Showing papers in "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2002"
TL;DR: Contrary to antipathy models, 2 dimensions mattered, and many stereotypes were mixed, either pitying (low competence, high warmth subordinates) or envying (high competence, low warmth competitors).
Abstract: Stereotype research emphasizes systematic processes over seemingly arbitrary contents, but content also may prove systematic. On the basis of stereotypes' intergroup functions, the stereotype content model hypothesizes that (a) 2 primary dimensions are competence and warmth, (b) frequent mixed clusters combine high warmth with low competence (paternalistic) or high competence with low warmth (envious), and (c) distinct emotions (pity, envy, admiration, contempt) differentiate the 4 competence-warmth combinations. Stereotypically, (d) status predicts high competence, and competition predicts low warmth. Nine varied samples rated gender, ethnicity, race, class, age, and disability out-groups. Contrary to antipathy models, 2 dimensions mattered, and many stereotypes were mixed, either pitying (low competence, high warmth subordinates) or envying (high competence, low warmth competitors). Stereotypically, status predicted competence, and competition predicted low warmth.
5,411 citations
TL;DR: The probability of optimal well-being (high SWB and PWB) increased as age, education, extraversion, and conscientiousness increased and as neuroticism decreased; adults with higher SWB than PWB were younger, had more education, and showed more openness to experience.
Abstract: Subjective well-being (SWB) is evaluation of life in terms of satisfaction and balance between positive and negative affect; psychological well-being (PWB) entails perception of engagement with existential challenges of life. The authors hypothesized that these research streams are conceptually related but empirically distinct and that combinations of them relate differentially to sociodemographics and personality. Data are from a national sample of 3,032 Americans aged 25–74. Factor analyses confirmed the related-but-distinct status of SWB and PWB. The probability of optimal well-being (high SWB and PWB) increased as age, education, extraversion, and conscientiousness increased and as neuroticism decreased. Compared with adults with higher SWB than PWB, adults with higher PWB than SWB were younger, had more education, and showed more openness to experience. Research on well-being has flourished in recent decades (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999; Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz, 1999), with increasing recognition of the different streams of inquiry guiding this broad domain. Ryan and Deci’s (2001) integrative review organized the field of well-being into two broad traditions: one dealing with happiness (hedonic well-being), and one dealing with human potential (eudaimonic well-being; Ryan & Deci, 2001; see also Waterman, 1993). In the present study, we draw and extend these distinctions, which we refer to as traditions of research on subjective well-being (SWB) and psychological well-being (PWB). We use these terms to underscore the fact that studies of SWB have repeatedly included not only affective indicators of happiness (hedonic well-being) but also cognitive assessments of life satisfaction. In addition, some aspects of PWB (e.g., personal growth, purpose in life) but not others (e.g., positive relations with others, self-acceptance) reflect the self-fulfillment meanings of eudaimonic well-being. As described below, SWB and PWB are also the overarching phrases most frequently used in studies that constitute these traditions, both of which are fundamentally concerned with subjective accounts of well-being. Our specific empirical aims are to examine whether indicators of SWB and PWB constitute taxonomically distinct reflections of well-being in a national sample of U.S. adults. Although both approaches assess well-being, they address different features of what it means to be well: SWB involves more global evaluations of affect and life quality, whereas PWB examines perceived thriving vis-a `-vis the existential challenges of life (e.g., pursuing meaningful goals, growing and developing as a person, establishing quality ties to others). We further test the hypothesis that these distinct varieties of well-being are contoured by the broad categories of sociodemographic and personality factors. Specifically, we investigate the role of location in the life course (i.e., age) and position in the socioeconomic hierarchy (e.g., educational status) as well as personality traits in accounting for different profiles of well-being. To put the inquiry in historical context, we provide a brief summary of each tradition.
2,628 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Haidt et al. measured the associations among the self-importance of moral identity, moral cognitions, and behavior, and the psychometric properties of the measure were assessed through an examination of the underlying factor structure and convergent, nomological and discriminant validity analyses.
Abstract: Recent theorizing in moral psychology extends rationalist models by calling attention to social and cultural influences (J. Haidt, 2001). Six studies using adolescents, university students, and adults measured the associations among the self-importance of moral identity, moral cognitions, and behavior. The psychometric properties of the measure were assessed through an examination of the underlying factor structure (Study 1) and convergent, nomological, and discriminant validity analyses (Studies 2 and 3). The predictive validity of the instrument was assessed by examinations of the relationships among the self-importance of moral identity, various psychological outcomes, and behavior (Studies 4, 5, and 6). The results are discussed in terms of models of moral behavior, social identity measurement, and the need to consider moral self-conceptions in explaining moral conduct.
1,783 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the correlates of the disposition toward gratitude and found that self-ratings and observer ratings of the grateful disposition are associated with positive affect and well-being, prosocial behaviors and traits, and religiousness/spirituality.
Abstract: In four studies, the authors examined the correlates of the disposition toward gratitude. Study 1 revealed that self-ratings and observer ratings of the grateful disposition are associated with positive affect and well-being, prosocial behaviors and traits, and religiousness/spirituality. Study 2 replicated these findings in a large nonstudent sample. Study 3 yielded similar results to Studies 1 and 2 and provided evidence that gratitude is negatively associated with envy and materialistic attitudes. Study 4 yielded evidence that these associations persist after controlling for Extraversion/positive affectivity, Neuroticism/negative affectivity, and Agreeableness. The development of the Gratitude Questionnaire, a unidimensional measure with good psychometric properties, is also described.
1,768 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that individuals are motivated by role models who encourage strategies that fit their regulatory concerns: promotion-focused individuals, who favor a strategy of pursuing desirable outcomes, are most inspired by positive role models, who highlight strategies for achieving success.
Abstract: In 3 studies, the authors demonstrated that individuals are motivated by role models who encourage strategies that fit their regulatory concerns: Promotion-focused individuals, who favor a strategy of pursuing desirable outcomes, are most inspired by positive role models, who highlight strategies for achieving success; prevention-focused individuals, who favor a strategy of avoiding undesirable outcomes, are most motivated by negative role models, who highlight strategies for avoiding failure. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors primed promotion and prevention goals and then examined the impact of role models on motivation. Participants' academic motivation was increased by goal-congruent role models but decreased by goal-incongruent role models. In Study 3, participants were more likely to generate real-life role models that matched their chronic goals.
1,465 citations
TL;DR: The authors suggest that measures purporting to assess self-esteem, locus of control, neuroticism, and generalized self-efficacy may be markers of the same higher order concept.
Abstract: The authors present results of 4 studies that seek to determine the discriminant and incremental validity of the 3 most widely studied traits in psychology-self-esteem, neuroticism, and locus of control-along with a 4th, closely related trait-generalized self-efficacy Meta-analytic results indicated that measures of the 4 traits were strongly related Results also demonstrated that a single factor explained the relationships among measures of the 4 traits The 4 trait measures display relatively poor discriminant validity, and each accounted for little incremental variance in predicting external criteria relative to the higher order construct In light of these results, the authors suggest that measures purporting to assess self-esteem, locus of control, neuroticism, and generalized self-efficacy may be markers of the same higher order concept
1,425 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the role of approach and avoidance motivation in models of personality and found that they represent the foundation of several basic dimensions espoused in the trait adjective, affective disposition, and motivational system approaches to personality.
Abstract: The present research examined the role of approach and avoidance motivation in models of personality. Specifically, it examined the hypothesis that approach and avoidance temperaments represent the foundation of several basic dimensions espoused in the trait adjective, affective disposition, and motivational system approaches to personality. Factor analytic support for the hypothesis was obtained in Studies 1, 2, and 6; measures of extraversion, positive emotionality, and behavioral activation system loaded together on 1 factor (Approach Temperament) and measures of neuroticism, negative emotionality, and behavioral inhibition system loaded on another factor (Avoidance Temperament). This 2-factor structure was shown to be independent of response biases. In Studies 3-7, approach and avoidance temperaments were shown to be systematically linked to achievement goals (both nomothetic and idiographic). The findings are discussed in terms of an integrative approach to personality.
1,234 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined how implicit racial associations and explicit racial attitudes of Whites relate to behaviors and impressions in interracial interactions and found that self-reported racial attitudes significantly predicted bias in their verbal behavior to Black relative to white confederates.
Abstract: The present research examined how implicit racial associations and explicit racial attitudes of Whites relate to behaviors and impressions in interracial interactions Specifically, the authors examined how response latency and self-report measures predicted bias and perceptions of bias in verbal and nonverbal behavior exhibited by Whites while they interacted with a Black partner As predicted, Whites' self-reported racial attitudes significantly predicted bias in their verbal behavior to Black relative to White confederates Furthermore, these explicit attitudes predicted how much friendlier Whites felt that they behaved toward White than Black partners In contrast, the response latency measure significantly predicted Whites' nonverbal friendliness and the extent to which the confederates and observers perceived bias in the participants' friendliness
1,192 citations
TL;DR: This paper found negative correlations between maximizing and happiness, optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and positive correlations between maximization and depression, perfectionism, and regret, and found that maximizers are less satisfied than non-maximizers with consumer decisions, and more likely to engage in social comparison.
Abstract: Can people feel worse off as the options they face increase? The present studies suggest that some people--maximizers--can. Study 1 reported a Maximization Scale, which measures individual differences in desire to maximize. Seven samples revealed negative correlations between maximization and happiness, optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and positive correlations between maximization and depression, perfectionism, and regret. Study 2 found maximizers less satisfied than nonmaximizers (satisficers) with consumer decisions, and more likely to engage in social comparison. Study 3 found maximizers more adversely affected by upward social comparison. Study 4 found maximizers more sensitive to regret and less satisfied in an ultimatum bargaining game. The interaction between maximizing and choice is discussed in terms of regret, adaptation, and self-blame.
1,151 citations
TL;DR: Values were found to give meaning to, energize, and regulate value-congruent behavior, but only if values were cognitively activated and central to the self.
Abstract: Six studies examined the value-behavior relation and focused on motivational properties of values, the self, and value activation. Priming environmental values enhanced attention to and the weight of information related to those values, which resulted in environmentally friendly consumer choices. This only occurred if these values were central to the self-concept. Value-congruent choices were also found in response to countervalue behavior in an unrelated context. Donating behavior congruent with central altruistic values was found as a result of enhanced self-focus, thus demonstrating the importance of the self in the value-behavior relation. The external validity of the value-centrality measure and its distinction from attitudes were demonstrated in the prediction of voting. Values were thus found to give meaning to, energize, and regulate value-congruent behavior, but only if values were cognitively activated and central to the self.
1,046 citations
TL;DR: Using a simple videogame, the effect of ethnicity on shoot/don't shoot decisions was examined and showed that the magnitude of bias varied with perceptions of the cultural stereotype and with levels of contact, but not with personal racial prejudice.
Abstract: Using a simple videogame, the effect of ethnicity on shoot/don’t shoot decisions was examined. African American or White targets, holding guns or other objects, appeared in complex backgrounds. Participants were told to “shoot” armed targets and to “not shoot” unarmed targets. In Study 1, White participants made the correct decision to shoot an armed target more quickly if the target was African American than if he was White, but decided to “not shoot” an unarmed target more quickly if he was White. Study 2 used a shorter time window, forcing this effect into error rates. Study 3 replicated Study 1’s effects and showed that the magnitude of bias varied with perceptions of the cultural stereotype and with levels of contact, but not with personal racial prejudice. Study 4 revealed equivalent levels of bias among both African American and White participants in a community sample. Implications and potential underlying mechanisms are discussed.
TL;DR: Mediational analyses were consistent with a model in which increases in social support and greater use of positive reinterpretation and growth contributed to the superior adjustment that optimists experienced.
Abstract: The authors investigated the extent to which social support and coping account for the association between greater optimism and better adjustment to stressful life events. College students of both genders completed measures of perceived stress, depression, friendship network size, and perceived social support at the beginning and end of their 1st semester of college. Coping was assessed at the end of the 1st semester. Greater optimism, assessed at the beginning of the 1st semester of college, was prospectively associated with smaller increases in stress and depression and greater increases in perceived social support (but not in friendship network size) over the course of the 1st semester of college. Mediational analyses were consistent with a model in which increases in social support and greater use of positive reinterpretation and growth contributed to the superior adjustment that optimists experienced.
TL;DR: Although cultural experts agreed that East Asians are more collectivistic than North Americans, cross-cultural comparisons of trait and attitude measures failed to reveal such a pattern, the problematic nature of this reference-group effect was demonstrated.
Abstract: Social comparison theory maintains that people think about themselves compared with similar others. Those in one culture, then, compare themselves with different others and standards than do those in another culture, thus potentially confounding cross-cultural comparisons. A pilot study and Study 1 demonstrated the problematic nature of this reference-group effect: Whereas cultural experts agreed that East Asians are more collectivistic than North Americans, cross-cultural comparisons of trait and attitude measures failed to reveal such a pattern. Study 2 found that manipulating reference groups enhanced the expected cultural differences, and Study 3 revealed that people from different cultural backgrounds within the same country exhibited larger differences than did people from different countries. Cross-cultural comparisons using subjective Likert scales are compromised because of different reference groups. Possible solutions are discussed.
TL;DR: It was found that older individuals with more positiveSelf-perceptions of aging, measured up to 23 years earlier, lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceived aging, after age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness, and functional health were included as covariates.
Abstract: This research found that older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging, measured up to 23 years earlier, lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging. This advantage remained after age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness, and functional health were included as covariates. It was also found that this effect is partially mediated by will to live. The sample consisted of 660 individuals aged 50 and older who participated in a community-based survey, the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement (OLSAR). By matching the OLSAR to mortality data recently obtained from the National Death Index, the authors were able to conduct survival analyses. The findings suggest that the self-perceptions of stigmatized groups can influence longevity.
TL;DR: The authors reconceptualized the source of motivation to suppress prejudice in terms of identifying with new reference groups and adapting oneself to fit new norms, and found that high suppressors are strong norm followers.
Abstract: The authors studied social norms and prejudice using M. Sherif and C. W. Sherif's (1953) group norm theory of attitudes. In 7 studies (N = 1,504), social norms were measured and manipulated to examine their effects on prejudice; both normatively proscribed and normatively prescribed forms of prejudice were included. The public expression of prejudice toward 105 social groups was very highly correlated with social approval of that expression. Participants closely adhere to social norms when expressing prejudice, evaluating scenarios of discrimination, and reacting to hostile jokes. The authors reconceptualized the source of motivation to suppress prejudice in terms of identifying with new reference groups and adapting oneself to fit new norms. Suppression scales seem to measure patterns of concern about group norms rather than personal commitments to reducing prejudice; high suppressors are strong norm followers. Compared with low suppressors, high suppressors follow normative rules more closely and are more strongly influenced by shifts in local social norms. There is much value in continuing the study of normative influence and self-adaptation to social norms, particularly in terms of the group norm theory of attitudes.
TL;DR: Key hypotheses in the literature pertaining to chronic grief and resilience were tested by identifying the preloss predictors of each pattern and chronic grief was associated with preloss dependency and resilience with pre Loss acceptance of death and belief in a just world.
Abstract: The vast majority of bereavement research is conducted after a loss has occurred. Thus, knowledge of the divergent trajectories of grieving or their antecedent predictors is lacking. This study gathered prospective data on 205 individuals several years prior to the death of their spouse and at 6- and 18-months postloss. Five core bereavement patterns were identified: common grief, chronic grief, chronic depression, improvement during bereavement, and resilience. Common grief was relatively infrequent, and the resilient pattern most frequent. The authors tested key hypotheses in the literature pertaining to chronic grief and resilience by identifying the preloss predictors of each pattern. Chronic grief was associated with preloss dependency and resilience with preloss acceptance of death and belief in a just world.
TL;DR: For example, this article found that negative implicit and explicit math attitudes for women but more positive attitudes for men were associated with negative self-concepts associated with female and math with male.
Abstract: College students, especially women, demonstrated negativity toward math and science relative to arts and language on implicit measures. Group membership (being female), group identity (self female), and gender stereotypes (math male) were related to attitudes and identification with mathematics. Stronger implicit math male stereotypes corresponded with more negative implicit and explicit math attitudes for women but more positive attitudes for men. Associating the self with female and math with male made it difficult for women, even women who had selected math-intensive majors, to associate math with the self. These results point to the opportunities and constraints on personal preferences that derive from membership in social groups. When the New York Times interviewed the three living female descendants of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the focus was not on the indisputable mark she had left on American society but rather the effect she had had on her own family (Bumiller, 1998). The accomplishments of this housewife who organized the historic 1848 Seneca Falls convention to demand the right of women to vote were visible even in the careers of her own daughters and their daughters. The youngest of the women interviewed, also named Elizabeth and 13 years old at the time, said that she would like to be an engineer or an architect, following in the footsteps of her grandmother and great-grandmother. Although she showed cognizance of the hurdles that stood in the way of her ancestor’s battle for a simple equality, she was optimistic about the present, remarking that now “anything’s possible for anyone” (p. B6). The idea that anything ought to be possible for anyone is the foundation of many proclamations of equality, such as the constitutions of nations and their legal codes. Yet, as even a superficial historical glance reveals, demarcations of humans into social groups and their unequal access to resources have been the primary impetus for theory and action to achieve social justice. As psychologists, we are interested in the mechanisms by which aspirations for equality are undermined—not by a lack of legal protection but in the more basic social and mental processes that determine individual preferences and choices. The operation of such processes can be subversive—they appear to reflect a free and individually determined choice when in fact they reflect group membership, the strength of identity with the group, and beliefs about the capability of the group. In this article, we focus on the fundamental dichotomy of gender as we investigate preferences for mathematics (and science) versus the arts (and language). The covariation between gender and orientation toward math and science is well known: Men are assumed to be and demonstrated to be more inclined to participate
TL;DR: Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys.
Abstract: Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed that people inquire 1st about hypothesized necessities. Physical attractiveness was a necessity to men, status and resources were necessities to women, and kindness and intelligence were necessities to both.
TL;DR: Preliminary support for the approach/inhibition theory of power is provided: Participants higher in personality dominance or assigned control over resources expressed their true attitudes, experienced more positive and less negative emotion, and were more likely to perceive rewards.
Abstract: Two studies of task-focused dyads tested the approach/inhibition theory of power (D. Keltner, D. H. Gruenfeld, & C. Anderson, in press), which posits that having power increases the tendency to approach and decreases the tendency to inhibit. Results provided preliminary support for the theory: Participants higher in personality dominance or assigned control over resources expressed their true attitudes, experienced more positive and less negative emotion, were more likely to perceive rewards (i.e., that their partner liked them), and were less likely to perceive threats (e.g., that their partner felt anger toward them). Most of these effects were mediated by the sense of power, suggesting that subjective feelings of power are an important component in the effects of power.
TL;DR: Inhibition of alternative goals was found to be more pronounced when they serve the same overarching purpose as the focal goal, but lessened when the alternative goals facilitate focal goal attainment.
Abstract: Six studies explore the role of goal shielding in self-regulation by examining how the activation of focal goals to which the individual is committed inhibits the accessibility of alternative goals. Consistent evidence was found for such goal shielding, and a number of its moderators were identified: Individuals' level of commitment to the focal goal, their degree of anxiety and depression, their need for cognitive closure, and differences in their goal-related tenacity. Moreover, inhibition of alternative goals was found to be more pronounced when they serve the same overarching purpose as the focal goal, but lessened when the alternative goals facilitate focal goal attainment. Finally, goal shielding was shown to have beneficial consequences for goal pursuit and attainment.
TL;DR: For instance, this article found that when engaged in non-habitual behavior, or actions performed less often or in shifting contexts, participants' thoughts tended to correspond to their behavior, suggesting that thought was necessary to guide action.
Abstract: To illustrate the differing thoughts and emotions involved in guiding habitual and nonhabitual behavior, 2 diary studies were conducted in which participants provided hourly reports of their ongoing experiences. When participants were engaged in habitual behavior, defined as behavior that had been performed almost daily in stable contexts, they were likely to think about issues unrelated to their behavior, presumably because they did not have to consciously guide their actions. When engaged in nonhabitual behavior, or actions performed less often or in shifting contexts, participants' thoughts tended to correspond to their behavior, suggesting that thought was necessary to guide action. Furthermore, the self-regulatory benefits of habits were apparent in the lesser feelings of stress associated with habitual than nonhabitual behavior.
TL;DR: The effects were specific to social exclusion, as participants who received predictions of future nonsocial misfortunes (accidents and injuries) performed well on the cognitive tests and appeared to involve reductions in both speed (effort) and accuracy.
Abstract: Three studies examined the effects of randomly assigned messages of social exclusion. In all 3 studies, significant and large decrements in intelligent thought (including IQ and Graduate Record Examination test performance) were found among people told they were likely to end up alone in life. The decline in cognitive performance was found in complex cognitive tasks such as effortful logic and reasoning; simple information processing remained intact despite the social exclusion. The effects were specific to social exclusion, as participants who received predictions of future nonsocial misfortunes (accidents and injuries) performed well on the cognitive tests. The cognitive impairments appeared to involve reductions in both speed (effort) and accuracy. The effect was not mediated by mood.
TL;DR: As expected, middle-aged adults showed higher endorsement of SOC than younger and older adults and SOC evinced positive correlations with measures of well-being which were maintained after other personality and motivational constructs were controlled for.
Abstract: The authors examined the usefulness of a self-report measure for elective selection, loss-based selection. optimization, and compensation (SOC) as strategies of life management. The expected 4-factor solution was obtained in 2 independent samples (N = 218, 14-87 years; N = 181, 18-89 years) exhibiting high retest stability across 4 weeks (r(tt) = .74-82). As expected, middle-aged adults showed higher endorsement of SOC than younger and older adults. Moreover, SOC showed meaningful convergent and divergent associations to other psychological constructs (e.g., thinking styles, NEO) and evinced positive correlations with measures of well-being which were maintained after other personality and motivational constructs were controlled for. Initial evidence on behavioral associations involving SOC obtained in other studies is summarized.
TL;DR: A causal model linking dual dimensions of personality, social world view, ideological attitudes, and intergroup attitudes is described, suggesting that dual motivational and cognitive processes may underlie 2 distinct dimensions of prejudice.
Abstract: The issue of personality and prejudice has been largely investigated in terms of authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. However, these seem more appropriately conceptualized as ideological attitudes than as personality dimensions. The authors describe a causal model linking dual dimensions of personality, social world view, ideological attitudes, and intergroup attitudes. Structural equation modeling with data from American and White Afrikaner students supported the model, suggesting that social conformity and belief in a dangerous world influence authoritarian attitudes, whereas toughmindedness and belief in a competitive jungle world influence social dominance attitudes, and these two ideological attitude dimensions influence intergroup attitudes. The model implies that dual motivational and cognitive processes, which may be activated by different kinds of situational and intergroup dynamics, may underlie 2 distinct dimensions of prejudice.
TL;DR: It is suggested that personal environments elicit similar impressions from independent observers, and observer impressions show some accuracy, and sex and race stereotypes partially mediate observer consensus and accuracy.
Abstract: The authors articulate a model specifying links between (a) individuals and the physical environments they occupy and (b) the environments and observers' impressions of the occupants. Two studies examined the basic phenomena underlying this model: Interobserver consensus, observer accuracy, cue utilization, and cue validity. Observer ratings based purely on offices or bedrooms were compared with self- and peer ratings of occupants and with physical features of the environments. Findings, which varied slightly across contexts and traits, suggest that (a) personal environments elicit similar impressions from independent observers, (b) observer impressions show some accuracy, (c) observers rely on valid cues in the rooms to form impressions of occupants, and (d) sex and race stereotypes partially mediate observer consensus and accuracy. Consensus and accuracy correlations were generally stronger than those found in zero-acquaintance research.
TL;DR: This article examined the motivation underlying laypeople's use of punishment for prototypical wrongs and found that despite strongly stated preferences for deterrence theory, individual sentencing decisions seemed driven exclusively by just deserts concerns.
Abstract: One popular justification for punishment is the just deserts rationale: A person deserves punishment proportionate to the moral wrong committed. A competing justification is the deterrence rationale: Punishing an offender reduces the frequency and likelihood of future offenses. The authors examined the motivation underlying laypeople's use of punishment for prototypical wrongs. Study 1 (N = 336) revealed high sensitivity to factors uniquely associated with the just deserts perspective (e.g., offense seriousness, moral trespass) and insensitivity to factors associated with deterrence (e.g., likelihood of detection, offense frequency). Study 2 (N = 329) confirmed the proposed model through structural equation modeling (SEM). Study 3 (N = 351) revealed that despite strongly stated preferences for deterrence theory, individual sentencing decisions seemed driven exclusively by just deserts concerns.
TL;DR: High internal, low external participants exhibited lower levels of implicit race bias than did all other participants, and implications for the development of effective self-regulation of race bias are discussed.
Abstract: Three studies examined the moderating role of motivations to respond without prejudice (e.g., internal and external) in expressions of explicit and implicit race bias. In all studies, participants reported their explicit attitudes toward Blacks. Implicit measures consisted of a sequential priming task (Study 1) and the Implicit Association Test (Studies 2 and 3). Study 3 used a cognitive busyness manipulation to preclude effects of controlled processing on implicit responses. In each study, explicit race bias was moderated by internal motivation to respond without prejudice, whereas implicit race bias was moderated by the interaction of internal and external motivation to respond without prejudice. Specifically, high internal, low external participants exhibited lower levels of implicit race bias than did all other participants. Implications for the development of effective self-regulation of race bias are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, a priming experiment, a cross-sectional survey study, and an interaction record study revealed evidence of associations (or causal effects) of commitment with forgiveness, and the commitment-forgiveness association appearedred to rest on intent to persist rather than long-term orientation or psychological attachment.
Abstract: This work complements existing research regarding the forgiveness process by highlighting the role of commitment in motivating forgiveness. On the basis of an interdependence–theoretic analysis, the authors suggest that (a) victims’ self-oriented reactions to betrayal are antithetical to forgiveness, favoring impulses such as grudge and vengeance, and (b) forgiveness rests on prorelationship motivation, one cause of which is strong commitment. A priming experiment, a cross-sectional survey study, and an interaction record study revealed evidence of associations (or causal effects) of commitment with forgiveness. The commitment–forgiveness association appearred to rest on intent to persist rather than long-term orientation or psychological attachment. In addition, the commitment–forgiveness association was mediated by cognitive interpretations of betrayal incidents; evidence for mediation by emotional reactions was inconsistent. Although close partners often treat one another in a positive and considerate manner, negative interactions are nearly inevitable. Such interactions result from a variety of causes, including incompatible preferences, external sources of stress, and extrarelationship temptation. We suggest that the violation of a relationshiprelevant norm— or betrayal of one’s partner— constitutes one of the more serious threats to a relationship, and we propose that the resolution of betrayal incidents is not easy. Indeed, forgiveness of betrayal arguably is one of the more difficult tasks in an ongoing relationship. The film The War of the Rosesdarkly and humorously illustrates the complexities of betrayal and forgiveness: The marriage of Oliver and Barbara Rose is marked by repeated betrayal. Oliver belittles Barbara’s career as a chef. Barbara fails to support Oliver during a frightening health crisis. Each humiliates the other, delivering impossible-to-forget attacks on the other’s tastes and habits. Cumulatively, such incidents reduce their once-loving marriage to a sequence of vicious, increasingly deadly battles. During their marital Armageddon, the two find themselves entangled in a chandelier suspended above a hallway. The mechanism supporting the chandelier gives way, and— embraced in the arms of the chandelier—the two crash to the unyielding terazzo floor 30 feet below. With his dying breath, Oliver reaches out to touch Barbara’s shoulder, offering amends and seeking forgiveness. Barbara’s hand slowly rises to meet Oliver’s (perhaps, one imagines, to reciprocate Oliver’s act), and with her dying breath, Barbara flings Oliver’s hand away from her. Again, forgiveness of betrayal arguably is one of the more difficult tasks in an ongoing relationship.
TL;DR: The discussion focuses on the dynamics of attachment-system activation in adulthood, with subliminal threat leading to increased accessibility of representations of attachment figures and attachment avoidance inhibited this activation when the threat prime was the word separation.
Abstract: Three studies explored the effects of subliminal threat on the activation of representations of attachment figures. This accessibility was measured in a lexical decision task and a Stroop task following threat- or neutral-word primes, and was compared with the accessibility of representations of other close persons, known but not close persons, and unknown persons. Participants also reported on their attachment style. Threat primes led to increased accessibility of representations of attachment figures. This effect was specific to attachment figures and was replicated across tasks and experiments. Attachment anxiety heightened accessibility of representations of attachment figures even in neutral contexts, whereas attachment avoidance inhibited this activation when the threat prime was the word separation. These effects were not, explained by trait anxiety. The discussion focuses on the dynamics of attachment-system activation in adulthood.
TL;DR: Using the trait of shyness as an example, the authors showed that it is possible to reliably assess individual differences in the implicitly measured self-concept of personality that are not accessible through traditional explicit self-ratings and increase significantly the prediction of spontaneous behavior in realistic social situations.
Abstract: Using the trait of shyness as an example, the authors showed that (a) it is possible to reliably assess individual differences in the implicitly measured self-concept of personality that (b) are not accessible through traditional explicit self-ratings and (c) increase significantly the prediction of spontaneous behavior in realistic social situations. A total of 139 participants were observed in a shyness-inducing laboratory situation, and they completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit self-ratings of shyness. The IAT correlated moderately with the explicit self-ratings and uniquely predicted spontaneous (but not controlled) shy behavior, whereas the explicit ratings uniquely predicted controlled (but not spontaneous) shy behavior (double dissociation). The distinction between spontaneous and controlled behavior was validated in a 2nd study.