Methodological concerns underlying a lack of evidence for cultural heterogeneity in the replication of psychological effects

The multi-site replication study, Many Labs 2, concluded that sample location and setting did not substantially affect the replicability of findings. Here, we examine theoretical and methodological considerations for a subset of the analyses, namely exploratory tests of heterogeneity in the replicability of studies between "WEIRD and less-WEIRD cultures". We conducted a review of literature citing the study, a re-examination of the existing cultural variability, a power stimulation for detecting cultural heterogeneity, and re-analyses of the original exploratory tests. Findings indicate little cultural variability and low power to detect cultural heterogeneity effects in the Many Labs 2 data, yet the literature review indicates the study is cited regarding the moderating role of culture. Our reanalysis of the data found that using different operationalizations of culture slightly increased effect sizes but did not substantially alter the conclusions of Many Labs 2. Future studies of cultural heterogeneity can be improved with theoretical consideration of which effects and which cultures are likely to show variation as well as a priori methodological planning for appropriate operationalizations of culture and sufficient power to detect effects.

Someone just posted on Instagram: Conspicuous consumption, anticipated engagement, and trait mindfulness

The practice of "flexing," showing off one's wealth and status, gradually penetrates daily life on various social media platforms, most notably Instagram. We investigated the extent to which exposure to conspicuous consumption by a stranger stimulated the viewers' materialistic aspiration and whether this effect could be mediated by anticipated engagement and moderated by trait mindfulness. A large number of Instagram users in Indonesia (N = 2,296, 75.30% female; Mage = 31.14 years old, SDage = 7.09) completed the trait mindfulness scale, randomly received a single Instagram photo showcasing luxury material vs. experiential purchase, provided an estimate of the intensity of love and comment from other viewers (i.e., anticipated engagement), and filled out the materialistic aspiration scale. Participants exposed to material purchase reported higher aspiration than those exposed to experiential purchase, but lower anticipated engagements also reduced materialistic aspiration. Participants with higher trait mindfulness were better at distinguishing the effects of conspicuous consumption on anticipated engagement and materialistic aspiration. These findings indicate that the viewers' anticipation of collective attention could reverse the impact of exposure to conspicuous consumption and the potential of trait mindfulness as an anti-mimetic quality for situational materialism.

Diminished diversity-of-thought in a standard large language model

We test whether large language models (LLMs) can be used to simulate human participants in social-science studies. To do this, we ran replications of 14 studies from the Many Labs 2 replication project with OpenAI's text-davinci-003 model, colloquially known as GPT-3.5. Based on our pre-registered analyses, we find that among the eight studies we could analyse, our GPT sample replicated 37.5% of the original results and 37.5% of the Many Labs 2 results. However, we were unable to analyse the remaining six studies due to an unexpected phenomenon we call the "correct answer" effect. Different runs of GPT-3.5 answered nuanced questions probing political orientation, economic preference, judgement, and moral philosophy with zero or near-zero variation in responses: with the supposedly "correct answer." In one exploratory follow-up study, we found that a "correct answer" was robust to changing the demographic details that precede the prompt. In another, we found that most but not all "correct answers" were robust to changing the order of answer choices. One of our most striking findings occurred in our replication of the Moral Foundations Theory survey results, where we found GPT-3.5 identifying as a political conservative in 99.6% of the cases, and as a liberal in 99.3% of the cases in the reverse-order condition. However, both self-reported 'GPT conservatives' and 'GPT liberals' showed right-leaning moral foundations. Our results cast doubts on the validity of using LLMs as a general replacement for human participants in the social sciences. Our results also raise concerns that a hypothetical AI-led future may be subject to a diminished diversity of thought.

Unpacking the effects of materialism on interpersonal relationships: A cognitive approach

Materialism, or beliefs and values that link wealth and consumption to success and happiness, negatively affects interpersonal relationships. Prior work has typically explained these effects through the allocation of personal resources (such as time or money) within relationships, thus using a behavioural route. However, this research proposes an alternative cognitive pathway to understand the adverse effects of materialism on interpersonal relationships. Three studies (N = 1389) employing correlational and experimental methodologies showed that materialism leads to heightened expectations and standards for a significant other, which are associated with poorer interpersonal outcomes. Specifically, materialism heightens the ideal standards that one has for a close other around achievement (e.g., ambition) and positive image (e.g., attractiveness), which are linked to higher conflict and lower relational satisfaction. Therefore, this work contributes to deepening our understanding of how consumer-oriented values shape social perceptions and negatively affect interpersonal dynamics. Practical applications include informing relationship counselling practices, developing educational interventions, and guiding marketers and media content producers towards messages that do not increase individual's ideals and standards for themselves and others. Further research should explore other factors that might alter this mediation (e.g., mindfulness) and examine the short- and long-term effects through longitudinal and interventional-based research.

Business culture impairs facial trustworthiness judgments

Previous research has found that business culture has a detrimental impact on interpersonal trust. To understand whether this impact extends to rapid, automatic, bottom-up judgments of facial trustworthiness, we conducted 4 experiments involving 244 participants from economic and non-economic backgrounds. We presented participants with both trustworthy and untrustworthy faces and asked them to make judgments on trustworthiness. The results show that individuals who are engaged in studying economics, work in an economics-related occupation, or are exposed to an imagined business culture evaluate trustworthy faces to be less trustworthy. The findings shed light on why and how business culture affects the formation of interpersonal trust.

The moderation effect of social capital in the relationship between own income, social comparisons and subjective well-being: Evidence from four international datasets

In this paper we check whether social capital changes the association of subjective well-being with own income and social comparisons. We use panel data from Germany and publicly available data from three international surveys, for a total of nearly 500,000 respondents from industrial countries. Results show that the association of own income and social comparisons to subjective well-being weakens for individuals with high social capital. This finding holds in a variety of settings, and is robust to various measures of subjective well-being, of social capital, and of social comparisons. We also find evidence indicating that the role of social capital is, at least in part, causal. Finally, our findings support the macro-level implication that income differences are less related to subjective well-being differences in countries with high social capital.

Realizing consumers' existential dreams via product marketing and mixed reality: a perspective based on affective neuroscience theories

In an era of swift societal changes and escalating consumerism, this paper presents an exploration of an innovative approach that integrates product marketing strategies, mixed reality (MR) technology, and affective neuroscience theories to actualize consumers' existential dreams. MR, with its unique capacity to blend the virtual and real worlds, can enhance the consumer experience by creating immersive, personalized environments that resonate with consumers' existential aspirations. Insights from affective neuroscience, specifically the brain's processing of emotions, guide the development of emotionally engaging marketing strategies, which strengthen the connection between consumers, products, and brands. These integrated strategies not only present a novel blueprint for companies to deepen consumer engagement but also promise more fulfilling and meaningful consumer experiences. Moreover, this approach contributes to societal well-being and prosperity, marking a significant stride in the field of marketing.

Nurturing wellbeing amidst the climate crisis: on the need for a focus on wellbeing in the field of climate psychology

Awareness of climate change can prompt overwhelming emotions that threaten wellbeing such as anger, despair, and anxiety. Neoliberal views of human beings and their mental health strip the individual from their social and material context, driving personal dissatisfaction, social isolation, and ecological destruction. In this piece, we contend that advancements in scholarly research on wellbeing offer valuable insights for addressing the challenges posed by the climate crises while respecting human wellbeing. Such frameworks, which include the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) and the GENIAL model, emphasize the interconnected nature of people, communities, and their environment. In turn, they help to lay the groundwork for the development of 'post-growth' societies focused on supporting outcomes such as human wellbeing, social justice, and environmental regeneration. There are a number of different actions that practitioners and even lay individuals can take to promote positive outcomes and effective responses in the face of the climate crisis. These actions, discussed in the concluding sections of the article, aim to foster wellbeing and impactful engagement with the challenges posed by climate change.

Does scarcity increase or decrease donation behaviors? An investigation considering resource-specific scarcity and individual person-thing orientation

Extant research remains equivocal with respect to whether scarcity increases or decreases charitable behaviors. This research suggests a reconciliation by considering a donor's resource-specific scarcity, and their person-thing orientation (PTO), a novel personality variable that determines whether individuals are naturally attuned towards people versus things in their environment. Person-orientation predisposes preferences towards donating time, while thing-orientation predisposes preferences towards donating money. Time scarcity leads person-oriented individuals to prefer donating money, but does not affect thing-oriented individuals. Financial scarcity leads thing-oriented individuals to prefer donating time, but does not affect person-oriented individuals. Person-oriented individuals' attention towards other people and thing-oriented individuals' focus on resource evaluation form the basis for the observed relative donation preferences. Finally, PTO can also be situationally induced. Using donation intentions and real click-through behavior for diverse charitable organizations, we show in five studies that the combined effect of consumers' perceived resource-specific scarcity and PTO determines the relative preference for donating time vs. donating money. Our results have important implications for charities soliciting specific kinds of resources, as well as real-world government and social welfare initiatives critically dependent on volunteerism. Theoretically, we examine scarcity from an individual-difference perspective that has not been well understood.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11747-023-00938-2.

Flow Experiences in Shopping Activities: Testing Materialistic Goal Orientation as an Antecedent

Given that flow experiences when shopping can encourage positive brand attitudes and purchase behaviours, consumer psychologists are interested in the antecedents to flow within retail environments. Emerging findings suggest that a materialistic goal orientation can undermine an individual's tendency to have optimal experiences of flow. However, this existing work has been conducted largely within the field of Environmental Psychology and thus focused on flow experiences that occur in more ecologically sustainable activities. We hypothesized that materialism may not have the same flow-limiting effects when participants are engaged in shopping activities, which are more in line with the goals of highly materialistic individuals. Across two studies, we tested the relationship between materialism and the experience of flow during shopping activities using cross-sectional (N = 886) and experimental (N = 140) methods. Contrary to our hypothesis, both studies documented a negative effect of materialism on flow experiences when shopping, and this was not moderated by the type of store browsed. Accordingly, it appears that a materialistic goal orientation limits the extent to which people can have enjoyable flow experiences even during activities which are consistent with the life goals of highly materialistic individuals. We discuss the implications of these findings for wellbeing, marketing, and sustainability.

Why does Faithful Epistemic Representation Matter for Management Practices? The Case of the Natural Environment in Management Theory

Management theory is a diverse field where multiple theoretical perspectives coexist and coevolve, leading to conceptual pluralism. While conceptual pluralism is useful for grasping different aspects of the complex reality we live in, it may limit the further development of knowledge on elemental concepts. In this article, we focus on knowledge on the natural environment (NE) in management theory. We argue that management scholars and practitioners often rely on theoretical lenses that tend to reify the NE, thereby limiting the conceptualization of some of the essential properties of the NE. Drawing on the example of the conceptual development of the ecosystem services (ES) at the intersection of economics and biology, we identify the advantages and the limits of interdisciplinary theory-building and testing. Finally, we discuss how tools from the philosophy of science can be useful for proposing a way forward for integrating reliable knowledge on the natural environment in management theory.

A Longitudinal Experimental Study Examining How and Whether Practicing Acts of Kindness Affects Materialism

(1) Background: Kindness interventions assist individuals in the pursuit of greater well-being. However, little is known about whether these interventions can decrease materialism. The current study tested how kindness interventions decrease materialism and external aspirations. Furthermore, we tested whether these interventions influence impulsive shopping. (2) Method: We randomly assigned 122 females to a three-week intervention of practicing acts of kindness or a neutral intervention (practicing acts related to studying). Before and after the interventions, all participants reported their life satisfaction, level of materialism, and internal and external aspirations. (3) Results: Among women practicing acts of kindness, materialism and life satisfaction did not change compared to the control group, but in both conditions, life satisfaction increased, and materialism decreased. However, we found that practicing kindness was associated with (a) an increase in aspiration affiliation, (b) a reduction in the intention to shop impulsively, (c) less focus on external aspirations, and (d) more focus on internal aspirations. (4) Conclusions: Although our results show that practicing kindness does not lead to a decrease in materialism, they suggest that focusing on increasing personal happiness might lead to such a decrease. Furthermore, our research contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating that kind women are less oriented toward materialistic values.

Environmental Protection or Self-Interest? The Public Accountability Moderates the Effects of Materialism and Advertising Appeals on the Pro-Environmental Behavior

Background

Previous studies have examined the negative effects of materialism, which refers to the importance of possessing material wealth and image, on the pro-environmental behavior. Recently, a study found that highly materialistic individuals showed more pro-environmental behaviors involving self-benefit (vs other-benefit) appeals. However, previous studies ignored the role of public accountability.

Purpose

This study aimed to explore the relationship between advertising appeals and the pro-environmental behavior of materialistic individuals in public (vs private) situations.

Methods

This study used the material values scale to measure the materialistic extent and employed different advertising pictures. Meanwhile, Study 1(N=593) used the public cue, and Study 2 (N=622) used the eye cue to manipulate public accountability. Environmental donation was an indicator of the pro-environmental behavior.

Results

Studies 1 and 2 found that the pro-environmental behavior of participants low in materialism was significantly higher than that of participants high in materialism involving other-benefit appeals, while this difference was not significant for pro-environmental behavior involving self-benefit appeals in the private situation. Participants with low and high materialism were not significantly different in the pro-environmental behavior involving self-benefit and other-benefit appeals in the public situation.

Conclusion

The relationship between materialism and pro-environmental behavior involving self-benefit and other-benefit appeals can be moderated by the public accountability. In the private context, self-benefit appeals led materialistic people to engage in more pro-environmental behavior, while in the public context, the effectiveness of self-benefit and other-benefit appeals on the pro-environmental behavior of materialistic individuals was similar.

Role of Extrinsic Cues in the Formation of Quality Perceptions

Examining the quality perceptions of consumers has often been recommended as an international research paradigm. This study is grounded in the Pakistani consumer market to evaluate the impact of food packaging cues on perceived product quality. The moderating effect of consumer knowledge was also taken into consideration in the study. A signaling theory was used in the study for its established predictive power in consumer behavior, marketing, and various fields of research. Based on the essence of the signaling theory, this study hypothesized that food packaging cues cast a positive impact on perceived product quality and consumer knowledge moderates these relationships. By using the sample of 504 consumers, data were gathered using the mall intercept method following a multi-stage sampling technique. The responses were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social sciences (SPSS) and Smart Partial Least Square (PLS). The findings of this study unveil that the extrinsic cues' brand name, price, nutritional labels, and precautionary labels were positively and significantly related to the perceived product quality. However, the country of origin cast no impact on the perceived product quality. Consumer knowledge reflected a moderation effect on the relationships between brand name and country of origin with the perceived product quality whereas it exerted no moderation impact on the relationships of price, nutritional labels, and precautionary labels with the perceived product quality. As the results exhibit that Pakistani consumers rely on food packaging cues for perceiving a product, hence it is recommended that marketers and policymakers develop appropriate marketing strategies focused on the significance of food packaging cues.

The Problematic Role of Materialistic Values in the Pursuit of Sustainable Well-Being

Strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism, but they can have negative consequences for individual well-being, for social equity and for environmental sustainability. In this paper, we add to the existing literature on the adverse consequences of materialistic values by highlighting their negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that support the achievement of sustainable well-being. To do this, we explore the links between materialistic values and attitudes towards sufficiency (consuming "just enough") as well as mindfulness (non-judgmental awareness of the present moment) and flow (total immersion in an activity), which have all been linked to increased well-being and more sustainable behaviours. We present results from three correlational studies that examine the association between materialistic values and sufficiency attitudes (Study 1, n = 310), a multi-faceted measure of mindfulness (Study 2, n = 468) and the tendency to experience flow (Study 3, n = 2000). Results show that materialistic values were negatively associated with sufficiency attitudes, mindfulness, and flow experiences. We conclude with practical considerations and suggest next steps for tackling the problematic aspects of materialism and encouraging the development of sustainable well-being.

Effect of Materialism on Pro-environmental Behavior Among Youth in China: The Role of Nature Connectedness

We designed three studies to explore the effect of materialistic values on pro-environmental behavior among youth and the mediated role of nature connectedness between materialistic values and pro-environmental behavior. Through a self-report questionnaire survey (Study 1) and an experimental manipulation of materialistic values (Study 2), we found that materialistic values negatively predicted pro-environmental behavior, and that nature connectedness played a mediating role. Further, we used natural contact strategies to control the level of nature connectedness, and found that the negative impact of high materialistic values on pro-environment behavior decreased with the increase of nature connectedness, further supporting the mediating role of nature connectedness (Study 3). These results may contribute to the design of strategies that effectively mitigate the negative effects of materialistic values on pro-environmental behavior.

Can Self-Esteem Help Teens Resist Unhealthy Influence of Materialistic Goals Promoted By Role Models?

The aim of the study was to examine the role of self-esteem in resisting the influence of materialistic goals of four social role models (mother, father, peers, and media) in adolescents (aged 13–16). Previous studies showed a negative correlation between the psychological health of teens and striving for materialistic goals, one of the main sources is the social modeling of materialism. Two studies were carried out. The first, correlational study, was conducted on target teens and their mothers, fathers, and peers of their choice. It examined if self-esteem is a moderator of the relationship between the materialism of social role models (mothers, fathers, peers, and media) and the materialism of teens. The second, experimental study, was conducted on target teens only. It examined how boosting the self-esteem of teens and activating materialism of social role models (mothers, fathers, peers, and media) may affect the materialism of teens. Study 1 showed a significant interaction effect of self-esteem and the materialism of peers on the materialism of teens. The interaction effects of self-esteem and other role models (parents and media) were not significant. Study 2 showed that elevated self-esteem lowered the influence of the materialism of peers on the materialism of teens. The results were not significant when other role models (parents and media) were analyzed. The results obtained in the presented studies indicate that the self-esteem of teens may have an important role in resisting the influence of materialism role models of peers. Practical implications of the studies for the psychological health of teens are also discussed.

Finding flow: exploring the potential for sustainable fulfilment

Materialistic values and lifestyles have been associated with detrimental effects on both personal and planetary health. Therefore, there is a pressing need to identify activities and lifestyles that both promote human wellbeing and protect ecological wellbeing. In this Personal View, we explore the dynamics of a psychological state known as flow, in which people are shown to experience high levels of wellbeing through involvement in challenging activities that require some level of skill, and can often involve less materially intensive activities. By synthesising the results of a series of experience sampling, survey, and experimental studies, we identify optimal activities that are shown to have low environmental costs and high levels of human wellbeing. We also confirm that materialistic values tend to undermine people's ability to experience a flow state. In seeking to understand the reasons for this negative association between materialism and flow experiences, we are drawn towards a key role for what psychologists call self-regulation. We show, in particular, that the tendency to experience a flow state can be limited when self-regulatory strength is low and when people evade rather than confront negative or undesirable thoughts and situations. We reflect on the implications of these findings for the prospect of sustainable and fulfilling lifestyles.

Time-Space Distanciation as a Decolonizing Framework for Psychology

Coloniality describes the way in which racialized conceptions of being, personhood, and morality inherent in colonial regimes are maintained long after the formal end of colonial enterprises. Central to coloniality has been the material and psychological colonization of space and time, largely by Western and industrialized nations. We propose the importance of understanding the coloniality of time and space through a historically grounded framework called time-space distanciation (TSD). This framework posits that via the global spread of capitalism through colonization, psychological understandings of time and space have been separated from one another, such that they are now normatively treated as distinct entities, each with their own abstract and quantifiable value. We discuss the construct and its centrality to coloniality, as well as the ways in which contemporary psychology has been complicit in proliferating the coloniality of psychologies of time and space. Finally, we discuss ways to employ the decolonial strategies of denaturalization, indigenization, and accompaniment in the context of future research on the psychology of time and space. TSD contributes to decolonial efforts by combatting the reification of hegemonic psychological constructs, showing how these constructs arise as a function of historical changes in understanding, experience, and use of time and space.

Managing the retention or divestment of material possessions in the transition to retirement: implications for sustainable consumption and for later-life wellbeing

It has been argued that lifecourse transitions are transformative moments for individuals when lifestyles, habits and behaviours are potentially open to contemplation and change. Within sustainability research such ‘moments of change’ are regarded as offering potential to encourage less environmentally damaging consumption patterns. Research on consumption indicates that orientations to material goods and their affective significance are complex. Whilst sociological work understands attachment to things as integral to maintaining kinship relations, this is hard to reconcile with long-standing moral concerns about materialism and psychological research which indicates a negative relationship between the acquisition of material objects and wellbeing, and the environmental implications of acquiring and divesting ‘stuff’. Yet there has been little engagement with how older people orient to their material possessions and divestment, the implications of this for later-life wellbeing and for environmental sustainability. In this paper, we draw these different strands of work together to understand how retirees relate to their material possessions and their divestment. Drawing on serial interviews with individuals in the United Kingdom, we explore how the transition to retirement highlights the complexity of participants’ attachment to things. While some items had profound relational significance, others were experienced as troublesome. Decisions on what to divest were shaped by pragmatic considerations and levels of attachment, whilst modes of divestment were aligned with values of thrift.

Money and flexible generosity

Previous research on money and prosociality has described a monotonic pattern, showing that money reduces generosity. The present research aimed to examine whether money differently impairs generosity when arising from altruistic versus egoistic motives. To this end, we employed economic games designed to study generosity (e.g., the Dictator game) and varied experimental currency (i.e., money vs. candy/food). The results (N = 850) showed that although money made people ignore others when others were not crucial for their future gain, generosity was not impacted when egoistic motives (Study 1: avoiding sanctions; Studies 2 and 3: building reputation) were present. In other words, although people in general showed flexible prosociality by adjusting their generosity level according to game type, this was much more strongly the case when money rather than candy/food was the currency. In addition, we demonstrate a boundary condition of money on flexible generosity, namely imbuing money with prosocial meaning (Study 3). Some implications are discussed.

Attachment Anxiety Mitigates the Well-Being Costs of Object Attachment

Abstract. Clinical and personality research consistently demonstrates that people can form unhealthy and problematic attachments to material possessions. To better understand this tendency, the current paper extends past research demonstrating that anxieties about other people motivate these attachments. These findings suggest that although object attachment generally correlates with poorer well-being, it may attenuate well-being deficits associated with insecurity about close relationships. The current paper presents two studies using converging correlational ( N = 394) and diary methods ( N = 413) to test whether object attachments’ association with poorer well-being is moderated by relationship uncertainties. We find that both trait (Study 1) and state (Study 2) insecurities about others eliminated, and in some cases reversed, the negative psychological correlates of object attachment. These effects, however, were only observed when focusing on between-person variation in both studies; within-person analysis demonstrated that state variation in object attachment predicted better psychological well-being. These results highlight a need for more nuanced studies of object attachment and well-being.

Laypeople Can Predict Which Social-Science Studies Will Be Replicated Successfully

Large-scale collaborative projects recently demonstrated that several key findings from the social-science literature could not be replicated successfully. Here, we assess the extent to which a finding’s replication success relates to its intuitive plausibility. Each of 27 high-profile social-science findings was evaluated by 233 people without a Ph.D. in psychology. Results showed that these laypeople predicted replication success with above-chance accuracy (i.e., 59%). In addition, when participants were informed about the strength of evidence from the original studies, this boosted their prediction performance to 67%. We discuss the prediction patterns and apply signal detection theory to disentangle detection ability from response bias. Our study suggests that laypeople’s predictions contain useful information for assessing the probability that a given finding will be replicated successfully.

Money: An Integrated Review and Synthesis From a Psychological Perspective

Many empirical studies have demonstrated the psychological effects of various aspects of money, including the aspiration for money, mere thoughts about money, possession of money, and placement of people in economic contexts. Although multiple aspects of money and varied methodologies have been focused on and implemented, the underlying mechanisms of the empirical findings from these seemingly isolated areas significantly overlap. In this article, we operationalize money as a broad concept and take a novel approach by providing an integrated review of the literature and identifying five major streams of mechanisms: (a) self-focused behavior; (b) inhibited other-oriented behavior; (c) favoring of a self–other distinction; (d) money’s relationship with self-esteem and self-efficacy; and (e) goal pursuit, objectification, outcome maximization, and unethicality. Moreover, we propose a unified psychological perspective for the future—money as an embodiment of social distinction—which could potentially account for past findings and generate future work.

A meta-analysis of procedures to change implicit measures

Using a novel technique known as network meta-analysis, we synthesized evidence from 492 studies (87,418 participants) to investigate the effectiveness of procedures in changing implicit measures, which we define as response biases on implicit tasks. We also evaluated these procedures' effects on explicit and behavioral measures. We found that implicit measures can be changed, but effects are often relatively weak (|ds| < .30). Most studies focused on producing short-term changes with brief, single-session manipulations. Procedures that associate sets of concepts, invoke goals or motivations, or tax mental resources changed implicit measures the most, whereas procedures that induced threat, affirmation, or specific moods/emotions changed implicit measures the least. Bias tests suggested that implicit effects could be inflated relative to their true population values. Procedures changed explicit measures less consistently and to a smaller degree than implicit measures and generally produced trivial changes in behavior. Finally, changes in implicit measures did not mediate changes in explicit measures or behavior. Our findings suggest that changes in implicit measures are possible, but those changes do not necessarily translate into changes in explicit measures or behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring Socio-Cognitive Mindfulness in the Context of Sustainable Consumption

Mindfulness has been presented as a consumer characteristic mitigating negative environmental effects of overconsumption. This study argues that consumers’ propensity to engage in sustainable consumption behaviors additionally depends on individual values and beliefs, developing a more nuanced view of mindfulness in this particular domain of consumer behavior. Based on an online survey among 546 American consumers, the study finds that mindfulness not only affects a set of sustainable consumption behaviors directly, but also has an impact on environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness, accounting for an indirect positive effect of mindfulness through these values and beliefs. Materialism is negatively associated with mindfulness. However, certain forms of sustainable consumption behaviors may offer a pathway for materialist consumers to participate in sustainable consumption. Research findings indicate that increased mindfulness may be effective in changing daily consumption routines, helping to reduce negative environmental impacts of overconsumption, particularly in populations with increased environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness.

Considering the Self in the Link Between Self-Esteem and Materialistic Values: The Moderating Role of Self-Construal

Studies consistently show that materialism might be a strategy people use to cope with low self-esteem. This link might differ among people holding different definitions of the "self" in terms of their relationships with others, however. This research examined the link between self-esteem and materialistic values from the perspective of how people define the self, or their self-construal. In three studies, we explored the moderating role of self-construal in the link between Chinese participants' self-esteem and materialistic values. Through a self-report survey (Study 1, N = 422), experimental manipulation of self-construal (Study 2, N = 151), and experimental manipulation of both self-esteem and self-construal (Study 3, N = 123), results indicated that self-esteem and self-construal interacted in predicting materialistic values. Specifically, self-esteem negatively predicted materialistic values when interdependent self-construal was low, but not when it was high. We suggest that individuals' pursuit of materialism under conditions of low self-esteem might depend on how they define the "self."

Articulating citizen participation in national anti-microbial resistance plans: a comparison of European countries

Background

National action plans determine country responses to anti-microbial resistance (AMR). These plans include interventions aimed at citizens. As the language used in documents could persuade certain behaviours, we sought to assess the positioning and implied responsibilities of citizens in current European AMR plans. This understanding could lead to improved policies and interventions.

Methods

Review and comparison of national action plans for AMR (NAP-AMR) obtained from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (plans from 28 European Union and four European Economic Area/European Free Trade Association countries), supplemented by European experts (June-September 2016). To capture geographical diversity, 11 countries were purposively sampled for content and discourse analyses using frameworks of lay participation in healthcare organization, delivery and decision-making.

Results

Countries were at different stages of NAP-AMR development (60% completed, 25% in-process, 9% no plan). The volume allocated to citizen roles in the plans ranged from 0.3 to 18%. The term 'citizen' was used by three countries, trailing behind 'patients' and 'public' (9/11), 'general population' (6/11) and 'consumers' (6/11). Increased citizen awareness about AMR was pursued by ∼2/3 plans. Supporting interventions included awareness campaigns (11/11), training/education (7/11) or materials during clinical encounters (4/11). Prevention of infection transmission or self-care behaviours were much less emphasized. Personal/individual and social/collective role perspectives seemed more frequently stimulated in Nordic countries.

Conclusion

Citizen roles in AMR plans are not fully articulated. Documents could employ direct language to emphasise social or collective responsibilities in optimal antibiotic use.

Optimism of the Will

Responding to Max Weber’s dour predictions, we enlist Antonio Gramsci’s optimism to suggest how culture can spike development. Weber’s sociological focus took culture to mean shared beliefs and practices. As a culture that derives from the Protestant Ethic, capitalism waged a “war on pleasure.” Weber warned that this unfeeling rationality would generate an “iron cage” to trap our humanity, but his book has been read, paradoxically, as a manual for the lock down. Gramsci, on the contrary, understood culture in its humanistic sense, as a field of aesthetic pleasure, innovation, and debate. For him, a precondition for transformational social change was the broad engagement of masses as empowered collectives (Weber favored charismatic leaders); and pleasure in idiosyncratic forms of artistic as well as rooted expression was the fuel for participating in personal and shared advances. This pleasure in art and collective interpretation contrasts with the exclusionary rituals of commodified pleasure typical of capitalist consumerism. Gramsci’s confidence in the transformational role of creative culture provides a framework for understanding a new wave of inclusive artistic practices that originate in the Global South and that revive the arts as vehicles for active citizenship. Participatory art can re-enchant today’s sorely disenchanted socio-cultural world of mature capitalism.

Many Labs 2: Investigating Variation in Replicability Across Samples and Settings

We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings, with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance, to examine variation in effect magnitudes across samples and settings. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples that comprised 15,305 participants from 36 countries and territories. Using the conventional criterion of statistical significance ( p < .05), we found that 15 (54%) of the replications provided evidence of a statistically significant effect in the same direction as the original finding. With a strict significance criterion ( p < .0001), 14 (50%) of the replications still provided such evidence, a reflection of the extremely high-powered design. Seven (25%) of the replications yielded effect sizes larger than the original ones, and 21 (75%) yielded effect sizes smaller than the original ones. The median comparable Cohen’s ds were 0.60 for the original findings and 0.15 for the replications. The effect sizes were small (< 0.20) in 16 of the replications (57%), and 9 effects (32%) were in the direction opposite the direction of the original effect. Across settings, the Q statistic indicated significant heterogeneity in 11 (39%) of the replication effects, and most of those were among the findings with the largest overall effect sizes; only 1 effect that was near zero in the aggregate showed significant heterogeneity according to this measure. Only 1 effect had a tau value greater than .20, an indication of moderate heterogeneity. Eight others had tau values near or slightly above .10, an indication of slight heterogeneity. Moderation tests indicated that very little heterogeneity was attributable to the order in which the tasks were performed or whether the tasks were administered in lab versus online. Exploratory comparisons revealed little heterogeneity between Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) cultures and less WEIRD cultures (i.e., cultures with relatively high and low WEIRDness scores, respectively). Cumulatively, variability in the observed effect sizes was attributable more to the effect being studied than to the sample or setting in which it was studied.

Self-compassion, the 'quiet ego' and materialism

The research is an investigation of self-compassion and materialism. Self-compassion is when an individual has a caring, non-judgmental view of the self. This quality has been related to lower depression, less negative emotion and higher psychological health (Neff, 2003). Materialism has been consistently associated with low subjective well-being and unhappiness. A related concept is that of the ‘quiet ego’, which is a less competitive, less self-centered individual with more concern with connecting with others and with personal growth (Wayment et al., 2015). Therefore, it is hypothesized that highly materialistic individuals will be lower in self-compassion and have a fear of compassion from others and towards others and that self-compassion and fears of compassion will mediate the relationship between materialism and low subjective well-being. As materialistic individuals are more likely to be competitive and individualistic, it is hypothesized that the ‘quiet ego’ will be negatively related to materialism. These hypotheses were investigated using a set of questionnaires with 423 undergraduate participants. The results indicated a relationship between materialism and fear of compassion for others and of responding to the compassion of others. Materialism was also negatively related to the ‘quiet ego’ and related constructs such as: mindfulness, satisfaction with life and generativity. Self-compassion, fears of compassion and the quiet-ego were also found to mediate the relationship between materialism and measures of well-being. The results are consistent with several theoretical explanations for the development of materialism. It is possible that increasing self-compassion, reducing fears of compassion and ‘ego-quieting’ procedures could be developed as methods of reducing materialistic tendencies.

The Great Recession and subjective well-being: How did the life satisfaction of people living in the United Kingdom change following the financial crisis?

The financial crisis of 2007/08 precipitated a severe global economic downturn, typically referred to as the Great Recession. However, in the United Kingdom this period has been marked by limited change in national indicators of subjective well-being. We assessed the life satisfaction change in response to the Great Recession in a sample of British adults (N = 8,661). We first show that on average the life satisfaction change across the sample was limited. However, average effects may mask substantial amounts of heterogeneity in the data. We therefore explore beyond this average effect to determine whether there were disproportionate changes (losses and gains) in life satisfaction in key sub-groups of the population. We found that individuals experiencing unemployment, who lost income, were sick or disabled, experienced the greatest well-being reductions. Contrastingly the life satisfaction of many individuals did not greatly change following the Great Recession and for some it may have even improved. Our work highlights vulnerable groups that may need additional help during recession periods and also cautions against the over reliance on average measures of well-being.

The Effect of Materialistic Value-Orientation on Religiosity in Bangladesh: An Empirical Investigation

The rising middle-class of the developing nations is found to be emphasizing more on the acquisition of goods and property in the pursuit of the good life. This often leads towards the materialistic value-orientation and form materialism. Religiosity, conversely, implies restraining from the earthy pleasure in the form of happy life, and often imposes prohibitory behavioral rules in the economic sphere. Hence, ‘Materialism’ and ‘Religiosity’ are two of the most incompatible yet dominant components of normative value-systems that are always in contention with each other. Literature is abundant to relate ‘Emotional Connection’, ‘Subjective Well-Being’, ‘Happiness’ or ‘Life Satisfaction’ with that of ‘Materialism’ and ‘Religiosity’; nonetheless, what is hardly addressed is the effect of materialistic value-orientation to the religiosity in the transitional societies. This paper investigates materialism and religiosity in the developing economy context like Bangladesh and outlines the underlying relationships between the constructs. A survey on a sample of four hundred and twelve (412) respondents using self-administered questionnaires is the source of quantitative information that is used to formulate the tentative explanations of the variables of interest. Age is considered as a moderator. A negative relationship between the level of materialism and religiosity is found, if materialism is considered as a reflective construct, and religiosity is treated as a second-order formative construct in the structural equation modeling.

Mine is better than yours: Investigating the ownership effect in children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children

Ownership has a unique and privileged influence on human psychology. Typically developing (TD) children judge their objects to be more desirable and valuable than similar objects belonging to others. This 'ownership effect' is due to processing one's property in relation to 'the self'. Here we explore whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) - a population with impaired self-understanding - prefer and over-value property due to ownership. In Experiment 1, we discovered that children with ASD did not favour a randomly endowed toy and frequently traded for a different object. By contrast, TD children showed a clear preference for their randomly endowed toy and traded infrequently. Both populations also demonstrated highly-accurate tracking of owner-object relationships. Experiment 2 showed that both TD children and children with ASD over-value their toys if they are self-selected and different from other-owned toys. Unlike TD children, children with ASD did not over-value their toys in comparison to non-owned identical copies. This finding was replicated in Experiment 3, which also established that mere ownership elicited over-valuation of randomly endowed property in TD children. However, children with ASD did not consistently regard their randomly endowed toys as the most valuable, and evaluated property irrespective of ownership. Our findings show that mere ownership increases preferences and valuations for self-owned property in TD children, but not children with ASD. We propose that deficits in self-understanding may diminish ownership effects in ASD, eliciting a more economically-rational strategy that prioritises material qualities (e.g. what a toy is) rather than whom it belongs to.

Longitudinal relations between adolescents' materialism and prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers

The present study examines the short-term changes and longitudinal relations between adolescents' materialism and prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers over a year. A total of 434 Chinese adolescents (mean age at Time 1 = 11.27; 54% girls) participated in the two time points. From 6^th grade to 7^th grade, boys' and girls' materialism increased, whereas their prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers declined, despite the stable trend in boys' prosocial behavior toward strangers. Furthermore, a cross-lagged model was conducted and the results showed that, adolescent materialism was associated longitudinally with decreased prosocial behavior toward friends and strangers, but not toward family. However, earlier prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers were not associated with subsequent adolescent materialism. The findings point toward an understanding of materialism as a precursor rather than an outcome or byproduct to prosocial behavior.

Crowdsourcing prior information to improve study design and data analysis

Though Bayesian methods are being used more frequently, many still struggle with the best method for setting priors with novel measures or task environments. We propose a method for setting priors by eliciting continuous probability distributions from naive participants. This allows us to include any relevant information participants have for a given effect. Even when prior means are near-zero, this method provides a principle way to estimate dispersion and produce shrinkage, reducing the occurrence of overestimated effect sizes. We demonstrate this method with a number of published studies and compare the effect of different prior estimation and aggregation methods.

Living both well and sustainably: a review of the literature, with some reflections on future research, interventions and policy

The idea that human well-being (WB) can be supported and even enhanced by using, producing, buying, selling and consuming less 'stuff' is anathema to many living under consumer capitalism. Yet a growing research literature actually finds that frequent engagement in pro-ecological behaviours (PEBs) is positively correlated with personal WB. This paper reviews data relevant to three possible explanations for the apparent compatibility of PEBs and WB: (i) engaging in PEBs leads to psychological need satisfaction, which in turn causes WB; (ii) being in a good mood causes people to engage in more prosocial behaviours, including PEBs; and (iii) personal characteristics and lifestyles such as intrinsic values, mindfulness and voluntary simplicity cause both PEBs and WB. Because each explanation has some empirical support, I close by reflecting on some relevant interventions and policies that could strengthen each of these three pathways and thereby promote living both well and sustainably.This article is part of the themed issue 'Material demand reduction'.