Experimental Social Psychology Research Articles

IX. Brains, variability, and inheritance: The relevance of Shields (1975) in 21st century times

I first met Stephanie Shields at the meetings of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology in 1998. I was in the midst of PhD research in social psychology, but it was also becoming clear to me that I had emerging interests in the history of psychology. In my early career, Stephanie was my existence proof that you could work on gender, do original historical work, be an experimental social psychologist, and be welcoming and encouraging to junior colleagues at major conferences. This retrospective allows me to repay debts I owe to her for support and inspiration, and I will try to do that by arguing for the continued relevance of Shields (1975) for 21st century times and its influence on my own work in particular.

Individual values and delinquency: on considering universals in the content and structure of values

ABSTRACTThe systematic relation between delinquency and the overall spectrum of individual values has not been a particular topic of psychological research in the past. To fill this gap, we refer to Schwartz’s [(1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1–65] theory of universals in the content and structure of values (TUV) and re-interpret the results of Hermann’s [(2003). Werte und Kriminalität. Wiesbaden: Springer] criminological research on individual reflexive values, norm acceptance, and self-reported delinquency against this background: We verify to what extent the Individual Reflexive Value Scale (IRVS) covers the overall spectrum of values defined by TUV. We validate this match by content analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) and compute IRVS-based basic and higher-order value scores. Confirmatory and spherical MDS with these scores yield the circular value structure postulated by TUV. Structural equation modelling (SEM) reveals systematic relations between basic values, norm acceptance and self-reported delinquency in accord with the ‘sinusoid curve hypothesis’. Moving around the value circle yields the highest negative correlations of self-reported delinquency with tradition and conformity and the highest positive correlations with hedonism and stimulation. These values are indicators of the higher-order value dimension ‘conservation’ versus ‘openness to change’. The significant impact of this value dimension on norm acceptance and delinquency is documented by means of SEM.

Parent-child proximity and personality: basic human values and moving distance.

BackgroundAn important event in many young people’s lives is moving out of the parental home. This event is often operationalized as the distance between parents and their children, i.e., parent-child proximity.MethodsThe present study (N = 1,451) analyzed correlates of parent-child proximity through the lens of human value theory (Schwartz, Advances in experimental social psychology, 1992). Besides a classical proximity measure (i.e., parent-child), we also calculated the distance between childhood and current place of residence (i.e., childhood-now), as well as parent-childhood proximity (distance between children’s childhood place of residence and the current place of residence of parents), which acts as a control group because this distance is most probably chosen by the parents.ResultsAs hypothesized, we found that participants valuing universalism and self-direction as important (i.e., associated with growth and anxiety-freedom) moved further away from the place where their parents live and the place where they grew up than participants valuing self-protection and anxiety-avoidance (e.g., tradition, security, conformity).ConclusionsThis study not only adds to research on psychological motivations to move, it endorses value theory as being a useful lens through which to analyze migration behavior.

The Generality of Theory and the Specificity of Social Behavior: Contrasting Experimental and Hermeneutic Social Science

AbstractSince its inception, experimental social psychology has arguably been of two minds about the nature and role of theory. Contemporary social psychology's experimental approach has been strongly informed by the “nomological‐deductive” approach of Carl Hempel in tandem with the “hypothetico‐deducive” approach of Karl Popper. Social psychology's commitment to this hybrid model of science has produced at least two serious obstacles to more fruitful theorizing about human experience: (1) the problem of situational specificity, and (2) the manifest impossibility of formulating meaningful general laws of human social behavior. It is argued that a social psychology based on the search for this kind of lawfulness, under the auspices of either a strict or loose interpretation of the largely Hempelian model, is ultimately unworkable. An alternative approach to social psychology that is attentive both to the need for understanding individual situations and behaviors and to the need for generalized understanding of actual human behaviors is offered. This approach is grounded in the hermeneutic tradition.

Design approaches to experimental mediation

Identifying causal mechanisms has become a cornerstone of experimental social psychology, and editors in top social psychology journals champion the use of mediation methods, particularly innovative ones when possible (e.g. Halberstadt, 2010, Smith, 2012). Commonly, studies in experimental social psychology randomly assign participants to levels of the independent variable and measure the mediating and dependent variables, and the mediator is assumed to causally affect the dependent variable. However, participants are not randomly assigned to levels of the mediating variable(s), i.e., the relationship between the mediating and dependent variables is correlational. Although researchers likely know that correlational studies pose a risk of confounding, this problem seems forgotten when thinking about experimental designs randomly assigning participants to levels of the independent variable and measuring the mediator (i.e., “measurement-of-mediation” designs). Experimentally manipulating the mediator provides an approach to solving these problems, yet these methods contain their own set of challenges (e.g., Bullock, Green, & Ha, 2010). We describe types of experimental manipulations targeting the mediator (manipulations demonstrating a causal effect of the mediator on the dependent variable and manipulations targeting the strength of the causal effect of the mediator) and types of experimental designs (double randomization, concurrent double randomization, and parallel), provide published examples of the designs, and discuss the strengths and challenges of each design. Therefore, the goals of this paper include providing a practical guide to manipulation-of-mediator designs in light of their challenges and encouraging researchers to use more rigorous approaches to mediation because manipulation-of-mediator designs strengthen the ability to infer causality of the mediating variable on the dependent variable.

Feeling Is Believing: Evaluative Conditioning and the Ethics of Pharmaceutical Advertising.

A central goal in regulating direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals (DTCA) is to ensure that explicit drug claims are truthful. Yet imagery can also alter viewer attitudes, and the degree to which this occurs in DTCA is uncertain. Addressing this data gap, we provide evidence that positive feelings produced by images can promote favourable beliefs about pharmaceuticals. We had participants view a fictitious anti-influenza drug paired with unrelated images that elicited either positive, neutral or negative feelings. Participants who viewed positive images rated the influenza drug as significantly more effective, safe, and beneficial than did participants who viewed negative images. This effect, known as evaluative conditioning, is well described in experimental social psychology but has not previously been shown with pharmaceuticals. We discuss how evaluative conditioning in DTCA may compromise viewer autonomy, and canvass possible regulatory responses.

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: BOOSTING THE RETENTION OF WOMEN IN THE STEM PIPELINE

IntroductionThe scarcity of women in science well documented, a nd its impact - profound. A 2012 Report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reported that a deficit of one million science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals will result in the United States' workforce if current rates of training persist (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2012). It's not hard to see how this hurts the United States' competitive position - and will continue to do so if women in STEM meet more gender bias in the U.S. than do women elsewhere, notably in India and China.The conventional wisdom that women haven't progressed in careers in STEM due to the pull of children and early choices not to pursue math and science careers (Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, & Handelsman, 2012). Some studies conclude that the relatively low percentage of women reflects these factors and is not caused by discrimination in STEM (Ceci, Williams, & Banett, 2009; Ceci & Williams, 2011; Ceci et al., 2011).Yet three recent studies found that gender bias also plays a role. One found that even when math skills were identical, both men and women were twice as likely to hire a man for a job that required math (Reuben, Sapienza, & Zingales, 2014). A s econd study found that in academic laboratories in elite universities, male (but not female) scientists employed fewer female than male graduate students and post docs (Sheltzer & Smith, 2014). A third double-blind randomized study gave science faculty at research-intensive universities application materials of a fictitious student randomly assigned a male or female name, and found that both male and female faculty rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hirable than the female with identical application materials (Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham & Handelsman, 2012). These studies are part of a much larger literature on gender bias: experimental social psychologists have documented bias over and over again since the 1980s.STEM fields provide fertile ground for bias for at least two reasons. First, studies of tokenis m document that bias t ends t o occur more often when women make up less than 15%-20% of a given field, which common in ma ny fields of science (although no longer in biology) (Ka nter, 1977a, 1977b). Second, an influential study by Emilio Castilla and Stephen Benard found that bias more common in fields, like science, that see themselves as highly meritocratic (Castilla & Benard, 2010).This report asks a long-standing question: do the patterns documented in experimental social psychologists' labs reflect what actually occurring at wor k for women in t he STEM fields? (Mitchell & Tetlock, 2006). The answer yes. Gender bias exists, and it exists for women of color: 100% of the sixty scientists interviewed for this study reported encountering one or mor e of these patt er ns of gender bias, based on inter views in which we simply described experimental findings and asked women scientists, Does any of that sound familiar? (An earlier study found that 97% of the Black women interviewed were aware of negative stereotypes of Black women, and 80 percent had been personally affected by them (Jones & Shorter-Gooden, 2003)).This research unusual in that it bridges the gap between experimental social psychologists' labs and actual workplaces - and because it examines gender bias among women of color as well as White women. The current body of social psychological work on gender bias has focused almost exclusively on the experiences of White women, leaving the major question of whether these four distinct patterns of bias extend to women of color unanswered.This report adds to a small existing literature on women of color in STEM. The classic report, The Double Bind: The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science, was written in 1976; it reports many of the same patterns of bias documented by this report (Malcolm, Hall, & Brown, 1976). …

Human-centered Development of Underground work Spaces

Underground space is being diversified for more and more functions, including industrial, commercial, transport, educational, and recreational uses. Mixed-use complexes and multi-functional hubs are also being developed underground. As more uses are found for underground space, we should ensure that underground working does not affect human psychology and health. Previous research has examined psychological, health and social aspects associated with underground spaces but mainly employing relatively mono-disciplinary approaches and methodologies, many times in a non-systematic way. Additionally, research up to now has not employed the modern research tools that cognitive neuroscience, experimental social psychology and epidemiology offer. Our research project examines human health, behavior and attitude aspects related to the underground working environment in a multi-disciplinary and holistic way. The overall aim is to examine and address possible psychological and health-related impacts and to enhance social acceptance of underground workspaces. This project begins a unified, systematic and holistic examination of the interaction of human psychology and health with underground spaces to improve public acceptance of underground work. In this study, we present the key elements of a systematic research program examining the relationship between environmental and architectural characteristics of underground spaces with human behavior, cognition and well-being. Initial findings of the research plan show a multi-faceted set of aspects that can affect underground work, from psychological effects on work performance and creativity, social effects on cooperative and risk taking behaviors, health effects, and engineering parameters such as the aesthetic appearance of the space. Problems can arise from the design of underground workspaces, such as disruption from regular exposure to the outdoor environment. Social beliefs, attitudes and cultural meanings can affect the willingness to work underground. The confined environment that is created can amplify issues that are common to all workplaces, including environmental, emotional and motivational factors.

The Undecided Have the Key: Interaction-Driven Opinion Dynamics in a Three State Model.

The effects of interpersonal interactions on individual’s agreements result in a social aggregation process which is reflected in the formation of collective states, as for instance, groups of individuals with a similar opinion about a given issue. This field, which has been a longstanding concern of sociologists and psychologists, has been extended into an area of experimental social psychology, and even has attracted the attention of physicists and mathematicians. In this article, we present a novel model of opinion formation in which agents may either have a strict preference for a choice, or be undecided. The opinion shift emerges, in a threshold process, as a consequence of a cumulative persuasion for either one of the two opinions in repeated interactions. There are two main ingredients which play key roles in determining the steady states: the initial fraction of undecided agents and the change in agents’ persuasion after each interaction. As a function of these two parameters, the model presents a wide range of solutions, among which there are consensus of each opinion and bi-polarization. We found that a minimum fraction of undecided agents is not crucial for reaching consensus only, but also to determine a dominant opinion in a polarized situation. In order to gain a deeper comprehension of the dynamics, we also present the theoretical framework of the model. The master equations are of special interest for their nontrivial properties and difficulties in being solved analytically.

Ecologies of Deception in Psychology and Rhetoric

This article explores deception through the lenses of rhetorical theory and experimental social psychology, thus performing an important interdisciplinary gesture. It argues that deception is emergent in experimental conditions as it likewise is in rhetorical encounters. In so doing, it builds toward an understanding of human agency outside the bounds of the subject/object split. Examining work on rhetorical ecologies and ambience on the one hand, and experimental social psychology on the other, the article argues that deception is not something that one person does to another, but rather is an emergent phenomenon within moments of encounter, whether they be rhetorical interactions or psychological experiments.

Writing a program of social psychological experiment by using Excel VBA

Writing a program of social psychological experiment by using Excel VBA

It's a Matter of Trust: American Judgments of the Credibility of Informal Communicators on Solutions to Climate Change

Using an October 2013 national probability sample of US adults (N = 1737), we examine the credibility of informal communicators (e.g. neighbors, co-workers, religious leaders, and health professionals) on solutions to climate change (regulatory and technological solutions). We present our analysis in terms of Kruglanski et al.’s [(2005). Says who? Epistemic authority effects in social judgment. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 345–392] epistemic authority framework, which explains dynamics of trust in formal sources of authority with specific expertise (e.g. climate scientists) and informal sources of authority in a person's life (e.g. a priest). Trust in formal communicators (scientists and President Obama) consistently predicts trust in informal communicators (e.g. health professionals), and perceived effectiveness of climate solutions. Results further show that social and demographic groups that do not primarily rely on formal communicators on solutions to climate change instead rely more on various informal communicators. For example, political conservatism positively predicts trust in religious leaders, and religiosity further predicts trust in congregants, neighbors, co-workers, bosses and health professionals on solutions to climate change. Discussion focuses on implications for future research, and recommendations for policy actors, environmental communicators, and social marketers interested in broadening the scope of climate outreach.

Learn to Write Badly: How to Succeed in the Social Sciences

Modern academia is increasingly competitive yet the writing style of social scientists is routinely poor and continues to deteriorate. Are social science postgraduates being taught to write poorly? What conditions adversely affect the way they write? And which linguistic features contribute towards this bad writing? Michael Billig's witty and entertaining book analyses these questions in a quest to pinpoint exactly what is going wrong with the way social scientists write. Using examples from diverse fields such as linguistics, sociology and experimental social psychology, Billig shows how technical terminology is regularly less precise than simpler language. He demonstrates that there are linguistic problems with the noun-based terminology that social scientists habitually use - 'reification' or 'nominalization' rather than the corresponding verbs 'reify' or 'nominalize'. According to Billig, social scientists not only use their terminology to exaggerate and to conceal, but also to promote themselves and their work.

A brief psychological intervention to protect subjective well-being in a community sample.

Governments are using measures of subjective well-being in preference to more objective measures of social progress (e.g., gross domestic product), yet interventions to address well-being are often costly. The present study tests the ability of a brief psychological intervention based on self-affirmation theory (Steele in Advances in experimental social psychology, Academic Press, New York, 1988) to protect subjective well-being among a community sample likely to have diminished well-being (i.e., women aged 46years and older, Inglehart in Int J Comp Sociol 43: 391-408, 2002. doi: 10.1177/002071520204300309). One hundred and forty women aged 46years and older completed baseline measures of subjective well-being, interpersonal feelings and self-esteem at baseline before being randomized to a self-affirmation or control group. Subjective well-being, interpersonal feelings and self-esteem were assessed again at follow-up. Results showed that, controlling for baseline subjective well-being, the well-being of women who had self-affirmed was significantly higher at follow-up than those in the control condition. Affirming the self did not significantly influence interpersonal feelings or self-esteem, compared with the control condition. The findings suggest that a low-cost brief psychological intervention based on self-affirmation theory, with potentially large public health "reach," could be used to protect subjective well-being-a key aim of government policies.

Life After NHST: How to Describe Your Data Without “p-ing” Everywhere

In this article we provide concrete guidance to researchers on ways that they can explore and communicate the results of their studies. Although we believe the methods we outline are important for any study, they are particularly useful for researchers who wish to avoid the null hypothesis significance testing paradigm. We articulate three basic principles of data presentation: (a) use graphic displays to facilitate understanding of descriptive statistics, (b) provide measures of variability with measures of central tendency for continuous outcomes, and (c) compute and thoughtfully interpret effect sizes and effect size translations. We then put these principles into action using data drawn from two real social psychological experiments and provide tools (including software code and a new effect size translation) that will help researchers to quickly and efficiently adopt the recommendations that they find sensible.

If You Are Old and Do Not Want to Fall into The Traditional Stereotype—Be Physically Active!

Background/Study Context: Based on the stereotype content model and the behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes map (Cuddy et al., 2008; Advances in experimental social psychology [Vol. 40, pp. 61–149], New York: Academic Press), we examined whether being physically active may challenge the traditional stereotypes related to older adults.Methods: We compared how 94 participants (Mage = 24.48 years, SD = 7.15 years) judged one of three target groups (older adults in general, physically active older adults, and socially active older adults), with regard to perceived status and competition, warmth and competence judgments, emotional and behavioral reactions.Results: Results showed that being physically active was associated with higher status and competence. Physically active older adults were specifically viewed as an admired group eliciting both active (helping) and passive facilitation (associating) tendencies.Conclusion: Beyond the well-known health perspective related to the regular participation of older adults in physical activity, the present results open a social optimistic perspective, in which being physically active seems a promising way to challenge the widespread and resistant stereotype content of older people commonly perpetuated.

Distinct neural processes are engaged in the modulation of mimicry by social group-membership and emotional expressions

People often spontaneously engage in copying each other's postures and mannerisms, a phenomenon referred to as behavioral mimicry. Social psychology experiments indicate that mimicry denotes an implicit affiliative signal flexibly regulated in response to social requirements. Yet, the mediating processes and neural underpinnings of such regulation are largely unexplored. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined mimicry regulation by combining an automatic imitation task with facial stimuli, varied on two social-affective dimensions: emotional expression (angry vs happy) and ethnic group membership (in- vs out-group). Behavioral data revealed increased mimicry when happy and when out-group faces were shown. Imaging results revealed that mimicry regulation in response to happy faces was associated with increased activation in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), right dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), and right superior parietal lobule (SPL). Mimicry regulation in response to out-group faces was related to increased activation in the left ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), bilateral anterior insula, and mid-cingulate cortex (MCC). We suggest that mimicry in response to happy and to out-group faces is driven by distinct affiliative goals, and that mimicry regulation to attain these goals is mediated by distinct neuro-cognitive processes. Higher mimicry in response to happy faces seems to denote reciprocation of an affiliative signal. Higher mimicry in response to out-group faces, reflects an appeasement attempt towards an interaction partner perceived as threatening (an interpretation supported by implicit measures showing that out-group members are more strongly associated with threat). Our findings show that subtle social cues can result in the implicit regulation of mimicry. This regulation serves to achieve distinct affiliative goals, is mediated by different regulatory processes, and relies on distinct parts of an overarching network of task-related brain areas. Our findings shed new light on the neural mechanisms underlying the interplay between implicit action control and social cognition.

Dialogical Self in a Complex World: The Need for Bridging Theories.

Dialogical Self in a Complex World: The Need for Bridging Theories.

The researcher as experimental subject: using self-experimentation to access experiences, understand social phenomena, and stimulate reflexivity.

The current article argues that researcher-as-subject self-experimentation can provide valuable insight and systematic knowledge to social psychologists. This approach, the modus operandi of experimental psychology when the field was in its infancy, has been largely eclipsed by an almost exclusive focus on participant-as-subject other-experimentation. Drawing from the non-experimental first-person traditions of autoethnography, participant observation, and phenomenology, we argue that participating as both observer and subject within one's own social psychological experiment affords researchers at least three potential benefits: (1) access to "social qualia," that is, the subjective experience of social phenomena; (2) improved mental models of social phenomena, potentially stimulating new research questions; and (3) an enhanced ability to be reflexive about the given experiment. To support our position, we provide first-person self-reflections from researchers who have self-experimented with transformed social interactions involving Milgram's cyranoid method. We close by offering guidelines on how one might approach self-experimentation, and discuss a variety of first-person perspective ethnographic technologies that can be incorporated into the practice.

Cross-cultural evidence of value structures and priorities in childhood.

We broaden the developmental focus of the theory of universals in basic human values (Schwartz, 1992, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology) by presenting supportive evidence on children's values from six countries: Germany, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, the United States, and New Zealand. 3,088 7-11-year-old children completed the Picture-Based Value Survey for Children (PBVS-C, Döring etal., 2010, J. Pers. Assess., 92, 439). Grade 5 children also completed the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ, Schwartz, 2003, A proposal for measuring value orientations across nations. Chapter 7 in the Questionnaire Development Package of the European Social Survey). Findings reveal that the broad value structures, sex differences in value priorities and pan-cultural value hierarchies typical of adults have already taken form at this early age. We discuss the conceptual implications of these findings for the new field of children's basic values by embedding them in the recent developmental literature.