Resisting Temptation for the Good of the Group: Binding Moral Values and the Moralization of Self-Control. Marlon Mooijman et al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28604018
Abstract: When do people see self-control as a moral issue? We hypothesize that the group-focused "binding" moral values of Loyalty/betrayal, Authority/subversion, and Purity/degradation play a particularly important role in this moralization process. Nine studies provide support for this prediction. First, moralization of self-control goals (e.g., losing weight, saving money) is more strongly associated with endorsing binding moral values than with endorsing individualizing moral values (Care/harm, Fairness/cheating). Second, binding moral values mediate the effect of other group-focused predictors of self-control moralization, including conservatism, religiosity, and collectivism. Third, guiding participants to consider morality as centrally about binding moral values increases moralization of self-control more than guiding participants to consider morality as centrally about individualizing moral values. Fourth, we replicate our core finding that moralization of self-control is associated with binding moral values across studies differing in measures and design - whether we measure the relationship between moral and self-control language across time, the perceived moral relevance of self-control behaviors, or the moral condemnation of self-control failures. Taken together, our findings suggest that self-control moralization is primarily group-oriented and is sensitive to group-oriented cues.
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Processing the Word Red can Enhance Women's Perceptions of Men's Attractiveness
Processing the Word Red can Enhance Women's Perceptions of Men's Attractiveness. Adam Pazda & Andrew Elliot. Current Psychology, June 2017, Pages 316-323. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-016-9420-8
Abstract: Prior research has shown that for women viewing men, perceiving the color red can enhance attractiveness judgments in some contexts. Additionally, an association exists between the processing of color words and the perception of color stimuli. The present studies examined whether processing the word red would lead to similar psychological effects of perceiving color stimuli. Specifically, we tested whether reading a description of a man wearing a red shirt (relative to other colors) can enhance women's perceptions of the man's attractiveness. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 provided support for this effect for red-gray and red-green contrasts. The findings are discussed with regard to grounded theories of cognition, which suggest that knowledge about color and experience of perceiving color are integrated in a multimodal fashion. Practical implications of the red effect for interpersonal perception and interaction are discussed along with general implications in the domain of color psychology.
Keywords: Color, Red, Cognitive processing, Attractiveness
Abstract: Prior research has shown that for women viewing men, perceiving the color red can enhance attractiveness judgments in some contexts. Additionally, an association exists between the processing of color words and the perception of color stimuli. The present studies examined whether processing the word red would lead to similar psychological effects of perceiving color stimuli. Specifically, we tested whether reading a description of a man wearing a red shirt (relative to other colors) can enhance women's perceptions of the man's attractiveness. Experiments 1, 2, and 3 provided support for this effect for red-gray and red-green contrasts. The findings are discussed with regard to grounded theories of cognition, which suggest that knowledge about color and experience of perceiving color are integrated in a multimodal fashion. Practical implications of the red effect for interpersonal perception and interaction are discussed along with general implications in the domain of color psychology.
Keywords: Color, Red, Cognitive processing, Attractiveness
Online Networks and Subjective Well-Being
Online Networks and Subjective Well-Being. Fabio Sabatini and Francesco Sarracino. Kyklos, August 2017, Pages 456-480. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/kykl.12145/abstract
Abstract: We test the relationship between the use of social networking sites (SNS) and a proxy of utility, i.e. subjective well-being (SWB), using instrumental variables. Additionally, we disentangle the indirect effects of SNS on well-being mediated by face-to-face interactions and social trust using a structural equation model. Results suggest that the use of SNS hampers people's well-being directly and indirectly, through its negative effects on social trust. However, the use of SNS also has a positive impact on well-being because it increases the probability of face-to-face interactions. Yet, the net effect of the use of SNS for SWB remains negative.
Abstract: We test the relationship between the use of social networking sites (SNS) and a proxy of utility, i.e. subjective well-being (SWB), using instrumental variables. Additionally, we disentangle the indirect effects of SNS on well-being mediated by face-to-face interactions and social trust using a structural equation model. Results suggest that the use of SNS hampers people's well-being directly and indirectly, through its negative effects on social trust. However, the use of SNS also has a positive impact on well-being because it increases the probability of face-to-face interactions. Yet, the net effect of the use of SNS for SWB remains negative.
Does Federal Disaster Assistance Crowd Out Flood Insurance?
Does Federal Disaster Assistance Crowd Out Flood Insurance? Carolyn Kousky, Erwann Michel-Kerjan & Paul Raschky. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0095069617303479
Abstract: We empirically analyze whether federal disaster aid crowds out household purchase of disaster insurance. We combine data on annual household flood insurance purchases for the United States over the period 2000–2011 with data from the two main U.S. post-disaster federal aid programs (FEMA's Individual Assistance grants and SBA's low interest disaster loans). Estimating both fixed-effects and instrumental variable models to account for the endogeneity of disaster assistance grants, we find that receiving individual assistance grants decreases the average quantity of insurance purchased the following year by between $4,000 and $5,000. The reduction we find is roughly 3% of the mean insurance coverage in the sample but larger than the average flood-related IA grant in our sample, which is $2,984. IA is currently limited and larger grants could have different impacts. The crowding out is on the intensive margin; we find no impact on take-up rates, likely because there is a requirement that recipients of disaster aid purchase an insurance policy. We do not know how take-up rates might change without such a requirement. Low interest post-disaster government loans have no systematic effect on insurance purchases.
Keywords: Natural Disasters and Extreme Events, Flood Insurance, Disaster Relief
Abstract: We empirically analyze whether federal disaster aid crowds out household purchase of disaster insurance. We combine data on annual household flood insurance purchases for the United States over the period 2000–2011 with data from the two main U.S. post-disaster federal aid programs (FEMA's Individual Assistance grants and SBA's low interest disaster loans). Estimating both fixed-effects and instrumental variable models to account for the endogeneity of disaster assistance grants, we find that receiving individual assistance grants decreases the average quantity of insurance purchased the following year by between $4,000 and $5,000. The reduction we find is roughly 3% of the mean insurance coverage in the sample but larger than the average flood-related IA grant in our sample, which is $2,984. IA is currently limited and larger grants could have different impacts. The crowding out is on the intensive margin; we find no impact on take-up rates, likely because there is a requirement that recipients of disaster aid purchase an insurance policy. We do not know how take-up rates might change without such a requirement. Low interest post-disaster government loans have no systematic effect on insurance purchases.
Keywords: Natural Disasters and Extreme Events, Flood Insurance, Disaster Relief
Digitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people
Digitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people. Kostadin Kushlev, Jason Proulx & Elizabeth Dunn. Computers in Human Behavior, November 2017, Pages 68-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.07.001
Highlights
• We assessed the costs and benefits of relying on smartphones for information.
• People were randomly assigned to look for a building with or without their phones.
• People relying on their phones found the building faster and felt happier.
• Participants using phones talked to fewer people and felt less socially connected.
• On-the-go information is useful but has a hidden cost: missed social opportunities.
Abstract: In less than a decade, smartphones have transformed how, when, and where people access information. We propose that turning to technology for information may lead individuals to miss out on opportunities to cultivate feelings of social connection. Testing this hypothesis, we asked participants to find an unfamiliar building and randomly assigned them to solve this everyday problem either with or without their smartphones. Compared to those who could not rely on technology, participants who used their smartphones found the building more easily but ended up feeling less socially connected. Although having access to smartphones improved participants’ mood by making their task easier, this beneficial effect was diminished by the costs to social connection. Our findings provide the first experimental evidence that the benefits of pervasive connectivity may be undercut when technology supplants social interactions.
Keywords: Happiness, Human-computer interaction, Cyberpsychology, Social behavior, Well-being, Ubiquitous computing, Pervasive connectivity
Highlights
• We assessed the costs and benefits of relying on smartphones for information.
• People were randomly assigned to look for a building with or without their phones.
• People relying on their phones found the building faster and felt happier.
• Participants using phones talked to fewer people and felt less socially connected.
• On-the-go information is useful but has a hidden cost: missed social opportunities.
Abstract: In less than a decade, smartphones have transformed how, when, and where people access information. We propose that turning to technology for information may lead individuals to miss out on opportunities to cultivate feelings of social connection. Testing this hypothesis, we asked participants to find an unfamiliar building and randomly assigned them to solve this everyday problem either with or without their smartphones. Compared to those who could not rely on technology, participants who used their smartphones found the building more easily but ended up feeling less socially connected. Although having access to smartphones improved participants’ mood by making their task easier, this beneficial effect was diminished by the costs to social connection. Our findings provide the first experimental evidence that the benefits of pervasive connectivity may be undercut when technology supplants social interactions.
Keywords: Happiness, Human-computer interaction, Cyberpsychology, Social behavior, Well-being, Ubiquitous computing, Pervasive connectivity
Reciprocal Influences Between Loneliness and Self-Centeredness
Reciprocal Influences Between Loneliness and Self-Centeredness: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis in a Population-Based Sample of African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian Adults. John Cacioppo, Hsi Yuan Chen & Stephanie Cacioppo. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, August 2017, Pages 1125-1135. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167217705120
Abstract: Loneliness has been posited to increase the motivation to repair or replace deficient social relationships and, seemingly paradoxically, to increase the implicit motivation for self-preservation. In the current research, we report a cross-lagged panel analysis of 10 waves of longitudinal data (N = 229) on loneliness and self-centeredness (as gauged by Feeney and Collins's measure of chronic self-focus) in a representative sample of middle-aged and older adults. As predicted by the proposition that loneliness increases the implicit motivation for self-preservation, loneliness in the current year predicts self-centeredness in the subsequent year beyond what is explained by current-year demographic variables, self-centeredness, depressive symptomatology, and overall negative mood. Analyses also show that self-centeredness in the current year (net covariates) predicts loneliness in the subsequent year, a reciprocal relationship that could potentially contribute to the maintenance of loneliness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Abstract: Loneliness has been posited to increase the motivation to repair or replace deficient social relationships and, seemingly paradoxically, to increase the implicit motivation for self-preservation. In the current research, we report a cross-lagged panel analysis of 10 waves of longitudinal data (N = 229) on loneliness and self-centeredness (as gauged by Feeney and Collins's measure of chronic self-focus) in a representative sample of middle-aged and older adults. As predicted by the proposition that loneliness increases the implicit motivation for self-preservation, loneliness in the current year predicts self-centeredness in the subsequent year beyond what is explained by current-year demographic variables, self-centeredness, depressive symptomatology, and overall negative mood. Analyses also show that self-centeredness in the current year (net covariates) predicts loneliness in the subsequent year, a reciprocal relationship that could potentially contribute to the maintenance of loneliness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Grey Power and the Economy: Aging and Inflation Across Advanced Economies
Grey Power and the Economy: Aging and Inflation Across Advanced Economies. Tim Vlandas. Comparative Political Studies, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2993934
Abstract: What explains the cross-national variation in inflation rates across countries? In contrast to most literature, which emphasizes the role of ideas and institutions, this article focuses on electoral politics and argues that aging leads to lower inflation rates. Countries with a larger share of elderly exhibit lower inflation because older people are both more inflation averse and politically powerful, forcing parties seeking their votes to pursue lower inflation. Logistic regression analysis of survey data confirms that older people are more inflation averse and more likely to punish incumbents at the ballot box for inflation. Panel data regression analysis shows that social democratic parties have more economically orthodox manifestos in European countries with more elderly people, and that the share of elderly is negatively correlated with inflation in both a sample of 21 advanced economies and a larger sample of 175 countries. Aging therefore pushes governments to pursue lower inflation.
Keywords: inflation, aging, grey power, economic policy, independent central banks, economic orthodoxy
Abstract: What explains the cross-national variation in inflation rates across countries? In contrast to most literature, which emphasizes the role of ideas and institutions, this article focuses on electoral politics and argues that aging leads to lower inflation rates. Countries with a larger share of elderly exhibit lower inflation because older people are both more inflation averse and politically powerful, forcing parties seeking their votes to pursue lower inflation. Logistic regression analysis of survey data confirms that older people are more inflation averse and more likely to punish incumbents at the ballot box for inflation. Panel data regression analysis shows that social democratic parties have more economically orthodox manifestos in European countries with more elderly people, and that the share of elderly is negatively correlated with inflation in both a sample of 21 advanced economies and a larger sample of 175 countries. Aging therefore pushes governments to pursue lower inflation.
Keywords: inflation, aging, grey power, economic policy, independent central banks, economic orthodoxy
Romance, Sexual Attraction, and Women's Political Ambition: Initial Findings from Two Experiments
Romance, Sexual Attraction, and Women's Political Ambition: Initial Findings from Two Experiments. Shauna Shames, Laura Lazarus Frankel & Nadia Farjood. Sexuality & Culture, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-017-9443-9
Abstract: This study develops and begins to test the hypothesis that considerations of romance and sexual attractiveness may impede women's expression of political ambition (in the sense of either interest in holding public office or willingness to disclose such interest). As this is a very new area of research, and as the subject is difficult to test, this study does not draw firm conclusions, but the initial data results suggest at least some support for the hypothesis. It does seem from these two experiments that politics makes one less popular as a date or mate choice, and that women who hypothetically hold office would be less likely to reveal that fact to a potential sexual or romantic partner. Further research is needed to both develop the measurements for this exciting new area of study and confirm these initial results.
Keywords: Politics Political ambition Public office Romance Sex Sexual attraction Attractiveness Attraction Experiments Dating Holding public office Running for office
Abstract: This study develops and begins to test the hypothesis that considerations of romance and sexual attractiveness may impede women's expression of political ambition (in the sense of either interest in holding public office or willingness to disclose such interest). As this is a very new area of research, and as the subject is difficult to test, this study does not draw firm conclusions, but the initial data results suggest at least some support for the hypothesis. It does seem from these two experiments that politics makes one less popular as a date or mate choice, and that women who hypothetically hold office would be less likely to reveal that fact to a potential sexual or romantic partner. Further research is needed to both develop the measurements for this exciting new area of study and confirm these initial results.
Keywords: Politics Political ambition Public office Romance Sex Sexual attraction Attractiveness Attraction Experiments Dating Holding public office Running for office
The “sensory deprivation tank”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of men’s expectations of first-time fatherhood
The “sensory deprivation tank”: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of men’s expectations of first-time fatherhood. Kings, Christopher A.; Knight, Tess; Ryan, Dani; Macdonald, Jacqui A.
Psychology of Men & Masculinity, Vol 18(2), Apr 2017, 112-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/men0000046
Abstract: Few studies have investigated expectations of fatherhood in men without children, and none within the age bracket most often associated with new fatherhood. Therefore, the objective of this qualitative study was to gain in-depth understanding of young men’s beliefs and perceptions of that role. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of interview transcripts identified 3 key themes: The contemporary model father, perceived threat to life as we know it, and, the central theme, an unforeseeable future. Analysis revealed that while participants held broad expectations to be emotionally and physically involved as well as economically responsible fathers, their views often lacked specificity, consideration of meaning, and practical notions about how expectations could be fulfilled. We explain the lack of development in men’s conceptualization of fatherhood across emerging adulthood through hegemonic masculinity, identity theory, and life course perspectives. The current study provides a rationale for promoting increased discussion around fatherhood in the preconception period to help lessen the turbulent nature of men’s transition through pregnancy.
Psychology of Men & Masculinity, Vol 18(2), Apr 2017, 112-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/men0000046
Abstract: Few studies have investigated expectations of fatherhood in men without children, and none within the age bracket most often associated with new fatherhood. Therefore, the objective of this qualitative study was to gain in-depth understanding of young men’s beliefs and perceptions of that role. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of interview transcripts identified 3 key themes: The contemporary model father, perceived threat to life as we know it, and, the central theme, an unforeseeable future. Analysis revealed that while participants held broad expectations to be emotionally and physically involved as well as economically responsible fathers, their views often lacked specificity, consideration of meaning, and practical notions about how expectations could be fulfilled. We explain the lack of development in men’s conceptualization of fatherhood across emerging adulthood through hegemonic masculinity, identity theory, and life course perspectives. The current study provides a rationale for promoting increased discussion around fatherhood in the preconception period to help lessen the turbulent nature of men’s transition through pregnancy.
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