151
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Levine LJ, Murphy G, Lench HC, Greene CM, Loftus EF, Tinti C, Schmidt S, Muzzulini B, Grady RH, Stark SM, Stark CEL. Remembering facts versus feelings in the wake of political events. Cogn Emot 2021; 35:936-955. [PMID: 33829942 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2021.1910496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Amid rising political polarisation, inaccurate memory for facts and exaggerated memories of grievances can drive individuals and groups further apart. We assessed whether people with more accurate memories of the facts concerning political events were less susceptible to bias when remembering how events made them feel. Study 1 assessed participants' memories concerning the 2016 U.S. presidential election (N = 571), and included 33 individuals with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM). Study 2 assessed participants' memories concerning the 2018 referendum on abortion in Ireland (N = 733). Participants rated how happy, angry, and scared they felt days after these events. Six months later, they recalled their feelings and factual information. In both studies, participants overestimated how angry they had felt but underestimated happiness and fear. Adjusting for importance, no association was found between the accuracy of memory for facts and feelings. Accuracy in remembering facts was predicted by media exposure. Accuracy in remembering feelings was predicted by consistency over time in feelings and appraisals about past events. HSAM participants in Study 1 remembered election-related facts better than others, but not their feelings. Thus, having a good grasp of the facts did not protect against bias in remembering feelings about political events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda J Levine
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Gillian Murphy
- School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Heather C Lench
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Ciara M Greene
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Elizabeth F Loftus
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Carla Tinti
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Shauna M Stark
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Craig E L Stark
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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152
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Vives ML, Cikara M, FeldmanHall O. Following Your Group or Your Morals? The In-Group Promotes Immoral Behavior While the Out-Group Buffers Against It. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/19485506211001217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
People learn by observing others, albeit not uniformly. Witnessing an immoral behavior causes observers to commit immoral actions, especially when the perpetrator is part of the in-group. Does conformist behavior hold when observing the out-group? We conducted three experiments ( N = 1,358) exploring how observing an (im)moral in-/out-group member changed decisions relating to justice: punitive, selfish, or dishonest choices. Only immoral in-groups increased immoral actions, while the same immoral behavior from out-groups had no effect (Experiments 1 & 2). In contrast, a compassionate or generous individual did not make people more moral, regardless of group membership (Experiments 1 & 2). When there was a loophole to deny cheating (Experiment 3), neither an immoral in-/out-group member changed dishonest behavior. Compared to observing an honest in-group member, people become more honest themselves after observing an honest out-group member, revealing that out-groups can enhance morality. Depending on the severity of the moral action, the in-group licenses immoral behavior while the out-group buffers against it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc-Lluís Vives
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Mina Cikara
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Oriel FeldmanHall
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, Psychological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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154
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Torres MA, Delva S, Fried EN, Gomez JA, Nguyen N, Przekop KA, Shelton EF, Stolberg KC, Wyszynski SI, Yaffa LS, Broitman S, Traniello JFA. Undergraduate behavioral biologists keep science careers in focus through pandemic challenges-but need support. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021; 75:46. [PMID: 33558784 PMCID: PMC7858041 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-02988-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mila A Torres
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Stephanie Delva
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Emily N Fried
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Jacqueline A Gomez
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Nhi Nguyen
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Kylla A Przekop
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Elizabeth F Shelton
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Katelyn C Stolberg
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Sofia I Wyszynski
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Leila S Yaffa
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Shahar Broitman
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - James F A Traniello
- Department of Biology, Undergraduate Concentration in Behavioral Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA
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155
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Affective polarization, local contexts and public opinion in America. Nat Hum Behav 2020; 5:28-38. [PMID: 33230283 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-01012-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Affective polarization has become a defining feature of twenty-first-century US politics, but we do not know how it relates to citizens' policy opinions. Answering this question has fundamental implications not only for understanding the political consequences of polarization, but also for understanding how citizens form preferences. Under most political circumstances, this is a difficult question to answer, but the novel coronavirus pandemic allows us to understand how partisan animus contributes to opinion formation. Using a two-wave panel that spans the outbreak of COVID-19, we find a strong association between citizens' levels of partisan animosity and their attitudes about the pandemic, as well as the actions they take in response to it. This relationship, however, is more muted in areas with severe outbreaks of the disease. Our results make clear that narrowing of issue divides requires not only policy discourse but also addressing affective partisan hostility.
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