2013 Publications
Comparing the Perceived Size of 9 with 221 and with 2143: Biasing Effects of Inferred Context in a Between-Subjects Design
Stuart J. McKelvie, David R. Juillet, & Jo-Anne V. Longtin
Bishop's University
To investigate whether decision-making can be biased by context, different participants judged the size of different numbers that had been hypothesized to induce different contexts. To measure these contexts,the Juillet Measure of Inferred Context (JMIC) was proposed, validated and then employed to compare contexts invoked by the numbers. In Study1, where 9 was rated as greater than 221 on a numerical scale but similar to 221 on a continuous line (McKelvie, 2001), JMIC scores weres maller for 9 than for 221 in both cases. However, the difference was reduced on the line compared to the numerical scale. In Study 2(reported here), 9 was rated as similar in size to 2143 on both scales. However, from the JMIC scores, the context invoked by 9 was smallerthan the context invoked by 2143 on both scales. The JMIC results show that between-subjects designs do not eliminate context effects.Moreover, in conjunction with the context size priming model of number judgment (proposed here), according to which (a) induced context is apositive function of the target number and (b) the numerical scale has a priming effect on this context, the JMIC results help to explain theanomalous findings that 9 was judged to be larger or similar to 221 (Study 1) and similar to 2143 (Study 2).
Stuart J. McKelvie, David R. Juillet, & Jo-Anne V. Longtin
Bishop's University
To investigate whether decision-making can be biased by context, different participants judged the size of different numbers that had been hypothesized to induce different contexts. To measure these contexts,the Juillet Measure of Inferred Context (JMIC) was proposed, validated and then employed to compare contexts invoked by the numbers. In Study1, where 9 was rated as greater than 221 on a numerical scale but similar to 221 on a continuous line (McKelvie, 2001), JMIC scores weres maller for 9 than for 221 in both cases. However, the difference was reduced on the line compared to the numerical scale. In Study 2(reported here), 9 was rated as similar in size to 2143 on both scales. However, from the JMIC scores, the context invoked by 9 was smallerthan the context invoked by 2143 on both scales. The JMIC results show that between-subjects designs do not eliminate context effects.Moreover, in conjunction with the context size priming model of number judgment (proposed here), according to which (a) induced context is apositive function of the target number and (b) the numerical scale has a priming effect on this context, the JMIC results help to explain theanomalous findings that 9 was judged to be larger or similar to 221 (Study 1) and similar to 2143 (Study 2).
| Comparing the Perceived Size of 9 with 221 and with 2143: Biasing Effects of Inferred Context in a Between-Subjects Design |
The Business Wisdom of Montgomery Brewster's Uncle: A Review of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant
Robert D. Mather1, Kathryn Ayers2
1University of Central Oklahoma; 2Webster University
In George Barr McCutcheon's 1902 novel "Brewster's Millions," Montgomery Brewster inherits a fortune from his grandfather. However, his uncle did not like the selfish practices with which the grandfather made his fortune, and offers to leave Montgomery a larger fortune if he spends all of his grandfather's money without telling anyone about the deal. This creates a situation in which Brewster must spend his money against the advice of his friends, who believe they are acting in his best interest. Ultimately, Brewster finds that when he spends his money generously, his generosity is rewarded by making even more money, thus making it extraordinarily difficult for him to spend the initial inheritance in order to access the larger one.
Adam Grant's "Give and Take" promotes a similar notion of karmic generosity in the business world. Ultimately, it promotes the Golden Rule in the workplace--Treat others as you wish to be treated. It also promotes the 100-hour rule of volunteering, which is 2 hours per week. This optimal number of hours keeps individuals at peak happiness, life satisfaction, and livelihood. Indeed, this book can be considered the infiltration of business by positive psychology (i.e., Seligman, 1998), which is a paradigm in psychology that seeks to enhance the human condition.
Robert D. Mather1, Kathryn Ayers2
1University of Central Oklahoma; 2Webster University
In George Barr McCutcheon's 1902 novel "Brewster's Millions," Montgomery Brewster inherits a fortune from his grandfather. However, his uncle did not like the selfish practices with which the grandfather made his fortune, and offers to leave Montgomery a larger fortune if he spends all of his grandfather's money without telling anyone about the deal. This creates a situation in which Brewster must spend his money against the advice of his friends, who believe they are acting in his best interest. Ultimately, Brewster finds that when he spends his money generously, his generosity is rewarded by making even more money, thus making it extraordinarily difficult for him to spend the initial inheritance in order to access the larger one.
Adam Grant's "Give and Take" promotes a similar notion of karmic generosity in the business world. Ultimately, it promotes the Golden Rule in the workplace--Treat others as you wish to be treated. It also promotes the 100-hour rule of volunteering, which is 2 hours per week. This optimal number of hours keeps individuals at peak happiness, life satisfaction, and livelihood. Indeed, this book can be considered the infiltration of business by positive psychology (i.e., Seligman, 1998), which is a paradigm in psychology that seeks to enhance the human condition.
| The Business Wisdom of Montgomery Brewster's Uncle: A Review of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant |
Evolutionary Forensic Psychology: Perspectives on Child Abductions and Child Homicides
Robert D. Mather1, Adrienne M. Martinez1, Wayne D. Lord1, Monique C. Boudreaux2
1University of Central Oklahoma; 2Nicholls State University
In North America, recent cases of alleged child abductions/alleged homicides garner intense media attention and consume law enforcement resources. Daly and Wilson (1988) outlined a compelling argument that evolutionary psychology is the paradigm from which to examine homicide. Recent work in evolutionary forensic psychology (cf. Duntley & Shackelford, 2008a) has elaborated on this, suggesting that an evolutionary perspective is important for examining all criminal behavior. Given that child homicide is best considered as a successional, life course process of victimization, Lord et al. (2002) proposed that evolutionary psychology can explain patterns of child abductions and homicides, addressing not only human data but also comparative species. The current paper outlines specific hypotheses derived from evolutionary frameworks that will facilitate the criminal investigations of child abductions and child homicides. Policy implications of this perspective for child abduction and homicide reduction are discussed along with social cognitive methods of hypothesis testing.
Robert D. Mather1, Adrienne M. Martinez1, Wayne D. Lord1, Monique C. Boudreaux2
1University of Central Oklahoma; 2Nicholls State University
In North America, recent cases of alleged child abductions/alleged homicides garner intense media attention and consume law enforcement resources. Daly and Wilson (1988) outlined a compelling argument that evolutionary psychology is the paradigm from which to examine homicide. Recent work in evolutionary forensic psychology (cf. Duntley & Shackelford, 2008a) has elaborated on this, suggesting that an evolutionary perspective is important for examining all criminal behavior. Given that child homicide is best considered as a successional, life course process of victimization, Lord et al. (2002) proposed that evolutionary psychology can explain patterns of child abductions and homicides, addressing not only human data but also comparative species. The current paper outlines specific hypotheses derived from evolutionary frameworks that will facilitate the criminal investigations of child abductions and child homicides. Policy implications of this perspective for child abduction and homicide reduction are discussed along with social cognitive methods of hypothesis testing.
| Evolutionary Forensic Psychology: Perspectives on Child Abductions and Child Homicides |
Are Attitude Towards Capital Punishment and Right-Wing Authoritarianism Related to Capital and Non-Capital Sentencing?
Stuart J. McKelvie
Bishop's University
Having completed measures of attitude towards capital punishment and of right-wing authoritarianism, 807 undergraduates read a murder scenario and made judgments about offender punishment. People were more likely to recommend the death penalty if they had a positive rather than a negative attitude towards capital punishment, if they were higher than lower on right-wing authoritarianism, and if they were male rather than female. Men also chose a more severe method of execution. Importantly, people with a positive attitude towards capital punishment recommended longer prison sentences than those with a negative attitude. Practically, this implies that attitude towards capital punishment can be an extralegal factor that biases prison sentences. Theoretically, the results show that attitudes have a stronger relationship to behavior to which they are more closely related, but they do not support the contention that attitude towards capital punishment is based on right-wing authoritarianism.
Stuart J. McKelvie
Bishop's University
Having completed measures of attitude towards capital punishment and of right-wing authoritarianism, 807 undergraduates read a murder scenario and made judgments about offender punishment. People were more likely to recommend the death penalty if they had a positive rather than a negative attitude towards capital punishment, if they were higher than lower on right-wing authoritarianism, and if they were male rather than female. Men also chose a more severe method of execution. Importantly, people with a positive attitude towards capital punishment recommended longer prison sentences than those with a negative attitude. Practically, this implies that attitude towards capital punishment can be an extralegal factor that biases prison sentences. Theoretically, the results show that attitudes have a stronger relationship to behavior to which they are more closely related, but they do not support the contention that attitude towards capital punishment is based on right-wing authoritarianism.
| Are Attitude Towards Capital Punishment and Right-Wing Authoritarianism Related to Capital and Non-Capital Sentencing? |