Ideological differences in attitude and belief similarity: distinguishing perception and reality

ABSTRACT

Attitude and belief similarity have long stood as topics of inquiry for social psychology. Recent research suggests that there might be meaningful differences across people in the extent to which they perceive and actually share others’ attitudes and beliefs. I outline research examining the relationship between political ideology and the perception and reality of attitude similarity. Specifically, I review research documenting that (a) conservatives perceive greater ingroup similarity than do liberals, (b) conservatives overestimate and liberals underestimate ingroup similarity, (c) liberals and conservatives both underestimate similarity to outgroup members, and (d) liberals possess more actual ingroup similarity than do conservatives on a national level. Collectively, this review contributes to understanding how political ideology relates to (perceived) attitude similarity.     

Conceptual similarity effects on working memory in sentence contexts: Testing a theory of anaphora

The degree of semantic similarity between an anaphoric noun phrase (e.g., the bird) and its antecedent (e.g., a robin) is known to affect the anaphor resolution process, but the mechanisms that underlie this effect are not known. One proposal (Almor, 1999) is that semantic similarity triggers interference effects in working memory and makes two crucial assumptions: First, semantic similarity impairs working memory just as phonological similarity does (e.g., Baddeley, 1992), and, second, this impairment interferes with processes of sentence comprehension. We tested these assumptions in two experiments that compared recall accuracy between phonologically similar, semantically similar, and control words in sentence contexts. Our results do not provide support for Almor's claims: Phonological overlap decreased recall accuracy in sentence contexts, but semantic similarity did not. These results shed doubt on the idea that semantic interference in working memory is an underlying mechanism in anaphor resolution.     

I will help you because we are similar: Quality of contact mediates the effect of perceived similarity on facilitative behaviour towards immigrants

This research aimed to analyse interpersonal behaviour towards immigrants by exploring related psychosocial variables such as intergroup similarity and quality of intergroup contact. A new interpersonal behavioural tendencies scale was developed. In Study 1, Spanish participants reported their willingness to take different actions towards a Moroccan (i.e. a devalued target, n = 132) or an Ecuadorian (i.e. a valued target, n = 138), perceived intergroup similarity and quality of intergroup contact. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis identified the expected dimensions: active facilitation (AF), passive facilitation (PF), passive harm (PH) and active harm (AH). Participants reported less similarity, less pleasant contact, less AF and less PF, and more PH with respect to Moroccans relative to Ecuadorians. Quality of contact mediated the effect of perceived similarity on interpersonal behaviour (especially facilitative behaviour) towards immigrants. Study 2 (N = 134) confirmed that this mediation effect also applied to Romanian immigrants, and tested a serial mediation pathway, in which perceived similarity affected symbolic threat, which in turn affected quality of contact, which finally affected behaviour. Changing perceived intergroup similarity might be a way of improving the quality of contact with minority groups, and this would be expected to increase pro‐social behaviour towards such groups.     

Do Americans Have a Preference for Rule‐Based Classification?

Six experiments investigated variables predicted to influence subjects’ tendency to classify items by a single property (rule‐based responding) instead of overall similarity, following the paradigm of Norenzayan et al. ( 2002 , Cognitive Science), who found that European Americans tended to give more “logical” rule‐based responses. However, in five experiments with Mechanical Turk subjects and undergraduates at an American university, we found a consistent preference for similarity‐based responding. A sixth experiment with Korean undergraduates revealed an effect of instructions, also reported by Norenzayan et al., in which classification instructions led to majority rule‐based responding but similarity instructions led to overall similarity grouping. Our American subjects showed no such difference and used similarity more overall. We conclude that Americans do not have a preference for rule responding in classification and discuss the differences between tasks that reliably show strong rule or unidimensional preferences (category construction and category learning) in contrast to this classification paradigm.     

Antecedent-Relative Comparative World Similarity

In “Backward Causation and the Stalnaker–Lewis Approach to Counterfactuals,” Analysis 62:191–7, (2002), Michael Tooley argues that if a certain kind of backward causation is possible, then a Stalnaker–Lewis comparative world similarity account of the truth conditions of counterfactuals cannot be sound. In “Tooley on Backward Causation,” Analysis 63:157–62, (2003), Paul Noordhof argues that Tooley’s example can be reconciled with a Stalnaker–Lewis account of counterfactuals if the comparative world similarity relation on which the Stalnaker–Lewis account relies is allowed to be antecedent-relative. In this paper I show that taking comparative world similarity to be antecedent-relative results in a formal semantics which is a comparative world similarity semantics in name only.     

Assortative mating and couple similarity: Patterns,mechanisms, and consequences

Assortative mating refers to the tendency of two partners' characteristics to be matched in a systematic manner, usually in the form of similarity. Mating with a similar partner has profound implications at the species, societal, and individual levels. This article provides a comprehensive review of research on couple similarity since 1980s. The review begins with the general patterns and trends observed in couple similarity on a range of domains including demographic variables, physical/physiological characteristics, abilities, mental well‐being, habitual behaviors, attitudes, values, and personality. Next the bulk of the review focuses on analyses of 4 mechanisms leading to similarity: initial active choice, mating market operation, social homogamy, and convergence. Specific future research avenues are outlined to improve understanding of these mechanisms. Finally, the review discusses genetic, social, and psychological consequences of couple similarity.     

Testing the interactive effect of parent and child ADHD on parenting in mothers and fathers: A further test of the similarity‐fit hypothesis

Mother and child ADHD symptoms both have a negative effect on parenting. Little is known about how these characteristics interact. In a recent paper, we reported two studies that suggested that maternal ADHD ameliorated the negative effects of child ADHD on negative parenting supporting a similarity‐fit hypothesis. The aim of the current paper is to extend this analysis to a sample of mothers and fathers. The study examined the association between child and adult ADHD symptoms on child‐specific parenting practices in 278 mothers and 85 fathers from a population‐based sample of school‐age children. As in the previous study, high levels of ADHD symptoms in mothers ameliorated the negative effects of child ADHD on parenting – supporting the similarity‐fit hypothesis. Fathers demonstrated the opposite effect with high levels of ADHD exacerbating the effects of child ADHD – supporting a similarity‐misfit hypothesis. The study confirms the important role played by parental ADHD symptoms in parenting while highlighting differences between mothers and fathers in this regard.     

Is overall similarity classification less effortful than single-dimension classification?

It is sometimes argued that the implementation of an overall similarity classification is less effortful than the implementation of a single-dimension classification. In the current article, we argue that the evidence securely in support of this view is limited, and report additional evidence in support of the opposite proposition—overall similarity classification is more effortful than single-dimension classification. Using a match-to-standards procedure, Experiments 1A, 1B and 2 demonstrate that concurrent load reduces the prevalence of overall similarity classification, and that this effect is robust to changes in the concurrent load task employed, the level of time pressure experienced, and the short-term memory requirements of the classification task. Experiment 3 demonstrates that participants who produced overall similarity classifications from the outset have larger working memory capacities than those who produced single-dimension classifications initially, and Experiment 4 demonstrates that instructions to respond meticulously increase the prevalence of overall similarity classification.     

A graph theoretic approach to similarity relations

Summary A similarity relation is reflexive and symmetric. A graph may be regarded as a geometric representation of an irreflexive symmetric relation; anr-graph then coincides with a similarity relation. For the realization of psychophysical phenomena, the points of a graph stand for the stimuli and a line for indistinguishability of a stimulus pair. Not all graphs, however, are likely to arise as similarity relations in a real situation. A special class of graphs, called interval graphs, does have this realistic property. These graphs are described and characterized.The preparation of this article was supported by Grant NSF-G-17771 from the National Science Foundation.     

The role of similarity in deductive categorical inference

The category inclusion rule specifies that categories inherit the properties of their superordinates. For example, given thatall metals are pentavalent, it can be concluded thatall iron is pentavalent. Sloman (1998) showed that people do not fully endorse conclusions that follow from the category inclusion rule. He claims that people rely on the similarity between the premise and the conclusion categories (metals andiron), rather than applying the category inclusion rule. By allowing reasoners to rate their certainty for category relations (e.g.,iron is metal), as well as for conclusions, the present study shows that similarity has only an indirect effect on the certainty of conclusions: Reasoners are more certain that similar categories have a category inclusion relation, and this in turn affects the certainty of conclusions based on this relation.     

Effects of similarity of life goals,values, and personality on relationship satisfaction and stability: Findings from a two‐wave panel study

Using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam; n = 3,674 heterosexual couples), this study examines the impact of partners’ individual levels and dyadic similarity concerning life goals, values, and personality traits on relationship satisfaction and union dissolution. Controlling for partners’ individual characteristics and for relationship duration, it was found that similarity on specific dimensions and stereotype‐adjusted profile correlations exerted significant yet small positive effects on both partners’ relationship satisfaction. These effects largely translated into beneficial indirect effects on union dissolution 1 year later (Wave 2, n = 2,820). Moderator analyses indicated the existence of some effect heterogeneity across relationship duration and types. Generally, partners’ respective individual characteristics appeared to predict relationship outcomes better than dyadic similarity measures.     

Assumed similarity in personality within intimate relationships

Assumed similarity is the tendency to assume that another person is similar to oneself. The present studies examined assumed similarity in intimate relationships regarding the HEXACO personality traits in Denmark (N = 93) and China (N = 236). Specifically, these studies hypothesized that people assume higher similarity with their intimate partners in Honesty‐Humility and Openness to Experience compared to the other four HEXACO traits (Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness). Results from both studies indicate that assumed similarity was higher in Honesty‐Humility compared to Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. However, assumed similarity in Openness was higher compared to Emotionality and Conscientiousness only. Supplementary analyses indicate no cultural differences between Denmark and China in assumed similarity in Honesty‐Humility and Openness.     

Using Response Surface Analysis to Interpret the Impact of Parent–Offspring Personality Similarity on Adolescent Externalizing Problems

Personality similarity between parent and offspring has been suggested to play an important role in offspring's development of externalizing problems. Nonetheless, much remains unknown regarding the nature of this association. This study aimed to investigate the effects of parent–offspring similarity at different levels of personality traits, comparing expectations based on evolutionary and goodness‐of‐fit perspectives. Two waves of data from the TRAILS study (N = 1587, 53% girls) were used to study parent–offspring similarity at different levels of personality traits at age 16 predicting externalizing problems at age 19. Polynomial regression analyses and Response Surface Analyses were used to disentangle effects of different levels and combinations of parents and offspring personality similarity. Although several facets of the offspring's personality had an impact on offspring's externalizing problems, few similarity effects were found. Therefore, there is little support for assumptions based on either an evolutionary or a goodness‐of‐fit perspective. Instead, our findings point in the direction that offspring personality, and at similar levels also parent personality might impact the development of externalizing problems during late adolescence. © 2017 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology     

Partial Resemblance and Property Immanence

Objects partially resemble when they are alike in some way but not entirely alike. Partial resemblance, then, involves similarity in a respect. It has been observed that talk of “respects” appears to be thinly‐veiled talk of properties. So some theorists take similarity in a respect to require property realism. I will go a step further and argue that similarity in intrinsic respects (partial intrinsic resemblance) requires properties to be immanent in objects. For a property to be immanent in an object is roughly for it to be wholly present in that object. (So understood, immanence does not imply repeatability, and thus tropes count as immanent.) If two objects are intrinsically similar in one way but not another, there must be a difference between the two ways. And if the similarity is between the objects as they are in themselves, then this difference, too, must be within the objects. Partial intrinsic resemblance thus requires internal structure. Without it, there can be no distinctions between ways in which things are intrinsically alike and ways in which they aren't. I will argue, further, that distinctions between properties that transcend objects fail to account for the possibility of partial intrinsic resemblance.     

Merging groups to maximize object partition comparison

The problem of objectively comparing two independently determined partitions ofN objects or variables is discussed. A similarity measure based on the simple matching coefficient is defined and related to previously suggested measures. The problem of merging groups in one partition to maximize this similarity measure is discussed and formulated as a mathematical programming problem; such an approach is useful for determining to what extent the groups in one partition merely represent a finer subdivision of the groups in the other partition. By exploiting the structure of the similarity measure, an efficient algorithm is developed to determine which groups (if any) should be merged to maximize partition similarity.The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful comments and assistance of Mr. R. Ledingham and Mr. R. Flewelling. This paper was supported in part by H.E.W. Contract #600-76-0143.     

The role of childhood and adulthood trauma and appraisal of self-discrepancy in overgeneral memory retrieval

The aim of this study was to examine the contributory role of childhood and adulthood trauma events and the appraisal of self-discrepancy (the magnitude and distress) in overgeneral memory retrieval (OGM) using a non-clinical sample. Participants with a history of childhood trauma (n=29); adulthood trauma only (n=17) or no-trauma (n=26) participated in this study. The childhood trauma group showed a significantly higher level of general negative memory retrieval than the no-trauma group. Conversely, the adulthood trauma group showed a significantly higher level of general threat memory retrieval than the no-trauma group. The perceived similarity and distress relating to the perceived similarity between participants' “actual self” and “feared self” significantly predicted the level of OGM, even after controlling for the impact of a history of adult or child trauma.     

The Role of Active Assortment in Spousal Similarity

Previous research has established the existence of active assortment, that is, a preference for similarity in a potential mate. Few studies, however, have directly related mate preferences to dyadic similarity by examining them in the same participants. We collected both similarity and mate preference data in two studies: undergraduate students (N = 519) and newlyweds (N = 335). In both studies, women placed a higher value on desirable personality characteristics (e.g., higher Conscientiousness and Agreeableness, lower Neuroticism) than did men. Nevertheless, our data also provided strong evidence of consensual mate preferences: Men and women both desired partners who were agreeable, conscientious, emotionally stable, intelligent, and physically attractive; furthermore, participants desired partners who were better (e.g., more agreeable and attractive) than they were. In contrast, attitudinal variables such as religiousness and political orientation displayed much weaker consensus but showed significant dyadic similarity in both samples; similarity coefficients for personality tended to be positive, but lower. Finally, analyses revealed a direct link between actual and desired similarity: Couples displayed the strongest similarity on those variables for which participants expressed the strongest preference for similarity. Our findings strongly suggest that active assortment is partly responsible for dyadic similarity.     

The Roles of Similarity in Transfer: Separating Retrievability From Inferential Soundness

Similarity is universally acknowledged to be central in transfer, but recent research suggests that its role is complex. The present research attempts to isolate and compare the determinants of similarity-based access to memory and the determinants of the subjective soundness and similarity of a match. We predicted, based on structure-mapping theory, that subjective soundness would depend on the degree of shared relational structure, particularly higher-order structure such as causal bindings. In contrast, we predicted that memory retrieval would be highly sensitive to surface similarities such as common object attributes. To assess retrievability, in three studies, subjects were asked to read a large set of stories and were later given a set of probe stories that resembled the original stories in systematically different ways; e.g., purely relational analogies, surface-similarity matches, or overall (literal similarity) matches. Subjects were told to write out any of the original stories that came to mind. To assess subjective soundness, independent subjects (and also the same reminding subjects) were asked to rate the inferential soundness of each pair; i.e., how well inferences true of one story would apply to the other. As predicted, subjective soundness was highly related to the degree of common relational structure, while retrievability was chiefly related to the degree of surface similarity. Ratings of the similarity of the pairs did not predict the retrievability ordering, arguing against the possibility that the retrieval ordering simply reflected overall similarity. Further, a fourth study demonstrated that subjects given a forced-choice recognition task could discriminate between possible matches on the basis of relational structure, ruling out the possibility that the poor relational retrieval resulted from forgetting or failing to encode the relational structure. We conclude that there is a dissociation between the similarity that governs access to long-term memory and that which is used in evaluating and reasoning from a present match. We describe a model, called MAC/FAC ("any are called but few are chosen"), that uses a two-stage similarity retrieval process to model these findings. Finally, we speculate on the implications of this view for learning and transfer.     

Exploration into the sources of individual differences in Aggression-, Hostility- and Anger-related (AHA) personality traits

In this study a behavior-genetic approach was used to identify sources of individual differences in Aggression-, Hostility- and Anger-related (AHA) personality traits (as measured with Spielberger's anger scales and scales from the Karolinska Scales of Personality), based on a sample (N = 140 individuals) that comprised of monozygotic twin pairs reared together (N_pairs = 26) or reared apart (N_pairs = 15), and dizygotic twin pairs reared together (N_pairs = 29). In general, the results suggest that environmental factors account for sibling similarity in hostility, whereas genetic factors account for sibling similarity in angry aggression and irritability (trait anger).     

A dissociation between similarity effects in episodic face recognition

University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia Memory similarity, the similarity between a test lure and memory traces, reduces confidence and accuracy in all forms of recognition memory. In contrast, Tulving (1981) showed that, in recognition memory for scenic pictures, choice similarity, the similarity between forced choice test alternatives, increased accuracy but decreased confidence. In the present study, we replicated both memory and choice similarity effects and the dissociation between accuracy and confidence with pictures of faces. State-trace analysis confirmed the dissociation and identified two dimensions underlying these effects, one associated with choice similarity and another associated with memory similarity. Further analysis showed that the effect of study—test lag was associated with the memory-similarity dimension.