Exploring subject positions in Greek migrants' discourse on mobility decisions

The current study explores the ways in which Greek migrants in their early adulthood position themselves in discourse on mobility decisions. For the purposes of the study, 17 virtual interviews with Greek migrants (aged between 25–40 years old) in European cities were conducted. Analysis, based on the principles of critical discursive social psychology, indicated that, in their accounts of migration decision-making, participants positioned themselves in various ways: as career/job seekers, as adventurers, as well as (personal or institutional/economic) crisis-ridden individuals. Multiple subject positions were constituted by an amalgam of rational/practical and affective repertoires which depicted migration as a multifaceted, dynamic and non-linear project. Analysis also highlighted the multiple spatial (transnational, national and local) and dynamic temporal constructions mobilized by participants, in order to construct their motivations for migrating. Discussion of findings suggests that social psychology (a) can vitally contribute to migration literature, by considering ways in which social actors position themselves by the use of historically and culturally specific resources and by their orientation to local interactional concerns in the context of accounting for their mobility and (b) can be benefited by considering spatial and temporal aspects in the analysis of migration.     

绿色助推

我们人类当前的生活方式不是可持续的。提升可持续性的途径之一是发展更绿色的科学技术, 另一种补充性途径是改变人们的态度、习惯和行为。在本文中, 我们讨论了6种心理技术, 其宗旨是推动或助推(nudge)人们做出更环保的选择和行为。这些心理技术涵盖范围非常广泛, 有些可以远程使用, 如在通知公告中建构沟通信息, 有些则涉及对人们的决策情境做出的改变。因此, 本综述关乎到各行业从业人员, 如市场营销人员、政策制定者、消费者代表等。对于每项心理技术, 我们讨论了其认知和(或)情绪的理论性基础。此外, 我们探讨了目前文献中存在的空白, 并提出了可填补这些空白的未来研究方向。     

Post-decision consolidation in large group decision-making

Decision-makers tend to change the psychological attractiveness of decision alternatives in favor of their own preferred alternative after the decision is made. In two experiments, the present research examined whether such decision consolidation occurs also among individual group members in a large group decision-making situation. High-school students were presented with a decision scenario on an important issue in their school. The final decision was made by in-group authority, out-group authority or by majority after a ballot voting. Results showed that individual members of large groups changed the attractiveness of their preferred alternative from a pre- to a post-decision phase, that these consolidation effects increased when decisions were made by in-group members, and when participants identified strongly with their school. Implications of the findings for understanding of group behavior and subgroup relations are discussed.     

Cultivating admiration in brands: Warmth,competence, and landing in the “golden quadrant”

Although a substantial amount of research has examined the constructs of warmth and competence, far less has examined how these constructs develop and what benefits may accrue when warmth and competence are cultivated. Yet there are positive consequences, both emotional and behavioral, that are likely to occur when brands hold perceptions of both. In this paper, we shed light on when and how warmth and competence are jointly promoted in brands, and why these reputations matter.     

The Influence of Personality on the Decision to Cheat

Seventeen transgressive behaviors were studied in the context of six personality variables using survey methods. The personality variables were impulsivity, sensation seeking, empathetic perspective taking, guilt, and shame, with social desirability used as a control. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a five-factor model as having the best fit. Those five factors are competitive cheating, self-cheating, school cheating, relationship cheating, and breaking a social contract. A structural equation model indicated that only impulsivity, sensation seeking, and empathetic perspective taking were related to frequency of transgressive behaviors, thus supporting the hypothesis that moral decision making has a critical automatic component.     

Ethical ends: Effect of abstract mindsets in ethical decisions for the greater social good

We explore the impact of construal level on decisions involving conflicts between multiple ethical principles. Whereas abstract mindsets are associated with a focus on ethical issues and superordinate concerns, concrete mindsets are associated with financial self-interest. With abstract mindsets, we find that people abide by rather than violate ethical principles when only the self would benefit (single principle) but they violate ethical principles when doing so is a conduit for a greater social good (multiple principles). With concrete mindsets, people violate ethical principles for personal gain with less concern for the impact on the greater social good. Specifically, with abstract mindsets, people were dishonest to secure larger donations (Study 1) and dishonest to make larger (smaller) donations to charities that supported (threatened) the greater social good (Study 2a, Study 2b) whereas with concrete mindsets, people focused more on dishonesty for personal gain (Study 1, Study 2a, Study 2b).     

The role of perspective taking and emotions in punishing identified and unidentified wrongdoers

We present two studies examining the effect of identifiability on willingness to punish, emphasising that identifiability of the wrongdoer may increase or decrease willingness to punish depending on the punisher's perspective. When taking the wrongdoer's perspective, identifiability increases pity and decreases anger towards the wrongdoer, leading to a lighter punishment. On the other hand, when adopting the injured perspective, identifiability decreases pity and increases anger, resulting in a severe punishment. We show that while deliberation and rational factors affect the decision regardless of identification, the role of emotions in the decision is greater in the identified condition. Possible implications for public and educational policy are discussed.     

The Name Game: Employability Evaluations of Prototypical Applicants with Stereotypical Feminine and Masculine First Names

This study was designed to examine professional human resource managers recommendations and inferences about prototypical applicants who had identical qualifications, in which the presence of periods of unemployment and name (feminine, masculine) of applicants were manipulated. Results indicate that although overall income for female applicants was less than male applicants in some conditions, male applicants were penalized and evaluated more harshly than female applicants when they had experienced periods of unemployment. Specifically, male applicants with employment gaps were seen as less committed and as less hirable than their female counterparts. Overall, male applicants were less likely to be recommended for an interview, and, when they experienced multiple gaps, they were less likely to be recommended for further consideration.     

Players’ Gender and Male Referees’ Decisions About Aggression in French Soccer: A Preliminary Study

The aim of this study was to examine (a) aggression displayed by players and (b) referees decisions about these behaviors as a function of the gender of the players in French soccer. Twenty-six games (13 for women and 13 for men) were videotaped. Instrumental aggressive acts and referees decisions were then observed. The findings indicated a significant effect of gender on instrumental aggression and referees decisions related to these behaviors. Male players displayed more instrumental aggressive acts than female players did. Nevertheless, relative to the total number of aggressive acts displayed, referees penalized women more than men. Gender stereotypes might be a relevant explanation for these results, as soccer is generally perceived as a masculine-type sport, particularly in France, and aggression as a masculine characteristic.