Seeking positive experiences can produce illusory correlations

Individuals tend to select again alternatives about which they have positive impressions and to avoid alternatives about which they have negative impressions. Here we show how this sequential sampling feature of the information acquisition process leads to the emergence of an illusory correlation between estimates of the attributes of multi-attribute alternatives. The sign of the illusory correlation depends on how the decision maker combines estimates in making her sampling decisions. A positive illusory correlation emerges when evaluations are compensatory or disjunctive and a negative illusory correlation can emerge when evaluations are conjunctive. Our theory provides an alternative explanation for illusory correlations that does not rely on biased information processing nor selective attention to different pieces of information. It provides a new perspective on several well-established empirical phenomena such as the ‘Halo’ effect in personality perception, the relation between proximity and attitudes, and the in-group out-group bias in stereotype formation.     

Re‐Imagining Theological Education for the Twenty‐First Century: “What Has Theological Ed to do with Higher Ed?”

Abstract : In re‐imagining theological education for the twenty‐first century, Stortz examines two late‐twentieth‐century proposals for seminary education: ecumenical consortia and “clustering,” or merging seminaries within the same communion. Given the relative failure of such proposals, she explores a “back to the future” move—a return of seminaries to the church‐related colleges from which many of them sprung. The move might prove mutually beneficial on three fronts: helping the respective institutions with twin emphases on formation and professionalization, sorting through mission and identity issues, and facilitating a greater awareness of the global context which both theological and higher education serve.     

Honesty pays: On the benefits of having and disclosing information in coalition bargaining

People typically think of negotiations as competitive, which often leads them to engage in secrecy and even deception. In three experiments we show that this approach can backfire in coalition bargaining. Results show that, even though bargainers with an outcome advantage only obtain favorable outcomes when this information is public, they rarely choose to reveal this information. Fairness motivations fueled decisions to reveal this information and make attractive offers whereas self-interest fueled decisions not to reveal and make unattractive offers. Finally, perspective taking increased proselfs' inclinations to keep their advantage private whereas it increased prosocials' inclinations to reveal. These findings suggest that many people are not naturally inclined to reveal private information when they have an outcome advantage, but that fairness motives encourage revelation and, ironically, increase revealers' outcomes in coalition bargaining. Thus, in this context, honesty pays.     

An experimental examination of the “good judge”

Many personality traits have been proposed to predict a person’s ability to judge another. The predictive abilities found for these traits have been inconsistent. Funder and others (e.g., [Gilbert, 1989] and [Trope, 1986]) suggested that social knowledge, motivation to read others, and the ability to multitask are essential components of accurate judgment. In this study, we manipulated participants to be high or low in each of these characteristics and examined the impact of these manipulations on IPT-15 performance. As predicted, participants manipulated to be high in social knowledge, motivation to read others, and multitasking showed superior performance on the IPT-15 compared to participants in the corresponding low conditions. These results support Funder’s “good judge” construct as a predictor of judgmental accuracy.     

Forming first impressions: The role of gender and normative accuracy in personality perception

Gender is associated with interpersonal sensitivity across different domains, with females, on average, demonstrating higher levels of interpersonal sensitivity than males. What underlies these gender differences in the accuracy of first impressions of personality remains unclear. Across two large video studies and a large round-robin design, perceivers’ gender was related to the accuracy of general personality trait impressions. Specifically, female perceivers achieved higher levels of accuracy, but only with respect to normative accuracy or perceiving what others are like in general. There were no significant gender differences in terms of distinctive accuracy or perceiving how others are different from the average person. Discussion considers how these findings relate to previously established gender differences in other domains of interpersonal sensitivity.     

Considerations on the precedence of the scenes,the contact barrier and the separation of conscious and unconscious

In this essay the term ‘scene’ which has been developed in the German psychoanalytic discussion, is confronted with the terms ‘total situation’ and ‘psychoanalytic field’, showing common features as well as differences. Thereafter four child observations are presented, through which light is thrown onto the scenic structures which make the foundations of early experience. In the precedence of scenes those structures are omnipresent whereas subjectivity only gradually builds up. It is shown how the development of subjectivity and the differentiation of consciousness and unconscious go along with overcoming the precedence of scenes, by breaking them up and reorganizing them. Thus scenes can become metaphors, which are used for ‘translating’ experience and for building up the contact barrier.     

Knowing your face: A componential analysis of self-perceived facial attractiveness

Facial attractiveness (FA) is a highly agreed upon and socially important characteristic, but contemporary research has not fully investigated individuals’ enhancement of their FA. We used the social relations model (SRM) to analyze data from 187 participants. In face-to-face groups of four, participants rated their own and others’ FA. We assessed the degree of FA enhancement using unconfounded measures of both self-insight and social comparison. Results indicated African Americans and men enhanced more than Caucasians and women. Race effects were mediated by psychological adjustment, while gender effects were related to meta-perceptions. Men tended to view themselves through a “frog prince” lens, such that they accurately predicted others’ lesser views of them but persisted in overly positive self-perceptions of FA. Findings suggest further consideration of SRM measures, meta-perceptions, and a focus on sample diversity in the study of self-enhancement.     

Beyond ‘nothing to hide’: When identity is key to privacy threat under surveillance

Privacy is psychologically important, vital for democracy, and in the era of ubiquitous and mobile surveillance technology, facing increasingly complex threats and challenges. Yet surveillance is often justified under a trope that one has ‘nothing to hide’. We conducted focus groups (N = 42) on topics of surveillance and privacy and using discursive analysis, identify the ideological assumptions and the positions that people adopt to make sense of their participation in a surveillance society. We find a premise that surveillance is increasingly inescapable, but this was only objected to when people reported feeling misrepresented, or where they had an inability to withhold aspects of their identities. The (in)visibility of the surveillance technology also complicated how surveillance is constructed. Those interested in engaging the public in debates about surveillance may be better served by highlighting the identity consequences of surveillance, rather than constructing surveillance as a generalised privacy threat.     

THE PHILOSOPHY OF JOSEPH MARGOLIS

Abstract: In this article I focus on some of Joseph Margolis's contributions to medical ethics. I first discuss some of Margolis's normative and metaphysical views on death and abortion, particularly in his early work Negativities , as well as some of his metaphysical assumptions. Then these views and assumptions are related to his theory of persons and, by implication, his theory of culture, set forth in a number of later works. In the course of the discussion, I call attention to some controversial issues of today, such as embryonic stem cell research and the creation of embryos for the sole purpose of research, and ask for Margolis's views on them, given his earlier contributions and assumptions. Finally, I comment on his relativism and his program for research in aesthetics and ethics.