DOCSLIB.ORG

DIALOGUE Page 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
DIALOGUE Page 1 DIALOGUE Page 1 Volume 19, No. 1 DIALOGUE Dialogue — Spring, 2004 The Official Newsletter of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Chris Crandall & Monica Biernat, Fifth Annual SPSP Convention a Co-Editors Texas-Sized Success Inside the Current Issue: By Rick Hoyle went exceptionally formal application process smoothly. Symposia and The new Hilton Hotel in beginning with next year’s invited talks were well meeting, including a News of the Society 2 Austin was the setting for attended and, as in years another successful gathering deadline for expressions of past, the poster sessions interest, and the possibility of personality and social drew large crowds. The Publication Committee 4 psychologists from around of being asked to secure Report addition of a poster session space outside the main the world in late January. on opening evening allowed hotel (see page 3 for an New PSPB Editor named 5, 7 The fifth rendition of this for more participants in the highly successful meeting announcement of this and some history program than ever before. process). drew 1,657 conferees, Jack Block Award Winner 5 continuing the upward For many in attendance, the In just a few years, our announced trajectory in attendance (818, convention began with one 1,085, 1,326, and 1,487 in meeting has established of 11 preconferences. For the itself as a must-attend event Committee reports: Grad 6, 8 prior years). first time in our short Student & Training for personality and social history, the main hotel could psychologists. Although the The “heavy” appetizers not accommodate the full Passings 10 promised by the hotel for the current formula for the slate of preconferences. meeting is working well, welcome reception were not Fortunately, we were able to so heavy, and the brief there is always room for Division 8 programming at 11 secure additional space for a improvement. If you have APA — Honolulu opening program could not modest fee at the nearby compete with the free drinks suggestions, please pass convention center. Because An e-mail exchange 12 and opportunities to them along to a member of the popularity of the Convention Committee. between Stein & Jost socialize. Aside from these preconferences shows no minor glitches, the meeting (see back page for signs of waning, organizers members). ■ Zajonc on the “Dangers of 14 should anticipate a more Unanimity” Eleven New SPSP Fellows Named APA Council report 16 Student Travel and 16, By Judith M. unanimously approved for Committee's endorsement, Diversity Awards 25 Fellow Status in SPSP by the the materials for those Harackiewicz Executive Committee. individuals who are Undervalued Classics in 18 members of Division 8 of Social Psychology The SPSP Fellows These new SPSP Fellows are: APA have been forwarded Committee meets each year Carol Dweck, Andrew Elliot, to the Membership More on the Stanford 22 to recommend members for Peter Glick, Dale Griffin, Committee of APA for its Prison Experiment Fellow Status in SPSP. This Stephen Harkins, E. Tory annual consideration of Santa Claus and the Big 5 24 year's committee—Judith Higgins, Ed Hirt, Blair Fellow nominations. Harackiewicz (Chair), Janet Johnson, James Kulik, Swim, and Kip Williams— Charles Stangor, and Gary Congratulations to these Announcements 26 recommended 11 stellar Wells. individuals for their contributors to the field for designation as SPSP this honor, and all were With the Executive Fellows! ■ Reifman on Social 27 Network Reesearch Page 2 DIALOGUE State of the Society 2004: Optimistic Future, Handful of Concerns The SPSP Executive Committee met on profit years before projected, and the Missouri. Sunday, February 1, in Austin, Texas. Summer Institute of Social Psychology This meeting was characterized by two at Boulder last summer, budgeted for a Preconferences are clearly becoming main themes: Satisfaction, loss in 2003 actually showed a tiny one of the main ways that this issue is contentment, and excitement about the profit. being solved. This year there were 13 field and its future on the one hand, and proposals for preconferences; in the a grave sense of concern over the future Similarly, the SPSP Convention is also end there were 11 preconferences. This of funding for social psychology at the projected for a net loss each year. is a lot of preconferencing, and there National Institute for Mental Health. Instead, because the Convention are few convention venues with room This report from the meeting will focus Committee is in good hands, resources for so much success. In the future, the on the mostly good news about the are husbanded carefully, and the Convention Committee is likely to state of the Society and the field of number of registrants continually require that by mid-June, personality and social psychology. increases, the Convention routinely preconferences should fill out an Check the Listserv for information returns a very modest profit to the expression of intent (which will be about the future of funding Society. publicized via the SPSP-Listserv, opportunities for personality-social among other means). This is because psychology at NIMH. Convention. The Convention all pre-conference must be organized Committee Chair Rick Hoyle reported through the Society and its convention Bylaws change. The Executive Officer, that the 2004 SPSP Convention had planners and negotiators--space and its Harry Reis announced that the Bylaw 1,657 people registered, up 11% from expense is best negotiated for all at changes proposed were voted in by a last year's convention in Universal once. large majority. (These changes were City, California. The report from primarily minor changes in procedures attendees was that the hotel and Next year, the Convention will be in to make the smooth operation of the conference facilities were spacious and New Orleans, at the Sheraton New Society more efficient, and might be overall provided a good location for Orleans, January 19 to January 22, characterized as "housekeeping--no meeting. Some people requested that a 2005. This is a bit earlier than the 2004 substantial policy of the Society was map of the hotel be provided in the convention, because conventions in affected in the vote.) conference program. The 2004 program New Orleans must make their plans was notable for several things, skirting Mardis Gras to avoid enhanced Financial status. The Society continues including the excellence of the sessions room costs and reduced room to do well financially. The Society has (which tended to run right on time) and availability. about one year's operating funds in their coherent and interactive nature. reserve, and this allows us to weather Publication Committee. The minor fiscal storms. For example, this The major issue that the Convention Publication Committee report focused is the year that the Executive Officer Committee faced this year is the one on the major issue facing the Society, role passes from Harry Reis at that is repeated year after year: there is the change in editorship from Fred University of Rochester to David too much going on at same time, and Rhodewalt to next Editor. As noted in Dunning at Cornell University, and there isn't enough program space to let the story on page 1, Judith there are costs at both universities for everyone speak who would like to. Harackiewicz was selected as the new this year. These two goals are at obvious cross- editor of PSPB. PSPB is also facing a purposes, and finding the balance huge influx of papers. Last year, the The Society's primary source of funds between the two legitimate goals is a journal received over 400 submissions, is from membership fees and from its major goal of the Convention and with only five Associate Editors, journals, Personality and Social Committee; do we prefer unhappiness the Editor's job is onerous, if not Psychology Bulletin and Personality from too much program, or crushing. Because Associate Editors and Social Psychology Review, with unhappiness from not enough program? sign on with an explicit understanding PSPB being substantially the largest You may wish to express your opinions of approximately how many papers earner of all. Sound financial about these matters to the incoming they will handle a year, the Editor management has been a hallmark of chair of the Convention Committee, handles almost all of the increase when SPSP's activities; PSPR is showing a Lynne Cooper of the University of (Continued on page 3) DIALOGUEDIALOGUE PagePage 3 3 Society continues to maintain its Pre-Conference Application independence, and is monitoring Society-APA relations closely. Deadline Instituted Website. The 2003 SPSP Service Award Winner Scott Plous has To facilitate planning for pre-conferences at next year’s SPSP meeting, continued to do an excellent job of individuals and groups who are interested in hosting a pre-conference maintaining the SPSP Website. must complete and file a brief application (available on the SPSP However, the funds he uses to maintain convention website) on or before June 15th. SPSP (as well as SESP's website) are shrinking, and he has asked for direct Preconferences prior to the SPSP Convention have become extremely funding from SPSP to help support his popular, and the number of them are limited by the facilities at the work. The Society has made a convention site. commitment of funds to help provide this excellent service. Inquiries regarding pre-conferences should be directed to Tim [email protected]. Strauman at Division 8 Business. This year's submissions for the APA Convention in Hawaii were very high compared to the recent past, and a good selection of State of the Society, Continued convention fare will be available. The Committee heard a report from the Council Representatives, June Tangney (Continued from page 2) Committee are strongly in support of and Ed Deiner; their report appears on submission rates rise.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Psychometrics of Everyday Life
    COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 18, 195-224 (1986) The Psychometrics of Everyday Life ZIVA KUNDA Princeton University AND RICHARD E. NISBETT We examined people’s ability to assess everyday life correlations such as the degree of agreement that exists for various kinds of evaluations and the degree of consistency that characterizes social behavior from occasion to occasion. We found substantial accuracy for correlation estimates if two conditions were met: (1) subjects were highly familiar with the data in question and (2) the data were highly “codable,” that is, capable of being unitized and interpreted clearly. We generally found extreme inaccuracy if either of these conditions was not met. Subjects were particularly inaccurate about correlations involving social be- havior: They severely overestimated the stability of behavior across occasions. In addition, even subjects who were statistically sophisticated showed limited ap- preciation of the nggregarion principle, that is, the rule that the magnitude of a correlation increases with the number of units of evidence on which observations are based. 0 1986 Academic Press. Inc. Jane liked the movie; will you? Bill and you have served on several committees and he has always seemed very fair and very agreeable; would he make a good chairman? Our answers to such questions guide the conduct of our daily lives. Everything from the degree of pleasure to be expected from life’s minor diversions to the degree of success to be expected for lift’s major enterprises depends on the accuracy of our an- swers. Logically, answers to such questions rest on our beliefs about correla- tions, for example, correlations between different raters’ evaluations of movies or correlations between fairness and agreeableness in different The research reported here was supported by Grant NSF SES-8218846 from the National Science Foundation and 1 R01 MH38466-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health.
    [Show full text]
  • The Moral Psychology of Conflicts of Interest: Insights
    Journal of Applied Philosophy, Vol. 24, No. 4, 2007 TheBlackwellOxford,JJournal0264-3758©XXXOriginalPAPPaul Society MoralThagard UKofArticles Publishing forAppliedPsychology Applied Philosophy Ltd Philosophy, of ConflictsMoral 2007 of Interest Psychology of Conflicts of Interest: Insights from Affective Neuroscience PAUL THAGARD ABSTRACT This paper is an investigation of the moral psychology of decisions that involve a conflict of interest. It draws on the burgeoning field of affective neuroscience, which is the study of the neurobiology of emotional systems in the brain. I show that a recent neurocomputational model of how the brain integrates cognitive and affective information in decision-making can help to answer some important descriptive and normative questions about the moral psychology of conflicts of interest. These questions include: Why are decisions that involve conflicts of interest so common? Why are people so often unaware that they are acting immorally as the result of conflicts of interest? What is the relation of conflicts of interest to other kinds of irrationality, especially self-deception and weakness of will? What psychological, social, and logical steps can be taken to reduce the occurrence of immoral decisions resulting from conflicts of interest? I discuss five strategies for dealing with conflicts of interest: avoidance, optimal reasoning patterns, disclosure, social oversight, and understanding of neuropsychological processes. 1. Introduction Conflicts of interest arise when people make decisions biased by their personal goals, neglecting responsibilities to consider the interests of others. Such conflicts are ubiquitous, as in the following examples: •A government official who has been lavishly entertained by a lobbyist recommends that a lucrative contract go to the company represented by the lobbyist.
    [Show full text]
  • May 2014 Curriculum Vitae Lori J. Nelson Department of Psychology
    May 2014 Curriculum Vitae Lori J. Nelson Department of Psychology E11 Seashore Hall University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242 [email protected] Education Princeton University, Ph.D., Social Psychology, 1990 Princeton University, M.A., Psychology, 1988 University of Iowa, B.S., Psychology, 1986 (With Distinction, With Honors in Psychology) Ames Senior High School, Ames, Iowa, Diploma, 1983 Academic Positions Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Iowa, 2000 to present Visiting Professor of Psychology and Assessment Consultant, Cornell College, 2003 to 2004 Director of Institutional Research, Cornell College, 2001 to 2003 Professor of Psychology, Shippensburg University, 1999 to 2001 Associate Professor of Psychology, Shippensburg University, 1994 to 1999, tenured in 1995 Assistant Professor of Psychology, Shippensburg University, 1990 to 1994 Visiting Positions Visiting Associate Professor (sabbatical leave from Shippensburg University) Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, 1998-1999 academic year Visiting Scholar, 45th Annual Summer Institute, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Summer 1992 Honors and Awards African American Organization Award for Service, Shippensburg University, 1993 Phi Kappa Phi, elected 1992 Sigma Xi, elected 1990 American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award, 1990 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1986-1989 Phi Beta Kappa, elected 1986 Psi Chi, elected 1985 Undergraduate Scholar Research Assistantship,
    [Show full text]
  • GROSSMANN CV 1 IGOR GROSSMANN, PH. D. Department
    GROSSMANN CV 1 IGOR GROSSMANN, PH. D. Department of Psychology Office: PAS 3047 University of Waterloo Phone: 519-888-4567 x 31793 200 University Avenue West Email: [email protected] Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1 EDUCATION University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Ph.D. in Social Psychology, 2012 DAAD-honored visiting student (2005-2006) Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany Vordiplom (B.S. equivalent) in Psychology, 2002-2005 PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS 2012 - present Assistant Professor Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Canada HONORS AND AWARDS 2015 APS Rising Star, Association for Psychological Science Recognition of outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their research career post-PhD whose innovative work has already advanced the field 2015 Runner-Up for “NeuroLeadership Application of Science Award” Award for innovative, thorough, and insightful research that contributes to bridging the gap between science and application 2015 Psychological Science Editor’s Choice article – Grossmann & Kross (2014) 2015 President’s New Researcher Award, Canadian Psychological Association 2013 The Otto Klineberg Intercultural and International Relations Award, The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues – Grossmann, Karasawa et al. (2012) Best paper of the year on intercultural or international relations 2013 APA Dissertation Award (Div 20: Adult Development & Aging) 2012 2013 Summer China Program Fellow (declined) 2011 Rackham Pre-doctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan 2010 Science Editor's
    [Show full text]
  • Gricean Charity © 2006 Sage Publications 10.1177/0048393106287235 the Gricean Turn in Psychology Hosted at Carole J
    PoSS287235.qxd 4/25/2006 11:45 PM Page 193 Philosophy of the Social Sciences Volume 36 Number 2 June 2006 193-218 Gricean Charity © 2006 Sage Publications 10.1177/0048393106287235 http://pos.sagepub.com The Gricean Turn in Psychology hosted at Carole J. Lee http://online.sagepub.com University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Psychologists’ work on conversational pragmatics and judgment suggests a refreshing approach to charitable interpretation and theorizing. This charita- ble approach—what I call Gricean charity—recognizes the role of conversa- tional assumptions and norms in subject-experimenter communication. In this paper, I outline the methodological lessons Gricean charity gleans from psy- chologists’ work in conversational pragmatics. In particular, Gricean charity imposes specific evidential standards requiring that researchers collect empirical information about (1) the conditions of successful and unsuccess- ful communication for specific experimental contexts, and (2) the conver- sational norms governing communication in experimental contexts. More generally, the Gricean turn in psychological research shifts focus from attri- butional to reflexive, situational explanations. Gricean charity does not pri- marily seek to rationalize subject responses. Rather, it imposes evidential requirements on psychological studies for the purpose of gaining a more accurate picture of the surprising and muddled ways in which we weigh evidence and draw. Keywords: Gricean charity; methodological rationalism; interpretation; prin- ciple of charity; cognitive psychology; conversational pragmatics; heuristics and biases; reflexive analysis raditional accounts of charitable interpretation that rely on norms of Trationality to guide interpretation have typically invoked rules of logic and probability, as well as principles of evidence or justification—while overlooking norms governing the social and communicative relationships between the interpreter and interpreted.
    [Show full text]
  • Motivation by Positive Or Negative Role Models: Regulatory Focus Determines Who Will Best Inspire Us
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/11086440 Motivation by Positive or Negative Role Models: Regulatory Focus Determines Who Will Best Inspire Us ARTICLE in JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY · NOVEMBER 2002 Impact Factor: 5.08 · DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.83.4.854 · Source: PubMed CITATIONS READS 425 5,795 3 AUTHORS, INCLUDING: Christian Jordan Wilfrid Laurier University 27 PUBLICATIONS 1,052 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Available from: Christian Jordan Retrieved on: 04 October 2015 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 2002 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 2002, Vol. 83, No. 4, 854–864 0022-3514/02/$5.00 DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.83.4.854 Motivation by Positive or Negative Role Models: Regulatory Focus Determines Who Will Best Inspire Us Penelope Lockwood Christian H. Jordan and Ziva Kunda University of Toronto University of Waterloo In 3 studies, the authors demonstrated that individuals are motivated by role models who encourage strategies that fit their regulatory concerns: Promotion-focused individuals, who favor a strategy of pursuing desirable outcomes, are most inspired by positive role models, who highlight strategies for achieving success; prevention-focused individuals, who favor a strategy of avoiding undesirable out- comes, are most motivated by negative role models, who highlight strategies for avoiding failure. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors primed promotion and prevention goals and then examined the impact of role models on motivation. Participants’ academic motivation was increased by goal-congruent role models but decreased by goal-incongruent role models. In Study 3, participants were more likely to generate real-life role models that matched their chronic goals.
    [Show full text]
  • Silence Fiction : Rethinking (Under) Representations of the “Feminine” Through Social Cognition"
    Article "Silence Fiction : Rethinking (Under) Representations of the “Feminine” Through Social Cognition" Melinda Szaloky Cinémas : revue d'études cinématographiques / Cinémas: Journal of Film Studies, vol. 12, n° 2, 2002, p. 89- 115. Pour citer cet article, utiliser l'information suivante : URI: http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/024882ar DOI: 10.7202/024882ar Note : les règles d'écriture des références bibliographiques peuvent varier selon les différents domaines du savoir. Ce document est protégé par la loi sur le droit d'auteur. L'utilisation des services d'Érudit (y compris la reproduction) est assujettie à sa politique d'utilisation que vous pouvez consulter à l'URI https://apropos.erudit.org/fr/usagers/politique-dutilisation/ Érudit est un consortium interuniversitaire sans but lucratif composé de l'Université de Montréal, l'Université Laval et l'Université du Québec à Montréal. Il a pour mission la promotion et la valorisation de la recherche. Érudit offre des services d'édition numérique de documents scientifiques depuis 1998. Pour communiquer avec les responsables d'Érudit : [email protected] Document téléchargé le 11 février 2017 01:19 Silence Fiction: Rethinking (Under) Representations of the "Feminine" Through Social Cognition Melinda Szaloky RÉSUMÉ L'auteure revoit la question de la marginalisation sociale des femmes, mais cette fois à la lumière des théories cognitives sociales des perceptions dirigées par les schémas et les stéréotypes, le raisonnement, la mémoire et le comportement. Les notions d'« erreur fondamentale d'attribution » (« fundamental attri­ bution error»), de «menace du stéréotype» («stereo­ type threat ») et de « dépendance aux influences exté­ rieures » (« outcome dependency ») seront convoquées afin d'expliquer pourquoi les mots et les actions des femmes ont traditionnellement été considérés comme ayant moins de portée que ceux des hommes.
    [Show full text]
  • Multiple Constraint Satisfaction in Judging
    University of Illinois Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper No. 08-22 ~and~ UC Berkeley Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 11333184 May 14, 2008 Multiple Constraint Satisfaction in Judging Jennifer K. Robbennolt Robert MacCoun John M. Darley This paper can be downloaded free of charge from the Social Science Research Network at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1133184 Abstract Different models of judicial decision making highlight particular goals. Traditional legal theory posits that in making decisions judges strive to reach the correct legal decision as dictated by precedent. Attitudinal and strategic models focuses on the ways in which judges further their preferred policies. The managerial model emphasizes the increasing caseload pressures that judges at all levels face. Each model accurately captures some of what every judge does some of the time, but a sophisticated understanding of judicial decision making should explicitly incorporate the notion that judges simultaneously attempt to further numerous, disparate, and often conflicting, objectives. We offer a preliminary account of a more psychologically plausible account of judicial cognition and motivation, based on principles of goal management in a constraint satisfaction network. MULTIPLE CONSTRAINT SATISFACTION IN JUDGING Jennifer K. Robbennolt, Robert J. MacCoun, and John M. Darley* Under our law judges do in fact have considerable discretion in certain of their decisions: making findings of fact, interpreting language in the Constitution, statutes, and regulations; determining whether officials or the executive branch have abused their discretion; and, fashioning remedies for violations of the law, including fairly sweeping powers to grant injunctive relief. The larger reality, however, is that judges exercise their powers subject to very significant constraints.
    [Show full text]
  • Perception of Social Distributions Richard E
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 1985 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 1985, Vol. 48, No. 2, 297-311 0022-3514/85/S00.75 Perception of Social Distributions Richard E. Nisbett and Ziva Kunda University of Michigan Accurate representation of the distribution of social attitudes and behaviors can guide effective social behavior and is often essential for correct inferences. We examined the accuracy of people's beliefs about the distributions of a large number of attitudinal and behavioral dimensions. In two studies we measured actual attitudes and behaviors in a student population, and we assessed beliefs by asking subjects to estimate the distribution of 100 students on these dimensions. We examined the accuracy of subjects' perceptions of the means, standard deviations, and distribution shapes. Subjects showed a number of systematic biases, including overestimation of dispersion and overestimation of the means of behavioral distributions and a false consensus bias, but their overall accuracy was impressive. Approximate knowledge of the distribu- ences about the meaning of social behavior. tions of important social variables would In fact, Kelley (1967) considered "consensus seem to be essential for effective social func- information," that is, information about the tioning. Reasonably accurate guesses about distributions of people's attitudes and behav- the dispersion and central tendency of im- ior, to be a major factor in his analysis of portant behavioral and attitudinal dimensions variance (ANOVA) scheme for inferences about could serve to guide one's behavior and self- causality in the social domain. More recently, presentation in unfamiliar social situations. Thagard and Nisbett (1982) have argued that Such knowledge could allow one to adhere knowledge about the variability of kinds of to accepted norms of behavior and conver- objects, including social objects, is re- sation and to steer away from controversial quired for appropriate generalizations.
    [Show full text]
  • Behavioral Law and Economics: Its Origins, Fatal Flaws, and Implications for Liberty
    Copyright 2012 by Northwestern University School of Law Printed in U.S.A. Northwestern University Law Review Vol. 106, No. 3 BEHAVIORAL LAW AND ECONOMICS: ITS ORIGINS, FATAL FLAWS, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LIBERTY Joshua D. Wright & Douglas H. Ginsburg ABSTRACT—Behavioral economics combines economics and psychology to produce a body of evidence that individual choice behavior departs from that predicted by neoclassical economics in a number of decisionmaking situations. Emerging close on the heels of behavioral economics over the past thirty years has been the “behavioral law and economics” movement and its philosophical foundation—so-called “libertarian paternalism.” Even the least paternalistic version of behavioral law and economics makes two central claims about government regulation of seemingly irrational behavior: (1) the behavioral regulatory approach, by manipulating the way in which choices are framed for consumers, will increase welfare as measured by each individual’s own preferences and (2) a central planner can and will implement the behavioral law and economics policy program in a manner that respects liberty and does not limit the choices available to individuals. This Article draws attention to the second and less scrutinized of the behaviorists’ claims, viz., that behavioral law and economics poses no significant threat to liberty and individual autonomy. The behaviorists’ libertarian claims fail on their own terms. So long as behavioral law and economics continues to ignore the value to economic welfare and individual liberty of leaving individuals the freedom to choose and hence to err in making important decisions, “libertarian paternalism” will not only fail to fulfill its promise of increasing welfare while doing no harm to liberty, it will pose a significant risk of reducing both.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychology of Construal in the Design of Field Experiments∗
    The Psychology of Construal in the Design of Field Experiments∗ Elizabeth Levy Paluck & Eldar Shafir Department of Psychology & Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Princeton University March 20, 2016 ∗Revised version, prepared following the NBER Conference on Economics of Field Experiments, organized by Esther Duflo & Abhijit Banerjee. Thank you to Robin Gomila, Sachin Banker, Peter Aronow, and Ruth Ditlmann for helpful comments. Address correspondence to [email protected] and eshafi[email protected]. 1 2 1 Introduction Why might you be interested in this chapter? A fair assumption is that you are reading because you care about good experimental design. To create strong experimental designs that test people’s responses to an intervention, researchers typically consider the classically recognized motivations presumed to drive human behavior. It does not take extensive psychological training to recognize that several types of motivations could affect an individual’s engagement with and honesty during your experimental paradigm. Such motivations include strategic self-presentation, suspicion, lack of trust, level of education or mastery, and simple utilitarian motives such as least effort and opti- mization. For example, minimizing the extent to which your findings are attributable to high levels of suspicion among participants, or to their decision to do the least amount possible, is important for increasing the generalizability and reliability of your results. Psychologists agree that these motivations are important to consider when designing experi- ments, but they rank other behavioral drivers higher. Some drivers of individual behavior often ignored by other experimental researchers, which psychologists consider critical, include: consis- tency, identity, emotional states like pride, depression, and hunger, social norms, and the perception of notions like justice and fairness.
    [Show full text]
  • Criminal Justice and the Social Psychology of Blame
    Vanderbilt Law Review Volume 56 Issue 5 Article 2 10-2003 Fundamental Retribution Error: Criminal Justice and the Social Psychology of Blame Donald A. Dripps Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr Part of the Criminal Law Commons, and the Law and Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Donald A. Dripps, Fundamental Retribution Error: Criminal Justice and the Social Psychology of Blame, 56 Vanderbilt Law Review 1383 (2019) Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr/vol56/iss5/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Vanderbilt Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarship@Vanderbilt Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Fundamental Retribution Error: Criminal Justice and the Social Psychology of Blame Donald A. Dripps* I. INTRODUCTION: OVERVIEW, QUALIFICATIONS, AND R OADMAP .................................................................... 1385 A . O verview ................................................................. 1385 B . Q ualifications......................................................... 1391 C. R oadm ap ................................................................. 1392 II. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH FINDINGS ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PERSONAL AND SITUATIONAL FACTORS IN EXPLAINING EVENTS ................ 1393 A. Personality and Situation as Sources of H um an Behavior................................................. 1393 B. FundamentalAttribution
    [Show full text]