Voters face tradeoffs between self-interest and the common good; experiment participants are more likely to choose the policy that earns them more money, even when the policy is detrimental to the common good

Selfish and Cooperative Voting: Can the Majority Restrain Themselves? Bowen Cho, Scott Bokemper, Andrew W. Delton. Political Behavior, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11109-018-9495-z

Abstract: At every scale from small committees to national elections, voters face tradeoffs between self-interest and the common good. We report three experiments in which participants vote for policies with real payoffs at stake. We manipulate self-interest by randomly assigning participants to two groups in society with different policy payoffs. Participants in the majority group are confronted by a simple choice between a policy that is better for themselves or a policy that is best for society. Overall, we find a clear effect of self-interest: Participants are more likely to choose the policy that earns them more money, compared to participants in the other group, even when the policy is detrimental to the common good. Simultaneously, we observe considerable levels of cooperative voting among participants in the majority, ranging from 47% to 79% across different payoff regimes. Finally, participants were not more cooperative when voting compared to when they chose between the same policies with a lottery or leader institution, departing from the hypothesis that voting institutions promote cooperative motives. We discuss implications for multiple literatures about voting behavior.

Perceptions of scientific consensus do not predict later beliefs about the reality of climate change, but the inverse pathway was significant for liberals: personal beliefs about the reality of anthropogenic CC prospectively predicted subsequent estimates of consensus

Perceptions of scientific consensus do not predict later beliefs about the reality of climate change: A test of the gateway belief model using cross-lagged panel analysis. John Richard Kerr, Marc Stewart Wilson. Journal of Environmental Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.08.012

Highlights
•    Study examined link between perceptions of scientific consensus and beliefs.
•    Variables captured at two time points in student sample.
•    Perceived consensus does not predict later personal climate beliefs.
•    Beliefs predict later perceived consensus for liberal, but not conservative, voters.

Abstract: The gateway belief model posits that perceptions of scientific agreement play a causal role in shaping beliefs about the existence of anthropogenic climate change. However, experimental support for the model is mixed. The current study takes a longitudinal approach, examining the causal relationships between perceived consensus and beliefs. Perceptions of scientific consensus and personal beliefs about climate change were collected over a five-month period in a student sample (N = 356). Cross-lagged panel analysis revealed that perceived scientific consensus did not prospectively predict personal agreement with the reality of climate change, thus the current study did not find support for the gateway belief model. However, the inverse pathway was significant for those with liberal voting intentions: personal beliefs about the reality of anthropogenic climate change prospectively predicted subsequent estimates of consensus. The results suggest that individuals’ perceptions of a consensus among scientists do not have a strong influence on their personal beliefs about climate change.

Why Milk Consumption is the Bigger Problem: Ethical Implications and Deaths per Calorie Created of Milk (and cheese!) Compared to Meat Production

Why Milk Consumption is the Bigger Problem: Ethical Implications and Deaths per Calorie Created of Milk Compared to Meat Production. Karin Kolbe. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, August 2018, Volume 31, Issue 4, pp 467–481. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-018-9740-9

Abstract: Pictures of sides of beef, hanging from overhead rails in refrigerated warehouses and meat-processing plants, often leave a feeling of unease. These pictures provoke the notion that human beings have no right to inflict suffering and death on other sentient beings for the sole purpose of providing food. However, the ethical analysis conducted in this study shows that meat production, if animal welfare and deaths per calorie created are considered, is less of a pressing problem compared to the production of milk. While meat can be provided with minimal suffering to animals, the consumption of milk is always associated with considerable suffering during the dairy cow’s life-span and the lives of their offspring. Moreover, more bovine deaths per unit of calorific value created are associated with milk production compared to meat production. The vegan movement, which is currently growing, wishes to minimise farm animal suffering as much as possible. However, if a vegan diet is not possible, consumers should make an informed decision about the products they consume. Replacement of the calories obtained from meat with those from milk and dairy products is not rational if animal welfare is considered.

Spending time on social media, regardless of its purpose, relates to perceiving the United States as more politically polarized, which can help reduce polarization except in the group of those not using social media, those older than 75

Gollwitzer, Anton, Social Media Use Relates to Perceiving the United States as More Politically Polarized (March 9, 2018). http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3137325

Abstract: Much research has examined the role news media and social media play in political polarization. There has been less focus on whether and how social media influences people’s perception of political polarization in society. In one study (N = 328), we examined whether increased social media use relates to perceiving the United States political climate as more or less polarized. Time spent on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) related to perceiving politics as more polarized. This relationship remained when controlling for other variables such as age and political orientation. Of participants who reported using social media, whether they used it for socializing or information gathering did not relate to their level of perceived political polarization. We conclude that spending time on social media, regardless of its purpose, relates to perceiving the United States as more politically polarized. Possible mechanisms and implications of this relationship are discussed.

Keywords: perceived political polarization, social media, information gathering

Subjects are more willing to lie through a delegate than to lie directly

Lying Through Others: Does Delegation Promote Deception? Glynis Gawn RobertInnes. Journal of Economic Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2018.08.005

Highlights
•    Studies how delegation affects lie aversion.
•    Controls for other economic channels by which delegation can affect deception.
•    Presents classroom experiments involving black and white lies.
•    Finds that subjects are more willing to lie through a delegate than to lie directly.

Abstract: How do agency relationships affect an individual’s willingness to lie for monetary advantage? Does lie aversion decline if a lie (or truth) is sent through an agent, rather than sent directly by the individual? In a recent paper, Erat (2013) shows that a significant proportion of his subjects prefer to delegate a deception decision. We present experiments designed to focus on one of several possible explanations for this intriguing behavior – that delegation reduces lie aversion. The experiments reveal that subjects are more willing to lie through a delegate than to lie directly despite controlling for potential effects of delegated decision-making on preferences over payoffs, probabilities of actions, and/or the desire to avoid taking a decision.

Men are more likely to offer financial correct answers & women are slightly more likely to offer incorrect ones but women are considerably more likely to say "don't know," losing the opportunity to hazard a guess

On the Gender Gap in Financial Knowledge: Decomposing the Effects of Don't Know and Incorrect Responses. Zibei Chen, James C. Garand. Social Science Quarterly, https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12520

Objectives: Past studies have consistently shown that women have lower levels of financial knowledge than men, and hence there is a noticeable gender gap in financial knowledge. We reconsider the conventional measures of financial knowledge by disentangling don't know (DK) responses and incorrect answers and comparing the effect of these two disparate responses’ on the gender gap in financial knowledge.

Methods: Using data from the 2012 National Financial Capability Studies data set, we estimate a series of ordinary least squares regression and multinomial logit models of the gender gap in DK and incorrect responses.

Results: We find a strong gender gap in financial knowledge, but with a twist: (1) men are more likely to offer correct answers; (2) women are slightly more likely to offer incorrect answers; but (3) women are considerably more likely to provide DK responses. Hence women may exhibit lower levels of financial knowledge because they lose the opportunity to hazard a guess and arrive at a correct answer based either on partial knowledge or on random chance. We consider the possibility that there are psychological processes at work involving risk acceptance and confidence in financial knowledge that prompt women to give DK responses at a rate higher than men.

Conclusion: We suggest that future research should consider the relative roles of DK and incorrect responses in measuring financial knowledge.

Traditions refer to ‘the virtuous person,’ implying that a class of individuals exists who have achieved a virtuous state; there is little evidence for class structure, & there is support for thinking of virtue as something we must pursue rather than a state that we achieve

Are there virtuous types? Finite mixture modeling of the VIA Inventory of Strengths. Dawn M. Berger & Robert E. McGrath. The Journal of Positive Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1510021

ABSTRACT: Philosophical and religious traditions often refer to ‘the virtuous person.’ This terminology usually carries with it the assumption that a class of individuals exists who have achieved a virtuous state. This study attempted to test that implication. The VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) is intended as a comprehensive assessment of character strengths, which are conceptualized as markers of virtuous character. One prior study using taxometric methods found no evidence for the existence of such a category of individuals using VIA-IS scores. Subsequent literature has suggested the superiority of finite mixture modeling for identifying categorical structure. Latent profile analyses of 1–10 classes were conducted in a stratified sample of 10,000 adults. The results provided little evidence for class structure, and support thinking of virtue as something we must continuously pursue rather than a state that we achieve.

KEYWORDS: Character strengths, virtue, latent profile analysis (LPA), finite mixture modeling (FMM)