Pairing People with Products: Anthropomorphizing the Object,Dehumanizing the Person

We present the first empirical integration of anthropomorphism and dehumanization, two intrinsically linked processes representing the extent to which the concept of humanness is activated for a given target. Across several experiments, we demonstrate that pairing a person and object in an ad, while focusing respondent attention on the object, leads to its being anthropomorphized and evaluated better compared to presenting it alone. However, compared to presenting a person alone, the same pairing leads to inferior evaluations of the person through a process of dehumanization. We rule out two alternative explanations for these effects, namely the transfer of an object's qualities to the person and consumption associations, and conduct a post‐test that provides additional support for our proposed activation/inhibition of humanness account. Finally, we inspect several moderators, finding that anthropomorphism only occurs with moderately and highly functional objects and dehumanization occurs irrespective of the person's gender or fame. By incorporating the literature on dehumanization, we propose new research questions to motivate future inquiry.     

Irrelevant‐action imitation is short‐term and contextual: Evidence from two under‐studied populations

Across the lifespan and across populations, humans ‘overimitate’ causally unnecessary behaviors. Such irrelevant‐action imitation facilitates faithful cultural transmission, but its immediate benefits to the imitator are controversial. Over short time scales, irrelevant‐action imitation may bootstrap artifact exploration or interpersonal affiliation, and over longer time scales it may facilitate acquisition of either causal models or social conventions. To investigate these putative functions, we recruited community samples from two under‐studied populations: Yasawa, Fiji, and Huatasani, Peru. We use a two‐action puzzle box: first after a video demonstration, and again one month later. Treating age as a continuous variable, we reveal divergent developmental trajectories across sites. Yasawans (44 adults, M = 39.9 years, 23 women; 42 children, M = 9.8 years, 26 girls) resemble documented patterns, with irrelevant‐action imitation increasing across childhood and plateauing in adulthood. In contrast, Huatasaneños (48 adults, M = 37.6 years, 33 women; 47 children, M = 9.3 years, 13 girls) evince a parabolic trajectory: adults at the site show the lowest irrelevant‐action imitation of any demographic set in our sample. In addition, all age sets in both populations reduce their irrelevant actions at Time 2, but do not reduce their relevant‐action imitation or goal attainment. Taken together, and considering the local cultural contexts, our results suggest that irrelevant‐action imitation serves a short‐term function and is sensitive to the social context of the demonstration.     

Why not to be a ‘Thomist’: A Critique of the Bañezian Reconciliation of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom

Thomas Osborne has asserted that ‘No one has developed an argument against premotion that works if the distinctions made by the Thomists are granted.' This article attempts to form just such an argument. Specifically, it argues that the Thomistic system – even with the distinctions it relies on having been granted – cannot account for human freedom, at least not in a sense sufficiently strong to sustain human guilt for sin. Further, it argues that the Thomists, by their own clear though tacit admission, acknowledge this insufficiency.     

Selection fairness information and applicant reactions: a longitudinal field study

Although laboratory studies have found that selection information can affect applicant perceptions, this has not been tested in the field. The authors followed 2 cohorts of police applicants (N = 274) in a longitudinal study to examine the relationship between information, applicant perceptions, and behavior (e.g., turnover). Information was related to perceived fairness measured at the time of testing and 1 month later when applicants received their results. Information moderated the relationship between outcome favorability and test-taking self-efficacy among African Americans but not among Whites. Information was not related to the behavioral measures. The discussion focuses on why certain findings from previous studies were not replicated and on the use of information when applicants have an investment in getting a job.     

The natural history of gambling and drinking problems among casino employees

From an eligible population of 9,943 casino employees, 6,067 volunteered to participate in this study. Of this sample, 1,176 provided data at 3 observation points approximately 12 months apart. Using the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H. R. Lesieur & S. B. Blume, 1987) and the CAGE (J. A. Ewing, 1984) questionnaire, the authors prospectively examined the prevalence and patterns of alcohol and gambling problems among those employees. Among the casino employees with gambling and drinking problems, a segment displayed the capacity to diminish those problems even when the difficulties had reached disordered levels. The authors also examined the comorbidity of gambling and drinking as well as the relationships among changes in SOGS scores and CAGE scores and changes in demographic and biological variables. The women were more likely to decrease their problem-drinking scores, but not their gambling scores, when compared with the men. In addition, 2 key variables (i.e., disabling depression and dissatisfaction with one's personal life) emerged as predictors of transitions to healthier levels of disordered gambling. The authors cautiously suggest, in light of the results taken together, that more fluctuation is associated with gambling and drinking problems than previously thought and that the conventional wisdom about disordered gambling as "always progressive" needs reconsideration.     

Racial bias in decisions made by mock jurors evaluating a case of sexual harassment

White (N = 161) and Black (N = 152) college students served as mock jurors in a simulated civil case in which a female plaintiff accused a male defendant of sexual harassment. The authors experimentally manipulated the race (Black or White) of the litigants and asked the mock jurors to decide whether the defendant was guilty; to rate the certainty of their belief in the defendant's guilt; and, when they judged the defendant guilty, to recommend an award to the plaintiff. Mock jurors of both races tended to favor litigants of their own race and their own gender. Racial bias was highest among White male jurors and lowest among White female jurors.     

Childhood experience of illness as a risk factor for medically unexplained symptoms

Clinical experience suggests that a high proportion of patients with medically unexplained symptoms or somatoform disorders give histories of adverse childhood experiences. Previous work has reported that both personal and family experience of illness may be associated with later unexplained symptoms in the individual. Most of this research is subject to recall bias. This review explores data from the UK Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, a population-based birth cohort study. The main finding of this work is that childhood experience of illness in parents is an independent risk factor for later unexplained symptoms. Personal experience of illness has a more complicated relationship. There is no evidence that severe physical disease in childhood is associated with later unexplained symptoms, but common childhood unexplained symptoms are predictors of symptoms in adulthood.