Book Symposium: Harry Brighouse,School Choice and Social Justice

Studies in Philosophy and Education -     

Personal relative deprivation, delay discounting, and gambling

Several lines of research have provided evidence for a relation between personal relative deprivation and gambling. Despite this knowledge, little is known about possible psychological mechanisms through which personal relative deprivation exerts its influence on gambling. The authors of this research sought to examine one such mechanism: the desire for immediate rewards. Using complementary approaches to studying psychological mechanisms, they tested in four studies the general hypothesis that personal relative deprivation translates into gambling urges and behavior in part via increased desires for immediate, even if smaller, rewards. Study 1 showed that an experimental manipulation of personal relative deprivation increased participants' preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards during a delay-discounting task. Studies 2 and 3 showed that a decreased willingness to delay gratification led to increased gambling behavior. Study 4 showed that preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards statistically mediated the relation between self-reported personal relative deprivation and gambling urges among a community sample of gamblers. The implications and potential applications of these findings are discussed.     

LANGUAGE ATTITUDES OF ITALO-AUSTRALIAN AND GREEK-AUSTRALIAN BILINGUALS*

The purpose of this research was to investigate differences in the perception of speakers as a function of their language and sex. Forty-two Italo-Australian and 56 Greek-Australian young people listened to male and female speakers in each of their two languages, using Lambert et al's. (1960) guise method. Results indicated few differences in Italo-Australian subjects' ratings of speakers as a function of language, while Greek-Australian subjects, in general, rated Greek guises more positively than English guises. In addition, Italo-Australian subjects rated female subjects more positively than male speakers irrespective of language, but Greek-Australian subjects reversed this pattern.     

Modulation of the rod and frame effect: Retinal angle vs apparent size

Summary Two rod and frame displays, constructed in a 3:1 linear ratio, were used to assess the apparent vertical. When viewed at the common distance of 1.5 m, the larger-appearing frame also produced the greater retinal angle. With the small frame at .5 m and the large one at 4.5 m, the smaller-appearing frame produced the greater retinal angle. In both cases the rod and frame effect increased with increasing retinal size, rather than with the apparent size of the frame.This research was supported by NIH Grant EY 02264 from the National Eye Institute to the first author.     

Foregoing the labor for the fruits: The effect of just world threat on the desire for immediate monetary rewards

Previous theorizing and research suggest that the need to believe in a just world develops when children begin to understand the benefits of foregoing their immediate gratifications for more desirable, long-term outcomes. Drawing on this previous work, we propose that an extant just world threat may induce a desire for smaller, immediate rewards at the expense of larger, delayed rewards. Participants were exposed to the suffering of an innocent or non-innocent victim and then, in a different context, completed a temporal discounting task that assessed, across six time delays, their preferences for smaller, immediate monetary rewards versus a constant, larger, delayed reward. Consistent with our reasoning, participants exposed to the suffering of an innocent versus non-innocent victim more steeply discounted the value of the delayed reward—that is, they were willing to accept smaller immediate rewards in place of the larger, delayed reward. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Training in Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs): What are school psychology programs teaching?

This study examined the degree to which school psychology programs provided training in Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs). Survey data were collected from 97 school psychology training directors to assess their familiarity, level of student exposure, and perceived importance of EBIs. This study also examined the contextual factors that interfere with EBI training, and whether students are taught to apply the criteria developed by Divisions 12, 16, and 53 of the APA when evaluating outcome research. Results indicated that relatively low percentages of respondents were familiar with the EBIs included on the survey, exposure to EBIs occurred more frequently in coursework than practical experiences, and EBIs were rated as either somewhat important or important. Lack of time was rated as the most serious challenge to EBI training and a high percentage of directors reported students were taught to apply the criteria developed by professional organizations in psychology and education when evaluating outcome research.     

Gambling as a search for justice: examining the role of personal relative deprivation in gambling urges and gambling behavior

The present article explores the hypothesis that gambling might serve a justice-seeking function for some people, as gambling might offer a means to pursuing desirable outcomes that people feel they deserve but might be unable or unwilling to attain through conventional means. In Study 1, across two separate samples, self-reports of personal relative deprivation predict problem gambling and gambling urges over and above relevant control variables. In Study 2, the authors manipulate personal relative deprivation by informing participants that they have either less or more discretionary income than "similar others." They then give participants $20 and the opportunity to gamble. The results show that a greater percentage of participants who are "relatively deprived" (vs. "not relatively deprived") opt to gamble. Two manipulation validation studies demonstrate that the "relatively deprived" participants are preoccupied with justice during a modified Stroop task and feel resentful. Implications for understanding why people gamble are discussed.