Study 1b Research Articles

Presence: consumers’ different reactions to service and manufacturing firms with low CSR in social conduct

PurposeThis study aims to explain why low social conduct in corporate social responsibility (SC-CSR), especially employee exploitation, has a stronger negative impact on consumer reactions for service firms than for manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachFive experiments compared consumer reactions to service and manufacturing firms with low SC-CSR. Study 1 used a choice-based conjoint design to examine the relative importance of various shared attributes when consumers chose services versus goods. Study 2 revealed that low SC-CSR led to more pronounced negative consumers reactions toward service firms. Studies 3A and 3B explained this difference through a serial mediation analysis. Study 4 ruled out an alternative explanation regarding the differentiated effects.FindingsThe results reveal that consumer reactions to employee exploitation in service firms are more negative compared to manufacturing firms. This is because consumers’ sense of presence (i.e. feeling of being there) is stronger in a service setting, leading to more intense empathetic emotions toward service employees.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the CSR literature by challenging the conventional notion that sweatshops are more problematic for manufacturing firms. By contrast, the results indicate a stronger negative effect on service firms. It contributes to the services marketing literature by conceptualizing a novel cognitive mechanism. Traditionally, consumers’ negative reactions are driven by anger. However, the authors show that empathetic feelings toward mistreated employees play a predominant role. While it is imperative for all firms to ensure fair treatment of their employees, the findings underscore the heightened significance of this aspect for service firms, given their susceptibility to more pronounced negative effects.

Development of a multidimensional scale to measure organizational creative capabilities

AbstractAlthough the literature's case and longitudinal studies provide ample evidence of organizational routines that foster creative behaviors, it still lacks an integrative model of organizational creative capabilities (OCCs) and the quantitative evidence to validate such a model. This research is aimed at conceptualizing and developing a reliable and valid scale for OCCs. First, we define the OCC construct's domain by conducting an extensive literature review. We then generate a list of items for the five dimensions of OCCs through a qualitative study involving a group of 24 practitioners (Study 1a) and by surveying nine senior researchers (Study 1b). We refine the OCC scale using a sample of 269 responses collected in France and Canada (Study 2), and we conduct a first‐order confirmatory factor analysis (Study 3). Finally, we perform a second‐order confirmatory analysis (Study 4a) on samples of 220 responses collected mainly in the United States and Europe, generalize our results to a sample of 205 responses, and strengthen the predictive validity (Study 4b). Our results provide significant evidence that OCCs can be conceptualized around five dimensions: internal socialization routines, idea management routines, external openness routines, creative equipment routines, and internal agility routines. Furthermore, the research confirms the scale's good psychometric qualities, thus ensuring that researchers can be confident in the reliability of any future academic research design using the scale. We also validate the OCC scale's predictive validity by verifying that a five‐dimensional reflective scale with 16 indicators has a significant positive effect on the creative outcome. This OCC scale can be used by practitioners to better understand the organizational routines they have to develop in order to strengthen their organization's creativity. It also provides a way for longitudinal studies to observe how OCCs evolve over time.

Give them a fishing rod, if it is not urgent: The impact of help type on support for helpers' leadership.

Taking a follower's perspective on leadership and contributing to the new research stream on behaviors conducive to its emergence, we examined how distinct types of instrumental (task focused) helping-autonomy- versus dependency-helping-affected recipients' support for their helpers' leadership. Based on the literature on employees' needs for autonomy and mastery, combined with the empowering nature of autonomy-helping, we reasoned that autonomy- (vs. dependency-) helping typically signals greater benevolence toward recipients, enhancing their support for their helpers' leadership. Our findings were generalized across various samples (of U.S. and Israeli employees), manipulations, and research settings: simulations (Studies 1 and 2b), workplace role-play scenario (Study 2a), and recollections of helping events in the workplace (Study 3). We found that autonomy- (vs. dependency-) helping increased recipients' support for their helpers' leadership by heightening perceptions of helpers' benevolence-based (rather than ability-based) trustworthiness (Studies 1 and 3). We also showed time pressure to be a boundary condition under which the advantage of autonomy-helping disappeared (Studies 2a and 2b)-with dependency-helping then inducing comparable levels of perceived benevolence and thus similar support for the helper's potential leadership. Overall, we shed light on the development of informal leadership by uncovering how recipients interpret and respond to the two help types. Practically, this analysis opens the door to new ways for aspiring managers to enhance support for their leadership from potential followers, available even to those unlikely to be appointed to formal leadership positions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Investigating hair cues as a mechanism underlying Black women's intersectional invisibility.

Children psychologically exclude Black women from their representations of women, but the mechanisms underlying this marginalization remain unclear. Across two studies (N = 129; 49 boys, 78 girls, two gender unreported; 79 White, 27 Black, six Latinx, five Asian, and 12 unreported), the present work tests hair texture as one possible perceptual mechanism by which this might occur. In both studies, children gender-categorized Black, White, and Asian men and women using MouseTracker. Children were slower and had more complex patterns in categorizing Black women when they had textured hair (Study 1A), but not when they had straight hair (Study 1B). Implications for the development of gender as a social category are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The role of intent to harm in workplace aggression

AbstractConceptualizations of workplace aggression converge in treating intent to harm others as a necessary feature of aggression. However, inspection of workplace aggression scales suggests that many items do not specify intent to harm. In a series of three studies, we examined the effect of inclusion of intent to harm on workplace aggression's psychometric properties. Study 1 found that existing workplace aggression scales do not consistently specify or imply intent to harm. Study 2 found that inclusion of intent to harm has substantial implications for aggression's occurrence rate. Prior research that does not assess intent to harm overestimates the frequency of aggression. Study 3A found that workplace aggression's correlations with external variables were also overestimated when failing to include intent to harm. We found that aggression measured without specifying intent is highly correlated with counterproductive work behavior (CWB), whereas aggression measured with intent specified is empirically distinguished from CWB. In Study 3A, a construct‐valid workplace aggression scale was created, called the Intentional Workplace Aggression Scale (IWAS). Study 3B showed that the IWAS displayed relationships with affective constructs, such as trait anger and emotional stability, as well as with situational variables, such as job satisfaction and organizational justice perceptions.

She is seeking attention: Women's self-objectification and hostility toward peer selfies

Although the relationship between self-objectification and selfie-related behaviors has been extensively investigated, limited attention has been given to understanding how women's self-objectification impacts their attitudes toward peer selfies from the observer's perspective. This issue was addressed across four studies (N = 801). Specifically, Studies 1a and 1b (correlational research) revealed a positive association between women's self-objectification and hostile attitudes toward peer selfies. In Studies 2 and 3 (experimental research), a causal relationship was established, such that women with higher levels of state self-objectification were more inclined to attach negative tags to other women's selfies. Notably, perceived attention-seeking motivation plays a mediating role in the process (Studies 1b, 2, and 3). Furthermore, these effects occurred not only in response to selfies taken by highly attractive women but also in response to targets who are moderately attractive or average-looking (Study 3). These findings bridge a significant gap in the field of self-objectification and social interaction on social media.

Setting Appropriateness and Romantic Relationship Initiation Success.

Does the setting in which a relationship initiation attempt occurs matter to its success? Identical initiations could yield differential success if enacted in different settings. Data from five independent samples highlight the role settings play in the perception of (hypothetical) relationship initiation attempts and (expectations of) their success. Study 1a sourced a wide variety of settings for real-world relationship initiations. A separate sample rated the identified settings on initiation appropriateness (Study 1b). Study 2 tested the appropriateness and associated outcomes of initiation settings while varying aspects of the interpersonal context (initiator attractiveness, Study 2a; initiator familiarity, Study 2b; sexual nature of proposition, Study 2c). Irrespective of initiator attractiveness, familiarity, or type of proposal, perceptions of initiations' success were impacted by the settings' appropriateness. This work is the first to empirically test whether perceptions and outcomes of initiation attempts differ as a function of the setting in which they occur.

Black Americans suppress emotions when prejudice is believed to stem from shared ignorance.

Past research examining lay theories of the origins of prejudice has focused on white Americans and has not considered how Black Americans' lay theories of prejudice may impact emotion regulation following discrimination. Across three samples of Black Americans (N = 419), the present research examined relationships between endorsement of two lay theories of prejudice origins (1, beliefs that prejudice stems from shared social ignorance and 2, that prejudice stems from malice). Stronger beliefs that prejudice stems from shared ignorance were associated with greater expression suppression following experiences of racial discrimination (studies 1b and 2), which was, in turn, associated with psychological distress (study 2). By centering the beliefs and experiences of Black Americans in response to discrimination events, the present research has implications for understanding how emotion regulation following racial discrimination is impacted by marginalized groups' conceptualizations of prejudice. Future research should investigate how these factors impact health disparities.

Repairing damaged professional relationships with leader apologies: An examination of trust and forgiveness

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of different leader apology expressions in restoring workplace relationships after transgressions. We propose that “ideal” apology expressions, such as those that are sincere, can act as signals that the transgressing leader is trustworthy and that the relationship between the victim and offender is safe to restore through forgiveness. We support this contention with findings from four studies. In a hypothetical scenario involving a mid-level leader’s transgression (Study 1), we found that a sincere apology expression was the most effective at facilitating forgiveness compared to alternative expressions (basic, amends, remorse, responsibility, insincere). Additional field studies (Studies 2a and 2b) and an experiment that manipulated leader trust (Study 3) also supported the role of a sincere apology in facilitating forgiveness through the mechanism of increased leader trust. Our findings have implications for leadership theory and practice.

Spontaneous self-affirmation predicts more meaning and less boredom

Chronic boredom is associated with many negative psychological outcomes, including undermining perceived meaning in life. Meanwhile, emerging research suggests that spontaneous self-affirmation, that is, an inclination to self-affirm, is linked to greater well-being and buffers against psychological threats. We investigated the relationship between spontaneous self-affirmation, perceptions of meaning in life, and boredom proneness with four correlational studies. Study 1a (N = 166) demonstrated that people inclined to self-affirm experience greater perceptions of meaning in life. Study 1b (N = 170) confirmed that spontaneous self-affirmation is associated with lower levels of boredom proneness. Study 2a (N = 214) and Study 2b (N = 105) provided evidence for our central hypothesis, showing that spontaneous self-affirmation predicts lower levels of boredom proneness via greater perceptions of meaning in life. These findings confirm that elevating meaning in life through psychological resources, like spontaneous self-affirmation, may limit boredom. Our work extends the emerging well-being benefits of spontaneous self-affirmation, by demonstrating associations with higher meaning in life and lower boredom proneness.

Enhancing the profitability of pay what you want: A study of suggested prices

AbstractA suggested price is oftentimes utilized in practice to enhance the profitability of pay what you want (PWYW). In this paper, we focus on this suggested price strategy. We conduct five experiments to explore factors that impact buyers' payments after seeing the suggested price. In Study 1, we show a relationship between the suggested price and payments. Intuitively, a higher suggested price results in increased payments. Studies 2A and 2B demonstrate that the relationship between the suggested price and payments is mediated by cost estimation, while Studies 3A and 3B display that the relationship is moderated by the presence of a charitable element. Interestingly, in the case with a charitable element, increasing the suggested price does not stimulate an increment in payments on a par with the case without a charitable element. This paper proposes that sellers who use PWYW could employ a suggested price to furnish buyers with pertinent cost information, but utilizing PWYW with a suggested price may not be suitable for products with a charitable component.

Can agentic messages help? Linguistic strategies to counteract voice-based sexual orientation discrimination.

Gay men who believe to sound 'gay' expect to be discriminated against because of their voices and gay-sounding men are discriminated against in the hiring process. We examined whether uttering an agency-based message decreased discrimination expectancy and enactment. In Study 1a (N = 256; gay and bisexual men) and Study 1b (N = 216; gay men), speakers uttered agentic (vs. neutral) messages. We assessed their self-perception as gay sounding, agency self-attribution and discrimination expectancy. Uttering agentic (vs. neutral) messages made the speakers self-perceive as more agentic and this decreased discrimination expectancy. Additionally, self-perception as gay sounding predicted discrimination expectancy. In Study 2 (N = 466), heterosexual participants listened to gay- and straight-sounding speakers uttering either neutral or agentic messages and rated them in terms of agency and employability. Gay-sounding speakers uttering agentic messages were less likely to be discriminated against than when uttering neutral messages. Results show the positive impact of linguistic strategies involving agentic messages to reduce discrimination expectancy and hiring biases.

Whether and How Prepurchase Word of Mouth Affects Postpurchase Word of Mouth

Consumers often purchase new products based on online reviews and recommendations from both friends and strangers. Previous studies have extensively explored the effects of word of mouth (WOM) on the prepurchase stage, but little is known about whether WOM from friends or strangers can alter consumers’ postpurchase behavior. The authors propose that positive WOM from distant (vs. close) others increases consumers’ intention to share negative WOM when the product/service fails to perform to their satisfaction due to two distinctive motivations. First, consumers perceive that positive WOM from distant others might mislead more people, and, consequently, consumers expect their negative WOM to have a greater impact on helping others. Second, when receiving positive WOM from close others, they are less willing to publicly contradict the close others’ WOM even though they believe the WOM is misleading. Studies 1a and 1b demonstrate the main effect of interpersonal closeness on negative WOM intention, while Study 2 reveals the dual mediating effects of anticipated impact and relationship norm. Studies 3 and 4 validate these mechanisms by showing the moderating role of the self-construal level while ruling out the role of impression management. This research offers practical implications for WOM management across different social ties.

Social evaluative implications of sensory adaptation to human voices.

People form social evaluations of others following brief exposure to their voices, and these impressions are calibrated based on recent perceptual experience. Participants adapted to voices with fundamental frequency (f o; the acoustic correlate of perceptual pitch) manipulated to be gender-typical (i.e. masculine men and feminine women) or gender-atypical (i.e. feminine men and masculine women) before evaluating unaltered test voices within the same sex. Adaptation resulted in contrastive aftereffects. Listening to gender-atypical voices caused female voices to sound more feminine and attractive (Study 1) and male voices to sound more masculine and attractive (Study 2). Studies 3a and 3b tested whether adaptation occurred on a conceptual or perceptual level, respectively. In Study 3a, perceivers adapted to gender-typical or gender-atypical voices for both men and women (i.e. adaptors pitch manipulated in opposite directions for men and women) before evaluating unaltered test voices. Findings showed weak evidence that evaluations differed between conditions. In Study 3b, perceivers adapted to masculinized or feminized voices for both men and women (i.e. adaptors pitch manipulated in the same direction for men and women) before evaluating unaltered test voices. In the feminized condition, participants rated male targets as more masculine and attractive. Conversely, in the masculinized condition, participants rated female targets as more feminine and attractive. Voices appear to be evaluated according to gender norms that are updated based on perceptual experience as well as conceptual knowledge.

Who should decide how limited healthcare resources are prioritized? Autonomous technology as a compelling alternative to humans.

Who should decide how limited resources are prioritized? We ask this question in a healthcare context where patients must be prioritized according to their need and where advances in autonomous artificial intelligence-based technology offer a compelling alternative to decisions by humans. Qualitative (Study 1a; N = 50) and quantitative (Study 1b; N = 800) analysis identified agency, emotional experience, bias-free, and error-free as four main qualities describing people's perceptions of autonomous computer programs (ACPs) and human staff members (HSMs). Yet, the qualities were not perceived to be possessed equally by HSMs and ACPs. HSMs were endorsed with human qualities of agency and emotional experience, whereas ACPs were perceived as more capable than HSMs of bias- and error-free decision-making. Consequently, better than average (Study 2; N = 371), or relatively better (Studies 3, N = 181; & 4, N = 378), ACP performance, especially on qualities characteristic of ACPs, was sufficient to reverse preferences to favor ACPs over HSMs as the decision makers for how limited healthcare resources should be prioritized. Our findings serve a practical purpose regarding potential barriers to public acceptance of technology, and have theoretical value for our understanding of perceptions of autonomous technologies.

A Novel, Network-Based Approach to Assessing Romantic-Relationship Quality.

How should romantic-relationship quality be approached psychometrically? This is a complicated theoretical and methodological challenge that we begin to address through three studies. In Study 1a, we identified 25 distinct romantic-relationship categories among 754 items from 26 romantic-relationship-quality instruments with a weak Jaccard index (0.38), indicating that the scales' item content was extremely heterogeneous. Study 1b then demonstrated limited structure validity evidence in 43 scale-development-validation articles of 23 of these 26 instruments. Finally, Study 2 surveyed 587 French-speaking participants in a romantic relationship on romantic-relationship quality. Applying a network-based model, we identified four dimensions, three of which are central to relationship quality. The inferences were mostly limited to French-speaking, monogamous, heterosexual women. To resolve challenges detected in the literature, we recommend a multicountry qualitative approach, more diverse sampling, better definitions of romantic-relationship quality, and a dynamic-systems approach to measuring romantic-relationship quality.

Prototypes of Hate and Expectations of the Model Victim.

This research explored the content of hate crime prototypes in a North American context, with particular attention to how such prototypes might influence blame attributions. In Study 1a, participants were recruited from a blended sample of universities (n = 110) and community members (n = 102) and asked to report their thoughts about typical hate crime offenses, victims, and offenders. These open-ended responses were coded, and common themes were identified. In Study 1b, a new group of participants (n = 290) were presented with these themes and asked to rate each for their characteristics of hate crimes. Studies 1a and 1b confirmed the presence of a clear prototype of hate crimes, such that (a) perpetrators were believed to be lower status White men with clear expressions of bias, (b) hate crime offenses were believed to be acts of interpersonal violence accompanied by slurs or verbal abuse, and (c) hate crime victims were thought to be members of a marginalized group who remain passive during the offense. Study 2 explored the consequences of victim prototypes on assessments of victim blame. Participants (n = 296) were recruited from York University and presented with a case vignette that varied the prototypicality of a victim of hate, depicting him as either Black or White and either passive, verbally responsive, or physically confrontational in the context of an assault. Participants showed greatest sympathy for the Black victim who passively ignored verbal harassment but increasingly assigned blame when the Black victim spoke or reacted physically. When the victim was White, participants showed little variation in their assessment of blame as a function of the victim's behavior. These results suggest that Black victims are subjected to greater behavioral scrutiny than White victims and that sympathy for victims of hate may be contingent on their passivity in the face of harassment.

The effects of awe on interpersonal forgiveness: the mediating role of small-self.

Awe could increase prosocial behavior, but little is known about its effects on interpersonal forgiveness. This study aims to explore the potential impact of awe on interpersonal forgiveness and the underlying mechanism of this process, using a combination of questionnaires, economic game and computational modeling. In Study 1, we utilized Trait Awe Scale (TAS) and Forgiveness Trait Scale (FTS) to examine the association between trait awe and trait forgiveness. In Study 2, we employed pre-screened video to induce awe, happy and neutral emotions, then evaluated the effects of induced awe on small-self and interpersonal forgiveness in hypothetical interpersonal offensive situations (Study 2a) and two economic interaction situations (Study 2b). Results from Study 1 indicate that there is a positive correlation between trait awe and trait forgiveness. Study 2 reveal that awe can enhance interpersonal forgiveness in both interpersonal conflict situations and economic interaction situations, and this effect is mediated by the sense of small-self elicited by awe. Overall, these findings contribute to our understanding of the potential impact of awe on interpersonal forgiveness and provide valuable insights into the mechanisms through which awe may influence forgiveness. Further research in this area could help to elucidate the potential applications of awe-based interventions in promoting forgiveness and positive social interactions.

Do conspiracy beliefs fuel support for reactionary social movements? Effects of misbeliefs on actions to oppose lockdown and to "stop the steal".

Pundits have speculated that the spread of conspiracies and misinformation (termed "misbeliefs") is leading to a resurgence of right-wing, reactionary movements. However, the current empirical picture regarding the relationship between misbeliefs and collective action is mixed. We help clarify these associations by using two waves of data collected during the COVID-19 Pandemic (in Australia, N = 519, and the United States, N = 510) and democratic elections (in New Zealand N = 603, and the United States N = 609) to examine the effects of misbeliefs on support for reactionary movements (e.g., anti-lockdown protests, Study 1; anti-election protests, Study 2). Results reveal that within-person changes in misbeliefs correlate positively with support for reactionary collective action both directly (Studies 1-2) and indirectly by shaping the legitimacy of the authority (Study 1b). The relationship between misbelief and legitimacy is, however, conditioned by the stance of the authority in question: the association is positive when authorities endorse misbeliefs (Study 1a) and negative when they do not (Study 1b). Thus, the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and action hinges upon the alignment of the content of the conspiracy and the goals of the collective action.

Being pressed for time leads to treating others as things: Exploring the relationships among time scarcity, agentic and communal orientation and objectification.

Time scarcity has become one of the most ubiquitous phenomena in daily life worldwide. Five studies (total valid N = 1332) examined whether time scarcity elicits people's agentic orientation and dampens their communal orientation, thus increasing the likelihood of objectification towards others. Results suggested that people who perceived time scarcity were more likely to exhibit objectification towards others regardless of whether time scarcity was measured (Studies 1 and 3) or manipulated using either a scenario (Study 2a) or a recall task (Studies 2b and 4). Furthermore, agentic and communal orientations mediated the link between time scarcity and objectification (Studies 3 and 4). Additionally, the current research provided a nuanced understanding of these effects by differentiating the people being objectified into acquaintances and close friends (Study 2b) and by taking into consideration the trait-level prosociality of participants (Study 4). Results suggested that the effect persisted when people interacted with others who were close to them, and it was also applicable to people who were highly prosocial by nature. Overall, our findings highlighted the serious interpersonal consequence of time scarcity and highlighted the crucial role of value orientation in understanding this effect.