Severe Transgressions Research Articles

Personality correlates of dispositional forgiveness: a direct comparison of interpersonal and self-forgiveness using common transgression scenarios.

Although the personality correlates of dispositional interpersonal forgiveness (forgiveness of others) have been well characterized, those of dispositional self-forgiveness are less well understood. Moreover, when the personality correlates are examined for both types of forgiveness, the comparison has been based on participants' self-report ratings on questionnaires. The current study sought to address these gaps in the literature by adopting a scenario-based approach, which has been used less frequently, especially in self-forgiveness research. A total of 160 participants read six fictional scenarios, each describing a severe transgression, from the perspective of the transgressor (self-forgiveness, n = 78) or the victim (interpersonal forgiveness, n = 82) of the transgression, and then responded to several items assessing different facets of forgiveness (avoidance, revenge, and benevolence). Participants' personality (Big Five) and explanatory style were also assessed. Consistent with prior literature, agreeableness and neuroticism generally predicted different facets of interpersonal forgiveness. These two personality traits also predicted facets of self-forgiveness, but, additionally, conscientiousness and one's tendency to internalize failure (the personal component of explanatory style) uniquely predicted self-forgiveness, especially avoidance motivations. These results point to both similarities and differences in the personality correlates of interpersonal and self-forgiveness. As a secondary, more exploratory aim, the current study compared the results from our scenario-based assessment of forgiveness to those based on a commonly used questionnaire, the Other and Self subscales of the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS). As expected, the Other subscale of the HFS were associated with levels of interpersonal forgiveness assessed with our transgression scenarios, but, surprisingly, the HFS Self subscale was more strongly related to interpersonal than self-forgivess assessed with scenarios. Moreover, the Self subscale was not associated with levels of self-forgiveness assessed with transgression scenarios, except for avoidance motivations. These results suggest that scenario-based and questionnaire-based methods may capture different facts of forgiveness and cannot be used interchangeably, especially for the assessment of self-forgiveness. More generally, the current study illustrates the importance of conducting direct within-study comparisons of interpersonal and self-forgiveness as well as of different assessment methods to better understand the similarities and differences between the two types of forgiveness.

Identifying the emotions behind apologies for severe transgressions

Interpersonal transgressions, subsequent apologies, and offered (or withheld) forgiveness hold important consequences for both perpetrators and victims. Research has focused largely on the perceptions of victims and processes that promote forgiveness in relation to transgressions of low severity. In order to extend this domain of inquiry we examined the emotional substrates that facilitate and constrain apologies for severe transgressions (i.e., murder). We collected data on the final statements from incarcerated persons on death row and applied a sentiment analysis to obtain estimates of the emotions expressed in them (i.e., anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, and trust). We manually coded each statement to indicate whether it exhibited some form of apology and compared the emotions expressed in apologetic statements versus non-apologetic statements. Results indicated that overall, final statements reflected high levels of joy and trust. Similar to studies of less severe transgressions, we found that 33.50% of statements contained some form of apology. Our comparative analyses revealed that apologetic statements reflected significantly greater sadness and less anger. In regression and subsequent dominance analyses we found that sadness and anger were the most important emotions to apologizing. We also found that anger moderated the association between sadness and the likelihood of apologizing such that as anger increased the effect of sadness decreased. Taken together these findings suggest that apologies for severe transgressions involve a delicate balance between sadness and anger rather than either emotion in isolation.

Norm Violations, Transgressor Status, and Punishment Intentions: A Meta-Analysis and Experiment

Do people desire to punish high-status wrongdoers relatively more or less than low-status ones? The existing body of evidence examining whether high- or low-status transgressors elicit greater punishment intentions is mixed. In Study 1, we meta-analyze 36 studies testing the effect of transgressor status and transgression type on punishment intentions. We observe no main effect of transgressor status (d = .08). We find that high-status transgressors elicit greater punishment intentions for severe transgressions (d = -.13), whereas low-status transgressors encourage greater punishment intentions for non-severe transgressions (d = .37). The meta-analysis also shows that high-status transgressors generate greater punishment intentions for harm-based acts (i.e., acts that violate norms of kindness), and low-status transgressors for betrayal acts (i.e., those which undermine a sense of self-sacrifice for the group), but these results seem to be driven by differences in transgression severity. Overall, the results of the meta-analysis support a role schema explanation: People seem to view transgressions violating high-status role-specific expectations as more severe, encouraging greater punishment intentions for these acts. In Study 2, we retested these role schema theory-consistent findings in a preregistered experiment. The results replicated the findings that high-status transgressors elicit greater punishment intentions for acts of harm, but not acts of betrayal, because such acts are deemed to be more severe when committed by high- (versus low) status transgressors. Our findings reveal that observers appraise transgressive behavior as a function of the transgressor’s status as well as the nature of the transgression. Transgressive behavior that is deemed to violate status role-specific expectations elicits perceptions of greater severity and greater punishment.

Could your candidate shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose votes? Identifying “lines in the sand” in ingroup candidate transgressions

How severely must a political candidate transgress in order to lose votes from supporters? What characteristics motivate people to vote for highly transgressive political candidates? By parametrically varying our novel, ecologically-valid scale of transgression severity across 70 voter-choice trials, the current study modeled the relationship between ingroup candidate transgression severity and voter choice to identify 1) The point of severity at which people abandon political ingroup members and vote for the outgroup, and 2) Ideological differences in this relationship. Across 70 trials, 493 Mturk participants chose to vote for an ingroup candidate or outgroup candidate after learning the ingroup candidate transgressed. A multilevel logistic model revealed the hypothesized relationships: people were more likely to abandon ingroup candidates as transgression severity increased, and participants with a stronger ideological identity were more likely to vote for transgressive ingroup candidates than less-identified individuals. Further, Republicans possessed a higher severity threshold than Democrats, such that they voted for the ingroup candidate for more severe transgressions than Democrats.

Die probleem van historiese skuld in Suid-Afrika The problem of historical guilt in South Africa

OPSOMMING Historiese skuld is ten beste 'n baie problematiese konsep. Dit word duidelik geïllustreer deur die Duitse geskiedenis sedert 1945, toe die Duitsers vir hulself rekenskap moes gee van hul optrede in die jare 1933-1945.1 Wié het wát aan wié gedoen? Wie besluit oor die vraag van skuld of onskuld van wie? En wie of wat gee hulle die reg om dit te doen? Welke morele of regsbeginsels word in die proses gebruik? Ook: Hoe ver moet in die tyd teruggegaan word? Na Columbus se aankoms in die Nuwe Wêreld in 1492? Na Jan van Riebeeck se koms na die Kaap in 1652? Na die "Scramble for Africa" in die negentiende eeu? Die verwoesting van die Boererepublieke en die groot sterfte van die Republikeinse burgerlike bevolking in die konsentrasiekampe in 1899-1902? Die begin van apartheid in 1948? Dit is vrae wat nie so maklik beantwoord kan word nie. Tog, gebeure wat 'n sekere morele grens oorskry - soos die volksmoord op die Jode in die Tweede Wereldoorlog, die Rwandese volksmoord van 1994, of die etniese "suiwering" in die Balkan in dieselfde tyd - het uitgekristalliseer in 'n bepaalde konsensus oor internasionale optrede rakende menseregte in die breedste sin van die woord, en dit is geformaliseer in 'n sekere juridiese benadering oor die saak. Oor die kwessie van historiese skuld in Suid-Afrika is, in elk geval op politieke vlak, reeds besluit. Die paradigma wat die ANC aan die Waarheids-en-Versoeningskommissie (WVK) voorgehou het - wat, met sekere nuanses, basies deur die WVK aanvaar is - was dat daar twee kante in die bevrydingstryd was. Oorvereenvoudig, was dit die "siegte ouens" (die apartheidsregering) teen die "goeie ouens" (die bevrydingsbewegings, veral die ANC/SAKP). Trefwoorde: Apartheid, kommunisme, ANC/SAKP, Nazisme, Karl Jaspers, Alfred Nzo, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, pres. FW de Klerk, Afrikanernasionalisme, Lenin, Gandhi, Albert Luthuli, Kabwe, MK, Chris Hani, WVK, Joe Slovo ABSTRACT South Africans are very quick to accuse one another of having been very bad in the past. Afrikaners are accused of severe race discrimination in the form of apartheid. They are portrayed as uniquely evil, almost as bad as the Nazi's in the Second World War. At the same time, especially the ANC/SACP is accused of severe transgressions, such as terrorism in the name of a freedom struggle, supportfor a totalitarian system in the form of Marxism-Leninism, and extreme intolerance of deviant viewpoints in the liberation movement. It would be wrong to view the matter in a simplified way, as the problem of historical guilt is a complex one. In this article, the problem is, firstly, examined from an ethical perspective. Apartheid must be recognised as - when viewed from a Christian viewpoint - immoral and wrong. The policy is examined in detail, with the conclusion that, while there were fleeting moments in which things could have developed more positively, these moments were still-born. Subsequently, the accusation that apartheid was akin to Nazism is examined. It is concluded that, while there were superficial similarities, the differences were too deep, in principle, to be taken seriously. Another aspect that should be seriously considered is why the Afrikaners actually acted in a particular way. Without defending what they had done, it is clear that they, in their own minds, were convinced that the very survival of Afrikaners as a people was at stake amidst threatening historical circumstances exemplified by the political, cultural and economic onslaught of British imperialism, as well as the looming shadow of a vastly superior majority of black people. Lastly, there is the question as to whether the ANC/SACP also has historical guilt to carry. In the light of the way in which the very Kremlin-loyal SACP during the years took over the leadership of the alliance, the answer must be yes. The alliance wanted to replace apartheid with Communism, a policy which has as severe ethical problems as may be ascribed to apartheid. Also, the alliance handled dissenters in an extremely intolerant way by locking them up in concentration camps, where they were treated very cruelly. It is hoped that a nuanced treatise like this could promote a public debate in South Africa. Keywords: Apartheid, communism, ANC/SACP, Nazis, Karl Jaspers, Alfred Nzo, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, President FW de Klerk, Afrikaner nationalism, Lenin, Gandhi, Albert Luthuli, Kabwe, MK, Chris Hani, TRC, Joe Slovo

Memory and Counterfactual Simulations for Past Wrongdoings Foster Moral Learning and Improvement.

In four studies, we investigated the role of remembering, reflecting on, and mutating personal past moral transgressions to learn from those moral mistakes and to form intentions for moral improvement. Participants reported having ruminated on their past wrongdoings, particularly their more severe transgressions, and they reported having frequently thought about morally better ways in which they could have acted instead (i.e., morally upward counterfactuals; Studies 1-3). The more that participants reported having mentally simulated morally better ways in which they could have acted, the stronger their intentions were to improve in the future (Studies 2 and 3). Implementing an experimental manipulation, we then found that making accessible a morally upward counterfactual after committing a moral transgression strengthened reported intentions for moral improvement-relative to resimulating the remembered event and considering morally worse ways in which they could have acted instead (Study 4). We discuss the implications of these results for competing theoretical views on the relationship between memory and morality and for functional theories of counterfactual thinking.

Examining the Interaction Between Potentially Morally Injurious Events and Religiosity in Relation to Alcohol Misuse Among Military Veterans.

Given the disproportionate rate of alcohol misuse among veterans and related outcomes as compared to the general population, the examination of predictors of alcohol misuse in this population is imperative. Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs), defined as severe transgressions of a moral code, have been positively associated with alcohol misuse. Exposure to PMIEs may challenge one's religious beliefs, which may, in turn, influence the strength of the association between PMIEs and alcohol misuse among military veterans. The goal of the current study was to examine the potential moderating role of religiosity in the association between PMIEs and alcohol misuse (i.e., alcohol consumption, drinking behaviors, adverse reactions to drinking, and alcohol-related problems). Participants were 496 military veterans in the community (Mage = 37.80 years, SD = 11.42; 70.5% male). The results of moderation analyses indicated that overall religiosity, organizational religiosity, and intrinsic religiosity significantly moderated the association between PMIEs and alcohol misuse such that the positive relation between PMIEs and alcohol misuse was stronger at high versus low levels of religiosity, R2 s = .01. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the role of religiosity in relation to alcohol misuse as a moral injury outcome and the potential utility of tailoring treatments for military veterans who have experienced moral injury.

Die Kompetenzverteilung im Übergang von der österreichischen Monarchie zur Republik Österreich

In October 1918, the Republic of (German‐)Austria came into life following the dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy as a decentralized unitary state, consisting of provinces called Länder. In connection with subsequent decisions of the Provisional National Assembly, the same situation as in the Austrian monarchy arose with regard to the distribution of competences between the state and the Länder − with one major modification regarding the allocation of the state administration, which was now generally transferred to the Länder. Due to the connection of the state administration with the autonomous administration of the Länder, severe transgressions of competences committed by several provincial governments provoked the establishment of a ‘Länderkonferenz’ serving as an ‘infrastructural contact committee’ to resolve discrepancies between the state government and the provincial governments. In connection with the assertion of competences in drafting of the future federal constitution by the Länder, the Länderkonferenz also served at times as a federal forum for constitutional policy‐making.

Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy for Moral Trauma (BEP-MT): treatment protocol description and a case study

ABSTRACT Background: Traumatic events can be related to severe transgressions or violations of moral boundaries. Moral injury (MI) has been described as ‘the lasting psychological, biological, spiritual, behavioral and social impact of perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.’ These events can provoke emotions such as remorse, guilt and shame, and affects someone’s self-image and identity. Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate a treatment protocol that addresses the specific characteristics of moral trauma in treatment of PTSD, next to anxiety. Method: Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy for Moral Trauma (BEP-MT) is an adaptation of the evidence-based Brief Eclectic Psychotherapy for PTSD (BEPP). BEP-MT integrates components of cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic, constructivist, and systemic psychotherapy. In the current study treatment progress of a refugee Dusan was monitored. Prior to and after treatment the Clinical-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5, the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Moral Injury Appraisal Scale (MIAS) were administered. Every session moral emotions were assessed on a Likert scale. Results: Whereas PTSD complaints and strong feelings of guilt and shame were manifest prior to treatment, during BEP MT a gradual decline in the intensity of the moral emotions was found. After BEP-MT Dusan no longer met criteria for PTSD and his psychological complaints diminished. Conclusion: The case of Dusan has shown it is worthwhile to address moral trauma and BEP- MT is a promising treatment protocol for patients suffering from PTSD after moral trauma. Further research is needed to examine the effectiveness of BEP-MT.

Can self-referencing exacerbate punishing behavior toward corporate brand transgressors?

This article investigates consumer reactions (punishing behavior) regarding corporate brands that engage in various types of transgressions (mild vs. severe) through a scenario-based experiment. The study adopts a 2 × 2 factorial design that examines the moderating role of self-referencing on the relationship between brand transgression severity and the punishing behavior of consumers. Before conducting the main study, the researchers carried out a pilot study to acquire insights about the severity levels of various brand transgressions as well as to determine the likelihood of individuals encountering them. The main study confirms that there is an interaction effect between self-referencing and transgression severity on consumer punishing behavior. More notably, this research highlights the fact that in cases of mild transgressions, having a point of self-reference in the transgression prompts individuals to punish the transgressor more harshly than in cases of severe transgressions. This finding may serve as a warning for corporate brands, demonstrating that they need to be careful about mild transgressions because even when they represent violations of minor rules, they can have deleterious effects on consumer–brand relationships.

Towards Positive Aging: Links between Forgiveness and Health.

Forgiveness may serve as an essential positive resource to help individuals cope emotionally with stressful events, ultimately influencing health. Examination of how individuals forgive within the context of close relationships can provide useful information about positive aging. In this study, we examine how the severity of a recent transgression committed by a spouse/partner or other close social relationship is associated with self-reported physical health among older adults. We also examine how state forgiveness (i.e., in context of a specific event) can offset the potentially negative impact of transgressions on health and further compare the impact when the transgressor is a spouse/partner versus another close social relationship. Data are from the Detroit Community Survey, a cross-sectional survey of social relations, forgiveness, humility, and health in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Respondents age 50 and older were selected for analysis (N=380). Structural equation models indicated that greater transgression severity was associated with worse self-rated health. Further, state forgiveness was found to play a significant moderating role. Among older adults who were more likely to forgive their transgressor, experiencing a more severe transgression was associated with worse health. In contrast, among older adults less likely to forgive, there was no association between transgression severity and self-rated health. Additionally, among older adults less likely to forgive, the transgressor being a close other social relationship was associated with worse health compared to when it was a spouse/partner. In contrast, when more likely to forgive there was no association between who the transgressor was and self-rated health. This study contributes to a better understanding of how interpersonal stress, specifically a recent transgression experienced within the context of close social relationships, can be harmful to older adults’ health. Findings highlight the importance of forgiveness as a resource that can help facilitate positive aging.

The effects of scandalization in political news messages on political trust and message evaluation

Recent decades have seen an increase in the frequency of ‘scandalization’ in political news, a practice in which journalists try to persuade the public that there is a scandal, sometimes by exaggerating the importance of minor mistakes or improprieties. At the moment, little is known about the effects of this practice on news consumers. In this study, we investigated the effects of scandalization on news consumers’ evaluations of the politician involved in the scandal, as well as the news message itself. We expected that such responses would be contingent on the perceived severity of the alleged transgression. We conducted an experiment in which we randomized participants (128 undergraduate students at a Dutch university) into a 2(mild versus severe transgression) X 2(scandalization versus control) between participants design. The results showed that, in the mild transgression condition, a scandalizing message caused participants to perceive the alleged events as less serious than a control message, and that scandalization resulted in lower levels of perceived message appropriateness and message trust. No effects of scandalization were found in the severe transgression condition. We conclude that scandalization does not inevitably lead to lower levels of political trust and increased political cynicism. It can, however, lead to lower levels of trust in news reporting when the transgression is seen as mild.

Effects of relational transgressions on idealization of and disillusionment with one's romantic partner: A three‐wave longitudinal study

AbstractIn this three‐wave study (n = 121 couples), we tested whether one couple‐member's relational transgressions (high and low severity) at Wave 1 predicted less idealization on warmth and competence traits and greater disillusionment by the partner at the next two waves. It was hypothesized that (a) greater frequency of the target partner's severe transgressions in 1 month would be needed to reduce how much the other partner idealized the target in the competence domain, (b) higher frequency of even relatively less severe transgressions would lower the partner's idealization of the target in the warmth domain, and (c) any transgressions would raise perceivers' disillusionment. Longitudinal analyses (controlling for earlier idealization and disillusionment) substantially supported predictions.

Empathy and Forgiveness Among Mozambican Wives

The relationship between empathy and forgiveness was assessed in a sample of Mozambican wives. A sample of 225 wives was presented with 24 vignettes depicting an affair between a husband and a woman. Vignettes were composed of all combinations of three factors: the length of the marriage, the severity of the affair, and the presence and nature of apologies. Wives were asked to judge the extent to which, in such circumstances, they would be able to regain the ability to empathize with their husband and, later, the degree to which they would feel able to forgive him. Through cluster analysis, qualitatively different positions were found. For 47%, it was never easy either to regain empathy or to forgive. For 8%, it was always easy. For 28%, it depended on the severity of the affair and on the presence of apologies. For the remaining 18%, it also depended on the length of marriage. Overall, in 71% of the cases, positions were similar with regard to both, empathy and forgiveness. Nevertheless, in 29% of the cases, positions differed. Because for most wives empathy was thus very closely associated with forgiveness, the results suggest that empathy-centered psychological therapies can be considered as quite appropriate in the Mozambican context in situations in which women would like to forgive more or less severe transgressions. However, given that for 21% of the women the empathy–forgiveness association appeared to be much weaker, alternative therapies based on practices developed by local women’s associations should also be considered.

When Saying "Sorry" Isn't Enough: Is Some Suicidal Behavior a Costly Signal of Apology? : A Cross-Cultural Test.

Lethal and nonlethal suicidal behaviors are major global public health problems. Much suicidal behavior (SB) occurs after the suicide victim committed a murder or other serious transgression. The present study tested a novel evolutionary model termed the Costly Apology Model (CAM) against the ethnographic record. The bargaining model (BRM) sees nonlethal suicidal behavior as an evolved costly signal of need in the wake of adversity. Relying on this same theoretical framework, the CAM posits that nonlethal suicidal behavior can sometimes serve as an honest signal of apology in the wake of committing a severe transgression, thereby repairing valuable social relationships. To test this hypothesis, the CAM was operationalized into a set of variables, and two independent coders coded 473 text records on suicidal behavior from 53 cultures from the probability sample of the Human Relations Area Files. The results indicated that in ethnographic accounts of suicidal behavior, transgressions, punishment, and shame were relatively common, supporting the CAM, but explicit motives to apologize and evidence of forgiveness were rare, contrary to the CAM. The theoretical variables of the CAM nevertheless formed a cluster distinct from the BRM, and a subset of cases of suicidal behavior were largely related to transgressions and other CAM variables rather than BRM or other variables. Support for the CAM varied widely across cultures, but there was evidence for it in every major geographical region. Exploratory analyses suggested that the CAM is potentially more likely to occur in response to severe conflicts concerning transgressions committed against nonkin. Furthermore, in text records that involved transgressions, male suicidal behavior was most frequently associated with murder, whereas female suicidal behavior was most frequently associated with sexual transgressions. In conclusion, the results provided mixed support for the hypothesis that some instances of suicidal behavior function to send a costly signal of apology to those harmed by a transgression.

Forgive and Forget: A Typology of Transgressions and Forgiveness Strategies in Married and Dating Relationships

One hundred twenty-three married and 93 dating adults completed a survey describing the role of forgiveness in their relationship, detailing relational transgressions that prompted forgiveness, the perceived severity of the transgression, and strategies used to express forgiveness. An inductive analysis of participant responses forms the basis to develop a typology of strategies that romantic couples use to communicate forgiveness. Specifically, dating partners tend to favor a minimizing strategy to forgive one another, whereas married couples tend to use discussion and explicit strategies. The discussion strategy was most commonly used to communicate forgiveness, especially following a severe transgression. For milder transgressions, partners tend to favor minimizing and nonverbal forgiveness. A new potentially detrimental forgiveness strategy, pseudo-forgiveness, is also uncovered among married participants and its implications are discussed.

Effects of brand transgressions on third-party consumers

PurposeBrand transgressions, characterized by service failure, are a frequent theme for marketing scholars. Their impact on satisfaction, trust and brand loyalty is of high interest. However, in assessing the influence of those events on third-party consumers, the literature is still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to explore how social distance explains the reactions of close and distant third-party consumers toward other consumers during a brand transgression event. Anger is analyzed as a driver of this process.Design/methodology/approachTwo experiments were conducted. Both studies presented a 3 (social distance: victim vs close third party vs distant third party) by 2 (severity: low vs high) between-subjects design. Respondents were asked to read a transgression scenario in a mobile phone service (study 1) and in a restaurant (study 2) and then completed scales that measured their affective reactions and evaluations of the relationship – satisfaction, trust, and loyalty intention – with the transgressing brand.FindingsThe results showed that transgression severity intensifies the effect of the brand transgression on consumer’s anger. Victims and close third parties demonstrated higher levels of anger compared to distant third-party consumers. In the case of severe transgressions, an experience of anger contagion between victims and close third-party consumers was responsible for the negative effect on the relationship evaluation of the transgressing brand compared to distant third-party consumers.Originality/valueThis study extends previous research about how social distance influences consumer-brand relationships and demonstrates the mediating role played by affective anger contagion.

The Whistleblower's Dilemma in Young Children: When Loyalty Trumps Other Moral Concerns.

When a group engages in immoral behavior, group members face the whistleblower's dilemma: the conflict between remaining loyal to the group and standing up for other moral concerns. This study examines the developmental origins of this dilemma by investigating 5-year-olds' whistleblowing on their in- vs. outgroup members' moral transgression. Children (n = 96) watched puppets representing their ingroup vs. outgroup members commit either a mild or a severe transgression. After the mild transgression, children tattled on both groups equally often. After the severe transgression, however, they were significantly less likely to blow the whistle on their ingroup than on the outgroup. These results suggest that children have a strong tendency to act on their moral concerns, but can adjust their behavior according to their group's need: When much is at stake for the ingroup (i.e., after a severe moral transgression), children's behavior is more likely to be guided by loyalty.

Evaluating solutions to the problem of false positives

A current challenge for the scientific community is the choice of appropriate policies to reduce the rate of false positives. Existing proposals differ in whether to prioritize tackling omission through transparency requirements, punishing more severe transgressions, or possibly both. We use a formal model to evaluate these possible solutions. We find that a policy that prohibitively increases the cost of ‘misdemeanor’ types of questionable research practices robustly decreases the overall rate of researcher misconduct, because the rate of ‘felonies’, such as fabrication, also decreases. Therefore proposals that aim to prevent lying by omission by enforcing reporting guidelines are likely to be effective in reducing researcher misconduct, but measures such as government audits (purported to counteract pure fraud) can backfire. Moreover, we find that an increase in the rewards of publication need not increase overall misconduct.

To sponsor or not to sponsor: Transgressions are unequally detrimental

Extant research in endorsements has widely examined the impacts of scandals on the evaluations of tarnished endorsers and endorsed brands. However, less is known about the impacts of specific scandal characteristics on tarnished endorsers and endorsed brands. Capitalizing on the cue-diagnosticity theory, this study investigates the influence of transgression relevance and severity on the evaluations of athlete endorsers and endorsed brands. The results indicate that transgression severity and relevance yield different patterns of erosion on endorser expertise, endorser images, and endorsed brands. Specifically, high-severity transgressions are more detrimental than low-severity transgressions to brand evaluations. However, high-relevance transgressions are more detrimental than low-relevance transgressions only when the severity of transgression is high. Severe transgressions are not severely detrimental unless the transgressions are highly relevant to the expertise of the athlete endorsers. Thus, the consideration of sponsorship termination for tarnished athlete endorsers should be hierarchical. It is plausible to terminate the sponsorship for tarnished endorsers involved in severe and relevant transgressions. However, some tolerance may be given for athlete endorsers involved in severe, but irrelevant, transgressions.