Increasing wealth inequality may increase interpersonal hostility: The relationship between personal relative deprivation and aggression

In most Western societies, wealth inequality is increasing, which in turn could increase people’s belief that one’s standing is relatively disadvantaged. Based on relative deprivation theory, we argue that such an experience of personal relative deprivation should causally lead to greater interpersonal hostility. Indeed, three experiments show that participants in a personal relative deprivation condition reported higher levels of aggressive affect and behaved more aggressively than participants in a personal relative gratification condition. Compared to a control condition, participants experiencing personal relative deprivation were more aggressive rather than participants experiencing personal relative gratification being less aggressive. However, personal relative deprivation increased aggressive behavior only toward targets that were the source for participants’ experience of disadvantage, but it did not increase aggression toward neutral targets.     

Age-related differences in the timing aspect of lumbopelvic rhythm during trunk motion in the sagittal plane

Forward bending and backward return of the human trunk in the sagittal plane are associated with a specific lumbopelvic rhythm, which consists of magnitude and timing aspects. In this study, the age-related differences in the timing aspect of lumbopelvic rhythm were investigated using the continuous relative phase method. Specifically, the mean absolute relative phase (MARP) between the thoracic and pelvic motions as well as variation in MARP under repetitive motions, denoted by deviation phase (DP), were characterized in sixty participants between 20 and 70 years old. MARP and DP were determined for trunk forward bending and backward return tasks with self-selected slow and fast paces. The MARP and DP were both smaller (p = 0.003, p < 0.001 respectively) in the older versus younger age participants with no gender-related difference. In fast versus slow pace task, the MARP was smaller (p < 0.001) only in forward bending, whereas the DP was smaller (p < 0.001) in both the forward bending and backward return. A more in-phase and more stable lumbopelvic rhythm denoted respectively by smaller MARP and DP in older versus younger individuals maybe a neuromuscular strategy to protect the lower back tissues from excessive strain, in order to reduce the risk of injury.     

The role of dual categorization and relative ingroup prototypicality in reparations to a minority group: An examination of empathy and collective guilt as mediators

In the current study, we investigate factors that facilitate or otherwise obstruct reparations of a perpetrating group (i.e. Muslims) to a victim group (i.e. Christians). The study (N = 200) reveals that among Muslim participants, the role of dual Abrahamic categorization in positively predicting reparation attitude towards Christians was mediated by the first group's prosocial emotions of empathy and collective guilt towards the latter group. In addition, relative Muslim prototypicality negatively predicted dual Abrahamic categorization and each of the two prosocial emotions. Empathy and collective guilt in turn mediated the role of relative ingroup prototypicality in negatively predicting reparation attitude. Moreover, as hypothesized, we found that the roles of empathy and collective guilt in predicting reparation intention, as manifested in participants' willingness to engage in collective action on behalf of the victim group, were not significant on their own, but were mediated by reparation attitude. These findings shed light on the importance of the relationship between the perpetrating group's shared identity with the victim group, reduced ingroup focus and its support for making reparations to the victim group. Theoretical implications, study limitations and practical strategies highlighting how to decrease relative Muslim prototypicality are discussed.     

社会阶层心理学视角下的公平研究

社会阶层代表了一个人拥有的社会资源和对自己所处社会等级的感知。社会阶层因其概念的独特性、功能的广泛性、影响的深刻性和结论的系统性, 成为了心理学中的前沿热点领域, 目前主要有劳动、健康心理、社会文化、等级和社会认知五种研究视角。基于现有视角对社会阶层与社会公平的关系研究相对较少, 从社会认知视角出发, 围绕着不同阶层感知公平的差异、社会公平对不同阶层的影响作用以及低阶层感知不公平的应对策略三个方面开展了研究。未来研究可以从概念辨析、理论整合、加强应用研究等角度来推进社会阶层心理学的发展。     

公平行为的认知神经机制

大量研究采用最后通牒博弈发现人们愿意牺牲自身利益来维护公平,普遍具有不公平厌恶倾向。本文基于行为博弈任务对个体处于不同角色时的公平行为,从神经学层面做出新的解释,并对现存理论模型做了梳理。脑成像的研究发现,公平行为的相关脑区主要有负责情绪加工的脑岛和与认知控制相关的背外侧前额叶,内侧眶额皮层。前脑岛激活越大,个体拒绝不公平方案的可能性越大,而腹外侧前额叶可以调节前脑岛的活动,使个体采取更理性的方式,接受不公平分配方案。另外,睾酮素和催产素作为神经调节的激素,可以对公平行为起到调节作用,睾酮素通过抑制内侧眶额皮层的激活,增加对不公平方案的拒绝率,相反,催产素可以降低个体对于不公平方案的拒绝率,并增加个体的公平行为。     

从国内有关研究看经济状况对个体幸福感的影响

通过对国内46篇涉及经济状况与幸福感关系的文献进行统计分析, 经c2检验发现, 大多数研究表明经济状况对幸福感有显著影响, 其中幸福感最低的是经济上相对较差或处于贫困状态的群体; 少数研究显示经济状况对幸福感无显著影响, 其样本来自经济发达省市或是收入有保障的群体; 还有研究表明相对经济状况对幸福感的影响大于绝对经济状况。因此, 改善弱势群体的生存质量, 关注民众非物质需要的满足, 缩小人们之间的收入差距, 将有助于提升我国各阶层民众的幸福感, 促进社会和谐。     

中文单双字词中成分相对位置信息加工比较研究

左右结构单字词（2R词）中的部件和双字词（2C词）中的字都是构词成分。有研究表明,在词汇判断任务中,部件的相对位置影响2R词的识别,字的相对位置却不影响2C词的识别。在其他任务中,2R词中部件的相对位置信息似乎也是可以忽视的。 词是语义表征的基本单位。和启动词汇判断任务相比,启动语义归类任务可能更有利于测量启动刺激和目标刺激间的语义联系。我们采用启动语义归类任务对大学生进行了两项实验研究,并对同一目标词使用了三种启动刺激：和目标词所指事物同属一概念范畴的样例词（语义启动）、语义启动的逆序非词和目标词的逆序非词。 结果发现,不论2R词还是2C词,三种启动刺激对被试判断目标词所指事物是否有生命性的反应有显著性影响,而且,三种启动刺激在启动效应大小上没有显著性差异。这意味着,在激活有无生命概念表征的时候,指具体事物的单双字词有相似性。 结论是,在2R词和2C词识别的早期阶段,熟练读者对词及其构成成分语义信息的提取是同时进行的,构成成分的位置信息不重要。毕竟2R词和2C词结构成分的相对位置是固定的,因此未来需要探究2R词和2C词成分位置信息何时得以加工。     

How should citizens’ collective liability for state action be grounded?

This paper assesses one type of justification for collective liability – the democratic authorization account – according to which citizens can be held liable for what their state does, because they collectively authorize the state’s actions. I argue that the democratic authorization view, properly understood, has an implausibly narrow scope, which risks leaving many victims of injustice without compensation. Hence, I propose a subsidiary account that is wider in scope, and which applies to most cases of state-inflicted harm. This view picks out liable agents on the basis of (a) their ability to bear the compensatory burdens, (b) the incentives that the prospect of liability give citizens to hold their states in check, and (c) distributive concerns. Lastly, I address the relationship between citizens who are (merely) collectively liable for some harm, and citizens who are to some extent morally responsible (for instance in virtue of having endorsed the state-inflicted harm).     

Équité, Solidarité et Justice Perçue des Décisions de Recrutement Professionnel : Effets du Point de Vue de l'Observateur,de la Valence de la Décision et du Caractère contrôlable de la Cause du Besoin

The experience tested the effects of the observer’s point of view, of the valence of the decision, and of the controllable causality of the need on the consideration of the contributions and of the needs in the fairness perceptions from a decision of recruitment. Some recruiters and job- seekers judged the fairness of decisions of the recruitment of applicants which were described by their performance during a work sample test and by their professional position. The results showed that both variables had an effect on the judgments. Nevertheless the recruiters attached more importance to the performance and less to the professional position and to the hiring decision than the job seekers. Some implications in terms of affirmative action policies and communication were discussed.     

居民对通货膨胀引起的商品房涨价的公平感研究

为在行业水平上研究直接受通货膨胀作用的价格上涨对居民价格公平感、消极情绪的影响,以实验情景模拟的方法,采用2×2×2的被试间设计,运用问卷调查了723名被试。结果表明:(1)被试认为通货膨胀引起的房价上涨都是不公平的;(2)控制点和涨幅对公平感和消极情绪的作用显著,参照系对公平感的作用显著;(3)控制点、涨幅和参照系之间的交互作用显著;(4)平均主义的价值观对消极情绪作用显著;(5)在预测未来十年后价格时,被试出现了认知偏差。