The Influence of Physical Attractiveness on Belief in a Just World. R. Shane Westfall, Murray G. Millar, Aileen Lovitt. Psychological Reports, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0033294118763172
Abstract: Previous work has consistently found that belief in a just world is strongly correlated with societal privilege. In the present study, we examined the influence of physical attractiveness on belief in a just world. We hypothesized that physically attractive individuals would be stronger endorsers of belief in a just world, whereas less attractive individuals would be less likely to endorse belief in a just world. Both self-rated attractiveness (experiment one) and attractiveness rated by other persons (experiment two) were found to predict endorsement of belief in a just world. Additionally, both attractiveness measures were found to have a relationship with participant’s level of life satisfaction. These findings suggest that physical attractiveness powerfully affects our subjective experience as a human and that just-world beliefs are driven, at least in part, by personal experience with inequality.
Keywords: Just-world beliefs, attractiveness, halo effect, individual differences
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Is Envy Harmful to a Society’s Psychological Health and Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Study of 18,000 Adults
Is Envy Harmful to a Society’s Psychological Health and Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Study of 18,000 Adults. Redzo Mujcic and Andrew J. Oswald. Social Science and Medicine, forthcoming. http://andrewoswald.com/
Abstract: Nearly 100 years ago, the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell warned of the social dangers of widespread envy. One view of modern society is that it is systematically developing a set of institutions -- such as social media and new forms of advertising -- that make people feel inadequate and envious of others. If so, how might that be influencing the psychological health of our citizens? This paper reports the first large-scale longitudinal research into envy and its possible repercussions. The paper studies 18,000 randomly selected individuals over the years 2005, 2009, and 2013. Using measures of SF-36 mental health and psychological well-being, four main conclusions emerge. First, the young are especially susceptible. Levels of envy fall as people grow older. This longitudinal finding is consistent with a cross-sectional pattern noted recently by Nicole E. Henniger and Christine R. Harris, and with the theory of socioemotional regulation suggested by scholars such as Laura L. Carstensen. Second, using fixed-effects equations and prospective analysis, the analysis reveals that envy today is a powerful predictor of worse SF-36 mental health and well-being in the future. A change from the lowest to the highest level of envy, for example, is associated with a worsening of SF-36 mental health by approximately half a standard deviation (p < 0.001). Third, no evidence is found for the idea that envy acts as a useful motivator. Greater envy is associated with slower -- not higher -- growth of psychological well-being in the future. Nor is envy a predictor of later economic success. Fourth, the longitudinal decline of envy leaves unaltered a U-shaped age pattern of well-being from age 20 to age 70. These results are consistent with the idea that society should be concerned about institutions that stimulate large-scale envy.
Keywords: Envy, age, SF-36, mental health, well-being, longitudinal data
Abstract: Nearly 100 years ago, the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell warned of the social dangers of widespread envy. One view of modern society is that it is systematically developing a set of institutions -- such as social media and new forms of advertising -- that make people feel inadequate and envious of others. If so, how might that be influencing the psychological health of our citizens? This paper reports the first large-scale longitudinal research into envy and its possible repercussions. The paper studies 18,000 randomly selected individuals over the years 2005, 2009, and 2013. Using measures of SF-36 mental health and psychological well-being, four main conclusions emerge. First, the young are especially susceptible. Levels of envy fall as people grow older. This longitudinal finding is consistent with a cross-sectional pattern noted recently by Nicole E. Henniger and Christine R. Harris, and with the theory of socioemotional regulation suggested by scholars such as Laura L. Carstensen. Second, using fixed-effects equations and prospective analysis, the analysis reveals that envy today is a powerful predictor of worse SF-36 mental health and well-being in the future. A change from the lowest to the highest level of envy, for example, is associated with a worsening of SF-36 mental health by approximately half a standard deviation (p < 0.001). Third, no evidence is found for the idea that envy acts as a useful motivator. Greater envy is associated with slower -- not higher -- growth of psychological well-being in the future. Nor is envy a predictor of later economic success. Fourth, the longitudinal decline of envy leaves unaltered a U-shaped age pattern of well-being from age 20 to age 70. These results are consistent with the idea that society should be concerned about institutions that stimulate large-scale envy.
Keywords: Envy, age, SF-36, mental health, well-being, longitudinal data
Does learning that homosexuality is innate (or not) increase support for gay rights? Doesn't, new information is filtered by previous ideology
Science, Sexuality, and Civil Rights: Does Information on the Causes of Sexual Orientation Change Attitudes? Elizabeth Suhay, Jeremiah Garretson. The Journal of Politics, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/694896
Abstract: Does learning that homosexuality is innate increase support for gay rights? Because there is a strong correlation between the belief that people are “born gay” and support for gay rights, many assume the former causes the latter. However, correlation does not equal causation. Drawing on data from a US-representative experiment, we examine whether exposure to scientific information on the origins of sexual orientation influences attitudes toward gay people and support for gay rights. The information influenced participants’ beliefs about the causes of homosexuality but had no impact on their attitudes. Further, belief change was contingent on ideology—liberals were more persuaded by information that people are born gay, and conservatives by information that people are not born gay. In the contemporary context, shifting causal attributions may not lead to attitude updating; rather, broad political values may act as a cognitive filter, biasing the uptake of new information about sexual orientation.
Keywords: causal attributions, gay rights, political attitudes, motivated reasoning, science communication.
Abstract: Does learning that homosexuality is innate increase support for gay rights? Because there is a strong correlation between the belief that people are “born gay” and support for gay rights, many assume the former causes the latter. However, correlation does not equal causation. Drawing on data from a US-representative experiment, we examine whether exposure to scientific information on the origins of sexual orientation influences attitudes toward gay people and support for gay rights. The information influenced participants’ beliefs about the causes of homosexuality but had no impact on their attitudes. Further, belief change was contingent on ideology—liberals were more persuaded by information that people are born gay, and conservatives by information that people are not born gay. In the contemporary context, shifting causal attributions may not lead to attitude updating; rather, broad political values may act as a cognitive filter, biasing the uptake of new information about sexual orientation.
Keywords: causal attributions, gay rights, political attitudes, motivated reasoning, science communication.
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