First impressions: Do faces with scars and palsies influence warmth, competence and humanization?

A glance is enough to assign psychological attributes to others. Attractiveness is associated with positive attributes ('beauty-is-good' stereotype). Here, we raise the question of a similar but negative bias. Are people with facial anomalies associated with negative personal characteristics? We hypothesized that biases against faces with anomalies arise because of negative stereotypes (less warmth and competence) and forms of dehumanization (animalistic and mechanistic). We enrolled 1493 mTurk participants (N = 1306 after exclusion) to assess 31 traits of photographed people using 60 pairs of photographs of the same person before and after plastic surgery. Half anomalous faces had a scar and the other half had a palsy. To calculate warmth and competence, we conducted a principal components analysis of the 31 attributes. Animalistic dehumanization was assessed by averaging reverse-scored ratings corresponding to moral sensibility and rationality/logic, and mechanistic dehumanization by averaging across reverse-scored ratings corresponding to emotional responsiveness and interpersonal warmth. We found that both kinds of anomalous faces were seen as less warm, competent and were dehumanized. Our findings suggest that an 'anomalous-is-bad' stereotype generalizes regardless of the aetiology of the anomaly. This effect may be related to a reverse halo effect, that is, the horn effect.

Biological Essentialism Correlates With (But Doesn't Cause?) Intergroup Bias

People with biological essentialist beliefs about social groups also tend to endorse biased beliefs about individuals in those groups, including intensified emphasis on the group, stereotypes, and prejudices. These correlations could be due to biological essentialism causing bias, and some experimental studies support this causal direction. Given this prior work, we expected to find that biological essentialism would lead to increased bias compared with a control condition and set out to extend this prior work in a new direction (regarding "value-based" essentialism). But although the manipulation affected essentialist beliefs and essentialist beliefs were correlated with group emphasis (Study 1), stereotyping (Studies 2, 3a, 3b, and 3c), prejudice (Studies 3a), there was no evidence that biological essentialism caused these outcomes (NTotal = 1,903). Given these findings, our initial research question became moot. We thus focus on reexamining the relationship between essentialism and bias.

Conceptualizing "positive attributes" across psychological perspectives

BACKGROUND

The growth of positive psychology has birthed debate on the nature of what "positive" really means. Conceptualizations of positive attributes vary across psychological perspectives, and it appears these definitional differences stem from standards for "positive" espoused by three normative ethical frameworks: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. When definitions of "positive" do not align with one of these ethical schools, it appears researchers rely on preference to distinguish positive attributes. In either case, issues arise when researchers do not make their theoretical alignment explicit, leading to value-laden, often subjective criteria being smuggled into science as a description of what is positive.

OBJECTIVE

To foster a deeper critical understanding of the different approaches, we examine how these conceptual definitions of positive attributes (mis)align with their ethical traditions or fail to align with an ethical school.

METHOD

We review several positive attribute theories across psychological disciplines that serve as examples of the ethical and non-ethical sources of "positivity." Through this, we assess the conceptual criteria for what each approach considers "positive," note the degree of alignment between definition and ethical school, and draw attention to potential issues.

CONCLUSION

We advance the conceptual assessment of positive attributes by considering the implications of failing to explicitly address the theoretical foundation from which a construct is defined.

How and why people want to be more moral

OBJECTIVE

What types of moral improvements do people wish to make? Do they hope to become more good, or less bad? Do they wish to be more caring? More honest? More loyal? And why exactly do they want to become more moral? Presumably, most people want to improve their morality because this would benefit others, but is this in fact their primary motivation? Here, we begin to investigate these questions.

METHOD

Across two large, preregistered studies (N = 1818), participants provided open-ended descriptions of one change they could make in order to become more moral; they then reported their beliefs about and motives for this change.

RESULTS

In both studies, people most frequently expressed desires to improve their compassion and more often framed their moral improvement goals in terms of amplifying good behaviors than curbing bad ones. The strongest predictor of moral motivation was the extent to which people believed that making the change would have positive consequences for their own well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, these studies provide rich descriptive insights into how ordinary people want to be more moral, and show that they are particularly motivated to do so for their own sake.

Perceived Power Polarizes Moral Evaluations

We show an interactive effect of perceiver-target similarity in ideological beliefs and target power on impressions of target morality. Consistent with prior research, perceivers rated targets with dissimilar ideologies as less moral than targets with similar ideologies, but this difference in ratings was magnified for powerful targets relative to less powerful targets. We argue that these results emerged because perceivers expected similar-ideology, powerful (vs. powerless) targets to help the self more, and expected dissimilar-ideology, powerful (vs. powerless) targets to hurt the self more. We establish this effect when people evaluate politicians (Study 1), groups, and individuals (Studies 2a-2b); demonstrate its predictive power over other kinds of interpersonal similarity; and show that it affects morality judgments uniquely when compared with other consequential dimensions of social evaluation. Finally, we manipulated power experimentally and showed the interaction when the difference between high- and low-power manipulations was controlled over just $1 (Studies 3-4).

Forming Evaluations of Moral Character: How Are Multiple Pieces of Information Prioritized and Integrated?

Evaluating other people's moral character is a crucial social cognitive task. However, the cognitive processes by which people seek out, prioritize, and integrate multiple pieces of character-relevant information have not been studied empirically. The first aim of this research was to examine which character traits are considered most important when forming an impression of a person's overall moral character. The second aim was to understand how differing levels of trait expression affect overall character judgments. Four preregistered studies and one supplemental study (total N = 720), using five different measures of importance and sampling undergraduates, online workers, and community members, found that our participants placed the most importance on the traits honest, helpful, compassionate, loyal, and responsible. Also, when integrating the information that they have learned, our participants seemed to engage in a simple averaging process in which all available, relevant information is combined in a linear fashion to form an overall evaluation of moral character. This research provides new insights into the cognitive processes by which evaluations of moral character are formed.

"I Mean Who Likes Pedophiles"; Psychological Assessments of Men Who Have Sexually Offended. The Assessees' Experiences

Pre-sentence psychological assessments of men who have sexually offended can provide useful information regarding an individual's pathway to offending, risk of recidivism, and treatment needs. The outcome of the assessment can be used in court and has implications for the assessee and society at large. This research sought to explore offenders' opinions regarding the clinicians' approach to the assessment, to identify facilitative aspects of the clinicians' style and to understand how accuracy and honesty can be enhanced in these interactions. Six interviews were conducted with sex offenders on completion of a pre-sentence forensic assessment at a private practice. Applying Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the findings highlighted the relational nature of the assessments, the assessees' feelings of powerlessness, and their perceptions that the interaction helped them personally. The findings and approach advocated for by the assessees are discussed in terms of the associated ethical considerations and practice implications.

How different types of environmentalists are perceived: changing perceptions by the feature

Introduction

Previous research found stereotypes of environmentalists as barriers to public engagement and identification with environmentalism. Yet, there is limited understanding of the distinct attributes of an environmentalist that influence public perceptions and self-identification. In our research, we address this knowledge gap by analyzing reactions to a range of fictional environmentalist profiles.

Methods

We investigated how multiple features of these profiles (e.g., gender, occupation, type of pro-environmentalism) influenced stereotypes (such as competence, friendliness, and trustworthiness), perceived typicality, and participants' self-identification with the described profiles, using a novel conjoint experiment approach with 678 US residents.

Results

We found that profiles described as women, Asians, working as a cleaner or office clerk, and politically moderate or liberal, exhibiting private to moderate environmental behaviors and global environmental concerns, were generally perceived as more typical for environmentalists. Moreover, participants most identified with profiles depicted as women, in a cleaner occupation, and exhibiting private pro-environmental behaviors. Atypical profile descriptions, based on prior research, enhanced participants' impressions only when associated with private pro-environmental behaviors or the cleaner occupation.

Discussion

We introduce new avenues in impression formation research and the use of conjoint analyses in psychological research; moreover, we contribute valuable input to the environmental movement regarding message framing considering the source and content relative to the targeted audience.

When Does Competence Matter? Character as a Moderator in the Development of Trust

This article examines the relationship between the two fundamental attributes of the trustee: character and competence. Although the trust research predominantly adopts an additive perspective, our research emphasizes a moderation (i.e., multiplicative) relationship and the significance of their interaction. We find that competence is an important but not always reliable predictor of trust. First, the positive effect of competence is conditional on the trustee's high character. Second, higher competence can have a lower marginal effect as character decreases. Furthermore, situational assurance weakens the effect of character on competence, which explains the additive joint effect found in previous research. Our modified trust game also makes a methodological contribution by examining the interaction between the various personal and situational sources of trust (as compared with the lone operationalization of character in the classic trust game). We discuss the shortcomings of the additive perspective and the implications of our method and findings.

People are curious about immoral and morally ambiguous others

Looking to the popularity of superheroes, true crime stories, and anti-heroic characters like Tony Soprano, we investigated whether moral extremity, especially moral badness, piques curiosity. Across five experiments (N = 2429), we examine moral curiosity, testing under what conditions the moral minds of others spark explanation-seeking behavior. In Experiment 1, we find that among the most widely watched Netflix shows in the US over a five-month period, the more immoral the protagonist, the more hours people spent watching. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we find that when given a choice to learn more about morally good, bad, ambiguous, or average others, people preferred to learn more about morally extreme people, both good and bad. Experiment 3 reveals that people are more curious for explanations about (vs. descriptions of) morally bad and ambiguous people compared to morally good ones. Finally, Experiment 4 tests the uniqueness of curiosity for moral ambiguity. We find that people are more drawn to moral rather than aesthetic ambiguity, suggesting that ambiguity, which is cognitively taxing and sometimes avoided, preferentially engenders information seeking in the moral domain. These findings suggest deviations from moral normativity, especially badness, spur curiosity. People are curious about immorality and agents who differ from the norm.

Doesn't everybody jaywalk? On codified rules that are seldom followed and selectively punished

Rules are meant to apply equally to all within their jurisdiction. However, some rules are frequently broken without consequence for most. These rules are only occasionally enforced, often at the discretion of a third-party observer. We propose that these rules-whose violations are frequent, and enforcement is rare-constitute a unique subclass of explicitly codified rules, which we call 'phantom rules' (e.g., proscribing jaywalking). Their apparent punishability is ambiguous and particularly susceptible to third-party motives. Across six experiments, (N = 1440) we validated the existence of phantom rules and found evidence for their motivated enforcement. First, people played a modified Dictator Game with a novel frequently broken and rarely enforced rule (i.e., a phantom rule). People enforced this rule more often when the "dictator" was selfish (vs. fair) even though the rule only proscribed fractional offers (not selfishness). Then we turned to third person judgments of the U.S. legal system. We found these violations are recognizable to participants as both illegal and commonplace (Experiment 2), differentiable from violations of prototypical laws (Experiments 3) and enforced in a motivated way (Experiments 4a and 4b). Phantom rule violations (but not prototypical legal violations) are seen as more justifiably punished when the rule violator has also violated a social norm (vs. rule violation alone)-unless the motivation to punish has been satiated (Experiment 5). Phantom rules are frequently broken, codified rules. Consequently, their apparent punishability is ambiguous, and their enforcement is particularly susceptible to third party motives.

Exploring the Representational Structure of Trait Knowledge Using Perceived Similarity Judgments

A large body of past work has sought to identify the underlying dimensions that capture our trait knowledge of other people. However, the importance of particular traits in determining our overall impressions of others is not well understood, and different traits may be fundamental for impressions of famous versus unfamiliar people. For instance, we may focus on competence when evaluating a famous person, but on trustworthiness when evaluating a stranger. To examine the structure of overall impressions of famous people and of unfamiliar people, we probed the contributions of 13 different trait judgments to perceived similarity judgments. We found that different sets of traits best predicted perceived similarity between famous people versus between unfamiliar people; however, the relationship between each trait and perceived similarity generalized to some extent from famous people to unfamiliar people, suggesting a degree of overlap in the structure of overall impressions.

Just Chill! An Experimental Approach to Stereotypical Attributions Regarding Young Activists

Climate change is a crucial issue, which is mobilized by activists. However, activists are targeted with negative stereotypes, hindering their influence. Young activists are environmentally conscious, but the stereotypical attributions assigned to them are unknown, with competing predictions in the literature (for being activist vs being young). In two studies, we aimed at experimentally examining the stereotypical dimensions that are ascribed to activists (youth vs adult) based on the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), as well as a morality/trustworthiness dimension. Considering that activists are generally considered as high-competent, but low-warm, while youth are considered the opposite (low-competence and high-warmth), we hypothesized the impacts on morality/trustworthiness. Greta Thunberg and Jane Fonda were the personalities used in Study 1 (N = 276), randomly assigned to participants while keeping the same discourse excerpt. Thunberg was penalized in all stereotypical dimensions. In Study 2 (N = 228), fictional characters (teenager or adult) were used instead. As hypothesized, no differences were found in the warmth or competence dimensions, only in the morality/trustworthiness dimension, penalizing the young activist. These results highlight the importance of studying environmental activists considering different social categories in stereotypical appraisals. They also contribute to a better understanding of general resistance towards activists, as well as the factors that are detrimental to their social influence.

Set the tone: Trustworthy and dominant novel voices classification using explicit judgement and machine learning techniques

Prior research has established that valence-trustworthiness and power-dominance are the two main dimensions of voice evaluation at zero-acquaintance. These impressions shape many of our interactions and high-impact decisions, so it is crucial for many domains to understand this dynamic. Yet, the relationship between acoustical properties of novel voices and personality/attitudinal traits attributions remains poorly understood. The fundamental problem of understanding vocal impressions and relative decision-making is linked to the complex nature of the acoustical properties in voices. In order to disentangle this relationship, this study extends the line of research on the acoustical bases of vocal impressions in two ways. First, by attempting to replicate previous finding on the bi-dimensional nature of first impressions: using personality judgements and establishing a correspondence between acoustics and voice-first-impression (VFI) dimensions relative to sex (Study 1). Second (Study 2), by exploring the non-linear relationships between acoustical parameters and VFI by the means of machine learning models. In accordance with literature, a bi-dimensional projection comprising valence-trustworthiness and power-dominance evaluations is found to explain 80% of the VFI. In study 1, brighter (high center of gravity), smoother (low shimmers), and louder (high minimum intensity) voices reflected trustworthiness, while vocal roughness (harmonic to noise-ratio), energy in the high frequencies (Energy3250), pitch (Quantile 1, Quantile 5) and lower range of pitch values reflected dominance. In study 2, above chance classification of vocal profiles was achieved by both Support Vector Machine (77.78%) and Random-Forest (Out-Of-Bag = 36.14) classifiers, generally confirming that machine learning algorithms could predict first impressions from voices. Hence results support a bi-dimensional structure to VFI, emphasize the usefulness of machine learning techniques in understanding vocal impressions, and shed light on the influence of sex on VFI formation.

The Effects of Partner Extraversion and Agreeableness on Trust

Existing research has documented the social benefits (i.e., higher popularity and liking) of extraversion and agreeableness. Do these positive reputational consequences extend to social dilemma situations that require trust? We found that people do not trust extraverts more than introverts. Instead, people's trust decisions are guided by their partner's level of agreeableness. In a trust game (Studies 1 and 2), individuals were more likely to trust a partner who was described as agreeable (vs. disagreeable); and, in a laboratory study of work groups, participants trusted more (vs. less) agreeable group members (Study 3). Individuals anticipated others' preferences for agreeable partners and tried to come across as more agreeable, but not more extraverted, in social dilemmas (Study 4). These findings suggest that the social benefits of agreeableness (but not extraversion) extend to social interactions involving trust and highlight the importance of target personality traits in shaping trust decisions.

The (Bounded) Role of Stated-Lived Value Congruence and Authenticity in Employee Evaluations of Organizations

A growing body of research documents that audiences reward organizations perceived to be authentic with positive evaluations. In the current work, we adopt a mixed-methods approach—using data collected from Glassdoor.com and two experiments—to establish that perceptions of authenticity are elicited by perceived congruence between an organization’s stated values (i.e., the values it claims to hold) and its lived values (i.e., values members perceive as embodied by the organization), which in turn lead to more positive organizational evaluations. We then explore the conditions under which audiences are less likely to respond favorably to organizational authenticity, finding that the positive effects of stated-lived value congruence on evaluations are attenuated when audiences have a lower preference for stated values. Although scholars have often explored whether and how organizations can successfully make themselves appear authentic to reap rewards, our findings suggest that the perceived authenticity that results from stated-lived value congruence may not prove fruitful unless the audience holds a higher preference for an organization’s stated values.

Moralistic stereotyping of Vegans:The role of dietary motivation and advocacy status

Ambivalent attitudes exist toward vegans: While people may admire vegans' moral aims and commitment, they may also derogate vegans for seeming arrogant and overcommitted. These latter negative perceptions may undermine the effectiveness of efforts to reduce meat consumption for health, animal-welfare, and sustainability benefits. In the present research, we investigated the role of a vegan's motivation (animal ethics vs. health) in moralized attitudes toward vegans among omnivorous participants through two preregistered studies. In Study 1 (N = 390), we found that a vegan advocate motivated by animal ethics (vs. health) was seen as more moral but not as more arrogantly overcommitted. In Study 2 (N = 1177), we found that animal ethics (vs. health) vegans were seen as both more arrogantly committed and more morally committed, but that relative moral commitment perceptions were attenuated when vegans were described as actively advocating. Both advocating (vs. non-advocating) vegans and animal ethics (vs. health) vegans were generally seen as less socially attractive by omnivores due to stronger attributions of arrogant overcommitment, and a lower social attractiveness was associated with a lower willingness to eat less animal products. Our findings inform ongoing debates within the vegan movement about the effectiveness of signaling moral commitment in promoting plant-based diets.

Morally admirable or moralistically deplorable? A theoretical framework for understanding character judgments of vegan advocates

Over the last decade, vegan advocates have become a growing minority. By arguing against animal-product consumption and imposing the virtue-loaded call to "go vegan," advocates have posed a direct challenge to the mainstream dietary ideology (termed "carnism") in hopes of positive social change. As a consequence, while vegan advocates may be admired for their morality and commitment, they may also be derogated with moralistic traits such as arrogance and overcommitment. We call this mixed-valence perception the "vegan paradox" and propose a theoretical framework for understanding it. Next, we develop a future research agenda to test and apply our framework, and inquire vegan advocacy for ethical, health, and environmental aims. Using the perspective of the idealistic vegan advocate as a reference point, we discuss the roles of the advocate's motives for change (i.e., the effectiveness of moral persuasion), the advocate's call for change (i.e., radical versus incremental change), the target's moral and carnist identification, and source attributes of the advocate. Lastly, we qualify our framework by highlighting further conceptual and methodological considerations.

Under the knife: Unfavorable perceptions of women who seek plastic surgery

Plastic surgery is growing in popularity. Despite this, there has been little exploration to date regarding the psychosocial consequences of seeking plastic surgery. Our study investigated how women seeking plastic surgery are perceived by others. We presented a random sample of 985 adults (men = 54%, Mage = 35.84 years, SDage = 10.59) recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk with a series of experimental stimuli consisting of a photographed woman (attractive versus unattractive) and a vignette describing an activity she plans to engage in (plastic surgery versus control activity). Participants rated stimuli on perceived warmth, competence, morality, and humanness. We ran linear mixed-effect models to assess all study hypotheses. There was a negative plastic surgery effect; that is, women seeking plastic surgery were perceived less favorably than those planning to complete control activities across all outcome variables (warmth, competence, morality, and humanness). These relationships were moderated by physical attractiveness; while attractive women planning to undergo plastic surgery were perceived less favorably than attractive women planning to engage in control activities, perceptions of unattractive individuals remained unchanged by plastic surgery status. We theorized that empathy toward unattractive women seeking plastic surgery mitigated the negative plastic surgery effect for these women. In sum, our results suggest that perceptions of attractive women are worsened when these women decide to seek cosmetic surgery. Perceptions of warmth and competence have implications for an individual's self-esteem and interpersonal relationships, while perceptions of morality and humanness can impact an individual's ability to fulfil their psychological needs. As such, we concluded that attractive women seeking plastic surgery are potentially subject to experience negative psychosocial outcomes. Future research ought to examine whether perceptions and outcomes differ for women seeking reconstructive plastic surgery (versus cosmetic plastic surgery) and whether they differ across different types of surgeries (i.e. face versus body).

Stereotypes and Dehumanization

Abstract. Across two studies, we tested the relationship between the stereotype dimensions of sociability, morality, and competence and the two dimensions of humanness (human nature and human uniqueness). Study 1 considered real groups and revealed that sociability had greater power than morality in predicting human nature. For some groups, sociability also trumped competence in predicting human nature. By contrast, the attribution of human uniqueness was predicted by competence and morality. In Study 2, participants read a scenario depicting an unfamiliar group in stereotypical terms. Results showed that competence and sociability were the strongest predictors of human uniqueness and human nature, respectively. Although with nuances, both studies revealed that sociability, morality, and competence relate differently to the two dimensions of humanness.

Do corporate volunteering programs and perceptions of corporate morality impact perceived employer attractiveness?

Purpose

Rather recently, corporate volunteering (CV) has become a relevant topic of academic research. Nonetheless, there is still uncertainty about several aspects of the relationship between volunteerism and the corporate realm and research on the relationship between CV and employer attractiveness is scarce. This study aims to attempt to fill this gap by studying the influence that the perceived importance attributed by prospective applicants to the opportunity of engaging in CV programs may have on employer attractiveness while also pondering the existence of an indirect relationship between CV and employer attractiveness mediated by the individual cognition of corporate morality (CM).

Design/methodology/approach

To fulfill the objectives of this research, and test its hypothesized model, the authors opted to use a quantitative methodology via survey by questionnaire of Portuguese students who are close to entering the job-seeking process or are currently involved in it, either passively and actively. Data on 238 Portuguese students was collected mainly through social media channels such as LinkedIn and Facebook and was analyzed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 25 software and the IBM SPSS AMOS extension, using a structural equation model to test the hypotheses and obtain insight into the relationships between the variables.

Findings

A theoretical model was elaborated based on the literature reviewed and was used to validate the existence of a positive direct relationship between CV and employer attractiveness, CV and CM and between CM and employer attractiveness. Finally, it was observed that CV could prompt an indirect effect on the socioethical perception of employer attractiveness, mainly due to the mediating mechanism of the individual cognition of CM.

Research limitations/implications

This study has some limitations that should be acknowledged and considered in future studies, namely, the diversity of the sample, as it was essentially formed by students enrolled in the University of Porto and studying mainly in the areas of social sciences, trade and law. It is also worth noting that a global analysis of the employer attractiveness attributes was not considered, focusing instead on the social and ethical spectrum of employer attractiveness. Nonetheless, it is important to keep in mind that different individuals prioritize distinct attractiveness attributes.

Practical implications

Through the present study, it was understood that CV programs constitute a desired and pertinent tool that should be adopted by firms (employers) to establish a strong position in the job market. These findings are particularly useful for the area of human resources management, which is in charge of finding the most adequate applicants in the job market. Furthermore, for the variable of CM, the authors noticed that there is a theoretical lack of measurement instruments. Consequently, the measure advanced in this study represents an important theoretical and methodologic contribution to the literature.

Social implications

CV is a concept that is yet maturing within the Portuguese business environment. As such, this study delivers useful insights regarding Portuguese applicants’ growing interest around CV, their concerns about the social, ethical and humanitarian attributes of firms and their beliefs regarding the morality of firms’ social policies and actions. Hence, it allowed us to comprehend that by developing a structured CV program, an employer may be able to enhance other essential concepts for Portuguese prospective applicants, respectively, employer attractiveness and CM.

Originality/value

This study corroborates the premise that corporate community involvement activities, namely, CV, hold a positive effect in terms of perceived employer attractiveness. Moreover, it is consistent with the idea that CV programs foment a feeling of intimacy between individuals and firms, consequently creating a perception of morality as part of the firms’ intrinsic traits. Finally, it corroborates and extends for the case of prospective applicants the conclusion that individuals may be relatively more concerned with the motives behind firms’ corporate social responsibility practices than with the content of such practices.

The Effect of the Intensity of Happy Expression on Social Perception of Chinese Faces

Numerous studies have shown that facial expressions influence trait impressions in the Western context. There are cultural differences in the perception and recognition rules of different intensities of happy expressions, and researchers have only explored the influence of the intensity of happy expressions on a few facial traits (warmth, trustworthiness, and competence). Therefore, we examined the effect of different intensities of Chinese happy expressions on the social perception of faces from 11 traits, namely trustworthiness, responsibility, attractiveness, sociability, confidence, intelligence, aggressiveness, dominance, competence, warmth, and tenacity. In this study, participants were asked to view a series of photographs of faces with high-intensity or low-intensity happy expressions and rate the 11 traits on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = "not very ××," 7 = "very ××"). The results indicated that high-intensity happy expression had higher-rated scores for sociability and warmth but lower scores for dominance, aggressiveness, intelligence, and competence than the low-intensity happy expression; there was no significant difference in the rated scores for trustworthiness, attractiveness, responsibility, confidence, and tenacity between the high-intensity and low-intensity happy expressions. These results suggested that, compared to the low-intensity happy expression, the high-intensity happy expression will enhance the perceptual outcome of the traits related to approachability, reduce the perceptual outcome of traits related to capability, and have no significant effect on trustworthiness, attractiveness, responsibility, confidence, and tenacity.

Moral rebels and dietary deviants: How moral minority stereotypes predict the social attractiveness of veg*ns

In this preregistered study we examined why people with an omnivorous diet (i.e., omnivores) would view vegetarians and vegans (i.e., veg*ns) as less socially attractive based on their status as stigmatized moral minorities. Drawing on a recently demonstrated distinction between perceived morality and sociability in research on universal dimensions of stereotype content, we expected that veg*ns would be perceived as more moral but less sociable compared to omnivores. A lower perceived sociability would predict a lower social attractiveness of veg*ns, supported by two additional stereotypes theorized to be specifically associated with moral minorities: moralistic and eccentric impressions. In addition, we explored impressions toward people who consciously reduce their meat intake (i.e., flexitarians) and we complemented our quantitative analysis with an analysis of stereotype content omnivores freely associated with the dietary groups. Accordingly, using a single factor between-subjects experimental design, we randomly allocated a diverse sample of omnivores from the UK to answer questions about either omnivores (n = 100), flexitarians (n = 101), vegetarians (n = 105) or vegans (n = 106). Results largely confirmed our hypotheses: Although veg*ns were perceived as more moral, they were also stereotyped more negatively (especially vegans). More specifically, they were seen as more eccentric and, in particular, more moralistic, predicting a lower social attractiveness, though indirect effects via sociability were relatively small. Notably, flexitarians shared positive attributes of both non-flexitarian groups. Free association data were largely consistent with our results and provide additional direction for further inquiry. Novel theoretical contributions are highlighted and limitations, future research directions, and implications of our study for theory and practice are discussed.

The Way We See Others in Intercultural Relations: The Role of Stereotypes in the Acculturation Preferences of Spanish and Moroccan-Origin Adolescents

Although the relationship between stereotypes and acculturation preferences has been previously studied from the majority perspective among adults, the perspective of adolescents and minority groups is understudied. This research analyzed the contribution of four stereotype dimensions (i.e., morality, immorality, sociability, and competence) to the acculturation preferences of Spanish adolescents and adolescents of Moroccan-origin, the moderating role of stereotypes in intergroup acculturation discrepancies, and the interaction of stereotypes with acculturation perceptions on acculturation preferences. A sample of 488 Spanish adolescents and 360 adolescents of Moroccan-origin living in Spain, from 12 to 19 years old, reported how moral, immoral, social, and competent they perceive each other to be. Spanish adolescents reported their perception about how Moroccan youth were acculturating in terms of maintaining their original culture and adopting the host culture, and their acculturation preferences in the same dimensions. Adolescents of Moroccan-origin reported to what extent they were maintaining their original culture and adopting the host culture, their acculturation preferences, and their ethnic and national (Spanish) identity. Results showed that adolescents of Moroccan-origin reported more positive perceptions of Spanish youth than conversely. The perceived immorality of the outgroup was important for understanding the preferences for adopting the host culture of both groups, but in the opposite direction. The four stereotype dimensions modulated the majority-minority discrepancies in preferences for cultural adoption. An analysis of the interaction between stereotypes and perceived adoption on acculturation preferences showed that when Spanish adolescents perceived that Moroccan youth were not adopting the Spanish culture, perceived morality and sociability played a role in their preferences for adoption. The less moral and sociable Moroccans were perceived, the more preference for cultural adoption. These findings support the importance of considering stereotypes in acculturation studies of majority and minority groups, as well as the relevance of including these perceptions in interventions aimed at improving intercultural relations.

Development and validation of the good and evil character traits (GECT) scale

The present study describes the development and validation of the good and evil character traits (GECT) scale. A set of 3,614 good and evil moral character descriptors (i.e., moral and immoral character traits) was selected from a dictionary of contemporary Chinese language and daily life expressions and ultimately condensed into 55 items. Then, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and parallel analysis (PA) were conducted to explore the structure and final items of the GECT with sample 1 (n = 350), resulting in 21 good items and 32 evil items. After that, in confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with sample 2 (n = 350), the resulting factor structure was confirmed for the 53-item scale (Study 1). Additionally, evidence of validity based on correlations with Honesty-Humility and Dirty Dozen was demonstrated (Study 2). The implications of our findings for the assessment of good and evil characters and further theoretical exploration are discussed.

Narratives Shape Cognitive Representations of Immigrants and Immigration-Policy Preferences

Scholars from across the social and media sciences have issued a clarion call to address a recent resurgence in criminalized characterizations of immigrants. Do these characterizations meaningfully impact individuals' beliefs about immigrants and immigration? Across two online convenience samples (total N = 1,054 adult U.S. residents), we applied a novel analytic technique to test how different narratives-achievement, criminal, and struggle-oriented-impacted cognitive representations of German, Russian, Syrian, and Mexican immigrants and the concept of immigrants in general. All stories featured male targets. Achievement stories homogenized individual immigrant representations, whereas both criminal and struggle-oriented stories racialized them along a White/non-White axis: Germany clustered with Russia, and Syria clustered with Mexico. However, criminal stories were unique in making our most egalitarian participants' representations as differentiated as our least egalitarian participants'. Narratives about individual immigrants also generalized to update representations of nationality groups. Most important, narrative-induced representations correlated with immigration-policy preferences: Achievement narratives and corresponding homogenized representations promoted preferences for less restriction, and criminal narratives promoted preferences for more.

Leaving the Loners Alone: Dispositional Preference for Solitude Evokes Ostracism

What are the interpersonal consequences of seeking solitude? Leading theories in developmental research have proposed that having a general preference for solitude may incur significant interpersonal costs, but empirical studies are still lacking. In five studies (total N = 1,823), we tested whether target individuals with a higher preference for solitude were at greater risk for ostracism, a common, yet extremely negative, experience. In studies using self-reported experiences (Study 1) and perceptions of others’ experiences (Study 2), individuals with a stronger preference for solitude were more likely to experience ostracism. Moreover, participants were more willing to ostracize targets with a high (vs. low) preference for solitude (Studies 3 and 4). Why do people ostracize solitude-seeking individuals? Participants assumed that interacting with these individuals would be aversive for themselves and the targets (Study 5; preregistered). Together, these studies suggest that seeking time alone has important (and potentially harmful) interpersonal consequences.

"You Have to Separate the Sinner From the Sin": Clinician's Approaches to Psychological Assessments With Men who Have Sexually Offended

Men who have sexually offended are often referred for presentence psychological assessments to determine factors which contributed to offending, identify risk of recidivism, and develop treatment recommendations. The accuracy of assessments is largely reliant on the cooperation of the assessee. Despite the significant legal and emotional consequences, how clinicians approach these assessments, attempt to engage assessees, and overcome resistance have not been investigated. This research sought to develop an understanding of the clinicians' experience of conducting the assessment. How clinicians approach interviews with men who have sexually offended and the techniques they use were explored. Six interviews were conducted with qualified psychologists, at a private practice, whose role included conducting psychological assessments across a range of forensic matters. The findings, reached using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, highlighted the relational/social nature of the interaction and the clinicians' experience of a somewhat blurred line in practice between forensic assessments and therapeutic endeavours.

A branded bandage is worth a thousand words: blood branded bandages signal men's generosity and morality

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Recruiting and retaining male donors remain an ongoing challenge for blood collection agencies. Research suggests that interventions based on costly signalling theory that allows donors to unobtrusively but publicly signal their donor status may be effective. However, what functions as such a signal and how it is interpreted has not been determined.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 242 Australian residents (127 female; 115 male) recruited through an online research platform rated their perceptions of a male target wearing (a) no bandage, (b) a regular unmarked bandage or (c) a blood donor branded bandage.

RESULTS

The target wearing a blood donor branded bandage was rated as significantly more generous by female participants and moral compared to both the target who wore no bandage and the target wearing a regular unmarked bandage. The target wearing the unmarked bandage was perceived as significantly less healthy and competent compared to the target not wearing a bandage.

CONCLUSION

A public signal of public donor status conveys the generosity and morality of the wearer. The bandage applied to donors after they have donated can act as such an effective signal, but only when these bandages are clearly branded as resulting from donating blood.

Lay concepts of source likeability, trustworthiness, expertise, and power: A prototype analysis

Previous research on persuasion has used researcher-generated exemplars to manipulate source characteristics such as likeability, trustworthiness, expertise, or power. This approach has been fruitful, but it relies to some degree on an overlap between researcher understanding of these variables and lay understanding of these variables. Additionally, these exemplar manipulations may have unintentionally affected multiple characteristics and may be limited to certain topics or time periods. In the current work, we sought to provide persuasion researchers with a methodological tool to increase construct and potentially external validity by conducting a prototype analysis of the four traditional source characteristics: likeability, trustworthiness, expertise, and power. This bottom-up approach provided insight into the ways in which recipients perceive sources and allowed us to examine relations between the characteristics. Moving forward, a bottom-up understanding of source characteristics will allow researchers to more effectively develop manipulations that might transcend time and topic as well as isolate their effects to the intended source characteristic.

Prejudice and Feeling of Threat towards Syrian Refugees: The Moderating Effects of Precarious Employment and Perceived Low Outgroup Morality

Refugees frequently experience traumatic situations that result in the deterioration of their psychological well-being. In addition, perceived prejudice and discrimination against them by the host society can worsen their mental health. In this research study, using a Spanish sample, prejudice towards Syrian refugees is analyzed taking into account feeling of threat (realistic or symbolic), precarious employment, and perceived outgroup morality. Using a total of 365 participants, our results reveal that individuals feel more prejudice towards refugees when the former scored higher in realistic threat and symbolic threat, were in a highly precarious situation of employment and perceived refugees as being more immoral. Furthermore, it was found that persons who scored high in realistic threat and at the same time were in a situation of precarious employment, were those who displayed greater prejudice. The results likewise pointed to individuals who scored high in symbolic threat and in outgroup morality as being those who felt greater rejection towards the refugees. Accordingly, our results confirm the importance of feeling of threat in relation to prejudice, and highlight two important moderating factors: precarious employment and perceived outgroup morality.

Why and when suffering increases the perceived likelihood of fortuitous rewards

Cultural practices and anecdotal accounts suggest that people expect suffering to lead to fortuitous rewards. To shed light on this illusory ‘suffering–reward’ association, we tested why and when this effect manifests. Across three vignette studies in which we manipulated the degree of suffering experienced by the protagonist, we tested a ‘just‐world maintenance’ explanation (suffering deserves to be compensated) and a ‘virtuous suffering’ explanation (suffering indicates virtues, which will be rewarded). Our findings revealed that the illusory ‘suffering–reward’ association (1) could serve as a way for people to cope with just‐world threats posed by the suffering of innocent victims, and (2) manifested when the suffering was not caused by the victim's own behaviour and not readily attributable to bad luck. Taken together, these findings not only provide evidence for the existence of the illusory ‘suffering–reward’ association but also elucidate its psychological underpinnings.