Open Science Practices are on the Rise: The State of Social Science (3S) Survey

Has there been meaningful movement toward open sci-ence practices within the social sciences in recent years? Discussions about changes in practices such as posting data and pre-registering analyses have been marked by controversy—including controversy over the extent to which change has taken place. This study, based on the State of Social Science (3S) Survey, provides the first com-prehensive assessment of awareness of, attitudes towards, perceived norms regarding, and adoption of open science practices within a broadly representative sample of scholars from four major social science disciplines: economics, political science, psychology, and so-ciology. We observe a steep increase in adoption: as of 2017, over 80% of scholars had used at least one such practice, rising from one quarter a decade earlier. Attitudes toward research transpar-ency are on average similar between older and younger scholars, but the pace of change di˙ers by field and methodology. According with theories of normal science and scientific change, the timing of increases in adoption coincides with technological innovations and institutional policies. Patterns are consistent with most scholars underestimating the trend toward open science in their discipline

Walking the Path of the Law: How Law Graduates Navigate Career Choices and Tolerate Jobs that Fail to Meet Expectations

If one talks to law students about the their career expectations, one is likely to hear a common story: when the student graduates, she plans to go into private practice, or possibly take a government job, or even less probably, take a public interest job. The students think their initial choices of legal jobs set them on a career trajectory that is fairly immutable. However, the students\u27 beliefs may not be based on actual information about how lawyers choose their career paths. This empirical study of 2800 lawyers who graduated from law school between 1970 and 1999 analyzes whether lawyers have standard career trajectories. The study considers whether gender or time of graduation affects career choices. The study also examines whether there are dominant reasons that lawyers give for changing jobs. Finally, the study considers whether lawyers are satisfied with their jobs by using a unique measure that gauges the level of congruency between lawyers\u27 hopes for the kind of job they have with their actual experiences of a job. Consistent with other empirical studies of lawyers\u27 career paths, this study finds that a large number of lawyers start their careers in private practice, and that most lawyers will change jobs a couple of times, with most staying within the same practice setting (i.e., moving from private firm to private firm.) However, this study challenges other well-held notions of career trajectories. Notably, this study does not find that women leave the law more than men, nor that women enter government or public interest work more than men. Further, the study documents that women and men both experience conflict between the demands of their jobs and their responsibilities outside work, and that both are equally concerned about that conflict. In other words, male lawyers say work-life balance is as concerning for them as it is for female lawyers. Finally, the study refutes the widely-held belief that lawyers do not like their jobs. The study provides law students and the profession with an important reminder that there is not a right career path, nor an immutable one, and that much of the practice of law is engaging and rewarding

Consumer Attitudes and Use of Antibiotics

Recent antibiotic use is a risk factor for infection or colonization with resistant bacterial pathogens. Demand for antibiotics can be affected by consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices. In 1998–1999, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) conducted a population-based, random-digit dialing telephone survey, including questions regarding respondents’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices of antibiotic use. Twelve percent had recently taken antibiotics; 27% believed that taking antibiotics when they had a cold made them better more quickly, 32% believed that taking antibiotics when they had a cold prevented more serious illness, and 48% expected a prescription for antibiotics when they were ill enough from a cold to seek medical attention. These misguided beliefs and expectations were associated with a lack of awareness of the dangers of antibiotic use; 58% of patients were not aware of the possible health dangers. National educational efforts are needed to address these issues if patient demand for antibiotics is to be reduced

Reducing intergroup prejudice and conflict with the mass media: A field experiment in Rwanda

Can the media reduce intergroup prejudice and conflict? Despite the high stakes of this question, our understanding of the mass media's role in shaping attitudes and behaviors, especially prejudiced attitudes and behaviors, is very limited. This study attempted to fill this gap with the first experimental evaluation of a radio program's impact on intergroup prejudice and conflict in a real world setting. The study took place in the East African country of Rwanda where a war and genocide resulted in the deaths of more than 10% of the population over the course of 3 months in 1994. I randomly assigned Rwandan communities to listen to one of two radio programs: a reconciliation radio soap opera and a health soap opera. The reconciliation soap opera aimed to influence beliefs about intergroup prejudice, mass violence and trauma with a series of educational messages, and its fictional characters portrayed positive social norms regarding intergroup behavior and trauma healing. Study participants listened to the programs over the course of one year, during which I collected observational data on their discussions of and emotional reactions to the programs. At the end of the year I measured outcomes with standardized questionnaires, focus groups, and behavioral observations. The reconciliation radio program did little to influence listeners' beliefs about the radio program's educational messages. However, results support the hypothesis that radio programs can influence behaviors and perceived social norms regarding intergroup relations and trauma healing. The reconciliation program affected listeners' perceptions of and behaviors toward some of the most critical issues for Rwanda's post conflict society, such as intermarriage, open dissent, trust, and talking about personal trauma. A pattern of perceived norm and behavior change was observed across measures of participants' attitudes, group discussions, and behaviors during deliberations about a communal resource. The program also increased empathy for other Rwandans. Taken together, the results suggest that radio can communicate social norms and influence behaviors that contribute to intergroup tolerance and reconciliation. Field experiments like this one can be deployed to measure the causal impact of the mass media, and to animate theoretical work on the processes of media influence and prejudice and conflict reduction

Reducing intergroup prejudice and conflict using the media: A field experiment in Rwanda

Can the media reduce intergroup prejudice and conflict? Despite the high stakes of this question, understanding of the mass media’s role in shaping prejudiced beliefs, norms, and behaviors is very limited. A yearlong field experiment in Rwanda tested the impact of a radio soap opera about two Rwandan communities in conflict, which featured messages about reducing intergroup prejudice, violence, and trauma. Compared to communities who listened to a control radio soap opera, listeners ’ perceptions of social norms and their behaviors changed concerning some of the most critical issues for Rwanda’s post conflict society, namely intermarriage, open dissent, trust, empathy, cooperation and discussion of personal trauma. However, the radio program did little to influence listeners ’ personal beliefs. Group discussion was a notable feature of the listening experience. Taken together, the results suggest that radio can communicate social norms and influence behaviors that contribute to intergroup tolerance and reconciliation. Prejudice, conflict and media 3 Reducing intergroup prejudice and conflict with the media A field experiment in Rwanda For nearly a century, psychological research has tackled the societal problems of prejudice and intergroup conflict. Few topics have attracted a greater range of theoretical perspectives. Theories implicate personality traits (Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, Sanford, & Nevitt, 1950), displaced aggression (Hovland & Sears, 1940), scarcity of material resources and status (Blumer, 1958; Sherif & Sherif, 1953), ingroup favoritism (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), various combinations of conservative or liberal values an

Reducing intergroup prejudice and conflict with the media: A field experiment in Rwanda

Can the media reduce intergroup prejudice and conflict? Despite the high stakes of this question, understanding of the mass media’s role in shaping prejudiced beliefs, norms, and behaviors is very limited. A yearlong field experiment in Rwanda tested the impact of a radio soap opera about two Rwandan communities in conflict, which featured messages about reducing intergroup prejudice, violence, and trauma. Compared to communities who listened to a control radio soap opera, listeners’ perceptions of social norms and their behaviors changed concerning some of the most critical issues for Rwanda’s post conflict society, namely intermarriage, open dissent, trust, empathy, cooperation and discussion of personal trauma. However, the radio program did little to influence listeners’ personal beliefs. Group discussion was a notable feature of the listening experience. Taken together, the results suggest that radio can communicate social norms and influence behaviors that contribute to intergroup tolerance and reconciliation.Education-entertainment, prejudice reduction, conflict reduction, trauma, field experiment, mass media, radio, social norms

Deviance from social norms: who are the deviants

This repository accompanies "The social and psychological characteristics of norm deviants: A field study in a small cohesive university campus", forthcoming in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology