People artificially inflated the moral value of personality traits they had been led to believe they possessed

Vonasch, Andrew, and Bradley A. Tookey. 2022. “Self-serving Bias in Moral Character Evaluations.” PsyArXiv. November 16. doi:10.31234/osf.io/su79g

Abstract: Are people self-serving when moralizing personality traits? Past research has used cross sectional methods incapable of establishing causality, but the present research used experimental methods to test this. Indeed, two experiments (N = 669) show that people self-servingly inflate the moral value of randomly assigned personality traits they believe they possess, and even judge other people who share those same traits as more moral, warm, and competent than those who do not. We explain various methodological challenges overcome in conducting this research, and discuss implications for both psychology and philosophy.

The more one has ghosted, the more they have been ghosted themselves, with the reverse also being true that the more one has ghosted, the more they ghost others

To Ghost or To Be Ghosted: An Examination of the Social and Psychological Correlates Associated with Ghosting. Jacqueline M. Di Santo et al. EvoS Journal, Nov 2022. https://evostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Di-Santo-et-al.-2022-Vol12Iss1.pdf

Abstract: This paper examines the modern phenomenon known as “ghosting,” which can be defined as avoiding another individual (such as a family member, friend, or partner) by suddenly cutting off communication without providing an explanation. From an evolutionary perspective, given that our ancestors lived in small-scale societies, cutting ties with others would have had devastating consequences. To address variables connected with this kind of outcome, we conducted a study with 292 participants (M age = 21.45, SD = 4.19; 26% male, 72.6% female, .3% not listed, 1% preferred not to say). Significant correlations were found between scales measuring particular psychological constructs (e.g., adult attachment, sociosexuality) and ghosting experiences. A regression analysis found that specific constructs independently predicted ghosting experiences. A notable finding was that the more one has ghosted, the more they have been ghosted themselves, with the reverse also being true that the more one has ghosted, the more they ghost others. Overall, in examining the social and psychological correlates associated with ghosting, our findings suggest that those who had been ghosted and those who had ghosted others had a proclivity toward relatively difficult social, emotional, and psychological functioning compared to those with fewer ghosting experiences.

Keywords: Dark Triad, Light Triad, Ghosting, Estrangement, Big Five, Adult Attachment, Sociosexuality

Those higher in cognitive ability have a higher incidence of realism and pessimism in their expectations and a lower incidence of unrealistic optimism

Dawson, Christopher. 2022. “Cognitive Ability and Looking on the B/right Side of Life.” PsyArXiv. November 15. doi:10.31234/osf.io/3q4xp

Abstract: Evidence claims that looking on the bright side of life is a hallmark of high cognition. Our claim is those with high cognition—as measured by a broad range of cognitive skills, including memory, verbal fluency, fluid reasoning and numerical reasoning—tend to look more on the right side. Using data from a large nationally representative UK sample (N=36,540), we find that those higher in cognitive ability have a higher incidence of realism and pessimism in their expectations and a lower incidence of unrealistic optimism. We operationalize unrealistic optimism as the difference between a person's financial expectation and the financial realization that follows, measured annually over a decade. Our results suggest that the well documented negative consequences of unrealistic optimism may be a side product of the true driver, lower cognitive ability. However, even those high in cognition are found to display significant errors in judgement.