Studies 1a Research Articles

Romantic Relationships as a Source of Significance

ABSTRACTDrawing on significance quest theory and its derived model of romantic relationships, we demonstrated that perceiving romantic partners as having socially valued qualities (partners’ merit) and as admiring and caring (partners’ appreciation) enhanced actors’ significance gained through the romantic relationship which, in turn, increased the likelihood to enter (Studies 1A and 1B) and maintain (Study 2) romantic relationships. Further, Study 3 demonstrated that significance gained through romantic relationships and inclusion of the other in the self were independently associated with romantic partners’ merit and appreciation and the likelihood of maintaining romantic relationships. Finally, Study 4 showed that people experiencing feelings of significance loss were more sensitive to their partners’ merit and appreciation features. Findings are compared with the rich social psychological literature on romantic relationships and future directions are outlined.

Cross‐cultural dynamics of narcissism and prosocial behavior: Unveiling the role of social status pursuit and collectivism

AbstractThis paper explores the relationship between narcissism and prosocial behavior, challenging the mainstream view that narcissism typically undermines prosocial actions. We argue that in collectivist cultures, where social harmony and interdependence are central, narcissistic traits can manifest as prosocial behavior, driven by the pursuit of social status. This dynamic is moderated by interdependent self‐construal, which ties personal identity to group relationships. To substantiate our claim, we conducted four comprehensive studies. Study 1 (N = 425) analyzed the cross‐cultural variance in the relationship between narcissism and prosocial behavior. Studies 2A (N = 244) and 2B (N = 295) accessed and manipulated the interdependent self‐construal individuals in both Eastern and Western cultural settings to explore the moderating role of cultural tendencies. Study 3 (N = 605) explored a moderated mediation model to explore the mechanisms underpinning the facilitated effect of narcissism on prosocial behavior through the social status pursuit. Our research shows that in collectivist settings, narcissism can fuel prosocial behaviors, moderated by interdependent self‐construal, which connects narcissism to prosocial behavior through the desire for social status. This breakthrough deepens our understanding of narcissism within cultural contexts, highlighting the importance of considering cultural factors in psychological research and offering new insights into the diverse expressions of personality traits across societies.

Sequential Decision Making in Beach Volleyball-A Mixed-Method Approach.

Which opponent player to sequentially serve to in beach volleyball is crucial given the advantage of the attacking team. The sequential choice theory was tested in three studies by analyzing allocation strategies based on the hot hand belief. Study 1 showed strong belief in the hot hand of national coaches. In Study 2, we analyzed Tokyo Olympics data to explore how base rates and sequential selection rates varied in an elite sample. When base rates of players differed by 0.25, low-performing players were frequently selected. In an experiment with elite athletes, Study 3A demonstrated accurate base-rate-difference recognition but low base-rate-change recognition. Study 3B found that the hot hand is believed to be important but is not often detected. We conclude that players and coaches follow predictions of the sequential choice theory and believe in the hot hand, but do not have a shared understanding of how to use it.

Increasing recycling with charitable incentives

Many businesses have moved toward a circular economy, collecting their packaging material from customers to be reintroduced into their remanufacturing processes. For these programs to be successful, individuals must voluntarily, and often effortfully, dispose of their used materials in specific ways. The goal of the present research is to evaluate the effectiveness of charitable incentives in promoting effortful recycling. We explore whether the type of charitable recipient – human or non-human – differently promotes effortful recycling, and examine how people's environmental values may moderate these effects. Five studies (N = 3572) utilizing real disposal decisions and consequential disposal intentions demonstrate that when individuals are informed that by recycling an item a donation will be made to a non-profit organization, effortful recycling increases—an effect that is observed for both environmental and youth recipients (Studies 1–4b). However, an environmental charitable recipient was less motivating for people who had less concern for the environment (Studies 3 and 4b). We find that an environmental charitable recipient increases effortful recycling because of an enhanced perception of making an impact, while a youth charitable recipient increases effortful recycling through greater empathy (Studies 4a and 4b). We conclude that efforts to increase material recovery using charitable incentives can be effective, and should carefully consider the values of their intended audience along with charitable recipient type.

Quality–Quantity Tradeoffs in Consumption

Abstract Tradeoffs between quality and quantity are widespread in consumer decision-making. While existing research has focused on situational and contextual factors driving choices of higher-quality or higher-quantity purchases, in the current work, we find that consumers possess generalized preferences for quality or quantity across purchase categories. Some consumers systematically prefer quality over quantity, and others systematically prefer quantity over quality. In 32 studies (N = 24,404) that use correlational, experimental, and longitudinal designs, and proprietary data from the Federal Reserve Bank, the current research introduces quality–quantity preferences as a novel facet of consumer decision-making. Studies 1–3 demonstrate quality–quantity preferences as an individual difference, develop the “quality-quantity tradeoffs” scale to measure it, and demonstrate that it is different from related existing constructs. Studies 4A–5 show that consumers who prefer quantity over quality spend more money, borrow more, and accrue more debt, indicating that quality–quantity preferences are consequential. Taken together, our findings underscore the importance of quality–quantity preferences as a driver of consumer behavior and pave the way for future research investigating the causes and consequences of consumers’ dispositions toward quality or quantity.

Out of sight, out of mind: How high-level construals can decrease the ethical framing of risk-mitigating behavior.

Organizational failures often cause significant harm to employees, the organization itself, and the environment. Investigations of failures consistently highlight how key employees behaved in (perhaps unintentionally) unethical ways that de-prioritized safety, such as investing fewer resources in safety (vs. other priorities) over time. Drawing on these investigations, we suggest a previously underexplored theme could explain why organizational failures persist and why employees did not "see" the potential for their behaviors to cause harm to others: Employees were distanced from where the harm eventually occurred, either in terms of space (e.g., being located miles away from the job site) or time (e.g., making decisions that would not have impacts for months or years). We use construal level theory to investigate how the way employees construe where work occurs-defined as work context construal-influences perceptions of harm and the ethical framing of risk-mitigating behaviors. We hypothesize that high-level (abstract) work context construals (vs. low-level, concrete ones) reduce perceptions of potential harm which, in turn, leads to framing risk-mitigating behaviors as less of an ethical obligation. Six studies-a correlational survey of aviation employees (Study 1), field experiments with offshore drilling employees (Study 2A) and health care workers (Study 2B), a preregistered experiment with nurses (Study 3), and two supplemental studies (Studies 4A/B)-support our hypotheses. We discuss implications of this research for understanding organizational failures, particularly in a world where technology increasingly enables employees to monitor complex and high-risk work occurring many miles away, or on the other side of the world. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of Social Exclusion on Self-Evaluation: Domain Discrepancy Based on the Big Two Model.

Prior studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects of social exclusion on an individual's self-perception. Nonetheless, existing literature has predominantly focused on its impact on global self-esteem, often neglecting the nuanced effects of various reasons for social exclusion on distinct dimensions of self-evaluation, such as agency and communion. Based on the Big Two model perspective, the present research aims to examine the differential impacts of social exclusion on the distinct dimensions of self-evaluation, namely agency and communion, considering the reasons for social exclusion. It is hypothesized that social exclusion affects different facets of self-evaluation-agency and communion-depending on the context of exclusion. Study 1 identified negative correlations between perceived social exclusion and self-evaluation measures through questionnaires, including global self-esteem and the self-concepts of agency and communion, within a sample of 483 participants (283 females). Studies 2a (n = 93; 75 females) and 2b (n = 91; 66 females), which employed a recall paradigm to manipulate social exclusion in the domains of communion and agency, respectively, revealed that communion exclusion diminished communal self-evaluation, and agency exclusion significantly reduced both agentic and communal self-evaluation. These findings highlight the necessity of distinguishing various types of social exclusion and their distinct effects on the dimensions of self-concept. The research has important implications for the development of interventions aimed at enhancing individual psychological well-being and promoting inclusive social environments.

The erosion of rationality in high vulnerability conditions: A cognitive‐disruption perspective

AbstractThis research examines how a decision‐maker's perceived vulnerability influences their susceptibility to the “anecdotal bias,” a phenomenon where statistical evidence is disregarded in favor of anecdotal information. Across six studies, our research shows that high vulnerability aggravates the anecdotal bias instead of reducing it. Study 1 provides preliminary evidence that high vulnerability exacerbates the anecdotal bias among individuals seeking decision‐relevant information in the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Studies 2A and 2B demonstrate that high vulnerability intensifies the anecdotal bias in different decision contexts. Study 3 replicates these findings and identifies negative emotional arousal as a key mechanism underlying this effect. Study 4 examines the moderating role of personal relevance, showing that when individuals make decisions for others (vs. themselves), high vulnerability does not lead to the anecdotal bias. Moreover, it is cognitive disruption and intuitive thinking caused by negative emotional arousal that increases reliance on anecdotal (vs. statistical) information. Finally, Study 5 demonstrates the moderating effect of mindfulness meditation, highlighting its role as a preemptive safeguard against this biased behavior. Theoretical contributions and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Unhappy Beliefs of Happiness: Investigating the Mechanisms Underlying the Links Between Negative Hedonic Beliefs and Diminished Well-Being

In spite of extensive research that links the absence of pain with happiness, it remains puzzling why possessing beliefs equating the absence of pain with happiness (negative hedonic beliefs) undermine experienced happiness and what underlying mechanisms can explain this paradox. We conducted five studies to address these questions. The participants who had more negative hedonic beliefs exhibited decreased well-being, including subjective well-being and psychological well-being, alongside heightened depression and physical symptoms (Study 1a), an effect that persisted after controlling for behavioral inhibition/activation systems (Study 1b). Hypersensitivity to negative experiences, which reflects a reduced inclination to engage in negative experiences, even when positives exist, mediated the links between negative hedonic beliefs and poor well-being both cross-sectionally (Study 2) and longitudinally (Study 3). Moreover, the propensity to avoid negative experiences was observed in behavioral intention, primarily due to heightened anticipated negative affect when an event was manipulated to include negative aspects (Study 4). Together, the effort to eliminate negative experiences, as adhered to by individuals with negative hedonic beliefs, tends to prevent them from recognizing the potential benefits of unpleasant experiences, inadvertently depriving themselves of opportunities for the enhancement of their well-being.

Humor in Online Brand-to-Brand Dialogues: Unveiling the Difference Between Top Dog and Underdog Brands

Many brands periodically respond humorously to the content that other brands and celebrities post on social media. Drawing on three scenario-based experiments and a content analysis of humorous X posts based on their likes and reposts, the authors use the benign violation theory to understand whether using humor constitutes a benign (i.e., translating into amusement) or malign (i.e., translating into ulterior motives) violation. The success of a humorous brand-to-brand interaction (i.e., brand attitudes and purchase intentions) depends on its ability to generate amusement without causing customers to suspect ulterior motives. Study 1's results reveal that customers respond more favorably when brands use affiliative humor rather than aggressive humor. Affiliative humor constitutes a benign violation that generates amusement, while aggressive humor constitutes a malign violation that leads customers to infer that brands have ulterior motives. Study 2 shows that aggressive humor partially compensates for its weaknesses over affiliative humor when brands target competing brands. Studies 3a and 3b reveal a reversed effect depending on brand positioning (top dogs vs. underdogs). While underdog brands should always use affiliative humor, top dog brands could perform better by favoring aggressive humor (i.e., such brands could receive more likes and reposts without lowering customers’ purchase intentions).

Is Technology Uniquely Placed to Solve Our Problems? An Examination Into Technosolutionism, What It Entails and What It Predicts

Technology plays an important role in business and society. This has resulted in the belief that technology is in a unique position to solve organizational and societal problems. However, technology is not regarded as equally impactful by all. To explore these differences, we designed a technosolutionism scale to measure the extent to which individuals deem technological solutions to be better-suited to address organizational and societal problems. In Studies 1a and 1b, exploratory and confirmatory analyses indicated two reliable factors: (1) near-term and (2) long-term focused technosolutionism. Study 2 confirmed the scale’s convergent and discriminant validity. Next, we tested the predictive validity of the technosolutionism scale. We argue that a propensity to consider intelligent technologies as being able to provide solutions should also predict preferences in areas where technological solutions are being considered in response to organizational issues. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrate that the technosolutionism scale relates to preferences for a robot over a human in job replacement decisions and preferences for artificial intelligence managers over human managers in managerial decision-making tasks, respectively. This is an important finding as current research indicates that people are generally against being replaced or being managed by intelligent technologies, whereas our findings indicate that this preference flips when it comes to those with a higher propensity for technosolutionism. Our technosolutionism scale can be used to gauge the extent to which individuals believe that technology is uniquely placed to solve problems, such that they opt for intelligent technological solutions over and above other (human) solutions.

Female sexual Objectification Among Gay Men: Neural and Cultural Insights

Research on sexual objectification has mostly taken a heterosexual perspective and has studied gay men to understand when they become victims rather than agents of this phenomenon. In three studies we investigated gay men as agents of sexual objectification and the underlying motives that guide their biased perceptions. In Study 1, using electroencephalography, gay men showed to objectify women more than men. In Study 2a and Study 2b, results confirmed this tendency and demonstrated that exposure to sexually objectified depictions of women on content-rather than relational-based (social) media was positively related to the sexual objectification of women. Media exposure to female sexualization can increase and explain why women remain the target of sexual objectification regardless of one’s sexual orientation.

When Is Digital Censorship Permissible? A Conversation Norms Account

Abstract How do people decide what should—and should not—be censored? Seven studies investigate the psychology of digital censorship regarding user-generated content. Study 1 is inductive, identifying three dimensions—content, intent, and outcomes—along which consumers believe censorship decisions regarding user-generated content should be made. Despite the prevailing practice of content-based digital-censorship decisions—that is, censorship based on whether the focal content includes negative, concrete attributes such as obscene language and violence—people’s acceptance of censorship decisions is determined, in part, by the degree to which the creator’s intent is considered (an “intent-sensitivity hypothesis”; Studies 2A–2D) even when failing to censor would engender negative consequences. The current research contends that this effect stems from people’s belief that when online platforms make censorship decisions regarding user-generated content, they should abide by conversation norms. Thus, people demonstrate less intent sensitivity in contexts in which doing so is not as conversationally normative—for instance, when platforms are used for professional, rather than social, purposes (Study 3). Furthermore, people do not expect the platform to exhibit intent sensitivity in less conversationally intimate contexts (Study 4).

Psychological Needs in the Built Environment

We assume that the built space—as part of the physical environment—has the power to affect basic human need fulfillment. Accordingly, we investigated how design features of the built space within a physical environment contribute to this effect. In two studies, we used computer-aided design to manipulate the degree of privacy, clutter, and biophilia as well as color temperature of the environment in study spaces, then measured need fulfillment (total N = 314). In Study 1A, participants (N = 260) felt more inclined to enter private study environments than nonprivate ones and felt more competent, autonomous, and related to others in private environments. Some participants (n = 227) continued on to Study 1B, in which they preferred to enter warm, cluttered, biophilic environments and felt more competent, autonomous, and related to others in warm and cluttered environments. In Study 2 (N = 54), we investigated the effects in a virtual reality office setting. The participants indicated that they felt more competent, autonomous, and related to others in more cluttered environments than in empty ones. At the same time, they felt more related to others in biophilic environments compared to nonbiophilic environments. The findings provide the first evidence that the built environment affects need fulfillment.

Creative ideation activates disinhibited reward-seeking and indulgent choices.

Given that creative ideation has been widely characterized as involving disinhibition, we tested whether a brief creative ideation effort increased subsequent indulgence through the choice of real or imagined rewards. Across 10 experiments (and an additional four in the Supplemental Material) and 3,412 participants (including the ones in the Supplemental Material), we show that a short creative ideation (vs. control) task led to more indulgent eating, drinking, and exercise choices and behaviors. Participants who generated creative ideas subsequently assembled burgers with higher calorie content (Studies 1a, 3a, 3b, 4), proposed cocktails with higher alcohol content (Study 1b), planned workouts that burned fewer calories (Study 1c), chose candy more often (Study 1d), and ate more candy (Study 2) than participants who engaged in control tasks. In line with the perspective that creativity involves disinhibition, these effects were mediated by the behavioral activation system, which is thought to underlie the uninhibited pursuit of desires and rewards (Studies 2, 3a, 4). Furthermore, an experiment in which we manipulated the behavioral activation system showed a causal effect on indulgent eating choices (Study 5). We discuss the implications for future research on the consequences of creativity as well as the possibility that creative work might lead to indulgent, potentially unhealthy choices and behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A tale of two narratives: The role of event disruption in employee affective and behavioral reactions to authoritarian leadership.

Extant research demonstrates the destructive nature of authoritarian leadership in the workplace, yet its widespread use suggests that a more balanced view of this leadership style may be needed to identify whether this form of leadership engenders favorable reactions in specific circumstances. Integrating insights from appraisal theory and the compensatory control model, we posit that authoritarian leadership can evoke anxiety among employees in less disruptive settings, whereas it evokes feelings of awe in highly disruptive contexts. These anxiety and awe reactions then influence employees' downstream leader-focused behaviors (i.e., leader-directed avoidance and affiliation) and general work behaviors (i.e., counterproductive behavior and job performance). Thus, whether reactions to authoritarian leadership are dysfunctional or functional is contingent on event disruption as a key boundary condition. Results from an experience sampling study (Study 1), a multiwave and multisource field study (Study 2), and laboratory experiments (Studies 3a and 3b) largely confirm these predictions. The findings underscore the importance of event disruption for predicting employee reactions to authoritarian styles of leadership. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Mixed Methods Study of Barriers to Help-Seeking for Intimate Partner Aggression in the LGBTQIA+ Community.

People in the LGBTQIA+ community (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other gender/sexual minorities) experience greater rates of intimate partner aggression (IPA) than the general population and have fewer help-seeking pathways available. The current research examined the extent to which LGBTQIA+ people's perceptions of barriers to help-seeking were associated with perceptions of societal heteronormativity-the belief that being cisgender and heterosexual is the norm-and whether the source of support was formal (e.g., police, counselors) versus informal (e.g., friends, family). The current research was conducted in two parts. In the first part of the study (Study 1a), structural equation modeling indicated a significant positive association between perceived societal heteronormativity and self-focused barriers (e.g., feeling too ashamed or guilty to seek help) but not with other-focused barriers (e.g., expecting unfair treatment). Instead, LGBTQIA+ people perceived greater other-focused barriers when considering formal compared to informal sources of support. In the second part of the study (Study 1b), we interviewed 10 LGBTQIA+ people about barriers to help-seeking for IPA. A reflexive thematic analysis identified four themes: (1) Who can hold the status of being a "victim"?; (2) The heightened importance of autonomy; (3) Formal supports need LGBTQIA+ competency; and (4) Judged by the outside in. The themes illustrated unique barriers experienced by LGBTQIA+ people when judging possible harm, choosing whether to seek help, and actual help-seeking. Altogether, current help-seeking pathways for IPA are generally inaccessible to people in the LGBTQIA+ community. IPA interventions for the LGBTQIA+ community require awareness of stigma, improved education for informal and formal support pathways, and the development of community-led interventions.

What Happens When Parents Find Violence Acceptable? A Case of Violent-Humorous Commercials Targeted at Children

We examine the influence of violent–humorous commercials on children and whether parental mediation can temper children’s aggressive responses to violent–humorous ads. We find that (a) violent–humorous ads lead to higher levels of aggressive affect in children, and (b) violent ads lead to higher levels of aggressive cognition and aggressive affect in children (Study 1). We also find that active parental mediation does not have the intended effect of reducing children’s aggressive responses after they view violent–humorous commercials (Study 1). This effect, which is contradictory to general expectations, occurs because parents are less likely to perceive the violent–humorous (vs. solely violent) ad as violent (Studies 2A and 2B) and, consequently, they show less interest in critically mediating the ad (Study 3). Through this study, for the first time, we show (a) the impact of violent–humorous ads on children (vs. adults); (b) the impact of violent–humorous ads on aggression (beyond attitudes toward ads); and (c) the effect of parents’ violent–humorous ad beliefs on parental mediation. The findings of our study suggest that the humor in a violent–humorous ad appears to trivialize the violence in the ad, with not-so-trivial consequences.

Hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral character judgments

ABSTRACT Self-interest bias describes an observer’s tendency to judge moral transgression leniently when they benefit from it. However, what factors moderate the self-interest bias is an open empirical question. Here, we investigated to what extent hypocrisy moderates the self-interest bias. Preregistered Study 1a (N = 194) and replication in Study 1b (N = 193) demonstrated that observers’ interest impacts moral character judgments of hypocritical transgressors. This effect was explained by observers’ goal attainment due to transgression (Study 2, N = 713) and agreement to aid observers’ or ingroup interests (Study 3, N = 634). Importantly, transgressors’ hypocrisy moderated the impact of observers’ interests in moral character judgments (Studies 2 & 3). In summary, when judging hypocritical transgressors, peoples’ moral character judgments tend to be biased by their or their group’s interests. However, in comparison to non-hypocritical transgressors, this impact is less pronounced.

Perceiving less but wasting more: The relationship between perceived resource scarcity and consumer food waste

Consumers' food-related behaviors often culminate in significant food waste. Surprisingly however, limited attention has been given to psychological reasons why this occurs. Across four studies, this research suggests that, because perceived resource scarcity activates a resource acquisition goal, under conditions where product scarcity is not present it leads consumers to engage in inaccurate over-acquisition of resources (i.e., food), resulting in greater waste. Studies 1a (quasi-experimental field study) and 1b (lab experiment) test the role of perceived resource scarcity in predicting food acquisition and waste. Studies 2a and 2b are correlational and measure household food waste to demonstrate that resource acquisition accuracy mediates the relationship between perceived resource scarcity and food waste.