Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Manipulating the source of the property and income effects, experimenters find that without social enforcement, respect for property is low; taking aversion grows when the property is legitimized by labor

Thou shalt not steal: Taking aversion with legal property claims. Marco Faillo, Matteo Rizzolli, Stephan Tontrup. Journal of Economic Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2018.08.009

Highlights
•    We test taking aversion using a dictator game with a symmetric action space.
•    We implement a double-blind anonymity protocol and establish clear property rights.
•    We manipulate the source of the property and income effects.
•    Without social enforcement, respect for property is low.
•    Taking aversion grows when the property is legitimized by labor.

Abstract: Do people have an innate respect for property? In the literature, there is controversy about whether human subjects are taking averse. We implemented a dictator game with a symmetric action space to address potential misconceptions and framing and demand effects that may be responsible for the contradictory findings. Misconceptions can occur as a result of unclear property rights, while framing and demand effects can occur if anonymity is not preserved. Our paper is the first to implement both a strict double-blind anonymity protocol and clear property rights. We established clear property claims by asking subjects in our legal treatment to bring their own property to the experiment. In the effort treatment, the experimenter transferred the property publicly to subjects after they completed a real effort task. Our data suggest that without social enforcement, respect for property is low. Yet, the taking rate significantly differs from the theoretically predicted maximum. Consistent with the Lockean theory of property, respect for property grows when the entitlement is legitimized by the labor the owner had to invest to acquire it.

The perception of political disagreement is more prevalent on social media than it is in face-to-face communication, and it may be associated with negative affect toward others

Social Affect and Political Disagreement on Social Media. Matthew Barnidge. Social Media + Society, https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118797721

Abstract: The perception of political disagreement is more prevalent on social media than it is in face-to-face communication, and it may be associated with negative affect toward others. This research investigates the relationship between interpersonal evaluations (i.e., perceived similarity, liking, and closeness) and perceived political disagreement in social media versus face-to-face settings. Relying on a representative survey of adult internet users in the United States (N = 489), the study first examines the differences between social media and face-to-face settings in terms of interpersonal evaluations and relates them to parallel differences in perceived disagreement. Results are discussed in light of important, ongoing scholarly conversations about political disagreement, tolerance toward the other side in politics, and the “affective turn” in public communication about politics.

Keywords: social affect, interpersonal evaluations, political disagreement, social media, affective publics, political communication

Most BDSM experiences are leisure; “most of the time or nearly always” BDSM was associated with a sense of personal freedom, pleasure or enjoyment, use of personal skills, relaxation or decreased stress, self-expression or exploration, & positive emotion

Is Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, and Sadomasochism Recreational Leisure? A Descriptive Exploratory Investigation. DJ. Williams, Emily E. Prior, Thea Alvarado, Jeremy N. Thomas, M. Candace Christensen. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, July 2016Volume 13, Issue 7, Pages 1091–1094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.05.001 |

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies have suggested that, in contrast to traditional psychopathologic explanations, bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism (BDSM) could be understood as recreational leisure. However, the theoretical framing of BDSM as potential leisure has not been empirically explored.

Aim: To conduct an initial empirical exploration to determine whether BDSM experience fits established characteristics of recreational leisure.

Methods: A convenience sample of BDSM participants (N = 935) completed an online survey (9 demographic questions and 17 leisure questions) that assessed BDSM experience according to important attributes of leisure. Responses also were assessed and statistically compared as being primarily casual or serious leisure according to general BDSM identities (ie, dominants vs submissives vs switches).

Main Outcome Measures: BDSM experiences were assessed as a form of potential leisure.

Results: Most BDSM experiences met leisure criteria. Participants reported that “most of the time or nearly always” BDSM was associated with a sense of personal freedom (89.7% of participants), pleasure or enjoyment (98.5%), sense of adventure (90.7%), use of personal skills (90.8%), relaxation or decreased stress (91.4%), self-expression or exploration (90.6%), and positive emotions (96.6%). BDSM seemed to function as primarily serious, rather than casual, leisure, but important statistical differences were observed based on specific BDSM identities.

Conclusion: A leisure science perspective could be valuable to researchers and clinicians in reinterpreting the wide range of diverse BDSM motivations and practices.

Key Words: Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, and Sadomasochism, Sadomasochism, Sexuality, Leisure, Recreation, Identity

The tendency to respond to moral threat with physical cleansing is known as the Macbeth Effect; there is little evidence for an overall effect; however, there may be a Macbeth Effect under certain conditions

The Relationship Between Immorality and Cleansing. A Meta-Analysis of the Macbeth Effect. Jedidiah Siev, Shelby E. Zuckerman, and Joseph J. Siev. Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000349

Abstract. In a widely publicized set of studies, participants who were primed to consider unethical events preferred cleansing products more than did those primed with ethical events (Zhong & Liljenquist, 2006). This tendency to respond to moral threat with physical cleansing is known as the Macbeth Effect. Several subsequent efforts, however, did not replicate this relationship. The present manuscript reports the results of a meta-analysis of 15 studies testing this relationship. The weighted mean effect size was small across all studies (g = 0.17, 95% CI [0.04, 0.31]), and nonsignificant across studies conducted in independent laboratories (g = 0.07, 95% CI [−0.04, 0.19]). We conclude that there is little evidence for an overall Macbeth Effect; however, there may be a Macbeth Effect under certain conditions.

Keywords: Macbeth Effect, morality, cleansing, metaphor, embodiment

About half of the participants who were single were involuntary so; & mating performance—how well people do in starting and keeping an intimate relationship—was a significant predictor of involuntary singlehood

Are People Single by Choice? Involuntary Singlehood in an Evolutionary Perspective. Menelaos Apostolou, Irene Papadopoulou, Polyxeni Georgiadou. Evolutionary Psychological Science, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40806-018-0169-1

Abstract: A substantial proportion of people living in Western societies do not have an intimate partner. The current research attempts to estimate the occurrence of people who are involuntary single—they want to be in an intimate relationship but they find it difficult to do so—in the Greek cultural context. Evidence from two independent studies (N = 1682) indicated that about half of the participants who were single, they were involuntary so. It was also found that, mating performance—how well people do in starting and keeping an intimate relationship—was a significant predictor of involuntary singlehood, with low scorers facing a higher probability to be involuntary single than high scorers.

Keywords: Involuntary singlehood Singlehood Mating Mating performance Mate choice

Participants could significantly predict/estimate their own Neuroticism, Extraversion and Conscientiousness scores, as well as their General, Fluid and Crystalised intelligence, but not Agreeableness

Estimating One’s Own and Other’s Psychological Test Scores. Adrian Furnham. Psychology, Vol.9 No.8, August 2018. DOI: 10.4236/psych.2018.98127

ABSTRACT: This paper examines how accurate people are at estimating their own psychometric test results, which assess personality, intelligence, approach to learning and other factors. Seven groups of students completed a battery of power (general intelligence, fluid intelligence, creativity and general knowledge) tests and preference (approaches to learning, emotional intelligence, Big Five personality) tests. Two months later (before receiving feedback on their psychometric scores) they estimated their own scores and that of a class acquaintance who they claimed to know well on these variables. Results from the different samples were reasonably consistent. They showed that participants could significantly predict/estimate their own Neuroticism, Extraversion and Conscientiousness scores, as well as their General, Fluid and Crystalised intelligence, Approaches to Learning, Creativity and Happiness. Correlations between estimated and test-derived scores for an acquaintance were around half those for self-estimates and better for personality than ability. Participants self and “other” estimates were nearly all significantly positive. The discussion considers when, if ever, self-estimated scores can be used as proxy for test scores and what self-estimated scores indicate. Limitations are considered.

KEYWORDS: Personality, Intelligence, Creativity, Learning Style, Self-Estimation, Self-Assessment