Cognitive functioning, aging, and work: A review and recommendations for research and practice. By Fisher, Gwenith G.; Chaffee, Dorey S.; Tetrick, Lois E.; Davalos, Deana B.; Potter, Guy G.
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol 22(3), Jul 2017, 314-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000086
Abstract: There is a larger proportion and number of older adults in the labor force than ever before. Furthermore, older adults in the workforce are working until later ages. Although a great deal of research has examined physical health and well-being of working older adults, less research has focused on cognitive functioning. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad contemporary and multidisciplinary review of the intersection between cognitive functioning, aging, and work as a follow-up to a paper previously written by Fisher et al. (2014). We begin by providing definitions and background about cognitive functioning and how it changes over the life span. Next we discuss theories relevant to the intersection of cognitive functioning and work, including the use-it-or-lose-it hypothesis, the cognitive reserve hypothesis, hypotheses regarding environmental influences on intellectual functioning, and the job-demands-resources model. Then we summarize recent research about the effects of work on cognitive functioning, as well as ways that cognitive functioning may influence work motivation, learning, development, training, and safety. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of person-environment fit, suggesting avenues for future research, and discussing practical implications for the field of occupational health psychology.
Monday, July 10, 2017
In search of the psychological antecedents and consequences of Christian conversion: A three-year prospective study
In search of the psychological antecedents and consequences of Christian conversion: A three-year prospective study. By Hui, C. Harry; Cheung, Sing-Hang; Lam, Jasmine; Lau, Esther Yuet Ying; Yuliawati, Livia; Cheung, Shu Fai
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Vol 9(2), May 2017, 220-230. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/rel0000082
Abstract: Religious conversion is often an overwhelming experience. Although self-reports by some converts about life before and after conversion often contain vivid descriptions of the type and extent of changes, few rigorous empirical studies have documented them. This 3-year longitudinal prospective study aimed to understand the precursors of conversion, and whether this event would result in psychological changes. A logistic regression on 455 non-Christian Chinese (of whom 46 later became Christian converts) showed that neither baseline personality, personal values, social axioms, nor psychological symptoms predicted whether one would be converted during the next three years. However, people who thought that there is one and only one true religion were more likely than others to be converted. We further formed a matched sample of 92 individuals who had been Christians throughout the study, and a matched sample of 92 nonbelievers who remained so throughout the study. Comparison between measures taken at the baseline and end of the study period showed that converted people were transformed not in personality but in symptoms of stress and anxiety, as well as several personal values.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Vol 9(2), May 2017, 220-230. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/rel0000082
Abstract: Religious conversion is often an overwhelming experience. Although self-reports by some converts about life before and after conversion often contain vivid descriptions of the type and extent of changes, few rigorous empirical studies have documented them. This 3-year longitudinal prospective study aimed to understand the precursors of conversion, and whether this event would result in psychological changes. A logistic regression on 455 non-Christian Chinese (of whom 46 later became Christian converts) showed that neither baseline personality, personal values, social axioms, nor psychological symptoms predicted whether one would be converted during the next three years. However, people who thought that there is one and only one true religion were more likely than others to be converted. We further formed a matched sample of 92 individuals who had been Christians throughout the study, and a matched sample of 92 nonbelievers who remained so throughout the study. Comparison between measures taken at the baseline and end of the study period showed that converted people were transformed not in personality but in symptoms of stress and anxiety, as well as several personal values.
Gaming the Chevron Doctrine?
Gaming the Chevron Doctrine? By Kent Barnett, Christina Boyd & Christopher Walker
University of Georgia Working Paper, June 2017, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2984302
Abstract: Do federal circuit courts consistently apply Chevron deference's framework when reviewing agency statutory interpretations? Or do political dynamics result in courts gaming the Chevron doctrine? To answer these questions, we empirically analyze circuit-court decisions from 2003 until 2013 that review agency statutory interpretations. Our results - from the largest and most comprehensive database of its kind - confirm longstanding intuition and earlier, more limited studies: courts do not consistently apply Chevron. Our findings, nevertheless, offer some surprising insights into the political dynamics of applying Chevron. When courts reviewed liberal agency interpretations, all panels - liberal, moderate, and conservative - were equally likely to apply Chevron. But when reviewing conservative agency interpretations, liberal panels applied Chevron significantly less frequently than conservative panels. Contrary to limited prior studies, we find no evidence of "whistleblower" or disciplining effects when judges of different judicial ideologies comprised the panel. Viewed together, our results provide important implications for the current debate on whether to eliminate, narrow, or clarify Chevron's domain.
Keywords: Administrative Law, Deference, Judicial Review, Chevron, Skidmore
University of Georgia Working Paper, June 2017, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2984302
Abstract: Do federal circuit courts consistently apply Chevron deference's framework when reviewing agency statutory interpretations? Or do political dynamics result in courts gaming the Chevron doctrine? To answer these questions, we empirically analyze circuit-court decisions from 2003 until 2013 that review agency statutory interpretations. Our results - from the largest and most comprehensive database of its kind - confirm longstanding intuition and earlier, more limited studies: courts do not consistently apply Chevron. Our findings, nevertheless, offer some surprising insights into the political dynamics of applying Chevron. When courts reviewed liberal agency interpretations, all panels - liberal, moderate, and conservative - were equally likely to apply Chevron. But when reviewing conservative agency interpretations, liberal panels applied Chevron significantly less frequently than conservative panels. Contrary to limited prior studies, we find no evidence of "whistleblower" or disciplining effects when judges of different judicial ideologies comprised the panel. Viewed together, our results provide important implications for the current debate on whether to eliminate, narrow, or clarify Chevron's domain.
Keywords: Administrative Law, Deference, Judicial Review, Chevron, Skidmore
Standards of Beauty: The Impact of Mannequins in the Retail Context
Standards of Beauty: The Impact of Mannequins in the Retail Context. By Jennifer Argo & Darren Dahl
Journal of Consumer Research, https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jcr/ucx072/3861627/Standards-of-Beauty-The-Impact-of-Mannequins-in?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Abstract: Across six studies, a female mannequin is demonstrated to have negative implications for both male and female consumers low in appearance self-esteem. In particular, consumers who are lower in appearance self-esteem evaluate a product displayed by a mannequin more negatively as compared with consumers higher in appearance self-esteem. As mannequins signal the normative standard of beauty and consumers with low self-esteem in regard to their appearance believe they fail to meet this standard, these consumers become threatened by the beauty standard when exposed to a mannequin and in response denigrate the product the mannequin is displaying. Evidence for the underlying process is provided in three ways: 1) the finding that the effect for male and female consumers with low appearance self-esteem only arises when the mannequin is displaying an appearance-related product, 2) through mediation analysis that demonstrates that the mannequin conveys society’s standard of beauty and that this negatively impacts product evaluations, and 3) the mitigation of the effect by removing the presence of threat via a self-affirmation task or decreasing the mannequin’s beauty (e.g., marking its face, removing its hair, or removing its head). Multiple avenues for future research are forwarded.
Keywords: mannequins, global comparisons, retail
Journal of Consumer Research, https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jcr/ucx072/3861627/Standards-of-Beauty-The-Impact-of-Mannequins-in?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Abstract: Across six studies, a female mannequin is demonstrated to have negative implications for both male and female consumers low in appearance self-esteem. In particular, consumers who are lower in appearance self-esteem evaluate a product displayed by a mannequin more negatively as compared with consumers higher in appearance self-esteem. As mannequins signal the normative standard of beauty and consumers with low self-esteem in regard to their appearance believe they fail to meet this standard, these consumers become threatened by the beauty standard when exposed to a mannequin and in response denigrate the product the mannequin is displaying. Evidence for the underlying process is provided in three ways: 1) the finding that the effect for male and female consumers with low appearance self-esteem only arises when the mannequin is displaying an appearance-related product, 2) through mediation analysis that demonstrates that the mannequin conveys society’s standard of beauty and that this negatively impacts product evaluations, and 3) the mitigation of the effect by removing the presence of threat via a self-affirmation task or decreasing the mannequin’s beauty (e.g., marking its face, removing its hair, or removing its head). Multiple avenues for future research are forwarded.
Keywords: mannequins, global comparisons, retail
Facial Profiling: Race, Physical Appearance, and Punishment
Facial Profiling: Race, Physical Appearance, and Punishment. By Brian Johnson & Ryan King
Criminology, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1745-9125.12143/abstract
Abstract: We investigate the associations among physical appearance, threat perceptions, and criminal punishment. Psychological ideas about impression formation are integrated with criminological perspectives on sentencing to generate and test unique hypotheses about the associations among defendant facial characteristics, subjective evaluations of threatening appearance, and judicial imprisonment decisions. We analyze newly collected data that link booking photos, criminal histories, and sentencing information for more than 1,100 convicted felony defendants. Our findings indicate that Black defendants are perceived to be more threatening in appearance. Other facial characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, baby-faced appearance, facial scars, and visible tattoos, also influence perceptions of threat, as do criminal history scores. Furthermore, some physical appearance characteristics are significantly related to imprisonment decisions, even after controlling for other relevant case characteristics. These and other findings are discussed as they relate to psychological research on impression formation, criminological theories of court actor decision-making, and sociological work on race and punishment.
Criminology, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1745-9125.12143/abstract
Abstract: We investigate the associations among physical appearance, threat perceptions, and criminal punishment. Psychological ideas about impression formation are integrated with criminological perspectives on sentencing to generate and test unique hypotheses about the associations among defendant facial characteristics, subjective evaluations of threatening appearance, and judicial imprisonment decisions. We analyze newly collected data that link booking photos, criminal histories, and sentencing information for more than 1,100 convicted felony defendants. Our findings indicate that Black defendants are perceived to be more threatening in appearance. Other facial characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, baby-faced appearance, facial scars, and visible tattoos, also influence perceptions of threat, as do criminal history scores. Furthermore, some physical appearance characteristics are significantly related to imprisonment decisions, even after controlling for other relevant case characteristics. These and other findings are discussed as they relate to psychological research on impression formation, criminological theories of court actor decision-making, and sociological work on race and punishment.
The Effect of Terrorism on Judicial Confidence - Providing due process for suspected terrorists
The Effect of Terrorism on Judicial Confidence. By Steven Miller
Political Research Quarterly, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1065912917716337
Abstract: Independent judiciaries prevent democratic reversals, facilitate peaceful transitions of power, and legitimate democracy among citizens. We believe this judicial independence is important for citizen-level judicial confidence and faith in democratic institutions. I challenge this and argue that citizens living under terror threats lose confidence in their independent judiciaries. Terror threats lead citizens to enable the state leader to provide counterterrorism for their security, which has important implications for interbranch relations between the executive and the judiciary. Citizens lose confidence in independent judiciaries that provide due process for suspected terrorists. I test my argument with mixed effects models that incorporate the Global Terrorism Database and four waves of European Values Survey. The analyses demonstrate the negative effects of terror threats on judicial confidence when interacting terror threats with measures of judicial independence. My findings have important implications for the study of democratic confidence and the liberty-security dilemma.
Political Research Quarterly, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1065912917716337
Abstract: Independent judiciaries prevent democratic reversals, facilitate peaceful transitions of power, and legitimate democracy among citizens. We believe this judicial independence is important for citizen-level judicial confidence and faith in democratic institutions. I challenge this and argue that citizens living under terror threats lose confidence in their independent judiciaries. Terror threats lead citizens to enable the state leader to provide counterterrorism for their security, which has important implications for interbranch relations between the executive and the judiciary. Citizens lose confidence in independent judiciaries that provide due process for suspected terrorists. I test my argument with mixed effects models that incorporate the Global Terrorism Database and four waves of European Values Survey. The analyses demonstrate the negative effects of terror threats on judicial confidence when interacting terror threats with measures of judicial independence. My findings have important implications for the study of democratic confidence and the liberty-security dilemma.
The impact of bereaved parents’ perceived grief similarity on relationship satisfaction
The impact of bereaved parents’ perceived grief similarity on relationship satisfaction. By Buyukcan-Tetik, Asuman; Finkenauer, Catrin; Schut, Henk; Stroebe, Margaret; Stroebe, Wolfgang
Journal of Family Psychology, Vol 31(4), Jun 2017, 409-419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/fam0000252
Abstract: The present research focused on bereaved parents’ perceived grief similarity, and aimed to investigate the concurrent and longitudinal effects of the perceptions that the partner has less, equal, or more grief intensity than oneself on relationship satisfaction. Participants of our longitudinal study were 229 heterosexual bereaved Dutch couples who completed questionnaires 6, 13, and 20 months after the loss of their child. Average age of participants was 40.7 (SD = 9.5). Across 3 study waves, participants’ perceived grief similarity and relationship satisfaction were assessed. To control for their effects, own grief level, child’s gender, expectedness of loss, parent’s age, parent’s gender, and time were also included in the analyses. Consistent with the hypotheses, cross-sectional results revealed that bereaved parents who perceived dissimilar levels of grief (less or more grief) had lower relationship satisfaction than bereaved parents who perceived similar levels of grief. This effect remained significant controlling for the effects of possible confounding variables and actual similarity in grief between partners. We also found that perceived grief similarity at the first study wave was related to the highest level of relationship satisfaction at the second study wave. Moreover, results showed that perceived grief similarity was associated with a higher level in partner’s relationship satisfaction. Results are discussed considering the comparison and similarity in grief across bereaved partners after child loss.
Journal of Family Psychology, Vol 31(4), Jun 2017, 409-419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/fam0000252
Abstract: The present research focused on bereaved parents’ perceived grief similarity, and aimed to investigate the concurrent and longitudinal effects of the perceptions that the partner has less, equal, or more grief intensity than oneself on relationship satisfaction. Participants of our longitudinal study were 229 heterosexual bereaved Dutch couples who completed questionnaires 6, 13, and 20 months after the loss of their child. Average age of participants was 40.7 (SD = 9.5). Across 3 study waves, participants’ perceived grief similarity and relationship satisfaction were assessed. To control for their effects, own grief level, child’s gender, expectedness of loss, parent’s age, parent’s gender, and time were also included in the analyses. Consistent with the hypotheses, cross-sectional results revealed that bereaved parents who perceived dissimilar levels of grief (less or more grief) had lower relationship satisfaction than bereaved parents who perceived similar levels of grief. This effect remained significant controlling for the effects of possible confounding variables and actual similarity in grief between partners. We also found that perceived grief similarity at the first study wave was related to the highest level of relationship satisfaction at the second study wave. Moreover, results showed that perceived grief similarity was associated with a higher level in partner’s relationship satisfaction. Results are discussed considering the comparison and similarity in grief across bereaved partners after child loss.
Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010)
Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010). By Hilgard, Joseph; Engelhardt, Christopher R.; Rouder, Jeffrey N.
Psychological Bulletin, Vol 143(7), Jul 2017, 757-774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000074
Abstract: Violent video games are theorized to be a significant cause of aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Important evidence for this claim comes from a large meta-analysis by Anderson and colleagues (2010), who found effects of violent games in experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal research. In that meta-analysis, the authors argued that there is little publication or analytic bias in the literature, an argument supported by their use of the trim-and-fill procedure. In the present manuscript, we reexamine their meta-analysis using a wider array of techniques for detecting bias and adjusting effect sizes. Our conclusions differ from those of Anderson and colleagues in 3 salient ways. First, we detect substantial publication bias in experimental research on the effects of violent games on aggressive affect and aggressive behavior. Second, after adjustment for bias, the effects of violent games on aggressive behavior in experimental research are estimated as being very small, and estimates of effects on aggressive affect are much reduced. In contrast, the cross-sectional literature finds correlations that appear largely unbiased. Third, experiments meeting the original authors’ criteria for methodological quality do not yield larger adjusted effects than other experiments, but instead yield larger indications of bias, indicating that perhaps they were selected for significance. We outline future directions for stronger experimental research. The results indicate the need for an open, transparent, and preregistered research process to test the existence of the basic phenomenon.
Psychological Bulletin, Vol 143(7), Jul 2017, 757-774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000074
Abstract: Violent video games are theorized to be a significant cause of aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Important evidence for this claim comes from a large meta-analysis by Anderson and colleagues (2010), who found effects of violent games in experimental, cross-sectional, and longitudinal research. In that meta-analysis, the authors argued that there is little publication or analytic bias in the literature, an argument supported by their use of the trim-and-fill procedure. In the present manuscript, we reexamine their meta-analysis using a wider array of techniques for detecting bias and adjusting effect sizes. Our conclusions differ from those of Anderson and colleagues in 3 salient ways. First, we detect substantial publication bias in experimental research on the effects of violent games on aggressive affect and aggressive behavior. Second, after adjustment for bias, the effects of violent games on aggressive behavior in experimental research are estimated as being very small, and estimates of effects on aggressive affect are much reduced. In contrast, the cross-sectional literature finds correlations that appear largely unbiased. Third, experiments meeting the original authors’ criteria for methodological quality do not yield larger adjusted effects than other experiments, but instead yield larger indications of bias, indicating that perhaps they were selected for significance. We outline future directions for stronger experimental research. The results indicate the need for an open, transparent, and preregistered research process to test the existence of the basic phenomenon.
Risk factors for PTSD and depression in female survivors of rape
Risk factors for PTSD and depression in female survivors of rape. By Mgoqi-Mbalo, Nolwandle; Zhang, Muyu; Ntuli, Sam.
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol 9(3), May 2017, 301-308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000228
Abstract
Objective: To investigate association of the sociodemographic factors, characteristics of rape and social support to the development of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder at 6 months after the rape. Method: A cross-sectional survey with female survivors of rape was carried out in 3 provinces of South Africa 6 months after the rape.
Results: One hundred female survivors of sexual assault were interviewed. More than half (53%) were from Limpopo, 25% from Western Cape, and 22% from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). 87% reported high levels of PTSD and 51% moderate to severe depression post rape. The major risk factors for PTSD and depression were the unmarried survivors of rape and those living in KZN. The female survivors of rape in KZN province were 7 times more likely to experience symptoms of depression compared to other provinces, while married/cohabiting female rape survivors were 6 times less likely to report symptoms of depression compared to the unmarried female rape survivors.
Conclusion: These findings add support to existing literature on PTSD and depression as common mental health consequence of rape and also provide evidence that survivors’ socio- demographics—marital status, employment status—are significant contributors to the development of symptoms of depression and PTSD after rape. The results have research and clinical practice relevance for ensuring that PTSD and trauma treatment focuses on an in-depth understanding of the various aspects of the sociodemographic factors and rape characteristics that contribute to survivors’ mental state and how these compound stress and depression symptoms over time post rape victimization.
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol 9(3), May 2017, 301-308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000228
Abstract
Objective: To investigate association of the sociodemographic factors, characteristics of rape and social support to the development of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder at 6 months after the rape. Method: A cross-sectional survey with female survivors of rape was carried out in 3 provinces of South Africa 6 months after the rape.
Results: One hundred female survivors of sexual assault were interviewed. More than half (53%) were from Limpopo, 25% from Western Cape, and 22% from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). 87% reported high levels of PTSD and 51% moderate to severe depression post rape. The major risk factors for PTSD and depression were the unmarried survivors of rape and those living in KZN. The female survivors of rape in KZN province were 7 times more likely to experience symptoms of depression compared to other provinces, while married/cohabiting female rape survivors were 6 times less likely to report symptoms of depression compared to the unmarried female rape survivors.
Conclusion: These findings add support to existing literature on PTSD and depression as common mental health consequence of rape and also provide evidence that survivors’ socio- demographics—marital status, employment status—are significant contributors to the development of symptoms of depression and PTSD after rape. The results have research and clinical practice relevance for ensuring that PTSD and trauma treatment focuses on an in-depth understanding of the various aspects of the sociodemographic factors and rape characteristics that contribute to survivors’ mental state and how these compound stress and depression symptoms over time post rape victimization.
Newcomer adjustment: Examining the role of managers’ perception of newcomer proactive behavior during organizational socialization
Newcomer adjustment: Examining the role of managers’ perception of newcomer proactive behavior during organizational socialization. By Ellis, Allison M.; Nifadkar, Sushil S.; Bauer, Talya N.; Erdogan, Berrin
Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 102(6), Jun 2017, 993-1001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000201
Abstract: Separate streams of organizational socialization research have recognized the importance of (a) newcomer proactivity and (b) manager support in facilitating newcomer adjustment. However, extant research has largely focused on the newcomers’ experience, leaving the perspectives of managers during socialization relatively unexplored—a theoretical gap that has implications both for newcomer adjustment and manager-newcomer interactions that may serve as a basis for future relationship development. Drawing from the “interlocked” employee behavior argument of Weick (1979), we propose that managers’ perception of newcomers’ proactive behaviors are associated with concordant manager behaviors, which, in turn, support newcomer adjustment. Further, we investigate a cognitive mechanism—managers’ evaluation of newcomers’ commitment to adjust—which we expect underlies the proposed relationship between newcomers’ proactive behaviors and managers’ supportive behaviors. Using a time-lagged, 4-phase data collection of a sample of new software engineers in India and their managers, we were able to test our hypothesized model as well as rule out alternative explanations via multilevel structural equation modeling. Results broadly supported our model even after controlling for manager-newcomer social exchange relationship, proactive personalities of both newcomers and managers, and potential effects of coworker information providing. The implications of our findings for theory and practice are discussed.
Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 102(6), Jun 2017, 993-1001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000201
Abstract: Separate streams of organizational socialization research have recognized the importance of (a) newcomer proactivity and (b) manager support in facilitating newcomer adjustment. However, extant research has largely focused on the newcomers’ experience, leaving the perspectives of managers during socialization relatively unexplored—a theoretical gap that has implications both for newcomer adjustment and manager-newcomer interactions that may serve as a basis for future relationship development. Drawing from the “interlocked” employee behavior argument of Weick (1979), we propose that managers’ perception of newcomers’ proactive behaviors are associated with concordant manager behaviors, which, in turn, support newcomer adjustment. Further, we investigate a cognitive mechanism—managers’ evaluation of newcomers’ commitment to adjust—which we expect underlies the proposed relationship between newcomers’ proactive behaviors and managers’ supportive behaviors. Using a time-lagged, 4-phase data collection of a sample of new software engineers in India and their managers, we were able to test our hypothesized model as well as rule out alternative explanations via multilevel structural equation modeling. Results broadly supported our model even after controlling for manager-newcomer social exchange relationship, proactive personalities of both newcomers and managers, and potential effects of coworker information providing. The implications of our findings for theory and practice are discussed.
Racial Diversity and the Dynamics of Authoritarianism
Racial Diversity and the Dynamics of Authoritarianism. By Yamil Ricardo Velez & Howard Lavine
Journal of Politics, April 2017, Pages 519-533, http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/688078
Abstract: Past work on the political impact of racial diversity has focused on direct effects, demonstrating that diverse environments are associated with more negative - or in some circumstances, more positive - racial attitudes and race-targeted policy preferences. We show that diversity functions in a second way, as a variable that magnifies the political impact of individual differences in the psychological disposition of authoritarianism. Using a national sample, we find that in white areas with minimal diversity, authoritarianism had no impact on racial prejudice, political intolerance, and attitudes toward immigration. As diversity rises, however, authoritarianism plays an increasingly dominant role in political judgment. In diverse environments, authoritarians become more racially, ethnically, and politically intolerant and nonauthoritarians less so. We conceptually replicate these findings in a dorm setting with plausibly exogenous levels of local diversity and discuss the implications of our findings in terms of the various ways in which ethno-racial diversity structures political attitudes.
Keywords: diversity, context, public opinion, polarization, personality, authoritarianism.
Journal of Politics, April 2017, Pages 519-533, http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/688078
Abstract: Past work on the political impact of racial diversity has focused on direct effects, demonstrating that diverse environments are associated with more negative - or in some circumstances, more positive - racial attitudes and race-targeted policy preferences. We show that diversity functions in a second way, as a variable that magnifies the political impact of individual differences in the psychological disposition of authoritarianism. Using a national sample, we find that in white areas with minimal diversity, authoritarianism had no impact on racial prejudice, political intolerance, and attitudes toward immigration. As diversity rises, however, authoritarianism plays an increasingly dominant role in political judgment. In diverse environments, authoritarians become more racially, ethnically, and politically intolerant and nonauthoritarians less so. We conceptually replicate these findings in a dorm setting with plausibly exogenous levels of local diversity and discuss the implications of our findings in terms of the various ways in which ethno-racial diversity structures political attitudes.
Keywords: diversity, context, public opinion, polarization, personality, authoritarianism.
Stealth Democracy Revisited: Reconsidering Preferences for Less Visible Government.
Stealth Democracy Revisited: Reconsidering Preferences for Less Visible Government. By Kathryn VanderMolen
Political Research Quarterly, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1065912917712478
Abstract: Understanding public preferences for governing processes is an understudied area of research. In this paper, I evaluate a set of critical assumptions relating to process preferences that the literature has thus far not addressed. I specifically address the claims made by John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse in their seminal book, Stealth Democracy, which suggests that people prefer political decisions to be made via expert-based governing arrangements to promote a level of efficiency and effectiveness within the government that elected officials cannot provide. Using original questions from the 2014 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, I find concurring evidence that citizens are not strongly attached to standard participatory processes found in democracy. However, upon using more precise measurements and placing expert processes into contemporary context, preferences weaken and appear to be shallow in nature. In an era where process preferences are receiving more attention as trust in government wanes, it is important to understand the depth of these preferences and their potential to change politics. These results suggest it is imperative for future scholars to approach the study of process preferences with care.
Political Research Quarterly, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1065912917712478
Abstract: Understanding public preferences for governing processes is an understudied area of research. In this paper, I evaluate a set of critical assumptions relating to process preferences that the literature has thus far not addressed. I specifically address the claims made by John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse in their seminal book, Stealth Democracy, which suggests that people prefer political decisions to be made via expert-based governing arrangements to promote a level of efficiency and effectiveness within the government that elected officials cannot provide. Using original questions from the 2014 Cooperative Congressional Election Study, I find concurring evidence that citizens are not strongly attached to standard participatory processes found in democracy. However, upon using more precise measurements and placing expert processes into contemporary context, preferences weaken and appear to be shallow in nature. In an era where process preferences are receiving more attention as trust in government wanes, it is important to understand the depth of these preferences and their potential to change politics. These results suggest it is imperative for future scholars to approach the study of process preferences with care.
Trust is heritable, whereas distrust is not
Trust is heritable, whereas distrust is not. By Martin Reimann, Oliver Schilke & Karen Cook
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, http://www.pnas.org/content/114/27/7007.abstract
Significance: Social scientists have devoted much attention to studying the sources and consequences of the disposition to trust but have only recently begun to investigate the disposition to distrust. An increasing consensus is emerging that distrust is not merely the opposite of trust. This article provides initial empirical evidence indicating that the sources of the dispositions to trust and distrust indeed do differ in important ways. Notably, although both trust and distrust are strongly influenced by the individual’s unique environment, interestingly, trust shows significant genetic influences, whereas distrust does not. Rather, distrust appears to be primarily socialized, including influences within the family. These findings provide new support for the bidimensionality of trust and distrust by demonstrating their distinct antecedents.
Abstract: Why do people distrust others in social exchange? To what degree, if at all, is distrust subject to genetic influences, and thus possibly heritable, and to what degree is it nurtured by families and immediate peers who encourage young people to be vigilant and suspicious of others? Answering these questions could provide fundamental clues about the sources of individual differences in the disposition to distrust, including how they may differ from the sources of individual differences in the disposition to trust. In this article, we report the results of a study of monozygotic and dizygotic female twins who were asked to decide either how much of a counterpart player's monetary endowment they wanted to take from their counterpart (i.e., distrust) or how much of their own monetary endowment they wanted to send to their counterpart (i.e., trust). Our results demonstrate that although the disposition to trust is explained to some extent by heritability but not by shared socialization, the disposition to distrust is explained by shared socialization but not by heritability. The sources of distrust are therefore distinct from the sources of trust in many ways.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, http://www.pnas.org/content/114/27/7007.abstract
Significance: Social scientists have devoted much attention to studying the sources and consequences of the disposition to trust but have only recently begun to investigate the disposition to distrust. An increasing consensus is emerging that distrust is not merely the opposite of trust. This article provides initial empirical evidence indicating that the sources of the dispositions to trust and distrust indeed do differ in important ways. Notably, although both trust and distrust are strongly influenced by the individual’s unique environment, interestingly, trust shows significant genetic influences, whereas distrust does not. Rather, distrust appears to be primarily socialized, including influences within the family. These findings provide new support for the bidimensionality of trust and distrust by demonstrating their distinct antecedents.
Abstract: Why do people distrust others in social exchange? To what degree, if at all, is distrust subject to genetic influences, and thus possibly heritable, and to what degree is it nurtured by families and immediate peers who encourage young people to be vigilant and suspicious of others? Answering these questions could provide fundamental clues about the sources of individual differences in the disposition to distrust, including how they may differ from the sources of individual differences in the disposition to trust. In this article, we report the results of a study of monozygotic and dizygotic female twins who were asked to decide either how much of a counterpart player's monetary endowment they wanted to take from their counterpart (i.e., distrust) or how much of their own monetary endowment they wanted to send to their counterpart (i.e., trust). Our results demonstrate that although the disposition to trust is explained to some extent by heritability but not by shared socialization, the disposition to distrust is explained by shared socialization but not by heritability. The sources of distrust are therefore distinct from the sources of trust in many ways.
Body-Weight and Women's Hours of Work: More Evidence that Marriage Markets Matter
Body-Weight and Women's Hours of Work: More Evidence that Marriage Markets Matter. By Shoshana Amyra Grossbard & Sankar Mukhopadhyay
San Diego State University Working Paper, May 2017, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2979921
Abstract: Higher body-weight (BMI) can affect labor supply via its effects on outcomes in both labor markets and marriage markets. To the extent that it is associated with lower prospects of being in couple and obtaining intra-couple transfers, we expect that higher BMI will increase willingness to supply labor in labor markets, especially for women. We use US panel data from the NLSY79 and NLSY97 to examine whether body weight influences hours of work in the labor market. We use sibling BMI as an instrument for own BMI to address potential endogeneity of BMI in hours worked. We find that White women with higher BMI work more. This is true for both single and married White women. Results for other groups of women and men produce mixed results. The extended analysis suggests that what drives the relationship between BMI and hours worked is not lower market wages earned by high-BMI women, but rather lower spousal transfers to married women or lower expected intra-marriage transfers to single women.
San Diego State University Working Paper, May 2017, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2979921
Abstract: Higher body-weight (BMI) can affect labor supply via its effects on outcomes in both labor markets and marriage markets. To the extent that it is associated with lower prospects of being in couple and obtaining intra-couple transfers, we expect that higher BMI will increase willingness to supply labor in labor markets, especially for women. We use US panel data from the NLSY79 and NLSY97 to examine whether body weight influences hours of work in the labor market. We use sibling BMI as an instrument for own BMI to address potential endogeneity of BMI in hours worked. We find that White women with higher BMI work more. This is true for both single and married White women. Results for other groups of women and men produce mixed results. The extended analysis suggests that what drives the relationship between BMI and hours worked is not lower market wages earned by high-BMI women, but rather lower spousal transfers to married women or lower expected intra-marriage transfers to single women.
Stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks: A preliminary study evaluating alcohol and cigarette demand
Stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks: A preliminary study evaluating alcohol and cigarette demand. By Strickland, Justin C.; Stoops, William W. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol 25(3), Jun 2017, 198-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pha0000123
Abstract: The use of drug purchase tasks to measure drug demand in human behavioral pharmacology and addiction research has proliferated in recent years. Few studies have systematically evaluated the stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks to demonstrate that demand metrics are specific to valuation of or demand for the commodity under study. Stimulus selectivity is broadly defined for this purpose as a condition under which a specific stimulus input or target (e.g., alcohol, cigarettes) is the primary determinant of behavior (e.g., demand). The overall goal of the present study was to evaluate the stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks. Participants were sampled from the Amazon.com’s crowdsourcing platform Mechanical Turk. Participants completed either alcohol and soda purchase tasks (Experiment 1; N = 139) or cigarette and chocolate purchase tasks (Experiment 2; N = 46), and demand metrics were compared to self-reported use behaviors. Demand metrics for alcohol and soda were closely associated with commodity-similar (e.g., alcohol demand and weekly alcohol use) but not commodity-different (e.g., alcohol demand and weekly soda use) variables. A similar pattern was observed for cigarette and chocolate demand, but selectivity was not as consistent as for alcohol and soda. Collectively, we observed robust selectivity for alcohol and soda purchase tasks and modest selectivity for cigarette and chocolate purchase tasks. These preliminary outcomes suggest that demand metrics adequately reflect the specific commodity under study and support the continued use of purchase tasks in substance use research
Abstract: The use of drug purchase tasks to measure drug demand in human behavioral pharmacology and addiction research has proliferated in recent years. Few studies have systematically evaluated the stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks to demonstrate that demand metrics are specific to valuation of or demand for the commodity under study. Stimulus selectivity is broadly defined for this purpose as a condition under which a specific stimulus input or target (e.g., alcohol, cigarettes) is the primary determinant of behavior (e.g., demand). The overall goal of the present study was to evaluate the stimulus selectivity of drug purchase tasks. Participants were sampled from the Amazon.com’s crowdsourcing platform Mechanical Turk. Participants completed either alcohol and soda purchase tasks (Experiment 1; N = 139) or cigarette and chocolate purchase tasks (Experiment 2; N = 46), and demand metrics were compared to self-reported use behaviors. Demand metrics for alcohol and soda were closely associated with commodity-similar (e.g., alcohol demand and weekly alcohol use) but not commodity-different (e.g., alcohol demand and weekly soda use) variables. A similar pattern was observed for cigarette and chocolate demand, but selectivity was not as consistent as for alcohol and soda. Collectively, we observed robust selectivity for alcohol and soda purchase tasks and modest selectivity for cigarette and chocolate purchase tasks. These preliminary outcomes suggest that demand metrics adequately reflect the specific commodity under study and support the continued use of purchase tasks in substance use research
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