The malleability of political attitudes : Choice blindness, confabulation and attitude change

This thesis is an empirical and theoretical investigation of choice blindness, in particular in the domain of political attitudes. Choice blindness is a cognitive phenomenon in which people do not notice dramatic mismatches between what they choose and what they get while still offering seemingly introspective arguments to explain their (putative) choice. In four papers, it is demonstrated that the effect also applies to salient political attitudes and evaluations of political candidates. All studies took place in close connection to real elections, and new tools building of the underlying choice blindness methodology has been developed to collect the data. Further, the potential downstream effects are explored, such as influence on voting intentions, and lasting attitude changes. The potential mechanisms behind the effect are also investigated and confabulatory reasoning stands out as an important part in facilitating the observed attitude changes

The influence of affect on attitude

Priests of the medieval Catholic Church understood something about the relationship between affect and attitude. To instill the proper attitude in parishioners, priests dramatized the power of liturgy to save them from Hell in a service in which the experience of darkness and fear gave way to light and familiar liturgy. These ceremonies “were written and performed so as to first arouse and then allay anxieties and fears ” (Scott, 2003, p. 227): The service usually began in the dark of night with the gothic cathedral’s nave filled with worship-pers cast into total darkness. Terrifying noises, wailing, shrieks, screams, and clanging of metal mimicked the chaos of hell, giving frightened witnesses a taste of what they could expect if they were tempted to stray. After a prolonged period of this imitation of hell, the cathedral’s interior gradually became filled with the blaze of a thousand lights. As the gloom diminished, cacophony was supplanted by the measured tones of Gregorian chants and polyphony. Light and divine order replaced darkness and chaos (R. Scott, personal correspondence, March 15, 2004). This ceremony was designed to buttress beliefs by experience and to transfigure abstractions into attitudes. In place of merely hearing about “the chaos and perdition of hell that regular performances of liturgy were designed to hold in check ” (Scott, 2003), parishioners shoul

Breaking the prejudice habit: Mechanisms, timecourse, and longevity

The prejudice habit-breaking intervention (Devine et al., 2012) and its offshoots (e.g., Carnes et al., 2012) have shown promise in effecting long-term change in key outcomes related to intergroup bias, including increases in awareness, concern about discrimination, and, in one study, long-term decreases in implicit bias. This intervention is based on the premise that unintentional bias is like a habit that can be broken with sufficient motivation, awareness, and effort. We conducted replication of the original habit-breaking intervention experiment in a sample more than three times the size of the original (N = 292). We also measured all outcomes every other day for 14 days and measured potential mechanisms for the intervention’s effects. Consistent with previous results, the habit-breaking intervention produced a change in concern that endured two weeks post-intervention. These effects were associated with increased sensitivity to the biases of others and an increased tendency to label biases as wrong. Contrasting with the original work, both control and intervention participants decreased in implicit bias, and the effects of the habit-breaking intervention on awareness declined in the second week of the study. In a subsample recruited two years later, intervention participants were more likely than control participants to object on a public online forum to an essay endorsing racial stereotyping. Our results suggest that the habit-breaking intervention produces enduring changes in peoples’ knowledge of and beliefs about race-related issues, and we argue that these changes are even more important for promoting long-term behavioral change than are changes in implicit bias

What about me? Factors affecting individual adaptive coping capacity across different populations

 When and why will people adapt to climate change? We conducted a number of studies examining the psychological drivers of individual adaptation to climate change across different populations. We used a variety of methodologies including interviews, surveys, survey experiments and face-to-face experiments. There was a high level of rigour involved in each of these methodologies which means that we can believe in the results. This programme of research represents one of the largest and most integrated attempts to understand some of the psychological drivers of individual-level adaptation.First, we used the most recent advances in the psychological literature of coping more generally to develop a valid scale to measure coping with climate change. Across three studies we found that our tool was both reliable and valid, providing an accurate measure of the different ways in which people cope with climate change. This tool can now be used to understand the effects of both adaptive and maladaptive coping and to understand what leads to these different ways of coping.Next, we examined adaptive capacity. We found that adaptive coping strategies were associated with perceiving climate change as a threat to oneself and one’s way of life, rating environmental goals as important, and believing that adaptive behaviours could help achieve significant personal goals. Furthermore, when looking at societal adaptive capacity (support for governmental policies) we found that not only were a threat appraisal, climate change or environmental goal, and goal connectedness related to support, but also political affiliation, perceived human contribution to climate change, (lack of) denying that climate change exists, and a number of emotions (enthusiasm, worry, (lack of) happiness, and (lack of ) embarrassment). By knowing these factors that lead to adaptive coping and support for adaptive policies we can identify strategies to improve individual adaptive capacity.Third, based on a range of psychological literature, we hypothesised that adaptive behaviour would be related to goals, goal connectedness, adaptive coping, beliefs about climate change (including denial), and emotions that create an uneasy state of activation (enthusiasm and hope combined with worry). We found support for each of these relationships. Thus, we can again identify strategies to increase adaptive climate change behaviour. Across the studies, we found that adaptive capacity and adaptive behaviours relied upon both “green” beliefs and goals and “non-green” beliefs and goals. Moreover, believing that the adaptive behaviours helped a person to achieve their goals (whether they were related to climate change or not) was strongly related to adaptive capacity and behaviour. We have therefore shown that we can improve adaptation not only in those people who want to help the environment but also in those who are less interested.Unfortunately, the goal structure of environmental goals appears difficult to change. However, making people think about politics did have an effect: Regardless of their own political orientation, a person’s belief about the degree of human contribution to climate change decreased when they were thinking about politics (compared to not thinking about politics). This has implications for how climate change adaptation is discussed in the media and by researchers.The results of our research also have implications for the communication of climate change adaptation policies. Our results show that framing the costs of reducing CO2 emissions in terms of a decrease in future gain—rather than as an opportunity-cost—renders people more willing to commit to climate change initiatives.In summary, this programme of research has taken an integrated and rigorous step towards greater understanding of some of the psychological drivers of individual adaptation to climate change. Given the complexity of the problem, more research is needed, however we believe that our research provides a good early step in this direction.Please cite as: Unsworth, K, Russell, S, Lewandowsky, S, Lawrence, C, Fielding, K, Heath, J, Evans, A, Hurlstone, M, & McNeill, I 2013 What about me? Factors affecting individual adaptive coping capacity across different populations, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 161. AbstractWhen and why will people adapt to climate change? We conducted a number of studies examining the psychological drivers of individual adaptation to climate change across different populations. We used a variety of methodologies including interviews, surveys, survey experiments and face-to-face experiments. There was a high level of rigour involved in each of these methodologies which means that we can believe in the results. This programme of research represents one of the largest and most integrated attempts to understand some of the psychological drivers of individual-level adaptation.First, we used the most recent advances in the psychological literature of coping more generally to develop a valid scale to measure coping with climate change. Across three studies we found that our tool was both reliable and valid, providing an accurate measure of the different ways in which people cope with climate change. This tool can now be used to understand the effects of both adaptive and maladaptive coping and to understand what leads to these different ways of coping.Next, we examined adaptive capacity. We found that adaptive coping strategies were associated with perceiving climate change as a threat to oneself and one’s way of life, rating environmental goals as important, and believing that adaptive behaviours could help achieve significant personal goals. Furthermore, when looking at societal adaptive capacity (support for governmental policies) we found that not only were a threat appraisal, climate change or environmental goal, and goal connectedness related to support, but also political affiliation, perceived human contribution to climate change, (lack of) denying that climate change exists, and a number of emotions (enthusiasm, worry, (lack of) happiness, and (lack of ) embarrassment). By knowing these factors that lead to adaptive coping and support for adaptive policies we can identify strategies to improve individual adaptive capacity.Third, based on a range of psychological literature, we hypothesised that adaptive behaviour would be related to goals, goal connectedness, adaptive coping, beliefs about climate change (including denial), and emotions that create an uneasy state of activation (enthusiasm and hope combined with worry). We found support for each of these relationships. Thus, we can again identify strategies to increase adaptive climate change behaviour. Across the studies, we found that adaptive capacity and adaptive behaviours relied upon both “green” beliefs and goals and “non-green” beliefs and goals. Moreover, believing that the adaptive behaviours helped a person to achieve their goals (whether they were related to climate change or not) was strongly related to adaptive capacity and behaviour. We have therefore shown that we can improve adaptation not only in those people who want to help the environment but also in those who are less interested.Unfortunately, the goal structure of environmental goals appears difficult to change. However, making people think about politics did have an effect: Regardless of their own political orientation, a person’s belief about the degree of human contribution to climate change decreased when they were thinking about politics (compared to not thinking about politics). This has implications for how climate change adaptation is discussed in the media and by researchers.The results of our research also have implications for the communication of climate change adaptation policies. Our results show that framing the costs of reducing CO2 emissions in terms of a decrease in future gain—rather than as an opportunity-cost—renders people more willing to commit to climate change initiatives.In summary, this programme of research has taken an integrated and rigorous step towards greater understanding of some of the psychological drivers of individual adaptation to climate change. Given the complexity of the problem, more research is needed, however we believe that our research provides a good early step in this direction

Real Virtuality: A Code of Ethical Conduct. Recommendations for Good Scientific Practice and the Consumers of VR-Technology

The goal of this article is to present a first list of ethical concerns that may arise from research and personal use of virtual reality (VR) and related technology, and to offer concrete recommendations for minimizing those risks. Many of the recommendations call for focused research initiatives. In the first part of the article, we discuss the relevant evidence from psychology that motivates our concerns. In Section “Plasticity in the Human Mind,” we cover some of the main results suggesting that one’s environment can influence one’s psychological states, as well as recent work on inducing illusions of embodiment. Then, in Section “Illusions of Embodiment and Their Lasting Effect,” we go on to discuss recent evidence indicating that immersion in VR can have psychological effects that last after leaving the virtual environment. In the second part of the article, we turn to the risks and recommendations. We begin, in Section “The Research Ethics of VR,” with the research ethics of VR, covering six main topics: the limits of experimental environments, informed consent, clinical risks, dual-use, online research, and a general point about the limitations of a code of conduct for research. Then, in Section “Risks for Individuals and Society,” we turn to the risks of VR for the general public, covering four main topics: long-term immersion, neglect of the social and physical environment, risky content, and privacy. We offer concrete recommendations for each of these 10 topics, summarized in Table 1

Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses

The complete report from Richard Hake's long-term study of interactive engagement (IE) techniques and their effect on the understanding of physics by non-physics majors. The study analyzed diverse student populations in high schools, colleges, and universities and used pre- and post-instruction testing to determine the gains in each group. IE techniques were shown to improve student's understanding at a significantly higher rate than traditional instruction. Additionally, these IE techniques are applicable to teaching a wide range of topics. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Self-Knowledge, Choice Blindness, and Confabulation

There are two kinds of epistemic theories about self-knowledge: the traditional account, and the inferentialist account. According to the traditional view of self-knowledge, we have privileged access to our propositional attitudes. “Privileged access” means that one can gain knowledge of one’s own propositional attitudes directly via an exclusive, first-personal method called introspection. On the other hand, the inferentialist view of self-knowledge postulates that we don’t have privileged access to our propositional attitudes and must infer or self-attribute them instead. In this thesis I argue that the traditional view of self-knowledge, which postulates that we have privileged access to our propositional attitudes, ought to be abandoned in favor of an infernetialist picture of self-knowledge I argue that recent experimental results in social psychology strongly imply that we don’t have privileged access to our propositional attitudes. In the choice blindness paradigm, the majority of participants can be manipulated into becoming oblivious to choices that they made just moments previously. Not only do participants utterly fail to notice that they did not receive what they wanted, but they also provide confabulated reasons as to why they made their “decision.” I maintain that the phenomena of choice blindness and confabulation are very difficult for the traditional theory of self- knowledge to accommodate and explain; whereas, on the other hand, the inferentialist account actually predicts and anticipates these experimental findings. The traditional theorist cannot avoid the threat that choice blindness and confabulation pose by restricting the scope of privileged access even further, to exclude propositional attitudes, because privileged access to propositional attitudes is the very property which distinguishes the traditional view of self-knowledge from an inferentialist account. The traditional theorist might attempt to argue that privileged access to propositional attitudes is conceptually necessary, but I maintain that this argument fails. The traditional theorist’s only option, then, is to adopt a dual-method account whereby we sometimes gain self-knowledge via introspection and sometimes via inference. However, I maintain that the dual-method approach is a much weaker theory in terms of explanatory power when compared to the inferentialist account. On balance, then, the traditional view of self-knowledge should be rejected in favor of the inferentialist account

The right face at the wrong place: How motor intentions can override outcome monitoring

The concept of intentions is often taken for granted in the cognitive and neural sciences, and comparing outcomes with internal goals is seen as critical for our sense of agency. We created an experiment where participants decided which face they preferred, and we either created outcome errors by covertly switch- ing the position of the chosen face or induced motor errors by deviating the mouse cursor, or we did both at the same time. In the final case, participants experienced a motor error, but the outcome ended up cor- rect. The result showed that when they received the right face, but at the wrong place, participants re- jected the outcome they actually wanted in a majority of the trials. Thus, contrary to common belief, higher-order outcomes do not always regulate our actions. Instead, motor ‘‘wrongness’’ might sometimes override goal ‘‘rightness’’ and lead us to reject the outcome we actually want

A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THE PUBLIC\u27S PERSPECTIVES OF MINING APPLIED TO THE KENTUCKY COAL INDUSTRY

People’s perceptions of mining are heavily based on the media they consume and the messages therein. News outlets ordinarily report on mining only when there is an accident or environmental concern. When messages that the public is exposed to are negative, it is no wonder that there are negative perceptions about mining. Current public relations campaigns on the behalf of specific companies or select sectors do exist; however, this is often a reactionary move in response to recent shifts in the socio-political environment. The details of these campaigns are often tied up in proprietary information or withheld by public relations firms. Hiring public relations firms is often cost prohibitive for many single mining companies. Mining serves a vital purpose in providing society with the base resources to sustain the standard of living it has come to expect. This important purpose needs to be fully communicated to the public in order to educate them. Attitudes about mining need to be identified so misinformation can be accurately targeted. Before this can begin, these attitudes must be measured and knowledge gaps identified. This work focused on two main objectives on the mining industry’s behalf. The first focus was to determine attitudes towards mining and knowledge about mining. This was done through a survey administered to three counties in Kentucky. From this survey, guidance for communication efforts were produced, through the suggestion of specific topics for messages, which directly addresses identified attitudes of the public and misconceptions about mining. Relationships between knowledge and attitudes were explored, as well as relationships between demographic information and knowledge, and attitudes. Subsequently, an empirical model for predicting individuals\u27 knowledge of mining was produced. The second focus was to apply theoretical foundations to educational and community engagement efforts. Different theories are required for different groups of people depending on the level that mining plays a role in those peoples\u27 lives. In all, how the mining industry communicates with the public needs to be improved, and the work proposed here will steer these improvements

Using the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to explore implicit versus self-report attitudes toward bullying with students at post-primary and university levels

The current research sought to develop the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a measure of bullying attitudes amongst Secondary School and University Students in South East Ireland. The research assessed whether IRAP performance differed between University and Secondary School Students; and investigated the impact of picture versus word stimuli on IRAP performance. It also examined whether an educational intervention video affected participant responding on implicit measures by presenting the IRAP at pre and post-intervention. Explicit measures were presented at pre-intervention only and compared across studies. Implicit measures were presented at pre and post-intervention and compared across groups, gender, and IRAP stimuli (words versus pictures). In Study 1, 30 University Students and 30 Secondary School Students were exposed to (i) a word-based IRAP designed to assess attitudes towards toxic (e.g. Just go die/Rot in hell) and innocuous phrases (Go on ya fool/Don’t be daft) pertaining to bullying; (ii) explicit measures including the Bullying Prevalence Questionnaire (BPQ), the Revised Pro-Victim Scale (RPV-S), the Bullying Attitudes Questionnaire Modified (BAQ-MM) and the Cyberbullying Survey (CS) and (iii) an educational intervention video about the negative and lasting effects of bullying. IRAP trial-type analysis for Study 1 revealed statistically significant effects on the Toxic- Abusive and Innocuous-Harmless trial-types. Results revealed no statistically significant differences between data for groups, gender, or between pre and post-intervention responses on the IRAP. Using Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient, statistically significant correlations were found between the Pro-Social subscale of the BPQ and Toxic-Harmless and Innocuous-Abusive IRAP trial types. In Study 2, 30 University Students were exposed to a picture-based IRAP with images pertaining to cyberbullying and the same intervention and explicit measures as in Study 1. Again, participants were exposed to the explicit measures at pre-intervention, and to the IRAP at pre and post-intervention. Trial-type analysis for Study 2 revealed statistically significant effects on the Toxic-Abusive and Innocuous-Harmless trialtypes. Results revealed no statistically significant differences between participants’ pre and post-intervention scores on the IRAP or explicit measures; and no correlations between implicit and explicit measures. Further analysis using a 2x2x4 mixed repeated measures ANOVA found no statistically significant differences between University Students’ responses on a word-based IRAP in Study 1 versus a picture-based IRAP in Study 2. Overall, participant responding on the IRAP showed a statistically significant effect for the Toxic- Abusive and Innocuous-Harmless trial-types. Findings are discussed with reference to the research literature