Moniker maladies: when names sabotage success

Letter labels and illusory correlation: infrequent letters bias reactions to the group

A previously underappreciated factor, the specific letters used to label the groups, was found to influence the magnitude of the well-established illusory correlation (IC) effect . The typical IC effect of an association between the minority group and the rarer (negative) behavior was strong when the minority group was labeled with an infrequent letter (e.g. X, Z) and the majority group was labeled with a frequent letter (e.g. S, T), but the effect was eliminated (or reduced) with the reverse pairing of the majority group with an infrequent letter. The letter label effect was also found with the A and B labels most commonly used in this paradigm. The results were consistent with an explanation based on the affect associated with the letters due to the mere exposure effect. The findings reveal a previously unexplored way that the names for groups may influence stereotype formation, contribute to the debate on the mechanism underlying IC, and illustrate how arbitrarily chosen labels for groups and other objects in social research may bias processing in unexpected ways.

Worth-based choice: giving an offered smaller pear an even greater fictional value

Choices between options represented in a multidimensional space, in which each dimension signifies a distinct attribute describing the objects, are presumably guided by the principle of value maximization. However, the current study assumes that in a real-world setting, those who are able to imagine things that do not actually exist could modify the multidimensional space by self-generating an unoffered but fictional dimension. We define the utility (Uv) assigned by the decision makers to the options on the offered/given dimension as value (v[x]) and the utility (Uw) on the self-generated/fictional dimension as worth (w[xc]). Our series of experiments demonstrated that an option with a greater value established strictly on that given set of dimensions might not necessarily be chosen (which contradicted the principle of value maximization). Choosing an option with less value (i.e. giving away the bigger pear) behavior can be described and explained by the “worth-based choice” approach, as people behave to select the option with the highest worth rather than that with the highest value. We are optimistic that the resulting findings will facilitate our understanding of the beauty of such a “one step further” choice and assist us in understanding the following: the ability to further generate a fictional dimension and to assign a delayed utility (worth) to the options on the fictional dimension, and to make a worth-based choice, which could eventually be taken as the operational definition to measure the degree of “fiction-generating ability”, as proposed by Harari ( 2014 ).

Increasing Need for Uniqueness in Contemporary China: Empirical Evidence

Past research has documented various cultural and psychological changes in contemporary China. In two studies, we examine how Chinese people's need for uniqueness (NFU) also has changed. In Study 1, we found a significant cross-generational increase in Chinese participants' self-reported NFU. In Study 2, we sampled the names of Chinese newborn babies over the last five decades and found that parents have been increasingly likely to use unique characters to name their children. These findings suggest that the NFU has been rising in China, a historically collectivistic-oriented society. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings were discussed.

Mere Gifting: Liking a Gift More Because It Is Shared

We investigated a type of mere similarity that describes owning the same item as someone else. Moreover, we examined this mere similarity in a gift-giving context, whereby givers gift something that they also buy for themselves (a behavior we call “companionizing”). Using a Heiderian account of balancing unit-sentiment relations, we tested whether gift recipients like gifts more when gifts are companionized. Akin to mere ownership, which describes people liking their possessions more merely because they own them, we tested a complementary prediction: whether people like their possessions more merely because others own them too. Thus, in a departure from previous work, we examined a type of similarity based on two people sharing the same material item. We find that this type of sharing causes gift recipients to like their gifts more, and feel closer to gift givers.

An evidence-based approach to an ancient pursuit: systematic review on converting online contact into a first date

OBJECTIVE

To determine, for people seeking a date online, what activities and behaviours have an effect on the chances of converting electronic communication into a face-to-face meeting.

METHODS

Literature in psychology, sociology, and computer, behavioural and neurocognitive sciences that informed effective online dating was captured through electronic searching of Psychinfo, Medline and Embase in November 2013. Study selection and meta-narrative synthesis were carried out in duplicate.

RESULTS

There were 3938 initial citations and 86 studies were synthesised. Initial interest was best captured through: a desirable screen name starting with a letter in the top half of the alphabet; an attractive still picture; and a fluent headline message. For those attracted to browse into the profile, a description of personal traits increased likeability when it: showed who the dater was and what they were looking for in a 70:30 ratio; stayed close to reality; and employed simple language with humour added. Invitations were most successful in obtaining a response from the potential date when they: were short personalised messages addressing a trait in their profile; rhymed with their screen name or headline message; and extended genuine compliments. Online communication was most effective in leading to an in-person meeting if there were: a genuine interest; a rapid turnaround; reciprocity in self-disclosure; mimicry of body movements on the webcam; avoidance of criticism; humour; uncertainty about whether there was likeability; and an early move from electronic chat to a date.

CONCLUSIONS

Attraction and persuasion research provides an evidence-based approach to online dating.

The name-letter-effect in groups: sharing initials with group members increases the quality of group work

Although the name-letter-effect has been demonstrated reliably in choice contexts, recent research has called into question the existence of the name-letter-effect–the tendency among people to make choices that bear remarkable similarity with the letters in their own name. In this paper, we propose a connection between the name-letter-effect and interpersonal, group-level behavior that has not been previously captured in the literature. Specifically, we suggest that sharing initials with other group members promotes positive feelings toward those group members that in turn affect group outcomes. Using both field and laboratory studies, we found that sharing initials with group members cause groups to perform better by demonstrating greater performance, collective efficacy, adaptive conflict, and accuracy (on a hidden-profile task). Although many studies have investigated the effects of member similarity on various outcomes, our research demonstrates how minimal a degree of similarity among members is sufficient to influence quality of group outcomes.

Do people whose names begin with "D" really die young?

It has been reported that professional baseball players whose first names begin with the letter "D" tend to die relatively young (E. L. Abel & M. L. Kruger, 2010). However, the statistical evidence for this claim is based on selective data and a statistical test that ignores important confounding influences. A valid test applied to more comprehensive data from the same source does not show a statistically significant relationship between initials and longevity. In addition, data for the years 1960 through 2004 for 6.7 million White, non-Hispanic California decedents do not replicate the claim that D's die young.

Influence of Names on Career Choices in Medicine

AbstractThree studies showed that medical doctors and lawyers were disproportionately more likely to have surnames that resembled their professions. A fourth study showed that, for doctors, this influence extended to the type of medicine they practiced. Study 1 found that people with the surname "Doctor" were more likely to be doctors than lawyers, whereas those with the surname "Lawyer" were more likely to be lawyers. Studies 2 and 3 broadened this finding by comparing doctors and lawyers whose first or last names began with three-letter combinations representative of their professions, for example, "doc," "law," and likewise found a significant relationship between name and profession. Study 4 found that the initial letters of physicians' last names were significantly related to their subspecialty, for example, Raymonds were more likely to be radiologists than dermatologists. These results provide further evidence names influence medical career choices.

Athletes, doctors, and lawyers with first names beginning with "D" die sooner

For many people, names have symbolic power that extends to their timing of death. This study examined the relationship between the symbolic significance of the first letters in the names of professional athletes (baseball, football, hockey, and basketball) and their longevity. A similar analysis was performed for doctors (radiologists, dermatologists, obstetricians/gynecologists) and lawyers for comparison purposes. There was a progressive decrease in longevity associated with names beginning with A to D when all athletes were combined. In each sport, athletes whose first names began with the letter D lived fewer years than those whose names collectively began with E to Z. Doctors and lawyers whose first names began with D also died earlier than those whose names began with E to Z but differences were not statistically significant. A Cox-regression survival analysis for athletes comparing those with names beginning with A, B, C and D vs. E to Z indicated that only those whose names began with D (median survival = 68.1 years) differed significantly from those with E to Z names (median survival = 69.9 years).

Fitting In or Standing Out: Trends in American Parents' Choices for Children’s Names, 1880–2007

In an analysis of the first names of 325 million American babies born 1880 to 2007, parents have increasingly given their children less common names, suggesting a growing interest in uniqueness and individualism. The data are from the Social Security Administration’s database of names, a complete survey of Americans with social security cards. Common names decreased in use from 1880 to 1919 and increased slightly from 1920 to 1949 before becoming steadily less popular from 1950 to 2007, with an unremitting decrease after 1983 and the greatest rate of change during the 1990s. The results are similar when controlled for immigration rate and when examined within the six U.S. states with the lowest population percentage of Hispanics. This behavioral evidence of growing individualism complements previous research finding generational increases in individualistic traits on self-report measures.

Implicit Egotism on the Baseball Diamond: Why Peter Piper Prefers to Pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates

AbstractResearch on “implicit egotism” indicates that people tend to react positively to anything that reminds them of themselves, including their own names and the letters in their names. Names can have effects (presumably unconscious ones) even on people's choices of mates and careers. Nelson and Simmons (2007) presented evidence suggesting that people are attracted to name-resembling outcomes even when those outcomes undermine their conscious goals. For example, they found that major league baseball players with first or last names starting with the letter K strike out (i.e., record a “K”) at a rate greater than that of other players. The present archival study tested the hypothesis that Nelson and Simmons's finding was due in part to pitchers (who are generally poor batters) being over-represented among players with names starting with K. Parallel analyses were run for the letter P (the first letter in the word pitcher). Results provide some support for the idea that implicit egotism has implications not only for players' performances, but also for the positions they prefer to play on the field.

Conceptual consumption

As technology has simplified meeting basic needs, humans have cultivated increasingly psychological avenues for occupying their consumption energies, moving from consuming food to consuming concepts; we propose that consideration of such "conceptual consumption" is essential for understanding human consumption. We first review how four classes of conceptual consumption-consuming expectancies, goals, fluency, and regulatory fit-impact physical consumption. Next, we benchmark the power of conceptual consumption against physical consumption, reviewing research in which people forgo positive physical consumption-and even choose negative physical consumption-in order to engage in conceptual consumption. Finally, we outline how conceptual consumption informs research examining both preference formation and virtual consumption, and how it may be used to augment efforts to enhance consumer welfare.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Enhancement in Self-Recognition

People's inferences about their own traits and abilities are often enhancing. A series of experiments suggests that this enhancement extends to more automatic and perceptual judgments as well, such that people recognize their own faces as being more physically attractive than they actually are. In each experiment, participants' faces were made more or less attractive using a morphing procedure. Participants were more likely to recognize an attractively enhanced version of their own face out of a lineup as their own, and they identified an attractively enhanced version of their face more quickly in a lineup of distracter faces. This enhancement bias occurred for both one's own face and a friend's face but not for a relative stranger's face. Such enhancement was correlated with implicit measures of self-worth but not with explicit measures, consistent with this variety of enhancement being a relatively automatic rather than deliberative process.

In the “I” of the storm: Shared initials increase disaster donations

People prefer their own initials to other letters, influencing preferences in many domains. The “name letter effect” (Nuttin, 1987) may not apply to negatively valenced targets if people are motivated to downplay or distance themselves from negative targets associated with the self, as previous research has shown (e.g., Finch & Cialdini, 1989). In the current research we examine the relationship between same initial preferences and negatively valenced stimuli. Specifically, we examined donations to disaster relief after seven major hurricanes to test the influence of the name letter effect with negatively valenced targets. Individuals who shared an initial with the hurricane name were overrepresented among hurricane relief donors relative to the baseline distribution of initials in the donor population. This finding suggests that people may seek to ameliorate the negative effects of a disaster when there are shared characteristics between the disaster and the self.