Children's racial bias in perceptions of others' pain

Previous research indicates that American adults, both Black and White, assume a priori that Black people feel less pain than do White people (Trawalter, Hoffman, & Waytz, 2012, PLoS One, 7 [11], 1–8). The present work investigates when in development this bias emerges. Five‐, 7‐, and 10‐year‐olds first rated the amount of pain they themselves would feel in 10 situations such as biting their tongue or hitting their head. They then rated the amount of pain they believed two other children – a Black child and a White child, matched to the child's gender – would feel in response to the same events. We found that by age 7, children show a weak racial bias and that by age 10, they show a strong and reliable racial bias. Consistent with research on adults, this bias was not moderated by race‐related attitudes or interracial contact. This finding is important because knowing the age of emergence can inform the timing of interventions to prevent this bias.     

The moral behavior of ethics professors: A replication-extension in German-speaking countries

What is the relation between ethical reflection and moral behavior? Does professional reflection on ethical issues positively impact moral behaviors? To address these questions, Schwitzgebel and Rust empirically investigated if philosophy professors engaged with ethics on a professional basis behave any morally better or, at least, more consistently with their expressed values than do non-ethicist professors. Findings from their original US-based sample indicated that neither is the case, suggesting that there is no positive influence of ethical reflection on moral action. In the study at hand, we attempted to cross-validate this pattern of results in the German-speaking countries and surveyed 417 professors using a replication-extension research design. Our results indicate a successful replication of the original effect that ethicists do not behave any morally better compared to other academics across the vast majority of normative issues. Yet, unlike the original study, we found mixed results on normative attitudes generally. On some issues, ethicists and philosophers even expressed more lenient attitudes. However, one issue on which ethicists not only held stronger normative attitudes but also reported better corresponding moral behaviors was vegetarianism.     

Attitudinal and Emotional Consequences of Islamist Terrorism. Evidence from the Berlin Attack

Studies about Islamist-inspired terror attacks in the Western world have identified a recently declining impact on public opinion. What explains this development? I argue that the wider audience of terrorist attacks has become desensitized. Cognitive desensitization occurs when citizens increasingly expect an attack, reducing the likelihood of attitudinal change. Emotional desensitization occurs when audiences lose sensitivity to attacks, tempering emotional arousal. To assess the implications of desensitization, I analyze a survey conducted around the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016 and account for baseline information of the surveyed individuals, an approach not used before due to data limitations. I find that attitudes like trust in government, national identification, and views of Islam remain unchanged. Sadness and anger are heightened in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The wider German audience may thus have expected an attack but still be emotionally sensitive to it in the short term. These findings are relevant as political leaders have justified important policy changes in fields like migration and even war making with reference to supposed shifts in public opinion after attacks.     

Crossed categorization outside the lab: Findings from a factorial survey experiment

Crossed categorization studies investigate intergroup attitudes in situations when two categorization dimensions are simultaneously salient, often looking at artificial groups in laboratory settings. The current study tests (a) patterns of evaluation in crossed categorization scenarios when more than two real-life categorization dimensions are crossed, and (b) the moderating role of identity importance. We conduct a factorial survey experiment with a diverse sample (N = 524), crossing eight categorization dimensions. The results provide strong support for the additive pattern of crossed categorization, challenging the view that with an increased number of categories category-based information processing will not be used. Identity importance predicts the strength of intergroup bias only on the dimension of religion, which was the dominant dimension in this sample. The study contributes to multiple and crossed categorization literature by testing some of its key assumptions using a design that increases the ecological validity of the findings.     

Users’ resistance towards radical innovations: The case of the self-driving car

In this paper we unpack and examine attitudes and potential barriers of end-users towards the self-driving car. We explore whether drivers have (mental) barriers and/or show resistance towards the self-driving car and, given such barriers and resistance are identified, investigate the main underlying reasons. Further, we suggest potential strategic implications for automotive companies and avenues to overcome, or at least mitigate, drivers’ barriers. The paper contributes to a better understanding of end-users’ opinions on radical innovations such as the self-driving car and strives to add value by linking scientific insights from both psychology as well as innovation literature. Only a limited number of studies so far have dealt with the potential barriers of users towards the self-driving car; therefore, it is our intent to provide first empirical evidence to trigger further research and foster a broader discussion on this relevant topic.