which is consistent with the direction of changes in risk preferences. We find no such pattern for women. (JEL D12, D81, J16, Q54)

h/t: https://twitter.com/DegenRolf