Disentangling Listening and Verbal Recall Related But Separate Constructs?

This study examines the relationship between verbal recall and listening, using measures of listening behavior as a criterion. Three possible models of the verbal recall-listening relationship are examined: isomorphic, confounding, and recall ability as antecedent to listening. Seventy-three participants were videotaped while interviewing a confederate, and the videotapes were coded for observable listening behaviors. Participants also completed a conversation-based listening test and a verbal recall test. The results indicated that, although related, listening and the ability to recall verbal stimuli are not isomorphic. The data were also inconsistent with a model specifying verbal recall ability as a confound of listening. A model stipulating verbal recall ability as antecedent to listening provided the best fit to the data. Implications of this model for past and future research are discussed.     

Dishonest individuals request more frequent mate retention from friends

Coalitional mate retention (CMR) occurs when individuals request assistance from a friend to minimize the risk of partner infidelity. We secured reports from men and women in a committed, heterosexual relationship to investigate associations between CMR requests and the sex and personality traits of individuals who request CMR and the sex of their friends. Consistent with our hypothesis, individuals scoring higher in Honesty–Humility requested CMR less frequently. We also documented that individuals higher in Extraversion and lower in Conscientiousness requested CMR more frequently. We address limitations of the research and future research directions, including tests of the hypothesis that CMR involves duplicitous behaviors that are less typical of individual mate retention.     

Perceived Deservingness of Outcomes as a Function of Religious Fundamentalism and Target Responsibility

We examined the perception of deserved outcomes associated with religious fundamentalism (RF). Interviews with videotaped targets varied in target's religiosity, responsibility, and outcome valence (good/bad). Participants either low (LF) or high (HF) on RF formulated an impression of how deserving a target was for a situational outcome. Participants low in RF held targets to be less deserving of a bad outcome than a good one; the HF group showed this to a lesser degree. HFs believed the target was more deserving of a bad outcome than did LFs, even when the target was not responsible for the outcome. Religious fundamentalism is related to attributing greater deservingness of bad outcomes, possibly because of a greater belief in a just world.