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Renoux M, Goudeau S, Alexopoulos T, Bouquet CA, Cimpian A. The inherence bias in preschoolers' explanations for achievement differences: replication and extension. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:10. [PMID: 38378746 PMCID: PMC10879106 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00218-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Two studies examined how preschoolers (N = 610; French) explain differences in achievement. Replicating and extending previous research, the results revealed that children invoke more inherent factors (e.g., intelligence) than extrinsic factors (e.g., access to educational resources) when explaining why some children do better in school than others. This inherence bias in explanation can contribute to inequalities in education (e.g., the early-emerging disparities based on social class) by portraying them as fair and legitimate even when they are not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaux Renoux
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage (UMR 7295), Université de Poitiers, CNRS, Poitiers, France
| | - Sébastien Goudeau
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage (UMR 7295), Université de Poitiers, CNRS, Poitiers, France.
| | | | - Cédric A Bouquet
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive (UMR 6024), Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Andrei Cimpian
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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2
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Amemiya J, Mortenson E, Heyman GD, Walker CM. Thinking Structurally: A Cognitive Framework for Understanding How People Attribute Inequality to Structural Causes. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023; 18:259-274. [PMID: 35981099 PMCID: PMC9938098 DOI: 10.1177/17456916221093593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
To make accurate causal inferences about social-group inequalities, people must consider structural causes. Structural causes are a distinct type of extrinsic cause-they are stable, interconnected societal forces that systematically advantage some social groups and disadvantage others. We propose a new cognitive framework to specify how people attribute inequality to structural causes. This framework is rooted in counterfactual theories of causal judgment and suggests that people will recognize structural factors as causal when they are perceived as "difference-making" for inequality above and beyond any intrinsic causes. Building on this foundation, our framework makes the following contributions. First, we propose specific types of evidence that support difference-making inferences about structural factors: within-group change (i.e., observing that disadvantaged groups' outcomes improve under better societal conditions) and well-matched between-group comparisons (i.e., observing that advantaged group members, who have similar baseline traits to the disadvantaged group, experience more favorable societal conditions and life outcomes). Second, we consider contextual, cognitive, and motivational barriers that may complicate the availability and acceptance of this evidence. We conclude by exploring how the framework might be applied in future research examining people's causal inferences about inequality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie Amemiya
- Department of Psychology, University of
California, San Diego
- Jamie Amemiya, Department of Psychology,
University of California, San Diego
| | | | - Gail D. Heyman
- Department of Psychology, University of
California, San Diego
| | - Caren M. Walker
- Department of Psychology, University of
California, San Diego
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3
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Bridger EK, Tufte‐Hewett A, Comerford DA. Dispositional and situational attributions for why the rich live longer than the poor. JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma K. Bridger
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences Birmingham City University Birmingham UK
| | - Angela Tufte‐Hewett
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences Birmingham City University Birmingham UK
| | - David A. Comerford
- Stirling Management School, Economics Division University of Stirling Stirling UK
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4
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Sznycer D, Sell A, Williams KE. Justice-making institutions and the ancestral logic of conflict. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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5
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Dunlea JP, Goel D, Heiphetz L. Children's socio-moral judgments and behaviors toward peers with and without incarcerated parents. Child Dev 2022; 93:e515-e530. [PMID: 35608230 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Adults often respond negatively toward children with incarcerated parents. Yet, the developmental foundations for such negativity remain unclear. Two studies (N = 331 U.S. residents; plurality White; plurality male; data collected between Winter 2019 and Spring 2021) addressed this topic. Study 1 probed 5- to 6-year-olds' and 7- to 8-year-olds' inferences about peers with and without incarcerated parents. Children reported less certainty that peers with, versus without, incarcerated parents possess moral beliefs. Study 2 showed that among older children, inferences about parental absence did not fully account for this pattern of results. Across studies, children behaved less generously toward peers with, versus without, incarcerated parents. These studies illuminate how early socio-moral judgment may contribute to negativity toward children with incarcerated parents.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P Dunlea
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Devyani Goel
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Larisa Heiphetz
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
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6
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Abstract
Observed variability and complexity of judgments of "right" and "wrong" cannot be readily accounted for within extant approaches to understanding moral judgment. In response to this challenge, we present a novel perspective on categorization in moral judgment. Moral judgment as categorization (MJAC) incorporates principles of category formation research while addressing key challenges of existing approaches to moral judgment. People develop skills in making context-relevant categorizations. They learn that various objects (events, behaviors, people, etc.) can be categorized as morally right or wrong. Repetition and rehearsal result in reliable, habitualized categorizations. According to this skill-formation account of moral categorization, the learning and the habitualization of the forming of moral categories occur within goal-directed activity that is sensitive to various contextual influences. By allowing for the complexity of moral judgments, MJAC offers greater explanatory power than existing approaches while also providing opportunities for a diverse range of new research questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cillian McHugh
- Department of Psychology, University of Limerick
- Social Psychology & Cognition Lab, University of Limerick (SOCOUL)
- Centre for Social Issues Research, University of Limerick
| | - Marek McGann
- Department of Psychology, Mary Immaculate College
| | - Eric R. Igou
- Department of Psychology, University of Limerick
- Social Psychology & Cognition Lab, University of Limerick (SOCOUL)
- Health Research Institute, University of Limerick
| | - Elaine L. Kinsella
- Department of Psychology, University of Limerick
- Centre for Social Issues Research, University of Limerick
- Health Research Institute, University of Limerick
- Research on Influence, Social Networks, & Ethics (RISE) Lab
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7
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Lewis Jr. NA. Can We Achieve “Equality” When We Have Different Understandings of Its Meaning? How Contexts and Identities Shape the Pursuit of Egalitarian Goals. PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/1047840x.2021.1971441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Neil A. Lewis Jr.
- Department of Communication, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Ithaca, New York, USA
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8
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Yang X, Naas R, Dunham Y. Testing the limits of structural thinking about gender. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13169. [PMID: 34423527 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Revised: 08/10/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
When seeking to explain social regularities (such as gender differences in the labor market) people often rely on internal features of the targets, frequently neglecting structural and systemic factors external to the targets. For example, people might think women leave the job market after childbirth because they are less competent or are better suited for child-rearing than men, thereby eliding socio-cultural and economic factors that disadvantage women. Across two studies (total N = 192) we probe 4- and 5-year-olds and 7- and 8-year-olds' internal versus structural reasoning about gender. We explore the evaluative and behavioral implications of this reasoning process with both novel gendered behaviors that were experimentally created and familiar gendered behaviors that exist outside of a lab context. We show that children generate more structural explanations, evaluate the structural explanation more positively, expect behaviors to be more mutable, and evaluate gender non-conforming behaviors more positively when structural cues are provided. However, we also show that such information may be of limited effectiveness at reducing pre-existing group-based discriminatory behaviors: children continue to report less willingness to affiliate with peers who display non-conforming behaviors even in the presence of structural cues. Taken together, these results provide evidence concerning children's structural reasoning about gender categories and shed new light on how such reasoning might affect social evaluations and behavioral intentions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Yang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Ragnhild Naas
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Yarrow Dunham
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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9
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Hannikainen IR, Tobia KP, de Almeida GDFCF, Donelson R, Dranseika V, Kneer M, Strohmaier N, Bystranowski P, Dolinina K, Janik B, Keo S, Lauraitytė E, Liefgreen A, Próchnicki M, Rosas A, Struchiner N. Are There Cross-Cultural Legal Principles? Modal Reasoning Uncovers Procedural Constraints on Law. Cogn Sci 2021; 45:e13024. [PMID: 34379347 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Despite pervasive variation in the content of laws, legal theorists and anthropologists have argued that laws share certain abstract features and even speculated that law may be a human universal. In the present report, we evaluate this thesis through an experiment administered in 11 different countries. Are there cross-cultural principles of law? In a between-subjects design, participants (N = 3,054) were asked whether there could be laws that violate certain procedural principles (e.g., laws applied retrospectively or unintelligible laws), and also whether there are any such laws. Confirming our preregistered prediction, people reported that such laws cannot exist, but also (paradoxically) that there are such laws. These results document cross-culturally and -linguistically robust beliefs about the concept of law which defy people's grasp of how legal systems function in practice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Sothie Keo
- American University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia
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Maffly-Kipp J, Rivera GN, Schlegel RJ, Vess M. The Effect of True Self-Attributions on the Endorsement of Retributive and Restorative Justice. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2021; 48:1284-1297. [PMID: 34210213 DOI: 10.1177/01461672211027473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We examined how the attribution of criminal behavior to an individual's "true" self influences justice preferences. In Study 1 (N = 521), the extent to which undergraduates attributed a crime to a target's true self positively predicted their endorsement of a retributive form of punishment and negatively predicted their endorsement of a restorative form of punishment. Study 2 (N = 404) was preregistered and replicated these associations, even when controlling for other perceived causes (e.g., personality, environment). In Study 3 (N = 282), undergraduates rated retributive punishment more favorably and restorative punishment less favorably when induced to think that the crime was (vs. was not) reflective of the target's true self. Study 4 (N = 935) was preregistered and replicated these experimental effects across different types of crime vignettes in an online sample. These results highlight the ways that intuitions about "true" selves shape punishment preferences.
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11
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Peretz-Lange R. Why does social essentialism sometimes promote, and other times mitigate, prejudice development? A causal discounting perspective. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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12
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Abstract
How do humans intuitively understand the structure of their society? How should psychologists study people's commonsense understanding of societal structure? The present chapter seeks to address both of these questions by describing the domain of "intuitive sociology." Drawing primarily from empirical research focused on how young children represent and reason about social groups, we propose that intuitive sociology consists of three core phenomena: social types (the identification of relevant groups and their attributes); social value (the worth of different groups); and social norms (shared expectations for how groups ought to be). After articulating each component of intuitive sociology, we end the chapter by considering both the emergence of intuitive sociology in infancy as well as transitions from intuitive to reflective representations of sociology later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Shutts
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States.
| | - Charles W Kalish
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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13
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Peretz-Lange R, Perry J, Muentener P. Developmental shifts toward structural explanations and interventions for social status disparities. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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14
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Dunlea JP, Heiphetz L. Moral Psychology as a Necessary Bridge Between Social Cognition and Law. SOCIAL COGNITION 2021. [DOI: 10.1521/soco.2021.39.1.183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Coordinating competing interests can be difficult. Because law regulates human behavior, it is a candidate mechanism for creating coordination in the face of societal disagreement. We argue that findings from moral psychology are necessary to understand why law can effectively resolve co-occurring conflicts related to punishment and group membership. First, we discuss heterogeneity in punitive thought, focusing on punishment within the United States legal system. Though the law exerts a weak influence on punitive ideologies before punishment occurs, we argue that it effectively coordinates perceptions of individuals who have already been punished. Next, we discuss intergroup conflict, which often co-occurs with disagreements related to punishment and represents a related domain where coordination can be difficult to achieve. Here, we underscore how insights from moral psychology can promote equality via the law. These examples demonstrate how contributions from moral psychology are necessary to understand the connection between social cognition and law.
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15
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Dunlea JP, Heiphetz L. Children's and Adults' Views of Punishment as a Path to Redemption. Child Dev 2021; 92:e398-e415. [PMID: 33462800 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The current work investigated the extent to which children (N=171 6- to 8-year-olds) and adults (N = 94) view punishment as redemptive. In Study 1, children-but not adults-reported that "mean" individuals became "nicer" after one severe form of punishment (incarceration). Moreover, adults expected "nice" individuals' moral character to worsen following punishment; however, we did not find that children expected such a change. Study 2 extended these findings by showing that children view "mean" individuals as becoming "nicer" following both severe (incarceration) and relatively minor (time-out) punishments, suggesting that the pattern of results from Study 1 generalizes across punishment types. Together, these studies indicate that children-but not adults-may view punishment as a vehicle for redemption.
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Dunlea JP, Wolle RG, Heiphetz L. Enduring Positivity: Children Of Incarcerated Parents Report More Positive Than Negative Emotions When Thinking about Close Others. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2020.1797749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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17
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Heiphetz L. The development and consequences of moral essentialism. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2020; 59:165-194. [PMID: 32564793 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2020.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Children report that many natural kinds, social groups, and psychological characteristics arise from an innate, internal "essence" that is rooted in biology and remains stable over time. These perceptions persist into adulthood, albeit often in weakened form. This chapter argues that in addition to the domains previously examined in the essentialism literature, children-and to some extent adults-also view moral characteristics in essentialist terms. This form of essentialism has important social consequences, including in the area of prosocial behavior and in the legal domain. The body of evidence reviewed here suggests that children's and adults' moral judgments depend not just on what people do but also on perceptions of who those people are, i.e., whether they are people of good or bad moral character.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larisa Heiphetz
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
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