Psychopathic personality traits and cognitive dissonance: Individual differences in attitude change

In a study using a classic cognitive dissonance paradigm, 164 undergraduate participants were induced to deceive a fellow student; half were directly instructed to lie whereas the other half were politely requested but not instructed to lie. Participants were assessed for psychopathic traits using the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised: Short Form and the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, and for Machiavellianism using the MACH-IV. As predicted, participants low in psychopathic traits exhibited classic cognitive dissonance effects following their lie whereas participants high in psychopathic traits did not. Results for Machiavellianism were nonsignificant. These results indicate that cognitive dissonance effects in an induced compliance paradigm are reduced or eliminated among individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits.     

The effect of cultural values on pro-environmental attitude in the context of travel mode choice: A hierarchical approach

The cultural theory explains social behavior through four elementary types of cultural values consisting of hierarchy, individualism, egalitarianism, and fatalism. The knowledge of how these values influence attitudes and behaviors specifically pertain to the environment is limited. Understanding individuals’ values and attitudes should be addressed in travel mode choice based on possible impacts of transportation on the environment. This study investigates the effect of cultural values on pro-environmental attitude and the influence of this attitude on travel mode choice in light of a hierarchical latent choice model. The model is estimated using data from a random sampling in CBD (Central Business District) of Tehran, Iran. The pro-environmental attitude, which is postulated to be affected by cultural values, is considered as the latent variable directly affecting travel mode choice. The cultural values drivers of pro-environmental attitude have been seen in a hierarchical structure. The estimated results show that hierarchical cultural tendency has the strongest and positive effect on being pro-environmental. Also, individualistic culture indicates a positive trend in being pro-environmental. On the other side, people with egalitarianism value tend to report an orientation towards pro-environmental attitude. Moreover, pro-environmental attitude increases the utility of public and active modes of transportation and a negative significant effect is found on the utility of private car and motorcycle.     

Multimodal travel behaviour,attitudes, and cognitive dissonance

Multimodal travel behaviour, also termed multimodality, refers to as the phenomenon of an individual using more than one mode of transport in a given period. Studies indicate that encouraging multimodality may provide a solution to induce modal shifts towards sustainable transport. In this research, we investigate the distribution of mode-specific attitudes and attitude-mode use incompatibilities across clusters and levels of multimodality using the Netherlands Mobility Panel. We find that the most positive attitude does not necessarily correspond to the mode with the highest level of use. Attitudes towards car use are most positive, independent of the cluster membership and levels of multimodality. We also find that multimodal public transport users (compared with car-dominant users) and those with a higher level of multimodality are more likely to be attitudinally incompatible with frequently-used modes and the composition of their existing mode sets of travelling. This suggests that multimodal individuals may tend to experience cognitive dissonance with their mode use. Our findings also help uncover the psychological mechanism underlying a recent important finding that multimodal individuals are inclined to change their mode use patterns over time.     

Appreciation of nature and appreciation of environmental protection: How stable are these attitudes and which comes first?

IntroductionAttitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection are two separate but correlated attitudes. Little is known about the two attitudes’ stability/volatility over time, despite the practical value of such knowledge.Objectives & methodUsing longitudinal survey data from 251 adults in a cross-lagged structural equation model, we assessed the degree of spontaneous (i.e., unprompted) change in the two attitudes. We also considered whether such change could provide evidence regarding causal direction; causation could go in either of two directions between the two attitudes, or it could even be bi-directional.ResultsWe corroborated the substantive connection between attitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection; however, the absence of change in the attitudes despite the passage of two years disallows reliable statements about causal direction.ConclusionIt is possible to protect the environment by encouraging appreciation of nature, but change in attitude toward nature and attitude toward environmental protection may be difficult to achieve with mature individuals.     

The Obama effect: Decreasing implicit prejudice and stereotyping

This project explores the impact of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and the resulting high levels of exposure to a positive, counter-stereotypic Black exemplar, on prejudice and stereotyping among non-Black participants. We found dramatically decreased levels of implicit anti-Black prejudice and stereotyping as compared with bias observed previously at the same institutions and in the literature. Providing some insight why the bias was reduced, Study 1 demonstrated that participants had positive Black exemplars come to mind or anticipated that other people have positive exemplars come to mind when they thought of Black people and this was associated with low levels of racial prejudice. Our second study revealed that participants who had qualities strongly associated with Obama as a political figure (e.g., president) activated when they were primed with “Black” had lower levels of implicit prejudice. These findings indicate that the extensive exposure to Obama resulted in a drop in implicit bias.     

Me have a traffic accident? The effects of core self-evaluations on the perceived likelihood and perceived undesirability of traffic accidents

Problem: The aim of this article was to demonstrate the influence of “Core Self-Evaluations” (CSEs) on the perception which drivers have of the occurrence of a “traffic accident”, in particular the evaluation of its likelihood, of the personal control exercised and its undesirability (attitude). More generally, this article introduces the concept of CSE in the field of driver psychology and discusses its relevance. Method: 201 French drivers replied to a questionnaire measuring CSEs, the perceived likelihood of having an accident, attitude and perceived personal control. Results and discussion: The more positively drivers evaluated themselves, the more they judged that they were in control and that accidents were unlikely. Drivers with a negative self-evaluation had an attitude more negative than drivers with positive CSEs solely when they judged the accident as unlikely. This positive correlation between attitude and perceived likelihood for drivers with negative CSEs could be viewed as the result of “wishful thinking” or “rationalisation” modes of reasoning. For these drivers a positive relationship was also observed between driving experience and perceived personal control, the latter thus cancelling out the effect of CSEs. This result suggest that with experience self-evaluation as a driver becomes positive and compensates for the effect of a negative general self-evaluation on perceived personal control and perceived likelihood. Practical implications: Using and adapting the Experience-Based Analysis technique for each group of drivers (positive or negative CSEs) is recommended, as well as implementing interventions that triggers drivers’ awareness of CSEs influence and that promote their self-regulating skills.     

Influencing attitudes toward near and distant objects

It is argued that the temporal distance of attitude objects systematically changes how the object is mentally represented, and thus influences the strength of particular persuasive appeals. Three experiments tested the hypothesis that people preferentially attend to arguments that highlight primary, abstract (high-level) vs. incidental, concrete (low-level) features when attitude objects are temporally distant vs. near. Results suggested that when attitude objects are temporally distant vs. near, arguments emphasizing primary vs. secondary features (Study 1), desirability vs. feasibility features (Study 2), and general classes vs. specific cases are more persuasive (Study 3). The relation of construal theory to dual process theories of persuasion and persuasion phenomena, such as personal relevance effects and functional matching effects, are discussed.     

Carryover effects of analytic thought on preference quality

The current study used a novel within-subjects design to test for the effects of analytic thought (reasons analysis) on the quality of the resulting judgments, as well as on subsequent, unanalyzed judgments of the same stimuli. Participants rated eight Olympic dives at two points in time, 30 min apart, under both reasoning and control instructions, which were then correlated with the scores the dives received from the Olympic judges. Results revealed asymmetric effects of reasoning and non-reasoning strategies: reasoning impaired judgments even when the judgments had been previously made under control conditions, and participants’ two sets of ratings were more strongly correlated with each other when made under control conditions than when either set had been reasoned. Analyses of decision times and reason–judgment correlations suggest that the effects of analytic thought in this domain are partially due to a general shift in decision strategy, and not exclusively to biases in the content of generated reasons.     

An affirmed self and an open mind: Self-affirmation and sensitivity to argument strength

Self-affirmation seems to enable an individual to objectively evaluate information that would otherwise evoke a defensive reaction. If this objectivity reflects freedom from self-evaluative concerns, affirmation should sensitize people to central cues of a persuasive message, like argument strength. If affirmation simply induces agreeableness or trivializes the issue, affirmed participants should not particularly heed argument strength. Affirmed and non-affirmed participants rated the persuasiveness of pro- and counterattitudinal arguments that varied in strength. Among participants who rated their attitudes as personally important, self-affirmation decreased bias and increased sensitivity to argument strength, as predicted by self-affirmation theory.     

The Perception of the Other in International Relations: Evidence for the Polarizing Effect of Entitativity

In an international relations context, the mutual images held by actors affect their mutual expectations about the Other's behavior and guide the interpretation of the Other's actions. Here it is argued that the effect of these images is moderated by the degree of entitativity of the Other—that is, the extent to which it is perceived as a real entity. Two studies tested this hypothesis by manipulating the entitativity of the European Union (EU) among U.S. citizens whose images of the EU varied along the enemy/ally dimension. Results of these studies yielded converging evidence in support of the hypothesized moderating effect of entitativity. Specifically, entitativity showed a polarizing effect on the relationship between the image of the EU and judgments of harmfulness of actions carried out by the EU.