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
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
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
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
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
Monday, September 3, 2018
Wearing glasses can robustly boost electoral success, at least in Western cultures
You Can Leave Your Glasses on: Glasses Can Increase Electoral Success. Alexandra Fleischmann et al. In Press, Social Psychology, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326942161
Abstract: Does wearing glasses hurt or help politicians in elections? Although some research shows that glasses signal unattractiveness, glasses also increase perceptions of competence. In eight studies, participants voted for politicians wearing (photoshopped) glasses or not. Wearing glasses increased politicians’ electoral success in the U.S. (Study 1), independent of their political orientation (Studies 2a and 2b). This positive effect was especially strong when intelligence was important (Study 3), and even occurred if glasses were used strategically (Study 4). However, it did not extend to India (Study 5) due to different cultural associations with glasses (Study 6). Furthermore, while intelligence mediated the effect, warmth did not (Study 7). In summary, wearing glasses can robustly boost electoral success, at least in Western cultures.
Keywords: Glasses, voting, stereotypes, politicians, election
Abstract: Does wearing glasses hurt or help politicians in elections? Although some research shows that glasses signal unattractiveness, glasses also increase perceptions of competence. In eight studies, participants voted for politicians wearing (photoshopped) glasses or not. Wearing glasses increased politicians’ electoral success in the U.S. (Study 1), independent of their political orientation (Studies 2a and 2b). This positive effect was especially strong when intelligence was important (Study 3), and even occurred if glasses were used strategically (Study 4). However, it did not extend to India (Study 5) due to different cultural associations with glasses (Study 6). Furthermore, while intelligence mediated the effect, warmth did not (Study 7). In summary, wearing glasses can robustly boost electoral success, at least in Western cultures.
Keywords: Glasses, voting, stereotypes, politicians, election
Gender Difference in Verbal Performance: In written tests, only 39pct of boys but 61pct of girls will reach proficiency
Gender Difference in Verbal Performance: a Meta-analysis of United States State Performance Assessments. Jennifer Petersen. Educational Psychology Review, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-018-9450-x
Abstract: A comprehensive, statistical review of gender differences in verbal performance has not been conducted in several decades and the majority of previous work on this topic used published studies that often include small, non-representative samples. The introduction of national legislation in US public schools required schools to assess and publicly report verbal performance, thus providing verbal assessment data for millions of American students. The current study presents a meta-analysis of gender differences in US state verbal assessments. Data were collected from the departments of education in 16 states representing more than 10 million US students in grades 3 through 11. Results indicated a small gender difference favoring females for overall verbal performance (d = 0.29). However, when type of assessment was considered, the female advantages in reading (d = 0.19) and language arts (d = 0.29) were smaller than in writing performance (d = 0.45). The small gender differences in verbal performance increased in a linear pattern from grades 3 to 8 and then remained steady in high school.
Abstract: A comprehensive, statistical review of gender differences in verbal performance has not been conducted in several decades and the majority of previous work on this topic used published studies that often include small, non-representative samples. The introduction of national legislation in US public schools required schools to assess and publicly report verbal performance, thus providing verbal assessment data for millions of American students. The current study presents a meta-analysis of gender differences in US state verbal assessments. Data were collected from the departments of education in 16 states representing more than 10 million US students in grades 3 through 11. Results indicated a small gender difference favoring females for overall verbal performance (d = 0.29). However, when type of assessment was considered, the female advantages in reading (d = 0.19) and language arts (d = 0.29) were smaller than in writing performance (d = 0.45). The small gender differences in verbal performance increased in a linear pattern from grades 3 to 8 and then remained steady in high school.
Monkeys: Collective intentions are inferable when they go on patrol, mob predators, go hunting, & when gang-attack disliked members of the same community (with significant pre-adaptive implications for the evolution of moralistic social control)
Collective intentionality: A basic and early component of moral evolution. Christopher Boehm. Philosophical Psychology. Volume 31, 2018 - Issue 5, Pages 680-702. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2018.1486607
ABSTRACT: Michael Tomasello’s account of moral evolution includes both a synthesis of extensive experimental work done on humans and chimpanzees on their potential for perspective-taking and helpful, altruistic generosity and a major emphasis on “collective intentionality” as an important component of morality in humans. Both will be very useful to the evolutionary study of this subject. However, his disavowal of collective intentions on the parts of chimpanzees would appear to be empirically incorrect, owing to reliance on experimental captive research focused only on dyadic interactions. Here, evidence to the contrary is provided from studies of wild chimpanzees as they naturally cooperate in sizable groups. Collective intentions are inferable when they go on patrol, when they mob predators, when they go hunting, and when large coalitions gang-attack disliked members of the same community. This last behavior has particularly significant pre-adaptive implications for the evolution of moralistic social control, and it suggests that moral evolution has deep roots, going back to the Last Common Ancestor of humans, bonobos, and chimpanzees.
KEYWORDS: Chimpanzee attacks, coalitions, collective intentions, cooperation, moral evolution, problem solving, punishment, social sanctions, social selection
ABSTRACT: Michael Tomasello’s account of moral evolution includes both a synthesis of extensive experimental work done on humans and chimpanzees on their potential for perspective-taking and helpful, altruistic generosity and a major emphasis on “collective intentionality” as an important component of morality in humans. Both will be very useful to the evolutionary study of this subject. However, his disavowal of collective intentions on the parts of chimpanzees would appear to be empirically incorrect, owing to reliance on experimental captive research focused only on dyadic interactions. Here, evidence to the contrary is provided from studies of wild chimpanzees as they naturally cooperate in sizable groups. Collective intentions are inferable when they go on patrol, when they mob predators, when they go hunting, and when large coalitions gang-attack disliked members of the same community. This last behavior has particularly significant pre-adaptive implications for the evolution of moralistic social control, and it suggests that moral evolution has deep roots, going back to the Last Common Ancestor of humans, bonobos, and chimpanzees.
KEYWORDS: Chimpanzee attacks, coalitions, collective intentions, cooperation, moral evolution, problem solving, punishment, social sanctions, social selection
Sunday, September 2, 2018
An evolutionary approach to paranoia that more fully accounts for its complex social phenomenology & considers how it can be understood in light of our evolved social cognition, to form coalitions & coordinate between groups in situations of cooperation & competition
Raihani, Nichola, and Vaughan Bell. 2018. “An Evolutionary Perspective on Paranoia.” PsyArXiv. September 2. doi:10.31234/osf.io/fgrnx
Abstract: Although paranoia is the most commonly presenting symptom of psychosis, paranoid thoughts occur frequently in the general population and range widely in severity, from mild socio-evaluative concerns to frank delusions about the harmful intentions of others. Furthermore, paranoia commonly appears after a surprisingly diverse range of difficulties including trauma, brain injury, sleep deprivation, drug use, and psychiatric and neurological disorder. Evolutionary accounts of paranoia have been proposed before but have largely focused on paranoia as a misplaced threat response. Although social threat is clearly a key component, the experience of paranoia is markedly more complex than these accounts would lead us to believe: paranoia can involve multiple alterations in the perception of the social environment, the identification of specific but seemingly arbitrary groups as the source of persecution, and extended beliefs about conspiracy and complex coordination between the perceived persecutors. Here, we argue for an evolutionary approach to paranoia that more fully accounts for its complex social phenomenology and considers how it can be understood in light of our evolved social cognition. More specifically, in terms of the ability to form coalitions and coordinate between groups in situations of cooperation and competition.
Abstract: Although paranoia is the most commonly presenting symptom of psychosis, paranoid thoughts occur frequently in the general population and range widely in severity, from mild socio-evaluative concerns to frank delusions about the harmful intentions of others. Furthermore, paranoia commonly appears after a surprisingly diverse range of difficulties including trauma, brain injury, sleep deprivation, drug use, and psychiatric and neurological disorder. Evolutionary accounts of paranoia have been proposed before but have largely focused on paranoia as a misplaced threat response. Although social threat is clearly a key component, the experience of paranoia is markedly more complex than these accounts would lead us to believe: paranoia can involve multiple alterations in the perception of the social environment, the identification of specific but seemingly arbitrary groups as the source of persecution, and extended beliefs about conspiracy and complex coordination between the perceived persecutors. Here, we argue for an evolutionary approach to paranoia that more fully accounts for its complex social phenomenology and considers how it can be understood in light of our evolved social cognition. More specifically, in terms of the ability to form coalitions and coordinate between groups in situations of cooperation and competition.
Dispositional free riders cooperate only when punishment is possible, whereas dispositional conditional cooperators cooperate without punishment; punishment by DCC and DFR is practically identical
Dispositional free riders do not free ride on punishment. Till O. Weber, Ori Weisel & Simon Gächter. Nature Communications, volume 9, Article number: 2390 (2018). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04775-8
Abstract: Strong reciprocity explains prosocial cooperation by the presence of individuals who incur costs to help those who helped them (‘strong positive reciprocity’) and to punish those who wronged them (‘strong negative reciprocity’). Theories of social preferences predict that in contrast to ‘strong reciprocators’, self-regarding people cooperate and punish only if there are sufficient future benefits. Here, we test this prediction in a two-stage design. First, participants are classified according to their disposition towards strong positive reciprocity as either dispositional conditional cooperators (DCC) or dispositional free riders (DFR). Participants then play a one-shot public goods game, either with or without punishment. As expected, DFR cooperate only when punishment is possible, whereas DCC cooperate without punishment. Surprisingly, dispositions towards strong positive reciprocity are unrelated to strong negative reciprocity: punishment by DCC and DFR is practically identical. The ‘burden of cooperation’ is thus carried by a larger set of individuals than previously assumed.
Abstract: Strong reciprocity explains prosocial cooperation by the presence of individuals who incur costs to help those who helped them (‘strong positive reciprocity’) and to punish those who wronged them (‘strong negative reciprocity’). Theories of social preferences predict that in contrast to ‘strong reciprocators’, self-regarding people cooperate and punish only if there are sufficient future benefits. Here, we test this prediction in a two-stage design. First, participants are classified according to their disposition towards strong positive reciprocity as either dispositional conditional cooperators (DCC) or dispositional free riders (DFR). Participants then play a one-shot public goods game, either with or without punishment. As expected, DFR cooperate only when punishment is possible, whereas DCC cooperate without punishment. Surprisingly, dispositions towards strong positive reciprocity are unrelated to strong negative reciprocity: punishment by DCC and DFR is practically identical. The ‘burden of cooperation’ is thus carried by a larger set of individuals than previously assumed.
Gender Effects of BDSM Participants on Self-Reported Psychological Distress Levels: BDSM as leisure reduces stress for females and males, with stress reduction being more significant with females
Gender Effects of BDSM Participants on Self-Reported Psychological Distress Levels. Thea Alvarado, Emily E. Prior, Jeremy N. Thomas, DJ Williams. http://journalofpositivesexuality.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Gender-Effects-of-BDSM-Participants-on-Self-Reported-Psychological-Distress-Levels-Alvarado-Prior-Thomas-Williams.pdf
Brief Description: This study examines the connections between perceived stress, gender, and BDSM as a leisure activity that may reduce stress for individuals. This study found statistically significant results that BDSM as leisure reduces stress for females and males, with stress reduction being more significant with females.
Keywords: gender, stress, BDSM, power, BDSM as leisure
Brief Description: This study examines the connections between perceived stress, gender, and BDSM as a leisure activity that may reduce stress for individuals. This study found statistically significant results that BDSM as leisure reduces stress for females and males, with stress reduction being more significant with females.
Keywords: gender, stress, BDSM, power, BDSM as leisure
A Failure of Academic Quality Control: Rachel Maines' The Technology of Orgasm as a cautionary tale for how easily falsehoods can be come embedded in the humanities
A Failure of Academic Quality Control: The Technology of Orgasm. Lieberman & Schatzberg. Journal of Positive Sexuality, Vol. 4, No. 2, August 2018. http://journalofpositivesexuality.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Failure-of-Academic-Quality-Control-Technology-of-Orgasm-Lieberman-Schatzberg.pdf
Abstract: The Technology of Orgasm by Rachel Maines is one of the most widely cited works on the history of sex and technology. Maines argues that Victorian physicians routinely used electromechanical vibrators to stimulate female patients to orgasm as a treatment for hysteria. She claims that physicians did not perceive the practice as sexual because it did not involve vaginal penetration. The vibrator was, according to Maines, a labor-saving technology to replace the well -established medical practice of clitoral massage for hysteria. This argument has been repeated almost verbatim in dozens of scholarly works, popular books and articles, a Broadway play, and a feature-length film. Although a few scholars have challenged parts of the book, no one has contested her central argument in the pe er-reviewed literature. In this article, we carefully assess the sources cited in the book. We found no evidence in these sources that physicians ever used electromechanical vibrators to induce orgasms in female patients as a medical treatment. The success of Technology of Orgasm serves as a cautionary tale for how easily falsehoods can be come embedded in the humanities.
Abstract: The Technology of Orgasm by Rachel Maines is one of the most widely cited works on the history of sex and technology. Maines argues that Victorian physicians routinely used electromechanical vibrators to stimulate female patients to orgasm as a treatment for hysteria. She claims that physicians did not perceive the practice as sexual because it did not involve vaginal penetration. The vibrator was, according to Maines, a labor-saving technology to replace the well -established medical practice of clitoral massage for hysteria. This argument has been repeated almost verbatim in dozens of scholarly works, popular books and articles, a Broadway play, and a feature-length film. Although a few scholars have challenged parts of the book, no one has contested her central argument in the pe er-reviewed literature. In this article, we carefully assess the sources cited in the book. We found no evidence in these sources that physicians ever used electromechanical vibrators to induce orgasms in female patients as a medical treatment. The success of Technology of Orgasm serves as a cautionary tale for how easily falsehoods can be come embedded in the humanities.
We analyze whether subjective well-being predicts better chances of surviving diseases such as cancer or heart conditions; well-being doesn't mitigate the effect these diseases have on mortality; same happens with life satisfaction
Smile or Die: Can Subjective Well-Being Increase Survival in the Face of Substantive Health Impairments? Martin Binder, Guido Buenstorf. Economics & Human Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2018.08.004
Highlights
• Subjective well-being increases survival in BHPS panel data set for UK
• This effect captures in part the assessment of one’s health status
• This effect disappears when controlling for endogeneity by lagging SWB
• Specific illnesses (e.g. cancer) decrease survival but SWB does not moderate this
• SWB is at best protective rather than curative when it comes to mortality
Abstract: A robust relationship between subjective well-being and mortality has been established in the literature, but few studies address how subjective well-being interacts with the impact of concrete diseases on survival. In addition, issues of endogeneity between bad health and subjective well-being are ignored when it comes to survival. We assess both for the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS; 1991-2008) and specifically analyze whether subjective well-being predicts better chances of surviving diseases such as cancer or heart conditions. We find that several of the studied diseases consistently decrease survival chances in our sample (e.g. hazard ratio 3.47 for cancer), also when controlling for the severity of health problems. But our results do not suggest that well-being mitigates the effect these diseases have on mortality. Life satisfaction also does not predict longer survival in the data set if we control for the endogeneity of subjective well-being.
Highlights
• Subjective well-being increases survival in BHPS panel data set for UK
• This effect captures in part the assessment of one’s health status
• This effect disappears when controlling for endogeneity by lagging SWB
• Specific illnesses (e.g. cancer) decrease survival but SWB does not moderate this
• SWB is at best protective rather than curative when it comes to mortality
Abstract: A robust relationship between subjective well-being and mortality has been established in the literature, but few studies address how subjective well-being interacts with the impact of concrete diseases on survival. In addition, issues of endogeneity between bad health and subjective well-being are ignored when it comes to survival. We assess both for the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS; 1991-2008) and specifically analyze whether subjective well-being predicts better chances of surviving diseases such as cancer or heart conditions. We find that several of the studied diseases consistently decrease survival chances in our sample (e.g. hazard ratio 3.47 for cancer), also when controlling for the severity of health problems. But our results do not suggest that well-being mitigates the effect these diseases have on mortality. Life satisfaction also does not predict longer survival in the data set if we control for the endogeneity of subjective well-being.
Non-pharmacological factors modulate pharmacological action of drugs; environmental conditions shape drug search and self-administration; social stress is a crucial determinant of effects; drug instrumentalization allows highly specific drug use in non-addicts
Non-pharmacological factors that determine drug use and addiction. Serge H. Ahmed e al. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.08.015
Highlights
• Non-pharmacological factors modulate pharmacological action of addictive drugs.
• We review the neurobiological mechanisms of non-pharmacological influences.
• Environmental conditions shape drug search and self-administration.
• Social stress is a crucial determinant of drug effects.
• Drug instrumentalization allows highly specific drug use in non-addicts.
• Behavioral alternatives shape drug choice and consumption patterns.
Abstract: Based on their pharmacological properties, psychoactive drugs are supposed to take control of the natural reward system to finally drive compulsory drug seeking and consumption. However, psychoactive drugs are not used in an arbitrary way as pure pharmacological reinforcement would suggest, but rather in a highly specific manner depending on non-pharmacological factors. While pharmacological effects of psychoactive drugs are well studied, neurobiological mechanisms of non-pharmacological factors are less well understood. Here we review the emerging neurobiological mechanisms beyond pharmacological reinforcement which determine drug effects and use frequency. Important progress was made on the understanding of how the character of an environment and social stress determine drug self-administration. This is expanded by new evidence on how behavioral alternatives and opportunities for drug instrumentalization generate different patterns of drug choice. Emerging evidence suggests that the neurobiology of non-pharmacological factors strongly determines pharmacological and behavioral drug action and may, thus, give rise for an expanded system’s approach of psychoactive drug use and addiction.
Highlights
• Non-pharmacological factors modulate pharmacological action of addictive drugs.
• We review the neurobiological mechanisms of non-pharmacological influences.
• Environmental conditions shape drug search and self-administration.
• Social stress is a crucial determinant of drug effects.
• Drug instrumentalization allows highly specific drug use in non-addicts.
• Behavioral alternatives shape drug choice and consumption patterns.
Abstract: Based on their pharmacological properties, psychoactive drugs are supposed to take control of the natural reward system to finally drive compulsory drug seeking and consumption. However, psychoactive drugs are not used in an arbitrary way as pure pharmacological reinforcement would suggest, but rather in a highly specific manner depending on non-pharmacological factors. While pharmacological effects of psychoactive drugs are well studied, neurobiological mechanisms of non-pharmacological factors are less well understood. Here we review the emerging neurobiological mechanisms beyond pharmacological reinforcement which determine drug effects and use frequency. Important progress was made on the understanding of how the character of an environment and social stress determine drug self-administration. This is expanded by new evidence on how behavioral alternatives and opportunities for drug instrumentalization generate different patterns of drug choice. Emerging evidence suggests that the neurobiology of non-pharmacological factors strongly determines pharmacological and behavioral drug action and may, thus, give rise for an expanded system’s approach of psychoactive drug use and addiction.
Having higher income does not increase the tendency to believe that income is deserved due to effort; in the case of health, higher self reported state of health seems to increase the tendency to associate bad health with bad habits & lifestyle choices
Merit or luck - An interpretation of people’s beliefs from an economic perspective. Karen Høgholen. May 11th 2018, Master of Philosophy in Economics, Department of Economics, University of Oslo, https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/63119/7/H-gholen-Karen.pdf
Abstract: This thesis studies the tendency people seem to have to belittle the role of luck in life outcomes, especially in the aftermath of success. Translating high income and high state of health to reflect sings of success, I analyse whether having high income or high state of health affects the proneness to believe, that income or health is achieved mainly trough own actions rather than luck. Beliefs around luck are noted to be affecting preferences over redistribution, and this aspect is explored by investigating the relationship between beliefs about societal versus individual responsibility over drug addiction problems. Ordered and binary logistic regression models are constructed to inspect the relationship between beliefs and belief determining predictors, utilising data from a Norwegian survey scanning people’s opinions around drug addiction and responsibility. The main findings suggest that having higher income does not significantly increase the tendency to believe that income is deserved due to effort. Whereas in the case of health, higher self reported state of health seems to increase the tendency to associate bad health with bad habits and lifestyle choices. For the aspect of beliefs about redistribution, it seems like the more the cause of an addiction is related to individual responsibility, the higher is the tendency to think that the addiction problem remains to be solved by the individual himself, rather than being something the society should be responsible for. The role of beliefs in economic theory in general, and what implications beliefs around luck and control have in a policy context is discussed. Parts of an economic model of belief forming mechanisms by Benabou and Tirole (2006), is also presented as an inspiration for the overall themes discussed in this thesis.
Abstract: This thesis studies the tendency people seem to have to belittle the role of luck in life outcomes, especially in the aftermath of success. Translating high income and high state of health to reflect sings of success, I analyse whether having high income or high state of health affects the proneness to believe, that income or health is achieved mainly trough own actions rather than luck. Beliefs around luck are noted to be affecting preferences over redistribution, and this aspect is explored by investigating the relationship between beliefs about societal versus individual responsibility over drug addiction problems. Ordered and binary logistic regression models are constructed to inspect the relationship between beliefs and belief determining predictors, utilising data from a Norwegian survey scanning people’s opinions around drug addiction and responsibility. The main findings suggest that having higher income does not significantly increase the tendency to believe that income is deserved due to effort. Whereas in the case of health, higher self reported state of health seems to increase the tendency to associate bad health with bad habits and lifestyle choices. For the aspect of beliefs about redistribution, it seems like the more the cause of an addiction is related to individual responsibility, the higher is the tendency to think that the addiction problem remains to be solved by the individual himself, rather than being something the society should be responsible for. The role of beliefs in economic theory in general, and what implications beliefs around luck and control have in a policy context is discussed. Parts of an economic model of belief forming mechanisms by Benabou and Tirole (2006), is also presented as an inspiration for the overall themes discussed in this thesis.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
The gender gap in risk-taking among the most competent students reduced the odds that high-ability women received top exam scores, creating gender inequality in outcomes among top performers
Who’s on Top?: Gender Differences in Risk-Taking Produce Unequal Outcomes for High-Ability Women and Men. Susan R. Fisk. Social Psychology Quarterly, https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272518796512
Abstract: Research shows that men are more likely to take risks than women, but there is scant evidence that this produces gender inequality. To address this gap, I analyzed engineering exam scores that used an unusual grading procedure. I found small average gender differences in risk-taking that did not produce gendered outcomes for students of average or poor ability. But the gender gap in risk-taking among the most competent students reduced the odds that high-ability women received top exam scores. These results demonstrate that gender differences in risk-taking can produce gender inequality in outcomes among top performers. This suggests that the upward mobility of high-ability women may be depressed relative to equally competent men in male-typed institutional settings in which outcomes are influenced by both ability and risk-taking. In this manner, these results provide new insights into the microlevel social-psychological processes that produce and reproduce gender inequality.
Keywords: gender, gender inequality, mobility, risk-taking, work
Abstract: Research shows that men are more likely to take risks than women, but there is scant evidence that this produces gender inequality. To address this gap, I analyzed engineering exam scores that used an unusual grading procedure. I found small average gender differences in risk-taking that did not produce gendered outcomes for students of average or poor ability. But the gender gap in risk-taking among the most competent students reduced the odds that high-ability women received top exam scores. These results demonstrate that gender differences in risk-taking can produce gender inequality in outcomes among top performers. This suggests that the upward mobility of high-ability women may be depressed relative to equally competent men in male-typed institutional settings in which outcomes are influenced by both ability and risk-taking. In this manner, these results provide new insights into the microlevel social-psychological processes that produce and reproduce gender inequality.
Keywords: gender, gender inequality, mobility, risk-taking, work
Civil inattention: Even when action has been taken to clean it up, plastic bags filled with dog droppings have been thrown onto the ground in certain carefully selected spots or even hung up in trees or displayed on fence posts or railings
Gross, Mathias, Horta, Ana (2017). Dog shit happens: human–canine interactions and the immediacy of excremental presence. In Bradley H. Brewster and Antony J. Puddephatt (Eds.), Microsociological Perspectives for Environmental Sociology, pp. 143-160. London & New York: Routledge. http://hdl.handle.net/10451/26761
Abstract: When it comes to a human’s best friend it seems Western societies turn a blind eye to practices that fail to meet their usually high standards of everyday hygiene. This chapter will explore practices related to canine excrement and the micro-interactionist strategies deployed by dog owners and non-owners to cope with it. We present here the results of our own observations of the habitual behavior of dog-walkers at various times of the day in various settings, mainly in Germany and Portugal – the authors’ respective countries of residence – but also report on similar observations made in Poland, France, Belgium, Britain, and Japan. Our account is also based on our own experiences of dog walking and engaging in the removal of excrement. We draw additionally on a number of informal conversations with dog owners and non-owners on such topics, including the techniques used to deal with excrement, as well as reports and discussions published online. In thus exploring the ways dog waste is removed, we try and solve the riddle of why, in some cases, even when action has been taken to clean it up, plastic bags filled with dog droppings have been thrown onto the ground in certain carefully selected spots or even hung up in trees or displayed on fence posts or railings. The chapter will present inquiries into micro-forms of interactional behavior and dog walking and pooping practices. Some of these strategies will be accounted for as qualitatively new forms of what Erving Goffman (1971) once referred to as civil inattention. Thus, we explore the logic of civil inattention by focusing on what might be called “poop on display.”
Abstract: When it comes to a human’s best friend it seems Western societies turn a blind eye to practices that fail to meet their usually high standards of everyday hygiene. This chapter will explore practices related to canine excrement and the micro-interactionist strategies deployed by dog owners and non-owners to cope with it. We present here the results of our own observations of the habitual behavior of dog-walkers at various times of the day in various settings, mainly in Germany and Portugal – the authors’ respective countries of residence – but also report on similar observations made in Poland, France, Belgium, Britain, and Japan. Our account is also based on our own experiences of dog walking and engaging in the removal of excrement. We draw additionally on a number of informal conversations with dog owners and non-owners on such topics, including the techniques used to deal with excrement, as well as reports and discussions published online. In thus exploring the ways dog waste is removed, we try and solve the riddle of why, in some cases, even when action has been taken to clean it up, plastic bags filled with dog droppings have been thrown onto the ground in certain carefully selected spots or even hung up in trees or displayed on fence posts or railings. The chapter will present inquiries into micro-forms of interactional behavior and dog walking and pooping practices. Some of these strategies will be accounted for as qualitatively new forms of what Erving Goffman (1971) once referred to as civil inattention. Thus, we explore the logic of civil inattention by focusing on what might be called “poop on display.”
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