Aversive for Me,Wrong for You: First‐person Behavioral Aversions Underlie the Moral Condemnation of Harm

Many studies attest to the critical role of affect in the condemnation of harmful actions, but few attempt to identify the precise representations underlying this affective response. We propose a distinction between two potential sources of affect: an aversion to the negative outcomes of an action versus an aversion grounded in the action itself. Whereas previous models have focused on outcome‐oriented processes (e.g. empathy and victim perspective‐taking), we argue that moral judgment is also strongly influenced by action‐based aversions. Specifically, we propose that individuals engage in a process of ‘evaluative simulation’ when judging others, imagining how much it would bother them to perform the same action. Furthermore, we present evidence that this aversion can be based in superficial sensory or motor properties of the action. We consider how such ‘action aversions’ might be acquired, and we highlight important areas for future research.     

Retaliation to personalistic attack

Jones and Davis's [1965. Advances in experimental social psychology. Academic Press] notion of “personalism” was experimentally tested in a situation in which behavior had negative hedonic relevance for the recipient. It was hypothesized that (1) if a person is attacked by another person, this victim will react more negatively than when no attack occurs and that (2) a victim who is singled out for attack will react more negatively compared with victims of an undistinctive attack (i.e., when the actor behaves similarly toward the victim and a third person). A 2 × 2 design was employed with “Victim of attack” as the first factor (no attack vs. attack) and “Behaviour toward a third person” as the second factor (no attack vs. attack). The main dependent variable was the number of attacks by the victim toward the attacker (retaliation). Thirty‐two students took part in the experiment. Victims of attack retaliated more against the attacker than those who suffered from no attack. Victims of a personalistic attack retaliated more than victims of an undistinctive attack. The results, confirming both hypotheses, support an attributional view on harm‐doing and contradict the notion of retaliation as pure behavioral reciprocity. Aggr. Behav. 25:91–96, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Immediate and delayed suggestibility among suspected child victims of sexual abuse

Children suspected of being victims of sexual abuse are often interviewed by police, but little is known about the effects of sexual abuse on their suggestibility. The aim of this paper was to investigate differences in ‘immediate’ and ‘delayed’ suggestibility between children being investigated as suspected victims of sexual abuse and other children and to compare the suggestibility scores of children allegedly abused by a family member versus a person from outside the family. The participants were 180 children aged between 7 and 16 years, who had been subdivided into ‘victim’ and ‘control’ groups; each group being comprised of 90 children and matched for IQ. All children completed the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS 2) and a non-verbal IQ test. The children in the victim group scores significantly higher on Shift and Yield 2 than the control group, after controlling for memory capacity. Children abused by a family member coped significantly worse with interrogative pressure (high Shift) than those abused by a non-family member. Immediate suggestibility showed much stronger effects than delayed suggestibility. The findings suggest that sexually abused children are very vulnerable during questioning where there is interrogative pressure and those abused by a family member are even more vulnerable.     

The Acquaintance Predicament of a Rape Victim1

The acquaintance predicament of a rape victim was examined in six experiments with between-subjects designs with samples drawn from the undergraduate student population of the University of Bombay. The experiments used rape vignettes for the manipulation of all independent variables except subject's sex and were done in three pairs such that each pair had the same independent variables and first dependent measure, namely, recommended years of imprisonment for the rapist. The second dependent measure was attributed victim's fault in the first experiment and perceived likelihood of rape in the second experiment of each pair. The first pair of experiments had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (acquainted vs. unacquainted rapist) × 3 (rapist's status: manager, stenotypist, or watchman) × 2 (complaint vs. no complaint by victim) design, with the rape victim being described as a stenotypist. The second pair of experiments differed from the first pair in only one respect, with victim's marital status (married vs. divorced victim) replacing the independent variable of complaint of the first pair. The third pair of experiments had a 2 (subject's sex) × 2 (physically hurt vs. not hurt victim) × 5 (rapist's relationship with victim: husband, fiance, friend, acquaintance, or stranger) design. Female subjects, as compared to male subjects, recommended longer imprisonment for the rapist, attributed less fault to the victim, and perceived greater likelihood of rape. The victim was attributed less fault in case of stranger rape versus acquaintance rape and also less fault in the complaint versus the no complaint condition. Longer imprisonment was recommended for the rapist when the victim was physically hurt rather than not hurt.     

Making sense of Smith on sympathy and approbation: other-oriented sympathy as a psychological and normative achievement

ABSTRACT

Two problems seem to plague Adam Smith’s account of sympathy and approbation in The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS). First, Smith’s account of sympathy at the beginning of TMS appears to be inconsistent with the account of sympathy at the end of TMS. In particular, it seems that Smith did not appreciate the distinction between ‘self-oriented sympathy’ and ‘other-oriented sympathy’, that is, between imagining being oneself in the actor’s situation and imagining being the actor in the actor’s situation. Second, Smith’s account of approbation, according to which a sentiment of approval arises when there is recognition of concordance between the spectator’s sympathetic passion and the actor’s original passion, seems to face the following problem: since the spectator attains both his own sympathetic passion and the actor’s original passion by sympathizing with the actor, the sympathetic passion of the spectator and the original passion of the actor will necessarily be identical. Therefore, Smith’s account of approbation requires that the spectator utilize both self-oriented and other-oriented sympathy (‘the double-sympathy model of approbation’). I offer a novel developmental account of sympathy in TMS that renders Smith’s account of sympathy consistent and allows for the utilization of the double-sympathy model of approbation.     

Investigating the nature of expressiveness in stranger,acquaintance and intrafamilial homicides

This study explores the role of the victim–offender relationship in the dynamics of homicide, by examining the crime scene behaviour of 25 intrafamilial, 30 acquaintance and 27 stranger homicide offenders (n = 82). Six crime scene variables were examined: ‘Weapon from the scene’, ‘Excessive wounding’, ‘Facial trauma’, ‘Multiple wounds to a single area’, ‘Post‐mortem activity’ and ‘Manual violence’. The first objective was to identify whether these variables could be combined to form a partially ordered scale of expressiveness. The second was to examine whether the nature of this expressive crime scene varied according to the victim and offender relationship. It was hypothesised that the intrafamilial homicides would be characterised by a more expressive crime scene. This was examined by Partial Order Scalogram Analysis which supported the hypothesised link between the level of expressed emotion evident in the crime scene and the nature of the victim–offender relationship. Further analysis on the individual variables revealed that the best single predictor of the relationship between victim and offender was the presence of multiple wounding. These findings are discussed both as contributing to a theoretical understanding of the emotional salience of crime scene actions when killing a family member, and in practical terms in relation to the significance of these variables for both police investigations and clinical interventions with homicide perpetrators. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social roles and the moral judgement of acts and omissions

Three experiments investigated how moral judgements of harmful acts and omissions are affected by information about social roles. Subjects were given vignettes in which the relationship between an actor and victim was varied along the dimensions of solidarity (e.g. friends versus strangers) and hierachy (e.g. superior versus equal; the terms are from Hamilton & Sanders, 1981). Subjects were asked to judge the morality of the actor in each case, both for a harmful omission (e.g. intentionally withholding the truth) and for an equivalent act (e.g. actively lying). Subjects judged the behaviour worse in the act than the omission. Judgements were also affected by role relationships. The act–omission difference was also greater in the low-responsibility roles. Responses to the high-responsibility roles seem to reflect in a consequentialist perspective, focusing on outcomes rather than prohibitions.     

When Victimhood Goes to War? Israel and Victim Claims

Prominent sociopsychological approaches interpret collective victimhood as inseparable, central characteristic of societies involved in intractable conflicts. Victimhood is broadly perceived as an essential conflict-supportive belief also in other disciplines. In the context of Israel, there is a cross-disciplinary consensus that collective victimhood is the country's foundational identity. This project argues that states' employment of this theme changes and is context dependent. It discusses under what conditions Israel's political elites incorporate victim narratives towards armed conflicts. It examines public communication during the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense (OPD) and the Yom Kippur war of 1973 (YKW). Employing a modified method of narrative conceptualization analysis, the research demonstrates that victim narratives were used almost twice as much during OPD than during YKW. The findings suggest that we need to differentiate between the role these narratives play for collectives versus states. For the latter, the presence of victim narratives is highly variable and reflects strategic developments. The project is the first systematic study exposing that victim narratives can be a challenge for governance. By conceptualizing victim narratives as claims, it captures the dynamic, contextual characteristics of collective victimhood in state affairs offering a theoretical tool for understanding the political dimension of this identification.     

Differential consequences of trait inferences: a direct test of the trait-referent hypothesis

The hypothesis was investigated that when trait inferences refer to abstract behaviour labels (i.e. ‘conceited’) they act as a general interpretation frame and lead to assimilation in subsequent judgments of an ambiguous target, whereas when they refer to specific actor—trait links (i.e. ‘Peter is conceited’) the activated information is likely to be used as a scale anchor and contrast effects are more likely. Compared to previous studies investigating the consequences of trait inferences, this ‘trait-referent’ hypothesis was tested in a relatively direct way. Target judgments of participants instructed that trait-implying sentences described a ‘behaviour’ showed assimilation, whereas judgments of participants instructed that these sentences described a ‘person’ showed contrast.     

Does own experience affect perception of others’ actions in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)?

Anticipating another’s actions is an important ability in social animals. Recent research suggests that in human adults and infants one’s own action experience facilitates understanding and anticipation of others’ actions. We investigated the link between first-person experience and perception of another’s action in adult tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella spp., formerly Cebus apella spp.). In Experiment 1, the monkeys observed a familiar human (actor) trying to open a container using either a familiar or an unfamiliar action. They looked for longer when the actor tried to open the container using a familiar action. In Experiment 2, the actor performed two novel actions on a new container. The monkeys looked equally at the two actions. In Experiment 3, the monkeys were trained to open the container using one of the novel actions in Experiment 2. After training, we repeated the same procedure as in Experiment 2. The monkeys looked for longer when the actor manipulated the container using the action they had practiced than when she used the unfamiliar action. These results show that knowledge derived from one’s own experience impacts perception of another’s action in these New World monkeys.     

Cancer Victim Identity for Individuals with Histories of Cancer and Childhood Sexual Abuse

Identifying as a ‘cancer victim’ has been linked to adverse psychosocial sequelae in individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer. Being a childhood sexual abuse (CSA) survivor may predispose individuals towards a “victim” identity in general. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of identifying as a ‘cancer victim’ among CSA survivors who were diagnosed with cancer as adults, and to explore psychological factors associated with identification as a cancer victim. 105 adults reporting both a history of CSA and of having been diagnosed with cancer as an adult were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Variables assessed included CSA severity, abuse-related powerlessness, general mastery, and cancer victim identity. Fifty-one percent of the sample endorsed a cancer victim identity. Path analysis revealed that abuse-related powerlessness was related to decreased feelings of general mastery, which was in turn associated with cancer victim identification (x ² = .12, DF = 1, p < .73; RMSEA = .00; SRMR = .01: Bentler CFI = 1.0). From a clinical perspective, the results suggest that increasing general mastery in CSA survivors in the cancer setting may be an important mechanism for attenuating the risk for developing a cancer victim identity and, presumably, for downstream adverse psychosocial sequelae.     

Observing Workplace Incivility Towards Women: The Roles of Target Reactions,Actor Motives,and Actor-Target Relationships

The current study conceptualized observer reactions to uncivil behavior towards women as an ethical behavior and examined three factors (target reaction, actor motive, and actor-target relationship) that influence these reactions. Two vignette studies with women and men undergraduate and graduate students in western Switzerland were conducted. Study 1 (N?=?148) was a written vignette study that assessed how the reaction of female targets to incivility and the motives of actors influenced observer reactions. Results showed that a female target’s reaction influenced observers’ evaluations of the harm caused by an uncivil incident, and that an actor’s motive affected observers’ assessments of the necessity to intervene. Study 2 (N?=?81) was a video vignette study that assessed the effects of the reactions by female targets to incivility and the relationship between the target and the actor on observer reactions. We found that female targets’ reactions influenced observers’ evaluations of harm and the perceived necessity to intervene. Furthermore, the effect of a female target’s reaction on observers’ evaluations of harm was moderated by the relationship between the actor and the target: a female target who laughed at the uncivil behavior was perceived as less harmed, when she and the actor had a personal relationship than when they had a professional relationship. When the female target reacted hurt or neutrally, actor-target relationship did not affect observers’ evaluations of harm. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for theory and practice.     

Schema‐driven source misattribution errors: remembering the expected from a witnessed event

When recollection is difficult, people may use schematic processing to enhance memory. Two experiments showed that a delay between witnessing and recalling a visual sequence increases schematic processing, resulting in stereotypic memory errors. Participants watched a slide show of a man and a woman performing stereotype‐consistent and stereotype‐inconsistent actions, followed by an immediate or delayed memory test. Over a two‐day delay, stereotype‐inconsistent actions were increasingly misremembered as having been performed by the stereotype‐consistent actor (Experiment 1). All the source errors increased, regardless of stereotype consistency, when the wrong actor was suggested. When we merely suggested that ‘someone’ performed an action (Experiment 2), only stereotype‐consistent source errors were increased. Although visual scenes are typically well remembered, these results suggest that when memory fades, reliance on schemata increases, leading to increased stereotypic memory errors. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Working psychodynamically and psychosocially with women who have been raped

In this paper, I analyse aspects of the experience of some female University students who have been raped drawing on a Kleinian psychoanalytic perspective and Layton’s concept of ‘normative unconscious processes’. I suggest that Klein’s writing provides a theoretical basis for thinking about the projective and introjective processes that may be at play between perpetrator and ‘victim’. Here, I focus upon Kleinian conceptualisations of castration anxiety, fragmentation, envy, greed and guilt. In terms of ‘normative unconscious processes’, I explore how castration anxiety (in a more symbolic sense of powerlessness), fragmentation, envy, greed and guilt may also operate within social discourses around sexual violence. Specifically, I draw upon Freyd’s concept of DARVO and Payne’s Rape Myth Acceptance Scale which both explain ‘victim blaming’ in terms of the social reversal of the positions of perpetrator and ‘victim’. I illustrate this social process with reference to representations of rape within the mainstream media. My hypothesis is that, although the ‘psychic’ and the ‘social’ are two contrasting positions theoretically, it is possible to draw on both of them to make sense of the experience of working with rape clinically.

The clinical context of this paper is my work as a psychodynamic counsellor at a modern London-based University. I draw on composite case studies of women who have been raped, drawing on both ‘psychic’ and ‘social’ perspectives. I seek to explore how the ‘psychic’ and the ‘social’ can be integrated in different ways depending upon the clinical situation. I suggest that they can be mutually enriching ways of working. Through approaching how the ‘psychic’ and the ‘social’ might interrelate from a clinical viewpoint, I conclude that the idea of ‘working psychosocially’ is of most use when approached as a flexible concept that different clinicians may draw on in different ways with different patients.     

The excess choice effect: The role of outcome valence and counterfactual thinking

Contrary to economic theory, psychological research has demonstrated increased choice can undermine satisfaction. When and why this ‘excess choice effect’ (ECE) occurs remains unclear. Building on theories of counterfactual thinking we argue the ECE is more likely to occur when people experience counterfactual thought or emotion and that a key trigger is a negative versus positive task outcome. Participants either selected a drink (Experiment 1) or chocolate (Experiment 2) from a limited (6) versus extensive (24) selection (Experiment 1) or were given no choice versus extensive (24) choice (Experiment 2). In both experiments, however, the choice was illusory: Half the participants tasted a ‘good’ flavour, half a ‘bad’ flavour. As predicted, extensive choice was only detrimental to satisfaction when participants tasted the ‘bad’ drink or chocolate, and this was mediated by the experience of counterfactual thought (Experiment 1) or emotion (Experiment 2). When outcomes were positive, participants were similarly satisfied with limited versus extensive and no choice versus extensive choice. Implications for our theoretical understanding of the ECE and for the construction of choice architectures aimed at promoting individual satisfaction and well‐being are discussed.     

‘There's no smoke without fire’: Are male ex‐partners perceived as more ‘entitled’ to stalk than acquaintance or stranger stalkers?

In a stalking scenario, the prior relationship between and the gender of stalker and victim were systematically manipulated in order to judge culpability and consequences for the persons involved. Written vignettes were presented to 168 participants who responded via seven Likert scales. Stalker‐victim relationship had three levels: ex‐partner, acquaintance and stranger. In accordance with the ‘Just World’ hypothesis (Lerner, 1980), the victim was judged as having greater responsibility for the stalking when their harasser was an ex‐partner or a prior acquaintance rather than a stranger, and police intervention was felt to be most necessary when the stalker was a stranger. Sex of stalker and victim was manipulated, and the following comparisons proved significant: when the perpetrator was male, bodily injury to the victim was seen as more likely and police intervention as more necessary than when the perpetrator was female; and male victims were viewed as more responsible for the scenario and as possessing greater powers to alleviate it. The Just World hypothesis and gender stereotypes provide a plausible account for these findings. Future research should determine whether criminal convictions show similar biases towards convicting male and stranger stalkers more often than female and ex‐partner stalkers.     

Slut Shaming in a School Bullying Case: Evaluators Ignore Level of Harm When the Victim Self-Presents as Sexually Available

To investigate slut shaming (condemnation aimed at presumably sexually active females) as a form of bullying, we asked 142 U.S. college students acting as disciplinary committee members to decide a case involving two female high school students. We manipulated the victim’s self-presentation (sexually available, control) and the level of harm she suffered (mild anxiety, PTSD). Although evaluators typically make more pro-victim judgments when the level of harm is higher rather than lower, we expected participants to ignore harm when the victim self-presented as sexually available. As predicted, participants in the control condition made higher probability of guilt estimates and harsher sentence recommendations when the victim experienced PTSD versus mild anxiety. In contrast, harm level did not influence participants’ judgments in the sexually available condition. Additional analyses demonstrated that participants attributed relatively more responsibility to the sexually available than to the control victim, and the effect of the victim’s self-presentation on guilt estimates was mediated by attributions about the cause of the harm. The results correspond with previous findings that evaluators blame bullying victims whom they believe made themselves targets. We suggest that school districts revise their policies as necessary to avoid encouraging slut shaming and that evaluators receive training to help them apply the legal definition of bullying to specific situations.     

The Validity of the SHL Customer Service Questionnaire (CSQ)

This study set out to validate the Saville and Holdsworth (SHL) Customer Services Questionnaire (CSQ) by relating test scores to ‘objective measures’ like absenteeism, punctuality, and letters of compliment and complaint, as well as subjective supervisor rating measures. Over 170 airport staff served as subjects. The dependent measures were logically related one to another and there were a few sex and rank differences on them. A number of significant correlations between CSQ subscales and the dependent measures showed two subscales (TC4) Approach to Organizing and (EC2) Need for Results the best correlates of the dependent variable. Of the subscales scores within the three factor scores Relations with People showed fewest significant correlations, and Emotions and Energy most. Results were discussed in terms of the limited research in this field.