Psychology and Neuroscience
Arts & Sciences
Duke University
| |
Faculty Database Psychology and Neuroscience Arts & Sciences Duke University |
|
| HOME > Arts & Sciences > pn > Faculty | Search Help Login |
|
| Publications of Aaron C. Kay :recent first alphabetical combined listing:
%% Journal Articles
@article{fds273257,
Author = {Kay, AC and Jimenez, MC and Jost, JT},
Title = {Sour grapes, sweet lemons, and the anticipatory
rationalization of the status quo},
Journal = {Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin},
Volume = {28},
Number = {9},
Pages = {1300-1312},
Publisher = {SAGE Publications},
Year = {2002},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0146-1672},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01461672022812014},
Abstract = {Integrating theories of cognitive dissonance, system
justification, and dynamic thought systems, the authors
hypothesized that people would engage in anticipatory
rationalization of sociopolitical outcomes for which they
were not responsible. In two studies, the authors found that
people adjusted their judgments of the desirability of a
future event to make them congruent with its perceived
likelihood, but only when the event triggered motivational
involvement. In Study 1, a political survey administered to
288 Democrats, Republicans, and nonpartisans prior to the
Bush-Gore presidential election manipulated the perceived
likelihood that each candidate would win and measured the
subjective desirability of each outcome. In Study 2, 203
undergraduate students rated the desirability of a large or
small tuition increase or decrease that was low, medium, or
high in likelihood. Under conditions evoking high
motivational involvement, unfavorable as well as favorable
outcomes were judged to be more desirable as their perceived
likelihood increased. © 2002 by the Society for Personality
and Social Psychology, Inc.},
Doi = {10.1177/01461672022812014},
Key = {fds273257}
}
@article{fds273258,
Author = {Kay, AC and Ross, L},
Title = {The perceptual push: The interplay of implicit cues and
explicit situational construals on behavioral intentions in
the prisoner's dilemma},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {39},
Number = {6},
Pages = {634-643},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2003},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1031(03)00057-X},
Abstract = {Although it is clear that nonconscious primes can affect
behavioral decisions, the extent to which the
prime-to-behavior link is mediated by intervening
interpretative processes is still unknown. The present
research examined the mediational role of "situational
construals" by assessing the effects of cooperative versus
competitive primes on participants' construals of, and
responses to, the prisoner's dilemma. As predicted, this
priming manipulation influenced participants' construals of
the game (assessed by the participants' ratings of the
appropriateness of different "names for the game" and their
estimates of how random others would play), and their own
expressed willingness to cooperate versus defect. Most
crucially, a mediational analysis and a manipulation of the
order in which these dependent variables were measured
established that the prime-to-behavior link can be
strengthened by an intervening task calling for explicit
construal of the situation. The interplay of situational
construal and implicit primes in producing deliberative
behavior is discussed. © 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All
rights reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/S0022-1031(03)00057-X},
Key = {fds273258}
}
@article{fds273256,
Author = {Mendelson, MJ and Kay, AC},
Title = {Positive feelings in friendship: Does imbalance in the
relationship matter?},
Journal = {Journal of Social and Personal Relationships},
Volume = {20},
Number = {1},
Pages = {101-116},
Publisher = {SAGE Publications},
Year = {2003},
Month = {February},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265407503020001190},
Abstract = {We examined predictors of positive feelings in friendship.
Pairs of same-sex (female - female) and cross-sex (female -
male) friends completed questionnaires about each other.
Positive feelings covaried directly with friendship level
(e.g., best versus good) and with benefits from the
relationship (i.e., the degree to which friendship functions
were fulfilled); but various measures of imbalance in the
relationship - net benefit, unsigned net benefit, and
inequality - did not improve prediction. Nonetheless, there
was limited evidence that, independent of other predictors,
positive feelings covaried inversely with inequity (i.e.,
with the degree to which the net benefit-to-contribution
ratios of the two friends differed). Because positive
feelings mainly reflect the degree to which friendship
functions are fulfilled, the data support a functional view
of friendship. However, if imbalance in a friendship is at
all important, it appears to be imbalance measured in terms
of inequity.},
Doi = {10.1177/0265407503020001190},
Key = {fds273256}
}
@article{fds273259,
Author = {Baldwin, MW and Kay, AC},
Title = {Adult attachment and the inhibition of rejection},
Journal = {Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology},
Volume = {22},
Number = {3},
Pages = {275-293},
Publisher = {Guilford Publications},
Year = {2003},
Month = {June},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/jscp.22.3.275.22890},
Abstract = {Recent research has identified the inhibition of negative
interpersonal information as a critical social cognitive
mechanism associated with adult attachment orientations.
Sixty undergraduate participants were conditioned to
associate one computer tone with interpersonal rejection,
and another with acceptance. The tones were played again
while the participants performed a lexical decision task
that assessed the activation of rejection information. To
the extent that individuals were low on attachment anxiety,
the conditioned tones led to slower reaction times to
rejection target words, indicating the inhibition of
rejection expectations. The implications of such inhibitory
processing are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1521/jscp.22.3.275.22890},
Key = {fds273259}
}
@article{fds273260,
Author = {Kay, AC and Jost, JT},
Title = {Complementary justice: effects of "poor but happy" and "poor
but honest" stereotype exemplars on system justification and
implicit activation of the justice motive.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {85},
Number = {5},
Pages = {823-837},
Year = {2003},
Month = {November},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.823},
Abstract = {It was hypothesized that exposure to complementary
representations of the poor as happier and more honest than
the rich would lead to increased support for the status quo.
In Study 1, exposure to "poor but happy" and "rich but
miserable" stereotype exemplars led people to score higher
on a general measure of system justification, compared with
people who were exposed to noncomplementary exemplars. Study
2 replicated this effect with "poor but honest" and "rich
but dishonest" complementary stereotypes. In Studies 3 and
4, exposure to noncomplementary stereotype exemplars
implicitly activated justice concerns, as indicated by
faster reaction times to justice-related than neutral words
in a lexical decision task. Evidence also suggested that the
Protestant work ethic may moderate the effects of stereotype
exposure on explicit system justification (but not implicit
activation).},
Doi = {10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.823},
Key = {fds273260}
}
@article{fds273291,
Author = {Fitzsimons, GM and Kay, AC},
Title = {Language and interpersonal cognition: causal effects of
variations in pronoun usage on perceptions of
closeness.},
Journal = {Personality & social psychology bulletin},
Volume = {30},
Number = {5},
Pages = {547-557},
Year = {2004},
Month = {May},
ISSN = {0146-1672},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167203262852},
Abstract = {Four studies examined the hypothesis that subtle language
variations can have a causal impact on perceptions of
relationships. In interpersonal interactions, language can
function implicitly to reflect, perpetuate, and communicate
relationship perceptions. Previous research has shown that
interpersonal closeness and plural pronoun use are
correlated; the current research demonstrates that
manipulating pronoun use can lead people to perceive their
own and other relationships as closer and higher in quality.
In Study 1, participants who read about a relationship that
was described using the pronoun we versus she and I
perceived the relationship to be closer and of higher
quality. Study 2 showed that pronoun variations similarly
affected perceptions of participants' own ongoing
relationships; Study 3 showed similar effects for
perceptions of an actual interpersonal interaction. Study 4
examined potential mechanisms of this effect.},
Doi = {10.1177/0146167203262852},
Key = {fds273291}
}
@article{fds273261,
Author = {Kay, AC and Wheeler, SC and Bargh, JA and Ross, L},
Title = {Material priming: The influence of mundane physical objects
on situational construal and competitive behavioral
choice},
Journal = {Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes},
Volume = {95},
Number = {1},
Pages = {83-96},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2004},
Month = {September},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2004.06.003},
Abstract = {Inspired by potential theoretical linkages between
nonconscious priming work in psychology and the
anthropological emphasis on the impact of material culture,
five studies were conducted to investigate the role of
implicitly presented material objects and automatic
processes in interpersonal and organizational contexts.
These studies showed that exposure to objects common to the
domain of business (e.g., boardroom tables and briefcases)
increased the cognitive accessibility of the construct of
competition (Study 1), the likelihood that an ambiguous
social interaction would be perceived as less cooperative
(Study 2), and the amount of money that participants
proposed to retain for themselves in the "Ultimatum Game"
(Studies 3 and 4). A fifth study, in which the ambiguity of
the governing social situation was manipulated, demonstrated
that these types of effects are most likely to occur in
contexts that are ambiguous and/or lacking in explicit
normative demands. The importance of these
situation-specific "material priming" effects (all of which
occurred without the participants' awareness of the relevant
influence) to judgment and behavioral choice in specific
contexts, as well as to the fostering of less competitive
organizational settings, is discussed. © 2004 Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.obhdp.2004.06.003},
Key = {fds273261}
}
@article{fds273262,
Author = {Jost, JT and Kay, AC},
Title = {Exposure to benevolent sexism and complementary gender
stereotypes: consequences for specific and diffuse forms of
system justification.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {88},
Number = {3},
Pages = {498-509},
Year = {2005},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.498},
Abstract = {Many have suggested that complementary gender stereotypes of
men as agentic (but not communal) and women as communal (but
not agentic) serve to increase system justification, but
direct experimental support has been lacking. The authors
exposed people to specific types of gender-related beliefs
and subsequently asked them to complete measures of
gender-specific or diffuse system justification. In Studies
1 and 2, activating (a) communal or complementary (communal
+ agentic) gender stereotypes or (b) benevolent or
complementary (benevolent + hostile) sexist items increased
support for the status quo among women. In Study 3,
activating stereotypes of men as agentic also increased
system justification among men and women, but only when
women's characteristics were associated with higher status.
Results suggest that complementary stereotypes
psychologically offset the one-sided advantage of any single
group and contribute to an image of society in which
everyone benefits through a balanced dispersion of
benefits.},
Doi = {10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.498},
Key = {fds273262}
}
@article{fds273263,
Author = {Kay, AC and Jost, JT and Young, S},
Title = {Victim derogation and victim enhancement as alternate routes
to system justification.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {16},
Number = {3},
Pages = {240-246},
Year = {2005},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {0956-7976},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00810.x},
Abstract = {Abstract-Numerous studies have documented the potential for
victim-blaming attributions to justify the status quo.
Recent work suggests that complementary, victim-enhancing
stereotypes may also increase support for existing social
arrangements. We seek to reconcile these seemingly
contradictory findings by proposing that victim derogation
and victim enhancement are alternate routes to system
justification, with the preferred route depending on the
perception of a causal link between trait and outcome.
Derogating "losers" (and lionizing "winners") on traits
(e.g., intelligence) that are causally related to outcomes
(e.g., wealth vs. poverty) serves to increase system
justification, as does compensating "losers" (and
downgrading "winners") on traits (e.g., physical
attractiveness) that are causally unrelated to those
outcomes. We provide converging evidence using system-threat
and stereotype-activation paradigms.},
Doi = {10.1111/j.0956-7976.2005.00810.x},
Key = {fds273263}
}
@article{fds273264,
Author = {Kay, AC and Jost, JT and Mandisodza, AN and Sherman, SJ and Petrocelli,
JV and Johnson, AL},
Title = {Panglossian Ideology In The Service Of System Justification:
How Complementary Stereotypes Help Us To Rationalize
Inequality},
Journal = {Advances in Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {39},
Pages = {305-358},
Publisher = {Elsevier},
Year = {2007},
Month = {April},
ISSN = {0065-2601},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)39006-5},
Abstract = {According to system justification theory, there is a general
social psychological tendency to rationalize the status quo,
that is, to see it as good, fair, legitimate, and desirable.
This tendency is reminiscent of the dispositional outlook of
Voltaire's famous character, Dr. Pangloss, who believed that
he was "living in the best of all possible worlds." One of
the means by which people idealize existing social
arrangements is by relying on complementary (or
compensatory) stereotypes, which ascribe compensating
virtues to the disadvantaged and corresponding vices to the
advantaged, thereby creating an "illusion of equality." In
this chapter, we summarize a program of research
demonstrating that (1) incidental exposure to complementary
gender and status stereotypes leads people to show enhanced
ideological support for the status quo and (2) when the
legitimacy or stability of the system is threatened, people
often respond by using complementary stereotypes to bolster
the system. We also show that (noncomplementary)
victim-blaming and (complementary) victim-enhancement
represent alternate routes to system justification. In
addition, we consider a number of situational and
dispositional moderating variables that affect the use and
effectiveness of complementary and noncomplementary
representations, and we discuss the broader implications of
stereotyping and other forms of rationalization that are
adopted in the service of system justification. From time to
time, Pangloss would say to Candide:There is a chain of
events in this best of all possible worlds; for if you had
not been turned out of a beautiful mansion at the point of a
jackboot for love of Lady Cunégonde, if you had not been
clamped into the Inquisition, if you had not wandered about
America on foot, and had not struck the Baron with your
sword, and lost all those sheep you brought from Eldorado,
you would not be here eating candied fruit and pistachio
nuts. "That's true enough," said Candide; "but we must go
and work in the garden."-Voltaire, 1758/1947, Candide or
Optimism, p. 144. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/S0065-2601(06)39006-5},
Key = {fds273264}
}
@article{fds273265,
Author = {Lau, GP and Kay, AC and Spencer, SJ},
Title = {Loving those who justify inequality: the effects of system
threat on attraction to women who embody benevolent sexist
ideals.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {19},
Number = {1},
Pages = {20-21},
Year = {2008},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0956-7976},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02040.x},
Doi = {10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02040.x},
Key = {fds273265}
}
@article{fds273266,
Author = {Kay, AC and Wheeler, SC and Smeesters, D},
Title = {The situated person: Effects of construct accessibility on
situation construals and interpersonal perception},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {44},
Number = {2},
Pages = {275-291},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2008},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2007.05.005},
Abstract = {Three studies examined the interrelationship between primed
constructs, situation construal, and person perception.
Previous research on priming and person perception has
generally neglected the situational context. We predicted
that when rich situational information is included, primed
constructs can lead to assimilation effects on situation
construals, which can in turn lead to contrast effects in
person perceptions. Study 1 demonstrated that when situation
information is included in the experimental context, primes
lead to contrast in person perceptions. Study 2, employing a
subliminal methodology, demonstrated that these effects
could not be accounted for via previous explanations of
contrast effects, such as correction-based mechanisms, that
require overt recognition of the priming stimuli by the
participants. Study 3 demonstrated that the contrastive
effects of the priming stimuli on person perception obtained
in Studies 1 and 2 are in fact due to the intervening
assimilative effects of the priming stimuli on situation
construal-that is, the primed constructs led to contrast
effects on perceptions of the actor via their assimilative
effects on perceptions of the situation in which that actor
was embedded. Additionally, moderator variables demonstrated
that this effect is most pronounced when the target actor's
behavior is described as relatively unambiguous or situation
focus is increased. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2007.05.005},
Key = {fds273266}
}
@article{fds273267,
Author = {Kay, AC and Gaucher, D and Napier, JL and Callan, MJ and Laurin,
K},
Title = {God and the government: testing a compensatory control
mechanism for the support of external systems.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {95},
Number = {1},
Pages = {18-35},
Year = {2008},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.18},
Abstract = {The authors propose that the high levels of support often
observed for governmental and religious systems can be
explained, in part, as a means of coping with the threat
posed by chronically or situationally fluctuating levels of
perceived personal control. Three experiments demonstrated a
causal relation between lowered perceptions of personal
control and the defense of external systems, including
increased beliefs in the existence of a controlling God
(Studies 1 and 2) and defense of the overarching
socio-political system (Study 4). A 4th experiment (Study 5)
showed the converse to be true: A challenge to the
usefulness of external systems of control led to increased
illusory perceptions of personal control. In addition, a
cross-national data set demonstrated that lower levels of
personal control are associated with higher support for
governmental control (across 67 nations; Study 3). Each
study identified theoretically consistent moderators and
mediators of these effects. The implications of these
results for understanding why a high percentage of the
population believes in the existence of God, and why people
so often endorse and justify their socio-political systems,
are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.18},
Key = {fds273267}
}
@article{fds273269,
Author = {Laurin, K and Kay, AC and Moscovitch, DA},
Title = {On the belief in God: Towards an understanding of the
emotional substrates of compensatory control},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {44},
Number = {6},
Pages = {1559-1562},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2008},
Month = {November},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.07.007},
Abstract = {We suggest that beliefs in a controlling God originate, at
least in part, from the desire to avoid the emotionally
uncomfortable experience of perceiving the world as random
and chaotic. Forty-seven participants engaged in an
anxiety-provoking visualization procedure. For half, the
procedure included a manipulation designed to temporarily
lower beliefs in personal control. As predicted, it was only
among those participants whose sense of personal control was
threatened-i.e., participants in need of an alternate means
for protecting their belief in a non-random world-that
subjective anxiety led to increased subsequent beliefs in
the existence of a controlling God. Wide-ranging
implications are discussed. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2008.07.007},
Key = {fds273269}
}
@article{fds273270,
Author = {Smeesters, D and Wheeler, SC and Kay, AC},
Title = {The role of interpersonal perceptions in the
prime-to-behavior pathway.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {96},
Number = {2},
Pages = {395-414},
Year = {2009},
Month = {February},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0012959},
Abstract = {The present research suggests that biased interpersonal
perceptions can mediate prime-to-behavior effects and
introduces a new moderator for when such mediation will
occur. Across 5 experiments, the authors provide evidence
that priming effects on behavior in interpersonal contexts
are mediated by social perceptions, but only when
participants are focused on the other person. These effects
occur when other-focus is primed (Experiment 1), when
other-focus is high owing to the decision-making situation
(Experiment 2), and when other-focus is dispositionally high
(Experiment 3). Experiments 4 and 5 bring additional support
for a biased perception account by ruling out an alternative
behavior-perception link and showing that other-focus can
moderate not only the mediating mechanism of
prime-to-behavior effects but also the behavioral effects
themselves. The implications of these results for increasing
understanding of behavioral priming effects in rich social
contexts are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0012959},
Key = {fds273270}
}
@article{fds273271,
Author = {Kay, AC and Czapliński, S and Jost, JT},
Title = {Left-right ideological differences in system Justification
following exposure to complementary versus noncomplementary
stereotype exemplars},
Journal = {European Journal of Social Psychology},
Volume = {39},
Number = {2},
Pages = {290-298},
Publisher = {WILEY},
Year = {2009},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {0046-2772},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.500},
Abstract = {The capacity for victim-derogating stereotypes and
attributions to justify social inequality and maintain the
status quo is well known among social scientists and other
observers. Research conducted from the perspective of system
justification theory suggests that an alternative to
derogation is to justify inequality through the use of
complementary stereotypes that ascribe compensating benefits
and burdens to disadvantaged and advantaged groups,
respectively. In two experimental studies conducted in
Poland we investigated the hypothesis that preferences for
these two routes to system justification would depend upon
one's political orientation. That is, we predicted that the
system-justifying potential of complementary versus
noncomplementary stereotype exemplars would be moderated by
individual differences in left-right ideology, such that
left-wingers would exhibit stronger support for the societal
status quo following exposure to complementary (e.g., "poor
but happy," "rich but miserable") representations, whereas
right-wingers would exhibit stronger support for the status
quo following exposure to noncomplementary (e.g., "poor and
dishonest," "rich and honest") representations. Results were
supportive of these predictions. Implications for theory and
practice concerning stereotyping, ideology, and system
justification are discussed. ©2008 John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd.},
Doi = {10.1002/ejsp.500},
Key = {fds273271}
}
@article{fds273214,
Author = {Jost, JT and Kay, AC and Thorisdottir, H},
Title = {Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System
Justification},
Journal = {Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System
Justification},
Pages = {1-552},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
Year = {2009},
Month = {May},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.001.0001},
Abstract = {This volume both reflects and exemplifies the recent
resurgence of interest in the social and psychological
characteristics and processes that give rise to ideological
forms. Ideology is an elusive, multifaceted construct that
can usefully be analyzed in terms of "top-down" processes
related to the social construction and dissemination of
ideology, as well as to "bottom-up" processes, including
dispositional and situational factors, that make certain
ideological outcomes more likely than others. The twenty
chapters of this volume focus on the cognitive and
motivational antecedents and consequences of adopting
specific ideologies, the functions served by those
ideologies, and the myriad ways in which people accept and
justify (versus reject) aspects of the social and political
worlds they inhabit. Current challenges and future
directions for the study of ideology and system
justification are also discussed in several chapters. The
volume represents a wide variety of research traditions
bearing on the social and psychological bases of ideology
and system justification. These traditions include (a) the
study of attitudes, social cognition, and information
processing at both conscious and nonconscious levels of
awareness, (b) theories of motivated reasoning and
goal-directed cognition, (c) research on personality and
dispositional correlates of political orientation, (d) work
on social justice and the origins of moral values, (e) the
myriad ways in which social and political opinions are
shaped by local situations and environments, and (f) studies
of stereotyping, prejudice, and the ideological correlates
of intergroup attitudes.},
Doi = {10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.001.0001},
Key = {fds273214}
}
@article{fds273215,
Author = {Kay, AC and Zanna, MP},
Title = {A Contextual Analysis of the System Justification Motive and
Its Societal Consequences},
Pages = {158-182},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
Year = {2009},
Month = {May},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.007},
Abstract = {This chapter reviews recent theory and empirical evidence
demonstrating the effects of the system justification motive
on consequential social and psychological phenomena, as well
as the conditions under which these effects are likely to be
most pronounced. A review is presented of the theory and
evidence demonstrating three conditions that increase the
activation of the system justification motive: system
threat, perceived system inevitability, and perceptions of
personal and system control. A description is made of how,
in these conditions, the system justification motive
manifests itself in processes of explicit system defense,
interpersonal and intergroup perception, and resistance to
social change. Throughout, the emphasis is on the contextual
nature of these effects, as well as their consequences for
the maintenance of social inequality.},
Doi = {10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.007},
Key = {fds273215}
}
@article{fds273272,
Author = {Callan, MJ and Kay, AC and Davidenko, N and Ellard,
JH},
Title = {The effects of justice motivation on memory for self- and
other-relevant events},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {45},
Number = {4},
Pages = {614-623},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2009},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.02.013},
Abstract = {We examined whether people might distort and selectively
remember the past in ways that enable them to sustain a
belief in a just world (BJW; Lerner, M. J. (1980). The
belief in a just world: A fundamental delusion. New York:
Plenum Press). In Study 1, recall of a lottery prize
reflected participants' justice concerns, such that the
average lottery amount recalled was lowest when a "bad"
versus "good" person won. In Study 2, an unrelated
experience of just world threat (versus affirmation)
enhanced biased recall of the lottery prize when the winner
was undeserving. In Study 3, participants who experienced a
fortuitous bad break selectively remembered more bad deeds
from their recent past, whereas participants who experienced
a good break selectively remembered more good deeds. Study 4
demonstrates that such selective memory biases specifically
serve to portray chance outcomes as more fair. Taken
together, these findings offer support for the notion that
reconstructing and selectively recalling the past can serve
to sustain a BJW. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2009.02.013},
Key = {fds273272}
}
@article{fds273274,
Author = {Bryan, CJ and Dweck, CS and Ross, L and Kay, AC and Mislavsky,
NO},
Title = {Political mindset: Effects of schema priming on
liberal-conservative political positions},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {45},
Number = {4},
Pages = {890-895},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2009},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.04.007},
Abstract = {Although stable factors play an important role in
determining people's political positions, most Americans
also hold a mix of values and beliefs some congruent with
political conservatism and some congruent with political
liberalism. To investigate this more dynamic component of
political thinking, two studies manipulated the relative
salience of schemas about personal merit vs. good fortune as
explanations for success in life. In Study 1, students at a
highly selective university were asked to explain their
academic success focusing either on the role of hard work,
self-discipline and wise decision-making (Personal Merit
condition) or that of chance, opportunity, and help from
others (Good Fortune condition). In Study 2, personal merit
vs. good fortune was primed through prior exposure to
relevant questionnaire items. In both studies, participants
in the Good Fortune condition subsequently indicated more
support for liberal policies than did those in the Personal
Merit condition. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2009.04.007},
Key = {fds273274}
}
@article{fds273273,
Author = {Kay, AC and Gaucher, D and Peach, JM and Laurin, K and Friesen, J and Zanna, MP and Spencer, SJ},
Title = {Inequality, discrimination, and the power of the status quo:
Direct evidence for a motivation to see the way things are
as the way they should be.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {97},
Number = {3},
Pages = {421-434},
Year = {2009},
Month = {September},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0015997},
Abstract = {How powerful is the status quo in determining people's
social ideals? The authors propose (a) that people engage in
injunctification, that is, a motivated tendency to construe
the current status quo as the most desirable and reasonable
state of affairs (i.e., as the most representative of how
things should be); (b) that this tendency is driven, at
least in part, by people's desire to justify their
sociopolitical systems; and (c) that injunctification has
profound implications for the maintenance of inequality and
societal change. Four studies, across a variety of domains,
provided supportive evidence. When the motivation to justify
the sociopolitical system was experimentally heightened,
participants injunctified extant (a) political power (Study
1), (b) public funding policies (Study 2), and (c) unequal
gender demographics in the political and business spheres
(Studies 3 and 4, respectively). It was also demonstrated
that this motivated phenomenon increased derogation of those
who act counter to the status quo (Study 4). Theoretical
implications for system justification theory, stereotype
formation, affirmative action, and the maintenance of
inequality are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0015997},
Key = {fds273273}
}
@article{fds273268,
Author = {Kay, AC and Whitson, JA and Gaucher, D and Galinsky,
AD},
Title = {Compensatory control: Achieving order through the mind, our
institutions, and the heavens},
Journal = {Current Directions in Psychological Science},
Volume = {18},
Number = {5},
Pages = {264-268},
Publisher = {SAGE Publications},
Year = {2009},
Month = {December},
ISSN = {0963-7214},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01649.x},
Abstract = {We propose that people protect the belief in a controlled,
nonrandom world by imbuing their social, physical, and
metaphysical environments with order and structure when
their sense of personal control is threatened. We
demonstrate that when personal control is threatened, people
can preserve a sense of order by (a) perceiving patterns in
noise or adhering to superstitions and conspiracies, (b)
defending the legitimacy of the sociopolitical institutions
that offer control, or (c) believing in an interventionist
God. We also present evidence that these processes of
compensatory control help people cope with the anxiety and
discomfort that lacking personal control fuels, that it is
lack of personal control specifically and not general threat
or negativity that drives these processes, and that these
various forms of compensatory control are ultimately
substitutable for one another. Our model of compensatory
control offers insight into a wide variety of phenomena,
from prejudice to the idiosyncratic rituals of professional
athletes to societal rituals around weddings, graduations,
and funerals. © 2009 Association for Psychological
Science.},
Doi = {10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01649.x},
Key = {fds273268}
}
@article{fds273275,
Author = {Gaucher, D and Hafer, CL and Kay, AC and Davidenko,
N},
Title = {Compensatory rationalizations and the resolution of everyday
undeserved outcomes.},
Journal = {Personality & social psychology bulletin},
Volume = {36},
Number = {1},
Pages = {109-118},
Year = {2010},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0146-1672},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167209351701},
Abstract = {People prefer to perceive the world as just; however, the
everyday experience of undeserved events challenges this
perception.The authors suggest that one way people
rationalize these daily experiences of unfairness is by
means of a compensatory bias. People make undeserved events
more palatable by endorsing the notion that outcomes
naturally balance out in the end--good, yet undeserved,
outcomes will balance out bad outcomes, and bad undeserved
outcomes will balance out good outcomes.The authors propose
that compensatory biases manifest in people's interpretive
processes (Study 1) and memory (Study 2). Furthermore, they
provide evidence that people have a natural tendency to
anticipate compensatory outcomes in the future, which,
ironically, might lead them to perceive a current situation
as relatively more fair (Study 3).These studies highlight an
understudied means of justifying unfairness and elucidate
the justice motive's power to affect people's construal of
their social world.},
Doi = {10.1177/0146167209351701},
Key = {fds273275}
}
@article{fds273276,
Author = {Smeesters, D and Wheeler, SC and Kay, AC},
Title = {Chapter Five: Indirect prime-to-behavior effects: The role
of perceptions of the self, others, and situations in
connecting primed constructs to social behavior},
Journal = {Advances in Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {42},
Pages = {259-317},
Publisher = {Elsevier},
Year = {2010},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0065-2601},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(10)42005-5},
Abstract = {For more than a decade, researchers have convincingly shown
that people's social behavior can be affected by primed
constructs without people having any awareness of their
influence. Earlier research proposed direct priming accounts
for these effects, suggesting that primed constructs exert
their effect on behavior in a relatively direct fashion
without an intervening role for perceptual processes. In
this chapter, we review evidence in favor of an indirect
priming account for behavioral priming effects. In these
indirect priming effects, a primed construct affects
behavior via shifts in perceptions of a perceptual target.
We review three types of indirect priming mechanisms: a
self-perception, person-perception, and situation-perception
mechanism. We also present various moderators that affect
the direction and magnitude of each of the indirect priming
effects. In addition, we identify factors, related to the
attentional focus of the prime recipient, that indicate when
each of the different mechanisms operates. Understanding the
role of perceptual processes in the prime-to-behavior
pathway can unravel more mysteries about the rich and
complex nature of social behavior. © 2010 Elsevier
Inc.},
Doi = {10.1016/S0065-2601(10)42005-5},
Key = {fds273276}
}
@article{fds273277,
Author = {Kay, AC and Moscovitch, DA and Laurin, K},
Title = {Randomness, attributions of arousal, and belief in
god.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {21},
Number = {2},
Pages = {216-218},
Year = {2010},
Month = {February},
ISSN = {0956-7976},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797609357750},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797609357750},
Key = {fds273277}
}
@article{fds273278,
Author = {Kay, AC and Gaucher, D and McGregor, I and Nash, K},
Title = {Religious belief as compensatory control.},
Journal = {Personality and social psychology review : an official
journal of the Society for Personality and Social
Psychology, Inc},
Volume = {14},
Number = {1},
Pages = {37-48},
Year = {2010},
Month = {February},
ISSN = {1088-8683},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1088868309353750},
Abstract = {The authors review experimental evidence that religious
conviction can be a defensive source of compensatory control
when personal or external sources of control are low. They
show evidence that (a) belief in religious deities and
secular institutions can serve as external forms of control
that can compensate for manipulations that lower personal
control and (b) religious conviction can also serve as
compensatory personal control after experimental
manipulations that lower other forms of personal or external
control. The authors review dispositional factors that
differentially orient individuals toward external or
personal varieties of compensatory control and conclude that
compensatory religious conviction can be a flexible source
of personal and external control for relief from the anxiety
associated with random and uncertain experiences.},
Doi = {10.1177/1088868309353750},
Key = {fds273278}
}
@article{fds273279,
Author = {Callan, MJ and Kay, AC and Olson, JM and Brar, N and Whitefield,
N},
Title = {The effects of priming legal concepts on perceived trust and
competitiveness, self-interested attitudes, and competitive
behavior},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {46},
Number = {2},
Pages = {325-335},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2010},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.12.005},
Abstract = {Socio-legal scholars have suggested that, as a ubiquitous
social system, law shapes social reality and provides
interpretive frameworks for social relations. Across five
studies, we tested the idea that the law shapes social
reality by fostering the assumptions that people are
self-interested, untrustworthy, and competitive. In Studies
1 and 2, we found that people implicitly associated legal
concepts with competitiveness. Studies 3-5 showed that these
associations had implications for social perceptions,
self-interested attitudes, and competitive behavior. After
being primed with constructs related to the law,
participants perceived social actors as less trustworthy and
the situation as more competitive (Study 3), became more
against a political issue when it conflicted with their
normative self-interest (Study 4), and made more competitive
choices during a prisoner's dilemma game when they believed
that social relations were basically zero-sum in nature
(Study 5). The implications and applications of these
results are discussed. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2009.12.005},
Key = {fds273279}
}
@article{fds273280,
Author = {Laurin, K and Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Restricted emigration, system inescapability, and defense of
the status quo: system-justifying consequences of restricted
exit opportunities.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {21},
Number = {8},
Pages = {1075-1082},
Year = {2010},
Month = {August},
ISSN = {0956-7976},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797610375448},
Abstract = {The freedom to emigrate at will from a geographic location
is an internationally recognized human right. However, this
right is systematically violated by restrictive migration
policies. In three experiments, we explored the
psychological consequences of violating the right to
mobility. Our results suggest that, ironically, restricted
freedom of movement can lead to increased system
justification (i.e., increased support of the status quo).
In Study 1, we found that participants who read that their
country was difficult to leave became stronger defenders of
their system's legitimacy than before, even in domains
unrelated to emigration policy (e.g., gender relations). In
Study 2, we demonstrated that this increased system defense
was the result of a motivated process. In Study 3, we
broadened the scope of this psychological phenomenon by
conceptually replicating it using a different system
(participants' university) and measure of system defense.
The importance of these two findings-the first experimental
demonstration of the psychological consequences of
restrictive emigration policies and the introduction of a
novel psychological phenomenon-is discussed.},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797610375448},
Key = {fds273280}
}
@article{fds273281,
Author = {Kay, AC and Shepherd, S and Blatz, CW and Chua, SN and Galinsky,
AD},
Title = {For God (or) country: the hydraulic relation between
government instability and belief in religious sources of
control.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {99},
Number = {5},
Pages = {725-739},
Year = {2010},
Month = {November},
url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20954784},
Abstract = {It has been recently proposed that people can flexibly rely
on sources of control that are both internal and external to
the self to satisfy the need to believe that their world is
under control (i.e., that events do not unfold randomly or
haphazardly). Consistent with this, past research
demonstrates that, when personal control is threatened,
people defend external systems of control, such as God and
government. This theoretical perspective also suggests that
belief in God and support for governmental systems, although
seemingly disparate, will exhibit a hydraulic relationship
with one another. Using both experimental and longitudinal
designs in Eastern and Western cultures, the authors
demonstrate that experimental manipulations or naturally
occurring events (e.g., electoral instability) that lower
faith in one of these external systems (e.g., the
government) lead to subsequent increases in faith in the
other (e.g., God). In addition, mediation and moderation
analyses suggest that specific concerns with order and
structure underlie these hydraulic effects. Implications for
the psychological, sociocultural, and sociopolitical
underpinnings of religious faith, as well as system
justification theory, are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0021140},
Key = {fds273281}
}
@article{fds273292,
Author = {Anderson, JE and Kay, AC and Fitzsimons, GM},
Title = {In search of the silver lining: the justice motive fosters
perceptions of benefits in the later lives of tragedy
victims.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {21},
Number = {11},
Pages = {1599-1604},
Year = {2010},
Month = {November},
ISSN = {1467-9280},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797610386620},
Abstract = {Past research has demonstrated that people's need to
perceive the world as fair and just leads them to blame and
derogate victims of tragedy. The research reported here
shows that a positive reaction--bestowing additional meaning
on the lives of individuals who have suffered--can also
serve people's need to believe that the world is just. In
two studies, participants whose justice motive was
temporarily heightened or who strongly endorsed the belief
that reward and punishment are fairly distributed in the
world perceived more meaning and enjoyment in the life of
someone who had experienced a tragedy than in the life of
someone who had not experienced tragedy, but this pattern
was not found for participants whose justice motive was not
heightened or who did not strongly endorse a justice belief.
These results suggest that being motivated to see the world
as just--a motivation traditionally associated with victim
derogation--also leads people to perceive a "silver lining"
to tragic events.},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797610386620},
Key = {fds273292}
}
@article{fds273216,
Author = {Bobocel, DR and Kay, AC and Zanna, MP and Olson, JM},
Title = {The psychology of justice and legitimacy: The Ontario
symposium},
Journal = {The Psychology of Justice and Legitimacy},
Volume = {11},
Pages = {1-350},
Year = {2011},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658},
Abstract = {© 2010 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.In response to the
international turmoil, violence, and increasing ideological
polarization, social psychological interest in the topics of
legitimacy and social justice has blossomed considerably.
Social psychologists have explored the psychological
underpinnings of people’s reactions to injustice and
illegitimacy, including the behavioral and psychological
consequences of the motivation to view individual outcomes
and governmental systems as just and legitimate.Although
injustice and illegitimacy are clearly related at conceptual
and theoretical levels, these two rich literatures are
rarely integrated. Social justice researchers have focused
on how people make sense of particular instances of
injustice, whereas legitimacy researchers have tended to
focus primarily on people’s reactions to unfair systems of
intergroup relations.This 11th volume of the Ontario
Symposium series brings together the work of leading
researchers in fields of social justice and legitimacy to
facilitate the cross-pollination and integration of these
fields. The contributions address broad theoretical issues
and cutting-edge empirical advances, while illustrating the
diversity and richness of research in the two fields. By
uniting these two domains, this volume will stimulate new
directions in theory and research that seek to explain how
and why people make sense of injustice at all levels of
analysis.},
Doi = {10.4324/9780203837658},
Key = {fds273216}
}
@article{fds273293,
Author = {Laurin, K and Fitzsimons, GM and Kay, AC},
Title = {Social disadvantage and the self-regulatory function of
justice beliefs.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {100},
Number = {1},
Pages = {149-171},
Year = {2011},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0021343},
Abstract = {Five studies support the hypothesis that beliefs in societal
fairness offer a self-regulatory benefit for members of
socially disadvantaged groups. Specifically, members of
disadvantaged groups are more likely than members of
advantaged groups to calibrate their pursuit of long-term
goals to their beliefs about societal fairness. In Study 1,
low socioeconomic status (SES) undergraduate students who
believed more strongly in societal fairness showed greater
intentions to persist in the face of poor performance on a
midterm examination. In Study 2, low SES participants who
believed more strongly in fairness reported more willingness
to invest time and effort to achieve desirable career
outcomes. In Study 3, ethnic minority participants exposed
to a manipulation suggesting that fairness conditions in
their country were improving reported more willingness to
invest resources in pursuit of long-term goals, relative to
ethnic minority participants in a control condition. Study 4
replicated Study 3 using an implicit priming procedure,
demonstrating that perceptions of the personal relevance of
societal fairness mediate these effects. Across these 4
studies, no link between fairness beliefs and
self-regulation emerged for members of advantaged (high SES,
ethnic majority) groups. Study 5 contributed evidence from
the World Values Survey and a representative sample
(Inglehart, Basañez, Diez-Medrano, Halman, & Luijkx, 2004).
Respondents reported more motivation to work hard to the
extent that they believed that rewards were distributed
fairly; this effect emerged more strongly for members of
lower SES groups than for members of higher SES groups, as
indicated by both self-identified social class and
ethnicity.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0021343},
Key = {fds273293}
}
@article{fds273295,
Author = {Banfield, JC and Kay, AC and Cutright, KM and Wu, EC and Fitzsimons,
GJ},
Title = {A person by situation account of motivated system
defense},
Journal = {Social Psychological and Personality Science},
Volume = {2},
Number = {2},
Pages = {212-219},
Publisher = {SAGE Publications},
Year = {2011},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {1948-5506},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1948550610386809},
Abstract = {Three studies demonstrate how individual differences in
confidence in the sociopolitical system interact with
threats that engage the system justification motive to
produce system defense. Following threat, participants low,
but not high, in system confidence increasingly defended the
system, by rejecting system change (Study 1) and preferring
domestic over international products (Studies 2 and 3).
These findings contribute to the literature on system
justification theory in two ways: First, they expand
scholars' understanding of when and for whom system-level
threats instigate motivational processes of system defense,
and, second, they demonstrate that the system justification
motive is not merely another example of worldview
verification phenomena but instead involves a specific goal
to defend the status quo. © The Author(s)
2011.},
Doi = {10.1177/1948550610386809},
Key = {fds273295}
}
@article{fds273296,
Author = {Cutright, KM and Wu, EC and Banfield, JC and Kay, AC and Fitzsimons,
GJ},
Title = {When your world must be defended: Choosing products to
justify the system},
Journal = {Journal of Consumer Research},
Volume = {38},
Number = {1},
Pages = {62-77},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press (OUP)},
Year = {2011},
Month = {June},
ISSN = {0093-5301},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/658469},
Abstract = {Consumers are often strongly motivated to view themselves as
part of a legitimate and fair external system. Our research
focuses on how individuals adopt distinct ways of defending
their system when it is threatened and, in particular, how
this is revealed in their consumption choices. We find that
although individuals differ in how confident they are in the
legitimacy of their system, they do not differ in their
motivation to defend the system when it is threatened.
Instead, they simply adopt different methods of defense.
Specifically, when an important system is (verbally)
attacked, individuals who are the least confident in the
legitimacy of the system seek and appreciate consumption
choices that allow them to indirectly and subtly defend the
system. Conversely, individuals who are highly confident in
the system reject indirect opportunities of defense and seek
consumption choices that allow them to defend the system in
direct and explicit ways. © 2010 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER
RESEARCH, Inc.},
Doi = {10.1086/658469},
Key = {fds273296}
}
@article{fds273283,
Author = {Wheeler, SC and Smeesters, D and Kay, AC},
Title = {Culture modifies the operation of prime-to-behavior
effects},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {47},
Number = {4},
Pages = {824-829},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2011},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.02.018},
Abstract = {Culture affects the extent to which people focus on other
people or on the situation in drawing inferences. Building
on recent research showing that perceptions of others and
situations can mediate prime-to-behavior effects, we tested
whether culture would modify both the mechanism and the
outcome of primed constructs on behavior. Easterners and
Westerners were primed with competitiveness or
cooperativeness before playing a social dilemma game with an
ambiguously or unambiguously competitive player. Results
indicated that the primes had different effects on the
social dilemma decisions of Easterners and Westerners and
that these effects were due to the different consequences
the primes had for Easterners' and Westerners' perceptions
of the other player and construals of the situation. © 2011
Elsevier Inc.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2011.02.018},
Key = {fds273283}
}
@article{fds273286,
Author = {Gaucher, D and Friesen, J and Kay, AC},
Title = {Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists
and sustains gender inequality.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {101},
Number = {1},
Pages = {109-128},
Year = {2011},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0022530},
Abstract = {Social dominance theory (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999) contends
that institutional-level mechanisms exist that reinforce and
perpetuate existing group-based inequalities, but very few
such mechanisms have been empirically demonstrated. We
propose that gendered wording (i.e., masculine- and
feminine-themed words, such as those associated with gender
stereotypes) may be a heretofore unacknowledged,
institutional-level mechanism of inequality maintenance.
Employing both archival and experimental analyses, the
present research demonstrates that gendered wording commonly
employed in job recruitment materials can maintain gender
inequality in traditionally male-dominated occupations.
Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated the existence of subtle but
systematic wording differences within a randomly sampled set
of job advertisements. Results indicated that job
advertisements for male-dominated areas employed greater
masculine wording (i.e., words associated with male
stereotypes, such as leader, competitive, dominant) than
advertisements within female-dominated areas. No difference
in the presence of feminine wording (i.e., words associated
with female stereotypes, such as support, understand,
interpersonal) emerged across male- and female-dominated
areas. Next, the consequences of highly masculine wording
were tested across 3 experimental studies. When job
advertisements were constructed to include more masculine
than feminine wording, participants perceived more men
within these occupations (Study 3), and importantly, women
found these jobs less appealing (Studies 4 and 5). Results
confirmed that perceptions of belongingness (but not
perceived skills) mediated the effect of gendered wording on
job appeal (Study 5). The function of gendered wording in
maintaining traditional gender divisions, implications for
gender parity, and theoretical models of inequality are
discussed.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0022530},
Key = {fds273286}
}
@article{fds273282,
Author = {Laurin, K and Kay, AC and Shepherd, S},
Title = {Self-stereotyping as a route to system justification},
Journal = {Social Cognition},
Volume = {29},
Number = {3},
Pages = {360-375},
Publisher = {Guilford Publications},
Year = {2011},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0278-016X},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/soco.2011.29.3.360},
Abstract = {Endorsing complementary stereotypes about others (i.e.,
stereotypes consisting of a balance of positive and negative
characteristics) can function to satisfy the need to
perceive one's social system as fair and balanced. To what
extent might this also apply to self-perception, or
self-stereotyping? The present research aimed to investigate
the links between perceiving oneself in terms of a
complementary stereotype, and the system justification
motivation. In one study, we experimentally activated this
motivation by threatening men's and women's perceptions of
the fairness of gender relations and examined the impact on
complementary self-stereotyping. In a second study, we
manipulated men's and women's self-perceptions either in the
direction of or away from their gender's complementary
stereotype, and examined the impact of these
self-perceptions on their beliefs about system fairness.
Results support the notion that self-stereotyping is a
viable strategy for satisfying the system justification
goal. Implications for theories of the self-concept and the
maintenance of intergroup inequalities are discussed © 2011
Guilford Publications, Inc.},
Doi = {10.1521/soco.2011.29.3.360},
Key = {fds273282}
}
@article{fds273285,
Author = {Day, MV and Kay, AC and Holmes, JG and Napier, JL},
Title = {System justification and the defense of committed
relationship ideology.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {101},
Number = {2},
Pages = {291-306},
Year = {2011},
Month = {August},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0023197},
Abstract = {A consequential ideology in Western society is the
uncontested belief that a committed relationship is the most
important adult relationship and that almost all people want
to marry or seriously couple (DePaulo & Morris, 2005). In
the present article, we investigated the extent to which the
system justification motive may contribute to the adoption
of this ideology. In Studies 1 and 2, we examined whether a
heightened motive to maintain the status quo would increase
defense of committed relationship values. In Study 3, we
examined the reverse association, that is, whether a threat
to committed relationship ideology would also affect
sociopolitical system endorsement. As past research has
found that the justification of political systems depends
upon how much these systems are perceived as controlling, in
Study 4 we tested whether the defense of the system of
committed relationships would also increase when framed as
controlling. Results from Studies 1-4 were consistent with
our hypotheses, but only for men. In Study 5, using
cross-cultural data, we sought to replicate these findings
correlationally and probe for a cause of the gender effect.
Results from more than 33,000 respondents indicated a
relationship (for men) between defense of the sociopolitical
system and defense of marriage in countries where the
traditional advantages of men over women were most
threatened. In Studies 6 and 7, we investigated when this
gender difference disappears. Results revealed that when we
measured (Study 6) or manipulated (Study 7) personal
relationship identity rather than relationship ideology,
effects also emerge for women.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0023197},
Key = {fds273285}
}
@article{fds273284,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC and Landau, MJ and Keefer,
LA},
Title = {Evidence for the specificity of control motivations in
worldview defense: Distinguishing compensatory control from
uncertainty management and terror management
processes},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {47},
Number = {5},
Pages = {949-958},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2011},
Month = {September},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.03.026},
Abstract = {Research inspired by the compensatory control model (CCM)
shows that people compensate for personal control threats by
bolstering aspects of the cultural worldview that afford
external control. According to the CCM these effects stem
from the motivation to maintain perceived order, but it is
alternatively possible that they represent indirect efforts
to bolster distally related psychological structures
described by uncertainty management theory (self-relevant
certainty) and terror management theory (death-transcendence).
To assess whether compensatory control processes play a
unique role in worldview defense, we hypothesized that
personal control threats would increase affirmation of
cultural constructs that specifically bolster order more so
than constructs that bolster distally related structures.
The results of 5 studies provide converging support for this
hypothesis in the context of attitudes toward diverse
cultural constructs (Study 1: national culture; Studies 2
and 3: consumer products; Studies 4a and 4b: political
candidates). Also supporting hypotheses, uncertainty
salience and mortality salience elicited greater affirmation
of identity- and immortality-conferring targets,
respectively, compared to order-conferring constructs.
Discussion focuses on the value of different perspectives on
existential motivation for predicting specific forms of
worldview defense. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2011.03.026},
Key = {fds273284}
}
@article{fds273287,
Author = {Kay, AC and Friesen, J},
Title = {On social stability and social change: Understanding when
system justification does and does not occur},
Journal = {Current Directions in Psychological Science},
Volume = {20},
Number = {6},
Pages = {360-364},
Publisher = {SAGE Publications},
Year = {2011},
Month = {December},
ISSN = {0963-7214},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0963721411422059},
Abstract = {More than a decade of research from the perspective of
system-justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994) has
demonstrated that people engage in motivated psychological
processes that bolster and support the status quo. We
propose that this motive is highly contextual: People do not
justify their social systems at all times but are more
likely to do so under certain circumstances. We describe
four contexts in which people are prone to engage in
system-justifying processes: (a) system threat, (b) system
dependence, (c) system inescapability, and (d) low personal
control. We describe how and why, in these contexts, people
who wish to promote social change might expect resistance.
© Association for Psychological Science
2011.},
Doi = {10.1177/0963721411422059},
Key = {fds273287}
}
@article{fds273294,
Author = {Laurin, K and Kay, AC and Fitzsimons, GM},
Title = {Divergent effects of activating thoughts of God on
self-regulation.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {102},
Number = {1},
Pages = {4-21},
Year = {2012},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0025971},
Abstract = {Despite the cultural ubiquity of ideas and images related to
God, relatively little is known about the effects of
exposure to God representations on behavior. Specific
depictions of God differ across religions, but common to
most is that God is (a) an omnipotent, controlling force and
(b) an omniscient, all-knowing being. Given these 2
characteristic features, how might exposure to the concept
of God influence behavior? Leveraging classic and recent
theorizing on self-regulation and social cognition, we
predict and test for 2 divergent effects of exposure to
notions of God on self-regulatory processes. Specifically,
we show that participants reminded of God (vs. neutral or
positive concepts) demonstrate both decreased active goal
pursuit (Studies 1, 2, and 5) and increased temptation
resistance (Studies 3, 4, and 5). These findings provide the
first experimental evidence that exposure to God influences
goal pursuit and suggest that the ever-present cultural
reminders of God can be both burden and benefit for
self-regulation.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0025971},
Key = {fds273294}
}
@article{fds273288,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {On the perpetuation of ignorance: system dependence, system
justification, and the motivated avoidance of sociopolitical
information.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {102},
Number = {2},
Pages = {264-280},
Year = {2012},
Month = {February},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026272},
Abstract = {How do people cope when they feel uninformed or unable to
understand important social issues, such as the environment,
energy concerns, or the economy? Do they seek out
information, or do they simply ignore the threatening issue
at hand? One would intuitively expect that a lack of
knowledge would motivate an increased, unbiased search for
information, thereby facilitating participation and
engagement in these issues-especially when they are
consequential, pressing, and self-relevant. However, there
appears to be a discrepancy between the importance/self-relevance
of social issues and people's willingness to engage with and
learn about them. Leveraging the literature on system
justification theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994), the authors
hypothesized that, rather than motivating an increased
search for information, a lack of knowledge about a specific
sociopolitical issue will (a) foster feelings of dependence
on the government, which will (b) increase system
justification and government trust, which will (c) increase
desires to avoid learning about the relevant issue when
information is negative or when information valence is
unknown. In other words, the authors suggest that
ignorance-as a function of the system justifying tendencies
it may activate-may, ironically, breed more ignorance. In
the contexts of energy, environmental, and economic issues,
the authors present 5 studies that (a) provide evidence for
this specific psychological chain (i.e., ignorance about an
issue → dependence → government trust → avoidance of
information about that issue); (b) shed light on the role of
threat and motivation in driving the second and third links
in this chain; and (c) illustrate the unfortunate
consequences of this process for individual action in those
contexts that may need it most.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0026272},
Key = {fds273288}
}
@article{fds273297,
Author = {Laurin, K and Kay, AC and Fitzsimons, GJ},
Title = {Reactance versus rationalization: divergent responses to
policies that constrain freedom.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {23},
Number = {2},
Pages = {205-209},
Year = {2012},
Month = {February},
url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22241813},
Abstract = {How do people respond to government policies and work
environments that place restrictions on their personal
freedoms? The psychological literature offers two
contradictory answers to this question. Here, we attempt to
resolve this apparent discrepancy. Specifically, we identify
the absoluteness of a restriction as one factor that
determines how people respond to it. Across two studies,
participants responded to absolute restrictions (i.e.,
restrictions that were sure to come into effect) with
rationalization: They viewed the restrictions more
favorably, and valued the restricted freedoms less, compared
with control participants. Participants responded in the
opposite way to identical restrictions that were described
as nonabsolute (i.e., as having a small chance of not coming
into effect): In this case, participants displayed
reactance, viewing the restrictions less favorably, and
valuing the restricted freedoms more, compared with control
participants. We end by discussing future research
directions.},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797611429468},
Key = {fds273297}
}
@article{fds273289,
Author = {Laurin, K and Shariff, AF and Henrich, J and Kay,
AC},
Title = {Outsourcing punishment to God: beliefs in divine control
reduce earthly punishment.},
Journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences},
Volume = {279},
Number = {1741},
Pages = {3272-3281},
Year = {2012},
Month = {August},
ISSN = {0962-8452},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.0615},
Abstract = {The sanctioning of norm-transgressors is a necessary--though
often costly--task for maintaining a well-functioning
society. Prior to effective and reliable secular
institutions for punishment, large-scale societies depended
on individuals engaging in 'altruistic punishment'--bearing
the costs of punishment individually, for the benefit of
society. Evolutionary approaches to religion suggest that
beliefs in powerful, moralizing Gods, who can distribute
rewards and punishments, emerged as a way to augment earthly
punishment in large societies that could not effectively
monitor norm violations. In five studies, we investigate
whether such beliefs in God can replace people's motivation
to engage in altruistic punishment, and their support for
state-sponsored punishment. Results show that, although
religiosity generally predicts higher levels of punishment,
the specific belief in powerful, intervening Gods reduces
altruistic punishment and support for state-sponsored
punishment. Moreover, these effects are specifically owing
to differences in people's perceptions that humans are
responsible for punishing wrongdoers.},
Doi = {10.1098/rspb.2012.0615},
Key = {fds273289}
}
@article{fds273254,
Author = {Sullivan, D and Landau, MJ and Kay, AC and Rothschild,
ZK},
Title = {Collectivism and the meaning of suffering.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {103},
Number = {6},
Pages = {1023-1039},
Year = {2012},
Month = {December},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000311769800008&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=47d3190e77e5a3a53558812f597b0b92},
Abstract = {People need to understand why an instance of suffering
occurred and what purpose it might have. One widespread
account of suffering is a repressive suffering construal
(RSC): interpreting suffering as occurring because people
deviate from social norms and as having the purpose of
reinforcing the social order. Based on the theorizing of
Emile Durkheim and others, we propose that RSC is associated
with social morality-the belief that society dictates
morality-and is encouraged by collectivist (as opposed to
individualist) sentiments. Study 1 showed that dispositional
collectivism predicts both social morality and RSC. Studies
2-4 showed that priming collectivist (vs. individualist)
self-construal increases RSC of various types of suffering
and that this effect is mediated by increased social
morality (Study 4). Study 5 examined behavioral intentions,
demonstrating that parents primed with a collectivist
self-construal interpreted children's suffering more
repressively and showed greater support for corporal
punishment of children.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0030382},
Key = {fds273254}
}
@article{fds273255,
Author = {Sullivan, D and Landau, MJ and Kay, AC},
Title = {Toward a comprehensive understanding of existential threat:
Insights from paul tillich},
Journal = {Social Cognition},
Volume = {30},
Number = {6},
Pages = {734-757},
Publisher = {Guilford Publications},
Year = {2012},
Month = {December},
ISSN = {0278-016X},
url = {http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000312571100006&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=47d3190e77e5a3a53558812f597b0b92},
Abstract = {Experimental existential psychology (XXP) empirically
investigates how people's motives for meaning and personal
value influence their lives, and how symbolic self-awareness
undergirds these motives and experienced threats to their
fulfillment. The authors attempt to synthesize the insights
that have already accumulated from XXP, and simultaneously
point to a new direction for this field. Researchers have
debated whether there is a "core threat" in human
experience, but the authors propose that a more fruitful
direction for research is to examine the simultaneous
independence and interdependence of different existential
threats. Paul Tillich's (1952) theory of existential threat
is put forward as one model for understanding how a core
threat to non-being (mortality) can nevertheless be
experienced in proximally different forms, in terms of
anxieties about meaninglessness or condemnation of the self.
In addition to presenting Tillich's theory, the authors make
several concrete suggestions for how future research in XXP
should proceed. © 2012 Guilford Publications,
Inc.},
Doi = {10.1521/soco.2012.30.6.734},
Key = {fds273255}
}
@article{fds273290,
Author = {Kay, AC and Day, MV and Zanna, MP and Nussbaum, AD},
Title = {The insidious (and ironic) effects of positive
stereotypes},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {49},
Number = {2},
Pages = {287-291},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2013},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.11.003},
Abstract = {The present research demonstrates that positive stereotypes
- though often treated as harmless, flattering and innocuous
- may represent an especially insidious means of promoting
antiquated beliefs about social groups. Specifically, across
four studies (and one replication), the authors demonstrate
that exposure to positive stereotypes towards African
Americans (i.e., they are superior athletes) are at once
both especially unlikely to arouse skepticism and emotional
vigilance while also especially likely to produce antiquated
and harmful beliefs towards members of the target group
(compared to both baseline conditions and exposure to
negative stereotypes), including beliefs in the biological
(or "natural") underpinnings of group differences and,
ironically, the application of negative stereotypes. © 2012
Elsevier Inc.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2012.11.003},
Key = {fds273290}
}
@article{fds273251,
Author = {Laurin, K and Gaucher, D and Kay, A},
Title = {Stability and the justification of social
inequality},
Journal = {European Journal of Social Psychology},
Volume = {43},
Number = {4},
Pages = {246-254},
Publisher = {WILEY},
Year = {2013},
Month = {June},
ISSN = {0046-2772},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.1949},
Abstract = {Modern society is rife with inequality. People's
interpretations of these inequalities, however, vary
considerably: Different people can interpret, for example,
the existing gender gap in wages as being the result of
systemic discrimination, or as being the fair and natural
result of genuine differences between men and women. Here,
we examine one factor that may help explain differing
interpretations of existing social inequalities: perceptions
of system stability. System justification theory proposes
that people are often motivated to rationalize and justify
the systems within which they operate, legitimizing whatever
social inequalities are present within them. We draw on
theories and evidence of rationalization more broadly to
predict that people should be most likely to legitimize
inequalities in their systems when they perceive those
systems as stable and unchanging. In one study, participants
who witnessed stability, rather than change, in the domain
of gender equality in business subsequently reported less
willingness to support programs designed to redress
inequalities in completely unrelated domains. In a second
study, exposure to the mere concept of stability, via a
standard priming procedure, led participants to
spontaneously produce legitimizing, rather than blaming,
explanations for existing gender inequality in their
country. This effect, however, emerged only among
politically liberal participants. These findings contribute
to an emerging body of research that aims to identify the
conditions that promote, and those which prevent,
system-justifying tendencies. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd.},
Doi = {10.1002/ejsp.1949},
Key = {fds273251}
}
@article{fds273253,
Author = {Zhu, LL and Kay, AC and Eibach, RP},
Title = {A test of the flexible ideology hypothesis: System
justification motives interact with ideological cueing to
predict political judgments},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {49},
Number = {4},
Pages = {755-758},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2013},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.03.007},
Abstract = {We hypothesize that the system justification motive
increases individuals' susceptibility to ideological priming
effects. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of 308
participants in which system justification, accessibility of
meritocratic or egalitarian ideology, and judgment of a
meritocratic or equal funding system were manipulated. As
predicted, when the system justifying motive was activated,
participants primed with meritocracy (egalitarianism) judged
a meritocratic (equal) funding system as relatively more
fair. The same pattern was not found when system
justification motives were not activated. Theoretical
implications are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier
Inc.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2013.03.007},
Key = {fds273253}
}
@article{fds273249,
Author = {Kay, AC and Eibach, RP},
Title = {Compensatory Control and Its Implications for Ideological
Extremism},
Journal = {Journal of Social Issues},
Volume = {69},
Number = {3},
Pages = {564-585},
Publisher = {WILEY},
Year = {2013},
Month = {September},
ISSN = {0022-4537},
url = {http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000324059700009&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=47d3190e77e5a3a53558812f597b0b92},
Abstract = {This article outlines and reviews evidence for a model of
compensatory control designed to account for the motivated
belief in personal and external sources of control. In doing
so, we attempt to shed light on the content and strength of
ideologies, including extreme libertarian, nationalist,
socialist, and religious fundamentalist ideologies. We
suggest that although these ideologies differ in their
content they commonly function to provide people with a
sense of control over otherwise random events. We propose
that extreme ideologies of personal control (e.g.,
libertarianism) and external control (e.g., socialism,
religious fundamentalism) are equifinal means of meeting a
universal need to believe that things, in general, are under
control-that is, that events do not unfold randomly or
haphazardly. We use this model to explain how the adoption
and strength of ideologies of personal and external control
may vary across temporal and sociocultural contexts. © 2013
The Society for the Psychological Study of Social
Issues.},
Doi = {10.1111/josi.12029},
Key = {fds273249}
}
@article{fds273250,
Author = {Laurin, K and Kay, AC and Proudfoot, D and Fitzsimons,
GJ},
Title = {Response to restrictive policies: Reconciling system
justification and psychological reactance},
Journal = {Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes},
Volume = {122},
Number = {2},
Pages = {152-162},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2013},
Month = {November},
ISSN = {0749-5978},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.06.004},
Abstract = {Here we propose a dual process model to reconcile two
contradictory predictions about how people respond to
restrictive policies imposed upon them by organizations and
systems within which they operate. When participants'
attention was not drawn to the restrictive nature of the
policy, or when it was, but their cognitive resources were
restricted, we found evidence supporting a prediction based
on System Justification Theory: Participants reacted
favorably to restrictive policies, endorsing them and
downplaying the importance of the restricted freedom. Only
when we cued participants to focus their undivided attention
on the restrictive nature of the policy did we find evidence
supporting a prediction based on psychological reactance:
Only then did participants display reactance and respond
negatively to the policies. © 2013 Elsevier
Inc.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.obhdp.2013.06.004},
Key = {fds273250}
}
@article{fds273248,
Author = {Kugler, MB and Funk, F and Braun, J and Gollwitzer, M and Kay, AC and Darley, JM},
Title = {Differences in punitiveness across three cultures: A test of
American exceptionalism in justice attitudes},
Journal = {Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology},
Volume = {103},
Number = {4},
Pages = {1071-1114},
Year = {2013},
Month = {December},
ISSN = {0091-4169},
url = {http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000327673500002&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=47d3190e77e5a3a53558812f597b0b92},
Abstract = {The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the
world and a more punitive approach to criminal justice
issues than comparable Western democracies. One potential
explanation for this distinctiveness is that Americans, as
individuals, are uniquely punitive toward criminals. The
present study explores the possibility of cultural
differences in punitive attitudes. Census-representative
samples of Americans, Canadians, and Germans were asked to
assign sentences to a variety of people who had committed
different offenses. Even though Canada has much more lenient
sentencing policies than the United States in practice,
Americans and Canadians generally did not differ from each
other in sentencing attitudes. Both assigned slightly longer
sentences than did Germans, however. Americans, therefore,
do not appear to be uniquely punitive at the individual
level. Also, people from all three cultures were in
agreement about the moral wrongfulness of most baseline
crimes, indicating that enhanced American and Canadian
punitiveness is not due to an increased sense of moral
outrage. Institutional explanations for American
Exceptionalism in policies are discussed. © 2013 by
Northwestern University School of Law.},
Key = {fds273248}
}
@article{fds312701,
Author = {Kay, AC and Proudfoot, D},
Title = {Reactance of Rationalization? Predicting Public Responses to
Government Policy},
Journal = {Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain
Sciences},
Volume = {1},
Number = {1},
Pages = {256-262},
Editor = {Fiske, ST},
Year = {2014},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2372732214550489},
Abstract = {The public’s attitudes toward new governmental laws and
regulations are frequently at the forefront of public policy
debates. Will the public react negatively to a newly
implemented public safety regulation or embrace the change?
Does the public’s initial favorability toward a proposed
environmental policy indicate public opinion and compliance
if such a law passed? Social psychological research directly
explores these questions and provides insight into how
specific policy designs and implementations can shape public
response to new regulations. People may exhibit one of two
contrasting responses to policies: reactance or
rationalization. When a rule is imposed, individuals often
display reactance—exaggerating the value of the behavior
being banned or restricted. However, individuals also
frequently show an opposite, perhaps less conspicuous,
tendency—They rationalize government policy; that is, they
diminish alternatives and actively justify why the imposed
regulations are favorable. In experiments, two
factors—individuals’ attentional focus and a policy’s
apparent absoluteness—determine whether people react
against or rationalize policies that seek to restrict their
behavior. In other evidence, people’s motivation to defend
the status quo may hinder—but also facilitate—support
for public policy changes. The implications can guide public
policy design and implementation.},
Doi = {10.1177/2372732214550489},
Key = {fds312701}
}
@article{fds273235,
Author = {Proudfoot, D and Kay, AC},
Title = {System justification in organizational contexts: How a
Motivated preference for the status quo can affect
organizational attitudes and behaviors},
Journal = {Research in Organizational Behavior},
Volume = {34},
Pages = {173-187},
Year = {2014},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0191-3085},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2014.03.001},
Abstract = {In this chapter, we put forth the premise that people's
motivated tendency to justify and defend their external
systems has important, and largely unexplored, implications
for the field of organizational behavior. Drawing on recent
theoretical and empirical work emerging from System
Justification Theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994), we propose that
people's desire to view prevailing structural arrangements
in a positive light may uniquely contribute to our
understanding of the psychology of people in organizational
settings. We begin by specifically highlighting System
Justification Theory's implications for: organizational
change, employee citizenship behaviors, and integration of a
diverse workforce. We then review empirical work on the
situations in which people's system-justification motive is
likely to be particularly pronounced and discuss how these
situations may manifest in organizational contexts.
Following this, we describe several streams of research on
the consequences of the system-justification motive, with a
focus on the implications of these findings for
organizational members' perceptions, attitudes, and
behaviors in the workplace.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.riob.2014.03.001},
Key = {fds273235}
}
@article{fds273239,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {When government confidence undermines public involvement in
modern disasters},
Journal = {Social Cognition},
Volume = {32},
Number = {3},
Pages = {206-216},
Publisher = {Guilford Publications},
Year = {2014},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0278-016X},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/soco.2014.32.3.206},
Abstract = {As our global community increases in complexity, crises and
disasters-such as global financial meltdowns and natural
disasters-increasingly have the ability to impact millions
of lives. Because of the scale and complexity of these
issues, they are seemingly beyond comprehension and personal
control. As such, people may rely on the government as a
psychological crutch, thus undermining their own engagement
with and understanding of crises and disasters. In the
context of the present economic crisis (Study 1) and the
2010 BP oil crisis in the Gulf of Mexico (Study 2) the
current research provides evidence for the idea that when
perceptions of government competency and agency are high,
people become less inclined to learn about and become
engaged in crises and disasters. © 2014 Guilford
Publications, Inc.},
Doi = {10.1521/soco.2014.32.3.206},
Key = {fds273239}
}
@article{fds312702,
Author = {Yeung, AWY and Kay, AC and Peach, JM},
Title = {Anti-feminist backlash: The role of system justification in
the rejection of feminism},
Journal = {Group Processes & Intergroup Relations},
Volume = {17},
Number = {4},
Pages = {474-484},
Publisher = {SAGE Publications},
Year = {2014},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {1368-4302},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1368430213514121},
Abstract = {System justification theory (SJT) posits that people are
motivated to believe that the social system they live in is
fair, desirable, and how it should be, especially in
contexts that heighten the system justification motive. Past
researchers have suggested that opposition to feminists may
be motivated by the threat that feminism presents to the
legitimacy of the status quo, but this hypothesis has not
been tested empirically. In this article, we present three
studies that directly test the idea that antifeminist
backlash can be motivated by system justification. Studies 1
and 2 experimentally manipulated the SJ motive and a female
target's feminist identification (feminist vs. nonfeminist).
Study 3 tested the hypothesis by measuring participants’
SJ motivation via an individual difference measure.
Participants disagreed more with identical statements about
gender issues made by the feminist target than the
nonfeminist target, but only when the system justification
motive was heightened (Study 2) or chronically high (Study
3). © 2013, SAGE Publications. All rights
reserved.},
Doi = {10.1177/1368430213514121},
Key = {fds312702}
}
@article{fds273243,
Author = {Tang, S and Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Do difficult decisions motivate belief in fate? A test in
the context of the 2012 U.S. presidential
election.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {25},
Number = {4},
Pages = {1046-1048},
Year = {2014},
Month = {April},
ISSN = {0956-7976},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797613519448},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797613519448},
Key = {fds273243}
}
@article{fds273244,
Author = {Kay, AC and Jost, JT},
Title = {Theoretical integration in motivational science: System
justification as one of many "autonomous motivational
structures".},
Journal = {The Behavioral and brain sciences},
Volume = {37},
Number = {2},
Pages = {146-147},
Year = {2014},
Month = {April},
ISSN = {0140-525X},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x13002057},
Abstract = {Recognizing that there is a multiplicity of motives - and
that the accessibility and strength of each one varies
chronically and temporarily - is essential if motivational
scientists are to achieve genuine theoretical and empirical
integration. We agree that system justification is a case of
nonconscious goal pursuit and discuss implications of the
fact that it conflicts with many other psychological
goals.},
Doi = {10.1017/s0140525x13002057},
Key = {fds273244}
}
@article{fds273246,
Author = {Kay, AC and Laurin, K and Fitzsimons, GM and Landau,
MJ},
Title = {A functional basis for structure-seeking: exposure to
structure promotes willingness to engage in motivated
action.},
Journal = {Journal of experimental psychology. General},
Volume = {143},
Number = {2},
Pages = {486-491},
Year = {2014},
Month = {April},
ISSN = {0096-3445},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0034462},
Abstract = {A recurring observation of experimental psychologists is
that people prefer, seek out, and even selectively "see"
structure in their social and natural environments.
Structure-seeking has been observed across a wide range of
phenomena--from the detection of patterns in random arrays
to affinities for order-providing political, religious,
social, and scientific worldviews--and is exacerbated under
psychological threat. Why are people motivated for
structure? An intriguing, but untested, explanation holds
that perceiving structure, even in domains unrelated to
one's current behavioral context, can facilitate willingness
to take goal-directed actions. Supporting this, in 5
studies, reminders of structure in nature or society
increase willingness to engage in goal pursuit.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0034462},
Key = {fds273246}
}
@article{fds273247,
Author = {Friesen, JP and Kay, AC and Eibach, RP and Galinsky,
AD},
Title = {Seeking structure in social organization: compensatory
control and the psychological advantages of
hierarchy.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {106},
Number = {4},
Pages = {590-609},
Year = {2014},
Month = {April},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0035620},
Abstract = {Hierarchies are a ubiquitous form of human social
organization. We hypothesized that 1 reason for the
prevalence of hierarchies is that they offer structure and
therefore satisfy the core motivational needs for order and
control relative to less structured forms of social
organization. This hypothesis is rooted in compensatory
control theory, which posits that (a) individuals have a
basic need to perceive the world as orderly and structured,
and (b) personal and external sources of control are capable
of satisfying this need because both serve the comforting
belief that the world operates in an orderly fashion. Our
first 2 studies confirmed that hierarchies were perceived as
more structured and orderly relative to egalitarian
arrangements (Study 1) and that working in a hierarchical
workplace promotes a feeling of self-efficacy (Study 2). We
threatened participants' sense of personal control and
measured perceptions of and preferences for hierarchy in 5
subsequent experiments. Participants who lacked control
perceived more hierarchy occurring in ambiguous social
situations (Study 3) and preferred hierarchy more strongly
in workplace contexts (Studies 4-5). We also provide
evidence that hierarchies are indeed appealing because of
their structure: Preference for hierarchy was higher among
individuals high in Personal Need for Structure and a
control threat increased preference for hierarchy even among
participants low in Personal Need for Structure (Study 5).
Framing a hierarchy as unstructured reversed the effect of
control threat on hierarchy (Study 6). Finally,
hierarchy-enhancing jobs were more appealing after control
threat, even when they were low in power and status (Study
7).},
Doi = {10.1037/a0035620},
Key = {fds273247}
}
@article{fds273240,
Author = {Callan, MJ and Kay, AC and Dawtry, RJ},
Title = {Making sense of misfortune: deservingness, self-esteem, and
patterns of self-defeat.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {107},
Number = {1},
Pages = {142-162},
Year = {2014},
Month = {July},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0036640},
Abstract = {Drawing on theorizing and research suggesting that people
are motivated to view their world as an orderly and
predictable place in which people get what they deserve, the
authors proposed that (a) random and uncontrollable bad
outcomes will lower self-esteem and (b) this, in turn, will
lead to the adoption of self-defeating beliefs and
behaviors. Four experiments demonstrated that participants
who experienced or recalled bad (vs. good) breaks devalued
their self-esteem (Studies 1a and 1b), and that decrements
in self-esteem (whether arrived at through misfortune or
failure experience) increase beliefs about deserving bad
outcomes (Studies 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b). Five studies (Studies
3-7) extended these findings by showing that this, in turn,
can engender a wide array of self-defeating beliefs and
behaviors, including claimed self-handicapping ahead of an
ability test (Study 3), the preference for others to view
the self less favorably (Studies 4-5), chronic
self-handicapping and thoughts of physical self-harm (Study
6), and choosing to receive negative feedback during an
ability test (Study 7). The current findings highlight the
important role that concerns about deservingness play in the
link between lower self-esteem and patterns of
self-defeating beliefs and behaviors. The theoretical and
practical implications of these findings are
discussed.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0036640},
Key = {fds273240}
}
@article{fds273237,
Author = {Campbell, T and Kay, A},
Title = {Solution Aversion: On the Relation Between Ideology and
Motivated Disbelief},
Journal = {Journal of Personality and Social Psychology},
Volume = {107},
Number = {5},
Pages = {809-824},
Publisher = {American Psychological Association},
Year = {2014},
Month = {November},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0037963},
Abstract = {There is often a curious distinction between what the
scientific community and the general population believe to
be true of dire scientific issues, and this skepticism tends
to vary markedly across groups. For instance, in the case of
climate change, Republicans (conservatives) are especially
skeptical of the relevant science, particularly when they
are compared with Democrats (liberals). What causes such
radical group differences? We suggest, as have previous
accounts, that this phenomenon is often motivated. However,
the source of this motivation is not necessarily an aversion
to the problem, per se, but an aversion to the solutions
associated with the problem. This difference in underlying
process holds important implications for understanding,
predicting, and influencing motivated skepticism. In 4
studies, we tested this solution aversion explanation for
why people are often so divided over evidence and why this
divide often occurs so saliently across political party
lines. Studies 1, 2, and 3— using correlational and
experimental methodologies— demonstrated that
Republicans’ increased skepticism toward environmental
sciences may be partly attributable to a conflict between
specific ideological values and the most popularly discussed
environmental solutions. Study 4 found that, in a different
domain (crime), those holding a more liberal ideology
(support for gun control) also show skepticism motivated by
solution aversion.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0037963},
Key = {fds273237}
}
@article{fds273236,
Author = {Whitson, JA and Galinsky, AD and Kay, A},
Title = {The emotional roots of conspiratorial perceptions, system
justification, and belief in the paranormal},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {56},
Pages = {89-95},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2015},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {0022-1031},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2014.09.002},
Abstract = {We predicted that experiencing emotions that reflect
uncertainty about the world (e.g., worry, surprise, fear,
hope), compared to certain emotions (e.g., anger, happiness,
disgust, contentment), would activate the need to imbue the
world with order and structure across a wide range of
compensatory measures. To test this hypothesis, three
experiments orthogonally manipulated the uncertainty and the
valence of emotions. Experiencing uncertain emotions
increased defense of government (Experiment 1) and led
people to embrace conspiracies and the paranormal
(Experiment 2). Self-affirmation eliminated the effects of
uncertain emotions on compensatory control (Experiment 3).
Across all experiments, the valence of the emotions had no
main effects on compensatory control and never interacted
with the uncertainty of emotions. These studies establish a
link between the experience of emotions and the desire for
structure.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2014.09.002},
Key = {fds273236}
}
@article{fds291328,
Author = {Kay, A and Napier, J},
Title = {The justice motive as a driver of religious
experience},
Journal = {Religion, Brain and Behavior},
Volume = {5},
Number = {3},
Pages = {238-240},
Publisher = {Informa UK Limited},
Year = {2015},
Month = {January},
ISSN = {2153-599X},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2014.910262},
Doi = {10.1080/2153599X.2014.910262},
Key = {fds291328}
}
@article{fds326502,
Author = {Brown-Iannuzzi, JL and Lundberg, KB and Kay, AC and Payne,
BK},
Title = {Subjective status shapes political preferences.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {26},
Number = {1},
Pages = {15-26},
Year = {2015},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797614553947},
Abstract = {Economic inequality in America is at historically high
levels. Although most Americans indicate that they would
prefer greater equality, redistributive policies aimed at
reducing inequality are frequently unpopular. Traditional
accounts posit that attitudes toward redistribution are
driven by economic self-interest or ideological principles.
From a social psychological perspective, however, we
expected that subjective comparisons with other people may
be a more relevant basis for self-interest than is material
wealth. We hypothesized that participants would support
redistribution more when they felt low than when they felt
high in subjective status, even when actual resources and
self-interest were held constant. Moreover, we predicted
that people would legitimize these shifts in policy
attitudes by appealing selectively to ideological principles
concerning fairness. In four studies, we found correlational
(Study 1) and experimental (Studies 2-4) evidence that
subjective status motivates shifts in support for
redistributive policies along with the ideological
principles that justify them.},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797614553947},
Key = {fds326502}
}
@article{fds273219,
Author = {van der Toorn, J and Feinberg, M and Jost, JT and Kay, AC and Tyler, TR and Willer, R and Wilmuth, C},
Title = {A sense of powerlessness fosters system justification:
Implications for the legitimation of authority, hierarchy,
and government},
Journal = {Political Psychology},
Volume = {36},
Number = {1},
Pages = {93-110},
Year = {2015},
Month = {February},
ISSN = {0162-895X},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12183},
Abstract = {In an attempt to explain the stability of hierarchy, we
focus on the perspective of the powerless and how a
subjective sense of dependence leads them to imbue the
system and its authorities with legitimacy. In Study 1, we
found in a nationally representative sample of U.S.
employees that financial dependence on one's job was
positively associated with the perceived legitimacy of one's
supervisor. In Study 2, we observed that a general sense of
powerlessness was positively correlated with the perceived
legitimacy of the economic system. In Studies 3 and 4,
priming experimental participants with feelings of
powerlessness increased their justification of the social
system, even when they were presented with
system-challenging explanations for race, class, and gender
disparities. In Study 5, we demonstrated that the experience
of powerlessness increased legitimation of governmental
authorities (relative to baseline conditions). The processes
we identify are likely to perpetuate inequality insofar as
the powerless justify rather than strive to change the
hierarchical structures that disadvantage
them.},
Doi = {10.1111/pops.12183},
Key = {fds273219}
}
@article{fds273220,
Author = {Friesen, JP and Campbell, TH and Kay, AC},
Title = {The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: the appeal
of untestable religious and political ideologies.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {108},
Number = {3},
Pages = {515-529},
Year = {2015},
Month = {March},
ISSN = {0022-3514},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000018},
Abstract = {We propose that people may gain certain "offensive" and
"defensive" advantages for their cherished belief systems
(e.g., religious and political views) by including aspects
of unfalsifiability in those belief systems, such that some
aspects of the beliefs cannot be tested empirically and
conclusively refuted. This may seem peculiar, irrational, or
at least undesirable to many people because it is assumed
that the primary purpose of a belief is to know objective
truth. However, past research suggests that accuracy is only
one psychological motivation among many, and falsifiability
or testability may be less important when the purpose of a
belief serves other psychological motives (e.g., to maintain
one's worldviews, serve an identity). In Experiments 1 and 2
we demonstrate the "offensive" function of unfalsifiability:
that it allows religious adherents to hold their beliefs
with more conviction and political partisans to polarize and
criticize their opponents more extremely. Next we
demonstrate unfalsifiability's "defensive" function: When
facts threaten their worldviews, religious participants
frame specific reasons for their beliefs in more
unfalsifiable terms (Experiment 3) and political partisans
construe political issues as more unfalsifiable ("moral
opinion") instead of falsifiable ("a matter of facts";
Experiment 4). We conclude by discussing how in a world
where beliefs and ideas are becoming more easily testable by
data, unfalsifiability might be an attractive aspect to
include in one's belief systems, and how unfalsifiability
may contribute to polarization, intractability, and the
marginalization of science in public discourse.},
Doi = {10.1037/pspp0000018},
Key = {fds273220}
}
@article{fds273218,
Author = {Landau, MJ and Kay, AC and Whitson, JA},
Title = {Compensatory control and the appeal of a structured
world.},
Journal = {Psychological bulletin},
Volume = {141},
Number = {3},
Pages = {694-722},
Year = {2015},
Month = {May},
ISSN = {0033-2909},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0038703},
Abstract = {People are motivated to perceive themselves as having
control over their lives. Consequently, they respond to
events and cognitions that reduce control with compensatory
strategies for restoring perceived control to baseline
levels. Prior theory and research have documented 3 such
strategies: bolstering personal agency, affiliating with
external systems perceived to be acting on the self's
behalf, and affirming clear contingencies between actions
and outcomes within the context of reduced control (here
termed specific structure). We propose a 4th strategy:
affirming nonspecific structure, or seeking out and
preferring simple, clear, and consistent interpretations of
the social and physical environments. Formulating this claim
suggests that people will respond to reduced control by
affirming structured interpretations that are unrelated to
the control-reducing condition, and even those that entail
otherwise adverse outcomes (e.g., pessimistic health
prospects). Section 1 lays the conceptual foundation for our
review, situating the proposed phenomenon in the literatures
on control motivation and threat-compensation mechanisms.
Section 2 reviews studies that have demonstrated that trait
and state variations in perceived control predict a wide
range of epistemic structuring tendencies, including pattern
recognition and causal reasoning. We posit that these
tendencies reflect a common desire for a structured
understanding of one's environment. Accordingly, a new
meta-analysis spanning the reviewed studies (k = 55)
revealed that control reduction predicts nonspecific
structure affirmation with a moderate effect size (r = .25).
Section 3 reviews research on individual differences and
situational moderators of this effect. The discussion
addresses the interplay of compensatory control strategies
and practical implications.},
Doi = {10.1037/a0038703},
Key = {fds273218}
}
@article{fds273238,
Author = {Tullett, AM and Kay, AC and Inzlicht, M},
Title = {Randomness increases self-reported anxiety and
neurophysiological correlates of performance
monitoring.},
Journal = {Social cognitive and affective neuroscience},
Volume = {10},
Number = {5},
Pages = {628-635},
Year = {2015},
Month = {May},
ISSN = {1749-5016},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsu097},
Abstract = {Several prominent theories spanning clinical, social and
developmental psychology suggest that people are motivated
to see the world as a sensible orderly place. These theories
presuppose that randomness is aversive because it is
associated with unpredictability. If this is the case,
thinking that the world is random should lead to increased
anxiety and heightened monitoring of one's actions and their
consequences. Here, we conduct experimental tests of both of
these ideas. Participants read one of three passages: (i)
comprehensible order, (ii) incomprehensible order and (iii)
randomness. In Study 1, we examined the effects of these
passages on self-reported anxiety. In Study 2, we examined
the effects of the same manipulation on the error-related
negativity (ERN), an event-related brain potential
associated with performance monitoring. We found that
messages about randomness increased self-reported anxiety
and ERN amplitude relative to comprehensible order, whereas
incomprehensible order had intermediate effects. These
results lend support to the theoretically important idea
that randomness is unsettling because it implies that the
world is unpredictable.},
Doi = {10.1093/scan/nsu097},
Key = {fds273238}
}
@article{fds323323,
Author = {Czopp, AM and Kay, AC and Cheryan, S},
Title = {Positive Stereotypes Are Pervasive and Powerful.},
Journal = {Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the
Association for Psychological Science},
Volume = {10},
Number = {4},
Pages = {451-463},
Year = {2015},
Month = {July},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691615588091},
Abstract = {Stereotypes and their associated category-based processes
have traditionally been considered largely within the
context of the negativity of their content and consequences,
both among the general public and the scientific community.
This review summarizes and integrates extant research on
positive stereotypes, which are subjectively favorable
beliefs about social groups, and examines their implications
for individuals and groups directly targeted by such
stereotypes. Furthermore, we examine the beneficial and
adverse implications of positive stereotypes for
interpersonal and intergroup relations, as well as the ways
in which positive stereotypes, more so than negative
stereotypes, may contribute to and perpetuate systemic
differences in power and privilege.},
Doi = {10.1177/1745691615588091},
Key = {fds323323}
}
@article{fds323322,
Author = {Proudfoot, D and Kay, AC and Mann, H},
Title = {Motivated employee blindness: The impact of labor market
instability on judgment of organizational
inefficiencies},
Journal = {Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes},
Volume = {130},
Pages = {108-122},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2015},
Month = {July},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2015.06.008},
Abstract = {While employees might be expected to be especially vigilant
to problems within their organization during times of
economic instability, we build on motivational perspectives
put forth by System Justification Theory to propose the
opposite effect, namely that economic instability enhances
employees' tendency to defensively ignore and diminish
organizational problems. We experimentally manipulated
perceptions of labor market trends and asked participants to
report on problems within their own actual organization. As
predicted, an ostensibly weak external labor market led
employees to perceive their organization as less inefficient
(Study 1), identify fewer organizational efficiency problems
(Study 2), downplay the impact of organizational
inefficiencies (Study 3), and generate a greater ratio of
pros to cons regarding how their organization is run (Study
4), compared to employees exposed to relatively favorable
labor market information. Results suggest an enhanced
motivation to deny the existence of organizational flaws
when employment alternatives are perceived to be
scarce.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.obhdp.2015.06.008},
Key = {fds323322}
}
@article{fds323321,
Author = {Proudfoot, D and Kay, AC and Koval, CZ},
Title = {A Gender Bias in the Attribution of Creativity: Archival and
Experimental Evidence for the Perceived Association Between
Masculinity and Creative Thinking.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {26},
Number = {11},
Pages = {1751-1761},
Year = {2015},
Month = {November},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797615598739},
Abstract = {We propose that the propensity to think creatively tends to
be associated with independence and self-direction-qualities
generally ascribed to men-so that men are often perceived to
be more creative than women. In two experiments, we found
that "outside the box" creativity is more strongly
associated with stereotypically masculine characteristics
(e.g., daring and self-reliance) than with stereotypically
feminine characteristics (e.g., cooperativeness and
supportiveness; Study 1) and that a man is ascribed more
creativity than a woman when they produce identical output
(Study 2). Analyzing archival data, we found that men's
ideas are evaluated as more ingenious than women's ideas
(Study 3) and that female executives are stereotyped as less
innovative than their male counterparts when evaluated by
their supervisors (Study 4). Finally, we observed that
stereotypically masculine behavior enhances a man's
perceived creativity, whereas identical behavior does not
enhance a woman's perceived creativity (Study 5). This boost
in men's perceived creativity is mediated by attributions of
agency, not competence, and predicts perceptions of reward
deservingness.},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797615598739},
Key = {fds323321}
}
@article{fds323319,
Author = {Rahinel, R and Amaral, NB and Clarkson, JJ and Kay,
AC},
Title = {On incidental catalysts of elaboration: Reminders of
environmental structure promote effortful
thought},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {64},
Pages = {1-7},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2016},
Month = {May},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.01.001},
Abstract = {Life is filled with situations in which cognitive
elaboration can powerfully sway outcomes, and yet our
understanding of the contextual factors that impact
elaboration are greatly limited to those entwined with the
focal evaluation, judgment, or decision. In response, this
research tests whether a more fundamental, incidental
feature of the environment-structure-might influence the
extent to which individuals engage in elaboration. Three
studies demonstrate that incidental reminders of structure
increase elaboration (Experiment 1), which in turn impacts
individuals' confidence in their choice (Experiment 2) as
well as the choice itself (Experiment 3). Collectively, the
findings offer novel insight into the role of structure in
promoting elaboration, and suggest that structure-seeking
may be functional in part because it leads to more
thoughtful, considered judgments and decisions.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2016.01.001},
Key = {fds323319}
}
@article{fds323318,
Author = {Kay, AC and Brandt, MJ},
Title = {Ideology and intergroup inequality: emerging directions and
trends},
Journal = {Current Opinion in Psychology},
Volume = {11},
Pages = {110-114},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2016},
Month = {October},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.07.007},
Abstract = {The authors propose that two guiding frameworks characterize
psychological research on the relation between ideology and
inequality. The first, called the product approach, focuses
on ideologies directly concerned with intergroup relations,
in which beliefs about inequality can be considered a direct
product of the relevant belief system. These ideologies
focus on topics that are clearly and explicitly connected to
inequality, such as hierarchy, dominance, the supremacy of
the ingroup, or beliefs about the optimal social and/or
economic order. The second approach focuses on the ways in
which perceptions of inequality can be a byproduct of
ideologies or worldviews that are not directly concerned
with inequality, but can impact intergroup relations
nonetheless. These ideologies tend to involve more abstract,
epistemic content that can be applied broadly, but often
manifest in beliefs that are relevant to intergroup
relations and inequality. Examples are used to illustrate
this distinction, and emerging areas are
discussed.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.07.007},
Key = {fds323318}
}
@article{fds329823,
Author = {Khenfer, J and Laurin, K and Tafani, E and Roux, E and Kay,
AC},
Title = {Interventionist external agents make specific advice less
demotivating},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {73},
Pages = {189-196},
Year = {2017},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.07.003},
Abstract = {Across four experiments, we explored how reminders of
powerful external agents—interventionist Gods and reliable
corporate institutions—influence people's motivation in
the realm of financial goals. We found evidence that when
people receive specific financial advice, they feel
demotivated by the overwhelming flow of concrete
instructions for achieving success. We found further that,
under these circumstances specifically, reminders of
interventionist agents bolster motivation, but that these
same agents under different circumstances (i.e., when people
receive vague advice) instead undermine motivation. Our
findings shed light on the effects of specific (versus
vague) goal focus, and on the dynamics of compensatory
control in consumer settings.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2017.07.003},
Key = {fds329823}
}
@article{fds327057,
Author = {Leander, NP and Kay, AC and Chartrand, TL and Payne,
BK},
Title = {An affect misattribution pathway to perceptions of Intrinsic
reward},
Journal = {Social Cognition},
Volume = {35},
Number = {2},
Pages = {163-180},
Publisher = {Guilford Publications},
Year = {2017},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/soco.2017.35.2.163},
Abstract = {Intrinsic rewards are typically thought to stem from an
activity's inherent properties and not from separable
rewards one receives from it. Yet, people may not
consciously notice or remember all the subtle external
rewards that correspond with an activity and may
misattribute some directly to the activity itself. We
propose that perceptions of intrinsic reward can often be
byproducts of misattributed causal inference, and present
some initial evidence that perceptions of intrinsic reward
can in fact increase when words pertaining to an activity
are subtly paired with pleasant context cues. Importantly,
these effects follow classic boundary conditions of both
misattribution and intrinsic motivation, insofar as they
were extinguished when participants could make a proper
source attribution and/or when the activity became
associated with a blatant external reward. We further
propose a distinction can be made between authentically
"intrinsic" rewards and the illusion of intrinsic rewards
caused by misattributed positive affect.},
Doi = {10.1521/soco.2017.35.2.163},
Key = {fds327057}
}
@article{fds326064,
Author = {Laurin, K and Kay, AC},
Title = {The Motivational Underpinnings of Belief in
God},
Volume = {56},
Pages = {201-257},
Publisher = {Elsevier},
Year = {2017},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.02.004},
Abstract = {Beliefs in powerful Gods are prevalent across time and
across societies. In this chapter, we explore the motivated
underpinnings of this phenomenon. After describing two
popular theories that help account for some of this
prevalence—one focused on byproducts of normal human
cognition and the other focused on the cultural benefit
conferred by shared belief in powerful Gods—we propose
that a third perspective may be needed to fully explain why
so many people believe: that believing in God is one
mechanism through which people fulfill their need to
perceive the world as structured, orderly, and nonrandom. We
then describe a model that outlines the causes and
consequences of perceptions of structure, and leverage this
model to organize the evidence connecting belief in God to
people's need for structure. We then note the ways in which
belief in a powerful God, though not the only form of belief
that can satisfy the need for structure, may hold an
advantage over most alternatives. Finally, we conclude by
discussing the implications of this perspective for
understanding the ongoing evolution of religious
belief.},
Doi = {10.1016/bs.aesp.2017.02.004},
Key = {fds326064}
}
@article{fds326633,
Author = {Ma, A and Kay, AC},
Title = {Compensatory control and ambiguity intolerance},
Journal = {Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes},
Volume = {140},
Pages = {46-61},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2017},
Month = {May},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.04.001},
Abstract = {When do people find ambiguity intolerable, and how might
this manifest in the workplace where roles, guidelines and
expectations can be made to be more or less ambiguous?
Compensatory Control Theory (CCT; Kay, Gaucher, Napier,
Callan, & Laurin, 2008) suggests a potential driver:
perceived control. Recent CCT theory (Landau, Kay, &
Whitson, 2015) has posited that people with chronically
lower levels of perceived control may be especially likely
to seek coherent and structured environments. Given that
ambiguous workplace situations – such as flexible roles
and titles, or loose guidelines and expectations –
necessarily represent a lack of structure, these types of
situations may therefore be especially aversive to those
lower in perceived control. Four studies support this
prediction. Specifically, we observe that low perceived
control (both measured or manipulated) predicts greater
ambiguity intolerance as well as greater negative attitudes
towards ambiguous situations (Studies 1, 2 and 3), but not
other types of problematic workplace situations (Study 1),
and that this process can exert important downstream
consequences, ranging from behavioral intentions to
perceived self-efficacy (Study 4).},
Doi = {10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.04.001},
Key = {fds326633}
}
@article{fds328086,
Author = {Ma, A and Landau, MJ and Narayanan, J and Kay, AC},
Title = {Thought-control difficulty motivates structure
seeking.},
Journal = {Journal of experimental psychology. General},
Volume = {146},
Number = {8},
Pages = {1067-1072},
Year = {2017},
Month = {August},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000282},
Abstract = {Struggling to control one's mind can change how the world
appears. In prior studies testing the compensatory control
theory, reduced control over the external environment
motivated the search for perceptual patterns and other forms
of structured knowledge, even in remote domains. Going
further, the current studies test whether difficulty
controlling thoughts similarly predicts structure seeking.
As hypothesized, thought-control difficulty positively
predicted perceptions of causal connections between remote
events (Study 1a) and nonexistent objects in visual noise
(Study 1b). This effect was mediated by aversive arousal
(Study 2) and caused specifically by thought-control
difficulty as distinct from general difficulty (Study 3).
Study 4 replicated the effect with a sample of meditators
learning to control their thoughts, showing that
thought-control difficulty was a powerful predictor of
structure seeking. These findings reveal a novel form of
motivated perception. (PsycINFO Database
Record},
Doi = {10.1037/xge0000282},
Key = {fds328086}
}
@article{fds323320,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Eibach, RP and Kay, AC},
Title = {“One Nation Under God”: The System-Justifying Function
of Symbolically Aligning God and Government},
Journal = {Political Psychology},
Volume = {38},
Number = {5},
Pages = {703-720},
Publisher = {WILEY},
Year = {2017},
Month = {October},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12353},
Abstract = {Do references to God in political discourse increase
confidence in the U.S. sociopolitical system? Using a system
justification framework (Jost & Banaji,), five studies
provide evidence that, (1) increasingly governments
symbolically associate the nation with God when public
confidence in the social system may be threatened and (2)
associating the nation with God serves a system-justifying
function by increasing public confidence in the system. In
an analysis of U.S. presidential speeches, presidents were
more likely to symbolically associate the nation with God
during threatening times (Study 1). Among religious
individuals, referencing God in political rhetoric increased
the perceived trustworthiness of politicians, compared to
patriotic secular rhetoric (Study 2) or simply priming the
concept of God (Study 3). These effects were also unique to
politicians from one's own sociopolitical system (Study 4).
Finally, believing God has a plan for the United States
attenuates the deleterious effect that perceptions of
national decline have on system confidence (Study 5).
Implications for the system-justifying function of religion
are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1111/pops.12353},
Key = {fds323320}
}
@article{fds333001,
Author = {Fath, S and Proudfoot, D and Kay, AC},
Title = {Effective to a fault: Organizational structure predicts
attitudes toward minority organizations},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {73},
Pages = {290-297},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2017},
Month = {November},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.10.003},
Abstract = {We consider how the structure of groups seeking collective
action on behalf of minorities impacts attitudes toward
them. We predicted that hierarchical minority organizations
are perceived as more effective social agents than
non-hierarchical minority organizations and thus are
particularly unlikely to be supported by those who prefer to
maintain inequality. In a pretest, a hierarchical
organization was judged more efficacious than a
non-hierarchical organization. In two experiments (N = 814;
N = 809), organizational structure (hierarchical vs.
non-hierarchical) and membership (baseline vs. minority)
were manipulated. Stronger preference for maintaining
inequality was associated with increased desire to limit a
minority organization's access to power, specifically when
that organization was hierarchical. Findings suggest
structure may signal the extent to which minority
organizations pose a threat to the dominant social order and
thus can drive responses to them. That is, minorities who
organize may face unique pushback from those invested in
maintaining inequality.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2017.10.003},
Key = {fds333001}
}
@article{fds333000,
Author = {Tang, S and King, M and Kay, AC},
Title = {Fate as a motivated (and de-motivating) belief: Evidence for
a link from task importance to belief in fate to
effort},
Journal = {Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes},
Volume = {144},
Pages = {74-84},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2018},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.08.003},
Abstract = {The perception of whether one has personal control over a
specific task or goal has been shown to be a crucial
predictor of effort and persistence. Given this, one might
expect people to perceive high personal control over tasks
that are very important. However, drawing on emerging
theories of motivated ideological belief, we suggest that,
in some circumstances, the more a task or goal is perceived
as important, the more likely people may be to believe that
the outcome is “fated” – that the outcome of an event
is predetermined and meant to be. Across four studies,
employing diverse samples and contexts, we provide evidence
for this basic phenomenon and the negative repercussions it
can hold for effort expenditure. Implications and avenues
for future research are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.08.003},
Key = {fds333000}
}
@article{fds352423,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Guns as a source of order and chaos: Compensatory control
and the psychological (dis)utility of guns for liberals and
conservatives},
Journal = {Journal of the Association for Consumer Research},
Volume = {3},
Number = {1},
Pages = {16-26},
Year = {2018},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/695761},
Abstract = {Firearms are one the most contentious consumer products in
the United States, with opinions on guns being strongly
divided along liberal versus conservative lines. The current
research leverages compensatory control theory (CCT; Kay et
al. 2008) to show how the same underlying need to see the
world as orderly and nonrandom can help explain both sides
of this divide, with liberals (conservatives) seeing guns as
a source of disorder (order) in the world. Across three
experiments we find that when imagining holding a gun (vs.
not), liberals report less personal control and in turn more
negative emotion compared to conservatives. We also find
that in situations that are inherently chaotic and
disorderly (i.e., shootings), liberals see the introduction
of another firearm (i.e., an armed citizen) as introducing
more disorder into the situation, whereas conservatives see
armed citizens as providing more order to the
situation.},
Doi = {10.1086/695761},
Key = {fds352423}
}
@article{fds332999,
Author = {Landau, MJ and Khenfer, J and Keefer, LA and Swanson, TJ and Kay,
AC},
Title = {When and why does belief in a controlling God strengthen
goal commitment?},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {75},
Pages = {71-82},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2018},
Month = {March},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2017.11.012},
Abstract = {The perception that God controls one's life can bolster
motivation to pursue personal goals, but it can also have no
impact and even squelch motivation. To better understand how
religious beliefs impact self-regulation, the current
research built on Compensatory Control Theory's claim that
perceiving the environment as predictable (vs.
unpredictable) strengthens commitment to long-term goals.
Perceiving God's intervention as following an understandable
logic, which implies a predictable environment, increased
self-reported and behavioral commitment to save money
(Studies 1–3), excel academically (Study 4), and improve
physical health (Study 5). In contrast, perceiving God as
intervening in mysterious ways, which implies that worldly
affairs are under control yet unpredictable, did not
increase goal commitment. Exploratory mediational analyses
focused on self-efficacy, response efficacy, and confidence
in God's control. A meta-analysis (Study 6) yielded a
reliable effect whereby belief in divine control supports
goal pursuit specifically when it signals the predictability
of one's environment.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2017.11.012},
Key = {fds332999}
}
@article{fds333552,
Author = {Proudfoot, D and Kay, AC},
Title = {How perceptions of one's organization can affect perceptions
of the self: Membership in a stable organization can sustain
individuals' sense of control},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {76},
Pages = {104-115},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2018},
Month = {May},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.01.004},
Abstract = {Building on contemporary perspectives regarding the role
that group identification can play in sustaining control
motives, we propose that being a member of a stable
organization—one experienced as predictable and consistent
rather than changing and in flux—can maintain individuals'
sense of control. Four studies test this prediction. We
observe that higher social identification as an
organizational member (as compared to lower identification)
is associated with an increased generalized sense of
personal efficacy in life specifically when one's
organization is experienced as relatively stable (Study 1
and Study 2). Further, the perceived stability of one's
organization moderates the extent to which those who
recently experienced a threat to personal control—and are
thereby motivated to reestablish feelings of control—seek
increased social identification as an organizational member
(Study 3 and Study 4). Results suggest that membership in a
stable organization can provide a psychological buffer
against threats to personal control encountered in daily
life outside work. Contributions to understanding the ways
in which people maintain feelings of personal control in the
social world are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2018.01.004},
Key = {fds333552}
}
@article{fds338574,
Author = {Friesen, JP and Laurin, K and Shepherd, S and Gaucher, D and Kay,
AC},
Title = {System justification: Experimental evidence, its contextual
nature, and implications for social change.},
Journal = {The British journal of social psychology},
Year = {2018},
Month = {September},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12278},
Abstract = {We review conceptual and empirical contributions to system
justification theory over the last fifteen years,
emphasizing the importance of an experimental approach and
consideration of context. First, we review the indirect
evidence of the system justification motive via
complimentary stereotyping. Second, we describe
injunctification as direct evidence of a tendency to view
the extant status quo (the way things are) as the way things
should be. Third, we elaborate on system justification's
contextual nature and the circumstances, such as threat,
dependence, inescapability, and system confidence, which are
likely to elicit defensive bolstering of the status quo and
motivated ignorance of critical social issues. Fourth, we
describe how system justification theory can increase our
understanding of both resistance to and acceptance of social
change, as a change moves from proposed, to imminent, to
established. Finally, we discuss how threatened systems
shore up their authority by co-opting legitimacy from other
sources, such as governments that draw on religious
concepts, and the role of institutional-level factors in
perpetuating the status quo.},
Doi = {10.1111/bjso.12278},
Key = {fds338574}
}
@article{fds347214,
Author = {Hoogeveen, S and Wagenmakers, EJ and Kay, AC and Van Elk,
M},
Title = {Compensatory control and religious beliefs: a registered
replication report across two countries},
Journal = {Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology},
Volume = {3},
Number = {3},
Pages = {240-265},
Year = {2018},
Month = {September},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23743603.2019.1684821},
Abstract = {Compensatory Control Theory (CCT) suggests that religious
belief systems provide an external source of control that
can substitute a perceived lack of personal control. In a
seminal paper, it was experimentally demonstrated that a
threat to personal control increases endorsement of the
existence of a controlling God. In the current registered
report, we conducted a high-powered (N = 829) direct
replication of this effect, using samples from the
Netherlands and the United States (US). Our results show
moderate to strong evidence for the absence of an
experimental effect across both countries: belief in a
controlling God did not increase after a threat compared to
an affirmation of personal control. In a complementary
preregistered analysis, an inverse relation between general
feelings of personal control and belief in a controlling God
was found in the US, but not in the Netherlands. We discuss
potential reasons for the replication failure of the
experimental effect and cultural mechanisms explaining the
cross-country difference in the correlational effect.
Together, our findings suggest that experimental
manipulations of control may be ineffective in shifting
belief in God, but that individual differences in the
experience of control may be related to religious beliefs in
a way that is consistent with CCT.},
Doi = {10.1080/23743603.2019.1684821},
Key = {fds347214}
}
@article{fds339668,
Author = {Fath, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {“If hierarchical, then corrupt”: Exploring people's
tendency to associate hierarchy with corruption in
organizations},
Journal = {Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes},
Volume = {149},
Pages = {145-164},
Publisher = {Elsevier BV},
Year = {2018},
Month = {November},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.10.004},
Abstract = {We propose that people associate organizational hierarchy
with corruption. Nine studies (N = 1896) provide
triangulating evidence for this tendency and its underlying
mechanism. We find that people expect more corruption to
manifest among the employees of relatively more hierarchical
organizations, and judge an organization with a history of
corruption more likely to be hierarchical than one without.
Furthermore, we show that the lay belief that hierarchy and
corruption are connected is driven by two related
assumptions: (i) that the more hierarchical an organization
is, the more likely it is that its employees are competitive
with each other, and (ii) that the more competitive
employees are with each other, the more likely they are to
be corrupt. Finally, we connect these lay beliefs to
behavioral outcomes involved in trusting people who work for
very hierarchical organizations and those organizations
themselves. Implications, limitations, and future directions
are discussed.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.10.004},
Key = {fds339668}
}
@article{fds363336,
Author = {Laurin, K and Kay, AC and Landau, MJ},
Title = {Structure and Goal Pursuit: Individual and Cultural
Differences},
Journal = {Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological
Science},
Volume = {1},
Number = {4},
Pages = {491-494},
Year = {2018},
Month = {December},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2515245918797130},
Doi = {10.1177/2515245918797130},
Key = {fds363336}
}
@article{fds340501,
Author = {Kim, JY and Fitzsimons, GM and Kay, AC},
Title = {Lean in messages increase attributions of women's
responsibility for gender inequality.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {115},
Number = {6},
Pages = {974-1001},
Year = {2018},
Month = {December},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000129},
Abstract = {Although women's underrepresentation in senior-level
positions in the workplace has multiple causes, women's
self-improvement or "empowerment" at work has recently
attracted cultural attention as a solution. For example, the
bestselling book <i>Lean In</i> states that women can tackle
gender inequality themselves by overcoming the "internal
barriers" (e.g., lack of confidence and ambition) that
prevent success. We sought to explore the consequences of
this type of women's empowerment ideology. Study 1 found
that perceptions of women's ability to solve inequality were
associated with attributions of women's responsibility to do
so. Studies 2, 3, 5a, and 5b experimentally manipulated
exposure to women's empowerment messages, finding that while
such messages increase perceptions that women are empowered
to solve workplace gender inequality, they also lead to
attributions that women are more responsible both for
creating and solving the problem. Study 4 found a similar
pattern in the context of a specific workplace problem, and
found that such messages also lead to a preference for
interventions focused on changing women rather than changing
the system. Studies 5a and 5b sought to replicate prior
studies and document the weakened effects of messages that
explicitly explain that women's "internal barriers" are the
products of "external barriers" obstructing women's
progress. This research suggests that self-improvement
messages intended to empower women to take charge of gender
inequality may also yield potentially harmful societal
beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights
reserved).},
Doi = {10.1037/pspa0000129},
Key = {fds340501}
}
@article{fds340963,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {‘Jesus, take the wheel’: the appeal of spiritual
products in satiating concerns about randomness},
Journal = {Journal of Marketing Management},
Volume = {35},
Number = {5-6},
Pages = {467-490},
Year = {2019},
Month = {March},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2018.1556225},
Abstract = {Why are consumers drawn to spiritual products? Leveraging
theorising regarding the psychological need to perceive the
world as orderly and non-random, we posit that products
imbued with religious/spiritual significance help manage
concerns about randomness and uncontrollability (e.g. when a
product is unreliable or exposes the consumer to random
uncontrollable processes). When randomness concerns were
salient, religious consumers showed increased desire to
attach religious significance to secular objects (e.g.
having item blessed, physically attaching a religious
symbol). For spiritual consumers, spiritual products (vs.
non-spiritual physically equivalent products) were seen as
having (i) non-material efficacy (i.e. efficacy not bound to
the purely material world) and (ii) unfalsifiable efficacy
(i.e. efficacy that is immune to contrary evidence).
Evidence is found across a variety of religious and
spiritual contexts.},
Doi = {10.1080/0267257X.2018.1556225},
Key = {fds340963}
}
@article{fds344722,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC and Gray, K},
Title = {Military veterans are morally typecast as agentic but
unfeeling: Implications for veteran employment},
Journal = {Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes},
Volume = {153},
Pages = {75-88},
Year = {2019},
Month = {July},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.06.003},
Abstract = {What kind of “mind” do people assume those in the
military have? This question has important implications for
military veterans and provides an opportunity to test moral
typecasting as a critical element of the theory of dyadic
morality (TDM: Gray & Wegner, 2009; 2011; Schein & Gray,
2017). Based on this theory, moral agents – even those we
admire, such as veterans – will be seen as more agentic
(ability to plan and act) but have less capacity for
experience (ability feel emotion). Leveraging previous
theorizing on mind perception, dehumanization, and career
typology, the current research shows that veterans are seen
as having a higher capacity for agency but less capacity for
experience. As a result, veterans are seen as less (more)
suited for careers that require a high (low) capacity for
experience. Results are found across laypeople, managers,
and employees. Implications for veteran well-being are
discussed.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.06.003},
Key = {fds344722}
}
@article{fds344887,
Author = {Ma, A and Tang, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Psychological reactance as a function of thought versus
behavioral control},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {84},
Year = {2019},
Month = {September},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103825},
Abstract = {How can people persuade and influence others? One option is
to directly target others' behavior through rules and
incentives. Another increasingly popular option, however, is
to focus on modifying what others think rather than how they
behave, and hoping behaviors will then change as a result.
The assumption underlying this latter approach is that
targeting thoughts and attitudes might be easier or more
effective than targeting behaviors. Drawing from
psychological reactance theory (Brehm, 1966), we investigate
whether efforts targeted at controlling what people think,
rather than how they behave, will indeed be met with
differing levels of psychological reactance. Across four
studies, we find that people experience greater
psychological reactance towards efforts to control their
thoughts compared to efforts to control their behaviors.
Specifically, thought control, compared to behavioral
control, led people to experience greater anger and
negativity, and to report lowered motivation to engage in
requested behaviors (Study 1). These effects occurred, at
least in part, because people perceived that those who try
to control their thoughts are likely to try to control their
behaviors too, but not vice versa. As a result, thought
control elicited greater reactance than behavioral control
because the former was perceived as more restrictive than
the latter (Studies 2 & 3). We also address other
explanations for why thought control may elicit more
reactance than behavioral control (Study
4).},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103825},
Key = {fds344887}
}
@article{fds344888,
Author = {Ma, A and Axt, J and Kay, AC},
Title = {A control-based account of stereotyping},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {84},
Year = {2019},
Month = {September},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103819},
Abstract = {Drawing from compensatory control theory, we propose that
because stereotypes provide psychological assurance that the
world is orderly and predictable, stereotyping should
increase among those lacking control. Four studies support
this control-based account of stereotyping: lower personal
control, both measured (Studies 1 and 3) and manipulated
(Study 2a and 2b), was associated with greater gender
(Studies 1, 2a, and 2b) and occupational stereotyping (Study
3). Furthermore, the association between control and
stereotyping was mediated by need for structure (Studies 2a,
2b, and 3). We also explore the moderating role of
interdependent self-construal (Studies 1 to 3). These
findings have implications for our understanding of when,
why and to what end people stereotype others.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103819},
Key = {fds344888}
}
@article{fds342837,
Author = {Kim, JY and Campbell, TH and Shepherd, S and Kay,
AC},
Title = {Understanding contemporary forms of exploitation:
Attributions of passion serve to legitimize the poor
treatment of workers.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {118},
Number = {1},
Pages = {121-148},
Year = {2020},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000190},
Abstract = {The pursuit of passion in one's work is touted in
contemporary discourse. Although passion may indeed be
beneficial in many ways, we suggest that the modern cultural
emphasis may also serve to facilitate the legitimization of
unfair and demeaning management practices-a phenomenon we
term the legitimization of passion exploitation. Across 7
studies and a meta-analysis, we show that people do in fact
deem poor worker treatment (e.g., asking employees to do
demeaning tasks that are irrelevant to their job
description, asking employees to work extra hours without
pay) as more legitimate when workers are presumed to be
"passionate" about their work. Of importance, we demonstrate
2 mediating mechanisms by which this process of
legitimization occurs: (a) assumptions that passionate
workers would have volunteered for this work if given the
chance (Studies 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8), and (b) beliefs that,
for passionate workers, work itself is its own reward
(Studies 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8). We also find support for the
reverse direction of the legitimization process, in which
people attribute passion to an exploited (vs. nonexploited)
worker (Study 7). Finally, and consistent with the notion
that this process is connected to justice motives, a test of
moderated mediation shows this is most pronounced for
participants high in belief in a just world (Study 8). Taken
together, these studies suggest that although passion may
seem like a positive attribute to assume in others, it can
also license poor and exploitative worker treatment.
(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights
reserved).},
Doi = {10.1037/pspi0000190},
Key = {fds342837}
}
@article{fds350255,
Author = {Axt, JR and Landau, MJ and Kay, AC},
Title = {The Psychological Appeal of Fake-News Attributions.},
Journal = {Psychological science},
Volume = {31},
Number = {7},
Pages = {848-857},
Year = {2020},
Month = {July},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797620922785},
Abstract = {The term <i>fake news</i> is increasingly used to discredit
information from reputable news organizations. We tested the
possibility that fake-news claims are appealing because they
satisfy the need to see the world as structured. Believing
that news organizations are involved in an orchestrated
disinformation campaign implies a more orderly world than
believing that the news is prone to random errors. Across
six studies (<i>N</i> > 2,800), individuals with
dispositionally high or situationally increased need for
structure were more likely to attribute contested news
stories to intentional deception than to journalistic
incompetence. The effect persisted for stories that were
ideologically consistent and ideologically inconsistent and
after analyses controlled for strength of political
identification. Political orientation showed a moderating
effect; specifically, the link between need for structure
and belief in intentional deception was stronger for
Republican participants than for Democratic participants.
This work helps to identify when, why, and for whom
fake-news claims are persuasive.},
Doi = {10.1177/0956797620922785},
Key = {fds350255}
}
@article{fds349217,
Author = {Ponce de Leon and R and Kay, AC},
Title = {Political ideology and compensatory control
mechanisms},
Journal = {Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences},
Volume = {34},
Pages = {112-117},
Year = {2020},
Month = {August},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.02.013},
Abstract = {People strive to feel in control. As such, under control
threat, people defensively endorse ideologies that help
compensate for diminished control. Although scholarly work
has tended to focus on conservatism as a compensatory
control mechanism, recent research suggests that
conservatism is not always the most appealing means of
restoring feelings of control. While conservatives are
higher in the need for control — and conservative social
ideologies often function as compensatory control tools —
the endorsement of both liberal and normative ideologies can
also serve as compensatory control mechanisms, under
different circumstances. However, political groups are
likely to differ in the ideologies they adopt under control
threat. Factors related to the cognitive accessibility of
ideologies and their propensity to combat the control threat
at play help determine which set of ideological beliefs
people embrace when they face control loss.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.02.013},
Key = {fds349217}
}
@article{fds348819,
Author = {Stanley, ML and Marsh, EJ and Kay, AC},
Title = {Structure-seeking as a psychological antecedent of beliefs
about morality.},
Journal = {Journal of experimental psychology. General},
Volume = {149},
Number = {10},
Pages = {1908-1918},
Year = {2020},
Month = {October},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000752},
Abstract = {People differ in their beliefs about the objectivity of
moral claims. We investigated a possible psychological
antecedent that might be associated with people's beliefs
about the objectivity of moral claims. More specifically, we
examined the relationship between the endorsement of moral
objectivism and one's need to see the world as structured,
ordered, and predictable. By believing that the world
comprises objective facts about morality, a simple, rigid,
and unambiguous structure is imposed on the moral landscape
that is invariant to the whims and preferences of any
particular person or group. Our results suggest that those
more in need of personal structure and order in their lives
are indeed more likely to endorse moral objectivism. We
discuss the implications of these results for psychological
theories of control and structure-seeking, and for
cooperation, prosociality, social orderliness, and social
goal pursuit. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all
rights reserved).},
Doi = {10.1037/xge0000752},
Key = {fds348819}
}
@article{fds352270,
Author = {Ponce de Leon and R and Wingrove, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Scientific skepticism and inequality: Political and
ideological roots},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {91},
Year = {2020},
Month = {November},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104045},
Abstract = {Despite the recent influx of studies suggesting the negative
societal impact of inequality, many remain skeptical of
these scientific findings. Across four studies, we explore
how political affiliation and social dominance orientation
(SDO) interactively shape attitudes toward the emerging
science on the repercussions of social inequality.
Acceptance of this science was consistently polarized based
on partisanship, with Republicans exhibiting less acceptance
of the findings than Democrats. Consistent with a solution
aversion perspective, correlational studies showed that this
gap in acceptance was related to Republicans' distaste for
policies they presumed would be introduced to solve this
problem, rather than a direct aversion to equality itself
(Studies 1a and 1b). Supporting this interpretation,
experimental studies that manipulated the content of likely
policy solutions to inequality to be less inconsistent with
Republican beliefs resulted in abated Republican skepticism
of these same findings (Study 2 and Study 3). However, we
also observed an important boundary condition to the
solution aversion effect and evidence for another driver of
this case of denial: social dominance orientation (Study 2
and Study 3). The value of testing and considering multiple
individual differences when explaining motivated scientific
(dis)belief is discussed.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104045},
Key = {fds352270}
}
@article{fds349935,
Author = {Brown-Iannuzzi, JL and Lundberg, KB and Kay, AC and Payne,
BK},
Title = {A Privileged Point of View: Effects of Subjective
Socioeconomic Status on Naïve Realism and Political
Division.},
Journal = {Personality & social psychology bulletin},
Volume = {47},
Number = {2},
Pages = {241-256},
Year = {2021},
Month = {February},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167220921043},
Abstract = {In the United States, both economic inequality and political
conflict are on the rise. We investigated whether subjective
socioeconomic status (SSS) may help explain why these dual
patterns emerge. We hypothesized that higher SSS may
increase naïve realism-the belief that one perceives the
world as it is, rather than as interpreted through one's own
knowledge and beliefs-regarding political issues. Using a
representative sample of the American electorate, we found
that higher SSS predicted more political naïve realism
toward those from a different political party (Study 1). The
remaining experiments examined the causal relationship
between SSS and political naïve realism (Studies 2-5). We
extended these findings by investigating whether SSS
influenced participants' willingness to exclude those with
contrary views from a vote (Studies 4 and 5). Together,
these studies demonstrate that SSS enhances political naïve
realism and can lead to the exclusion of others with
contrary opinions.},
Doi = {10.1177/0146167220921043},
Key = {fds349935}
}
@article{fds354249,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Sherman, DK and MacLean, A and Kay,
AC},
Title = {The Challenges of Military Veterans in Their Transition to
the Workplace: A Call for Integrating Basic and Applied
Psychological Science.},
Journal = {Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the
Association for Psychological Science},
Volume = {16},
Number = {3},
Pages = {590-613},
Year = {2021},
Month = {May},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1745691620953096},
Abstract = {Long-standing structural features of the military have
created a culture and society that is dramatically different
and disconnected from civilian society. Thus, veterans
transitioning to civilian society face a number of
challenges related to fulfilling basic psychological needs
(e.g., need for structure and order, belonging) and
civilians' reliance on stereotypes to understand military
veterans. In an attempt to enrich the understanding of these
challenges, we integrate social psychological theories and
insights with research from sociology, clinical psychology,
military psychology, and organizational behavior. Theories
of compensatory control, stereotype threat, and stereotyping
are drawn on to help explain the psychological challenges
that veterans may encounter during their transition to
civilian society. We present recent research that leverages
these theories to understand issues veterans face. This
theoretical integration illustrates the opportunity and
potential for psychological researchers to conduct basic and
applied research in the context of veterans and for
clinicians and managers to draw on basic theory to inform
programs and interventions.},
Doi = {10.1177/1745691620953096},
Key = {fds354249}
}
@article{fds362182,
Author = {Kay, AC and Gibbs, WC},
Title = {Inequality, Military Veteran Transitions, and Beyond:
Compensatory Control Theory and Its Application to Real
World Social Justice Problems.},
Journal = {Social justice research},
Volume = {35},
Number = {1},
Pages = {56-61},
Year = {2022},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11211-021-00385-w},
Doi = {10.1007/s11211-021-00385-w},
Key = {fds362182}
}
@article{fds362846,
Author = {Goya-Tocchetto, D and Kay, AC and Vuletich, H and Vonasch, A and Payne,
K},
Title = {The partisan trade-off bias: When political polarization
meets policy trade-offs},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {98},
Year = {2022},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104231},
Abstract = {Liberals and conservatives currently struggle to reach
political agreement on policy proposals. While political
polarization is closely associated with this phenomenon, the
precise psychological mechanisms via which polarization
works to affect political compromise remain to be fully
explored. Across five studies (N = 1236; 2126 total
individual observations), we uncover one such mechanism by
exploring a novel and robust bias that emerges at the
crossroads of policy trade-offs and partisanship. We call it
the Partisan Trade-off Bias. When interpreting policy
trade-offs, both Democrats and Republicans view the
unintended but unavoidable side effects of policies proposed
by contrapartisans as wanted and intended. Yet they do not
attribute intentionality to the very same types of side
effects of policies proposed by copartisans. We provide
evidence for this bias across four types of policy
trade-offs, including taxes, environmental regulation, gun
control, and voting rights. Importantly, we show that the
partisan trade-off bias is a unique contributor to decreased
willingness to accept policy deals from contrapartisans,
thus reducing the chances of reaching political agreement.
Our studies suggest that the partisan trade-off bias is a
product of the lack of trust in contrapartisans. In an
experimental study, we manipulate trust and decrease the
magnitude of this bias, showing evidence for our proposed
mechanism and revealing a potential intervention to foster
political compromise.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104231},
Key = {fds362846}
}
@article{fds362380,
Author = {Stanley, ML and Kay, AC},
Title = {Belief in divine moral authority satisfies the psychological
need for structure and increases in the face of perceived
injustice},
Journal = {Journal of Experimental Social Psychology},
Volume = {101},
Year = {2022},
Month = {July},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104302},
Abstract = {Across eight studies, we investigated why so many people
across different cultures and religious traditions ground
morality and God, and why beliefs in God as a supreme moral
authority increase in response to perceived injustices in
the world. We found consistent correlational evidence that
the dispositional need for structure in everyday life is
positively related to belief in God as a moral authority
(Studies 1, 2, 3a, 3b, and 6), especially among those
individuals who are more certain that God is infallible
(Studies 3a and 3b). While divine morality was consistently
related to the need for structure, beliefs about other
possible moral authorities (parents, the U.S. Constitution)
were not (Study 2). Using experimental manipulations
(Studies 4a, 4b, and 5), we found that grounding morality in
God can serve a compensatory function in the face of
perceived injustice, such that believing that God is a moral
authority increases upon exposure to injustice. This
particular supernatural belief may restore impressions of
structure and order in the world (Study 5). We discuss the
implications of our findings for psychological theories of
structure-seeking, how people cope with injustice, and
religious and moral beliefs more broadly.},
Doi = {10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104302},
Key = {fds362380}
}
@article{fds363672,
Author = {Proudfoot, D and Kay, AC},
Title = {Communal expectations conflict with autonomy motives: The
western drive for autonomy shapes women's negative responses
to positive gender stereotypes.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {124},
Number = {1},
Pages = {1-21},
Year = {2023},
Month = {January},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000311},
Abstract = {Western culture idealizes an autonomous self-a self that
strives for independence and freedom from the influence and
control of others. We explored how the value placed on
autonomy in Western culture intersects with the normative
trait expectations experienced by men and women. While trait
expectations placed on men (i.e., to be confident and
assertive) affirm an autonomous sense of self, trait
expectations placed on women (i.e., to be caring and
understanding) conflict with an autonomous sense of self. We
theorized that this conflict contributes to women's
resentment toward positive gender stereotypes that emphasize
women's interdependent qualities. Six preregistered studies
(<i>N</i> = 2,094) demonstrated that U.S. women experienced
more anger in response to positive-gendered trait
expectations and less motivation to comply with them
compared to U.S. men. We found that these effects were
partially attributable to stereotypically feminine communal
expectations affirming autonomy less than stereotypically
masculine agentic expectations. Cross-cultural comparisons
between the U.S. (a Western context) and India (a
non-Western context) further indicated that the conflict
between communal expectations placed on women and Western
prioritization of autonomy contributes to U.S. women's anger
toward positive gender stereotypes: Although traits expected
of women in both the U.S. and India oriented women away from
feeling autonomous more than traits expected of men, this
diminished sense of being autonomous only elicited anger in
a U.S. context. For Western societies, findings illuminate
the uniquely frustrating nature of stereotyped expectations
that demand interdependence and thus the unequal
psychological burden placed on those who must contend with
them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights
reserved).},
Doi = {10.1037/pspa0000311},
Key = {fds363672}
}
@article{fds368557,
Author = {Gibbs, WC and Kim, HS and Kay, AC and Sherman, DK},
Title = {Who needs control? A cultural perspective on the process of
compensatory control},
Journal = {Social and Personality Psychology Compass},
Volume = {17},
Number = {2},
Year = {2023},
Month = {February},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12722},
Abstract = {Compensatory control theory (CCT) provides a framework for
understanding the mechanisms at play when one's personal
control is challenged. The model suggests that believing the
world is a structured and predictable place is fundamental,
insofar as it provides the foundation upon which people can
believe they are able to exert control over their
environment and act agentically towards goals. Because of
this, CCT suggests, when personal control is threatened
people try to reaffirm the more foundational belief in
structure/predictability in the world, so that they then
have a strong foundation to reestablish feelings of personal
control and pursue their goals. This review seeks to
understand how the basic assumptions of these compensatory
control processes unfold in different cultural contexts.
Drawing on research and theorizing from cultural psychology,
we propose that cultural models of self and agency,
culturally prevalent modes of control, and culture-specific
motivations all have implications for compensatory control
processes. Culture determines, in part, whether or not
personal control deprivation is experienced as a threat to
perceiving an orderly world, how/whether individuals respond
to low personal control, and the function that responses to
restore a sense of order in the world serve. A theoretical
model of compensatory control processes across cultures is
proposed that has implications for how people cope with a
wide range of personal and societal events that potentially
threaten their personal control.},
Doi = {10.1111/spc3.12722},
Key = {fds368557}
}
@article{fds371526,
Author = {Kenthirarajah, DT and Camp, NP and Walton, GM and Kay, AC and Cohen,
GL},
Title = {Does "Jamal" receive a harsher sentence than "James"?
First-name bias in the criminal sentencing of Black
men.},
Journal = {Law and human behavior},
Volume = {47},
Number = {1},
Pages = {169-181},
Year = {2023},
Month = {February},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000498},
Abstract = {<h4>Objective</h4>Using archival and experimental methods,
we tested the role that racial associations of first names
play in criminal sentencing.<h4>Hypotheses</h4>We
hypothesized that Black defendants with more stereotypically
Black names (e.g., Jamal) would receive more punitive
sentences than Black defendants with more stereotypically
White names (e.g., James).<h4>Method</h4>In an archival
study, we obtained a random sample of 296 real-world records
of Black male prison inmates in Florida and asked
participants to rate the extent to which each inmate's first
name was stereotypically Black or stereotypically White. We
then tested the extent to which racial stereotypicality was
associated with sentence length, controlling for relevant
legal features of each case (e.g., criminal record, severity
of convicted offenses). In a follow-up experiment,
participant judges assigned sentences in cases in which the
Black male defendant was randomly assigned a more
stereotypically Black or White name from our archival
study.<h4>Results</h4>Controlling for a wide array of
factors-including criminal record-we found that inmates with
more stereotypically Black versus White first names received
longer sentences β = 0.09, 95% confidence interval (95% CI)
[0.01, 0.16]: 409 days longer for names 1 standard deviation
above versus below the mean on racial stereotypicality. In
our experiment, participant judges recommended significantly
longer sentences to Black inmates with more stereotypically
Black names above and beyond the severity of the charges or
their criminal history, β = 0.07, 95% CI [0.02,
0.13].<h4>Conclusions</h4>Our results identify how racial
associations with first names can bias consequential
sentencing decisions despite the impartial aims of the legal
system. More broadly, our findings illustrate how racial
biases manifest in distinctions made among members of
historically marginalized groups, not just between members
of different groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA,
all rights reserved).},
Doi = {10.1037/lhb0000498},
Key = {fds371526}
}
@article{fds367908,
Author = {Ma, A and Savani, K and Liu, F and Tai, K and Kay, AC},
Title = {The mutual constitution of culture and psyche: The
bidirectional relationship between individuals' perceived
control and cultural tightness-looseness.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {124},
Number = {5},
Pages = {901-916},
Year = {2023},
Month = {May},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000327},
Abstract = {According to the theory of mutual constitution of culture
and psyche, just as culture shapes people, individuals'
psychological states can influence culture. We build on
compensatory control theory, which suggests that low
personal control can lead people to prefer societal systems
that impose order, to examine the mutual constitution of
personal control and cultural tightness. Specifically, we
tested whether individuals' lack of personal control
increases their preference for tighter cultures as a means
of restoring order and predictability, and whether tighter
cultures in turn reduce people's feelings of personal
control. Seven studies (five preregistered) with
participants from the United States, Singapore, and China
examine this cycle of mutual constitution. Specifically,
documenting the correlational link between person and
culture, we found that Americans lower on personal control
preferred to live in tighter states (Study 1). Chinese
employees lower on personal control also desired more
structure and preferred a tighter organizational culture
(Study 2). Employing an experimental causal chain design,
Studies 3-5 provided causal evidence for our claim that lack
of control increases desire for tighter cultures via the
need for structure. Finally, tracing the link back from
culture to person, Studies 6a and 6b found that whereas
tighter cultures decreased perceptions of individual
personal control, they increased people's sense of
collective control. Overall, the findings document the
process of mutual constitution of culture and psyche: lack
of personal control leads people to seek more structured,
tighter cultures, and that tighter cultures, in turn,
decrease people's sense of personal control but increase
their sense of collective control. (PsycInfo Database Record
(c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).},
Doi = {10.1037/pspa0000327},
Key = {fds367908}
}
@article{fds370323,
Author = {Stanley, ML and Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Heroization and ironic funneling effects.},
Journal = {Journal of personality and social psychology},
Volume = {125},
Number = {1},
Pages = {29-56},
Year = {2023},
Month = {July},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000336},
Abstract = {In recent years, much of the American public has venerated
military veterans as heroes. Despite overwhelmingly positive
public attitudes toward veterans, veterans have experienced
higher rates of unemployment and underemployment than their
nonveteran peers. The current research leverages theory and
research on positive stereotypes to shed light on this
seeming inconsistency between the heroization of veterans
and their heightened rates of unemployment and
underemployment. We conceptualize the hero label as a
pervasive positive stereotype, and we employ complementary
methods and designs (correlational, quasi-experimental,
experimental, and mediational) to investigate the
consequences and implications of attaching this label to
military veterans. We then extend our theorizing to other
heroized groups (e.g., firefighters, paramedics, teachers,
and social workers). The results across studies suggest that
heroization leads the American public to funnel heroized
individuals and groups into a limited set of lower paying
jobs, organizations, and careers associated with
selflessness. This research not only offers insights into an
important real-world problem but also offers a first
experimental investigation of the consequences and
implications of labeling a group of people as heroes.
(PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights
reserved).},
Doi = {10.1037/pspa0000336},
Key = {fds370323}
}
@article{fds376863,
Author = {Jost, JT and Goya-Tocchetto, D and Kay, AC},
Title = {The Psychology of Left-Right Political Polarization; and an
Experimental Intervention for Curbing Partisan Animosity and
Support for Antidemocratic Violence},
Journal = {Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science},
Volume = {708},
Number = {1},
Pages = {46-63},
Year = {2023},
Month = {July},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00027162241227778},
Abstract = {Healthy democratic polities feature competing visions of a
good society. They also require tolerance, trust, and
cooperation to avoid toxic polarization that puts democracy
itself at risk. In the U.S., liberal-leftists and
conservative-rightists differ in many attitudes, values, and
personality traits, as well as tendencies to justify the
unequal status quo and embrace authoritarian aggression and
group-based dominance. Some of these differences imply that
conflict between liberal-leftists and conservative-rightists
is tantamount to a struggle for and against democratic
ideals. However, these political and psychological
differences between the left and the right do not
necessarily mean that Americans are forever doomed to
intergroup hatred and intractable political conflict. Some
modest basis for optimism emerges from recent experimental
interventions, including one that encourages people to
identify with and justify the system of liberal democracy in
the U.S.},
Doi = {10.1177/00027162241227778},
Key = {fds376863}
}
@article{fds370748,
Author = {Kay, AC and Ponce de Leon and R and Ho, AK and Kteily,
NS},
Title = {Motivated Egalitarianism},
Journal = {Current Directions in Psychological Science},
Volume = {32},
Number = {4},
Pages = {293-299},
Year = {2023},
Month = {August},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09637214231154810},
Abstract = {Much research has examined the link between
(anti-)egalitarian ideology and motivated social cognition.
However, this research is typically framed around
anti-egalitarianism, with the other end of this ideological
pole, egalitarianism, often ignored altogether or treated as
merely the absence of anti-egalitarian-motivated cognition.
We integrate long-standing ideas from social dominance
theory with contemporary models of motivated social
cognition and a recent wave of empirical findings to argue
that egalitarian ideology also drives social cognition in
meaningful ways. We discuss why pursuing this avenue of
research is important and outline several unanswered
questions for future research.},
Doi = {10.1177/09637214231154810},
Key = {fds370748}
}
@article{fds371676,
Author = {Stanley, ML and Huang, S and Marsh, EJ and Kay, AC},
Title = {The Role of Structure-Seeking in Moral Punishment},
Journal = {Social Justice Research},
Volume = {36},
Number = {4},
Pages = {410-431},
Year = {2023},
Month = {December},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11211-023-00416-8},
Abstract = {Four studies (total N = 1586) test the notion that people
are motivated to punish moral rule violators because
punishment offers a way to obtain structure and order in the
world. First, in a correlational study, increased need for
structure was associated with the stronger endorsement
punishment for moral rule violators. This relationship
between need for structure and punishment was not driven by
political conservatism. Three experimental studies then
tested, and corroborated, our main causal hypotheses: that
threats to structure increase punitive judgments for moral
rule violators (i.e., a compensatory mechanism; Study 2) and
that a lack of punishment for wrongdoing (relative to
punishment for wrongdoing) makes the world seem less
structured in the moment (Studies 3 and 4). We compare and
contrast our structure-based account of moral punishment to
other theories and findings across the punishment
literature.},
Doi = {10.1007/s11211-023-00416-8},
Key = {fds371676}
}
@article{fds373580,
Author = {Tang, S and Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Morality's role in the Black Sheep Effect: When and why
ingroup members are judged more harshly than outgroup
members for the same transgression},
Journal = {European Journal of Social Psychology},
Volume = {53},
Number = {7},
Pages = {1605-1622},
Year = {2023},
Month = {December},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3001},
Abstract = {When and why might someone judge an ingroup transgressor
more harshly than an outgroup transgressor? Taking a social
functionalist perspective, we argue that morality is central
to this phenomenon–the Black Sheep Effect–and that it is
driven by social cohesion concerns. Using mediation and
moderation methods across our studies, we find that people
judge ingroup (vs. outgroup) transgressors more harshly
because of concerns regarding ingroup social cohesion
(Studies 1a–4). We also find that ingroup derogation is
stronger for moral transgressions than weak or non-moral
transgressions (Studies 2 and 3). Throughout our studies, we
address alternative explanations, including moral
relativism, naïve realism, moral parochialism and belief in
a just world. Our work speaks to the emerging contention
around the reliability of the Black Sheep Effect by noting
when and why it surfaces.},
Doi = {10.1002/ejsp.3001},
Key = {fds373580}
}
%% Books
@book{fds273231,
Author = {Thorisdottir, H and Jost, JT and Kay, AC},
Title = {On the Social and Psychological Bases of Ideology and System
Justification},
Pages = {3-24},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
Year = {2009},
Month = {May},
ISBN = {9780195320916},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.001},
Abstract = {This chapter summarizes research that both reflects and
exemplifies the recent resurgence of interest in the social
and psychological characteristics and processes that give
rise to ideological forms. Ideology is an elusive,
multifaceted construct that can usefully be analyzed in
terms of "top-down" processes related to the social
construction and dissemination of ideology as well as
"bottom-up" processes, including dispositional and
situational factors, that make certain ideological outcomes
more likely than others. The chapter briefly summarizes the
contents of this volume, focusing especially on the
cognitive and motivational antecedents and consequences of
adopting specific ideologies, the functions served by those
ideologies, and the myriad ways in which people accept and
justify (versus reject) aspects of the social and political
worlds they inhabit. Current challenges and future
directions for the study of ideology and system
justification are also discussed.},
Doi = {10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320916.003.001},
Key = {fds273231}
}
@book{fds273217,
Author = {Gaucher, D and Kay, AC and Laurin, K},
Title = {The Power of the status quo: Consequences for maintaining
and perpetuating inequality},
Pages = {151-172},
Publisher = {PSYCHOLOGY PRESS},
Year = {2011},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9780203837658},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658},
Doi = {10.4324/9780203837658},
Key = {fds273217}
}
@book{fds273232,
Author = {Ramona Bobocel and D and Kay, AC and Zanna, MP and Olson,
JM},
Title = {The psychology of justice and legitimacy: The Ontario
symposium},
Volume = {11},
Pages = {1-350},
Year = {2011},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9780203837658},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658},
Abstract = {In response to the international turmoil, violence, and
increasing ideological polarization, social psychological
interest in the topics of legitimacy and social justice has
blossomed considerably. Social psychologists have explored
the psychological underpinnings of people’s reactions to
injustice and illegitimacy, including the behavioral and
psychological consequences of the motivation to view
individual outcomes and governmental systems as just and
legitimate.},
Doi = {10.4324/9780203837658},
Key = {fds273232}
}
%% Chapters in Books
@misc{fds273221,
Author = {Kay, AC and Jost, JT and Fitzsimons, GM},
Title = {The Ideological Animal: On the Epistemic and Existential
Bases of System Justification},
Booktitle = {Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology},
Publisher = {Guilford Press},
Editor = {Greenberg, J and Koole, SL and Pyszczynsk, T},
Year = {2004},
Key = {fds273221}
}
@misc{fds273222,
Author = {Kay, AC and Zanna, MP},
Title = {A contextual analysis of the social and psychological
consequences of system justification},
Booktitle = {Social & Psychological Bases of Ideology and System
Justification},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
Editor = {Jost, JT and Thoristtodor, H},
Year = {2009},
Key = {fds273222}
}
@misc{fds273223,
Author = {Kay, AC and Jost, JT},
Title = {Social Justice: History, Theory, and Research},
Booktitle = {Handbook of Social Psychology},
Publisher = {John Wiley and Sons},
Year = {2010},
Key = {fds273223}
}
@misc{fds273224,
Author = {Kay, AC and Gaucher, D and Laurin, K},
Title = {The power of the status quo: Consequences for maintaining
and perpetuating inequality},
Pages = {109-118},
Booktitle = {The Psychology of Justice and Legitimacy: The Ontario
Symposium (Vol. 11)},
Publisher = {Psychology Press},
Editor = {Bobocel, R and Kay, M and Zanna, P and Olson, JM},
Year = {2010},
Key = {fds273224}
}
@misc{fds273225,
Author = {Kay, AC and Banfield, J and Laurin, K},
Title = {Ideology and power},
Booktitle = {The Social Psychology of Power},
Publisher = {Guilford Press},
Editor = {Vescio, T and Guinote, A},
Year = {2010},
Key = {fds273225}
}
@misc{fds322760,
Author = {Ramona Bobocel and D and Kay, AC and Zanna, MP and Olson,
JM},
Title = {Preface},
Pages = {vii-xiv},
Year = {2011},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9780203837658},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203837658},
Doi = {10.4324/9780203837658},
Key = {fds322760}
}
@misc{fds273226,
Author = {Kay, AC and Callan, MJ},
Title = {Associations between law, competitiveness, and the pursuit
of self-interest},
Pages = {193-218},
Booktitle = {Psychology, Ideology, and Law},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press (OUP)},
Editor = {Hanson, J},
Year = {2012},
ISBN = {9780199737512},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737512.003.0007},
Abstract = {This chapter will discuss and provide evidence for the idea
that the law's existence shapes social reality by implicitly
fostering the sense that people are, and perhaps should be,
competitive and untrustworthy. Drawing on research from
social cognition and legal studies, it will argue that
people tend to associate the law with self-interestedness
due to their encounter with the legal system. Through legal
socialization-the acquisition of legal knowledge through
direct instruction, experience and popular media-people come
to mentally associate the law with competitiveness. This
chapter will argue that this is precisely due to the way the
legal system operates, at least in societies adopting an
adversarial legal system.},
Doi = {10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737512.003.0007},
Key = {fds273226}
}
@misc{fds273227,
Author = {Kay, AC and Eibach, RP},
Title = {Ideological Processes},
Booktitle = {The Handbook of Social Cognition},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
Editor = {Fiske, S and MaCrae, N},
Year = {2012},
Key = {fds273227}
}
@misc{fds273233,
Author = {Jost, JT and Kay, AC},
Title = {System justification as an obstacle to the attainment of
social justice},
Pages = {277-296},
Booktitle = {Social Thinking and Interpersonal Behavior},
Publisher = {PSYCHOLOGY PRESS},
Year = {2012},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9780203139677},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203139677},
Doi = {10.4324/9780203139677},
Key = {fds273233}
}
@misc{fds329824,
Author = {Kay, AC and Eibach, RP},
Title = {The ideological toolbox: Ideologies as tools of motivated
social cognition},
Pages = {495-515},
Booktitle = {The SAGE Handbook of Social Cognition},
Publisher = {SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD},
Year = {2012},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9780857024817},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446247631.n25},
Doi = {10.4135/9781446247631.n25},
Key = {fds329824}
}
@misc{fds273228,
Author = {Kay, AC and Sullivan, DL},
Title = {Cultural unity and diversity in compensatory
control},
Booktitle = {Advances in Culture and Psychology},
Publisher = {Oxford University Press},
Editor = {Gelfand, M and Yue, C and Hong, Y},
Year = {2013},
Key = {fds273228}
}
@misc{fds273234,
Author = {Banfield, JC and Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Consequences of system defense motivations for
individuals’ willingness to act sustainably},
Pages = {111-124},
Booktitle = {Encouraging Sustainable Behavior: Psychology and the
Environment},
Publisher = {PSYCHOLOGY PRESS},
Year = {2013},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9780203141182},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203141182},
Doi = {10.4324/9780203141182},
Key = {fds273234}
}
@misc{fds273229,
Author = {Kay, AC and Anderson, JE and Fitzsimons, GM},
Title = {The motivated process of making meaning from negative
experiences},
Booktitle = {The Psychology of Meaning},
Publisher = {American Psychological Association},
Year = {2014},
Key = {fds273229}
}
@misc{fds273230,
Author = {Kay, AC and Landau, MJ and Sullivan, DL},
Title = {Agency and Control},
Booktitle = {APA Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes
and Social Cognition},
Publisher = {American Psychological Association},
Editor = {Bargh, J and Borgida, E},
Year = {2014},
Key = {fds273230}
}
@misc{fds371544,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC and Eibach, RP},
Title = {ACHIEVING EXISTENTIAL SECURITY THROUGH SYMBOLICALLY FUSING
SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS SOURCES OF CONTROL AND
ORDER},
Pages = {241-256},
Booktitle = {Handbook of Personal Security},
Year = {2015},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9781848726758},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315713595-23},
Abstract = {The sociopolitical effects of modernization and the
sophisticated technological innovations of the
consumer-driven marketplace have been credited with
enhancing the average person’s security and control across
many domains of their lives. These aspects of sociopolitical
structure and economic developments buffer people from many
of the threats to well-being and livelihood that have
impacted individuals’ lives throughout most of
history.},
Doi = {10.4324/9781315713595-23},
Key = {fds371544}
}
@misc{fds328087,
Author = {Rutjens, BT and Kay, AC},
Title = {Compensatory control theory and the psychological importance
of perceiving order},
Pages = {83-96},
Booktitle = {Coping with Lack of Control in a Social World},
Publisher = {Routledge},
Year = {2016},
Month = {November},
ISBN = {9781138957923},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315661452},
Doi = {10.4324/9781315661452},
Key = {fds328087}
}
@misc{fds362844,
Author = {Axt, JR and Landau, MJ and Kay, AC},
Title = {Fake news attributions as a source of nonspecific
structure},
Pages = {220-234},
Booktitle = {The Psychology of Fake News: Accepting, Sharing, and
Correcting Misinformation},
Year = {2020},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9781000179033},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780429295379-15},
Abstract = {Although “fake news” often refers to forms of political
disinformation, the term is also used as a means of
discrediting stories from more credible sources.
Specifically, “fake news” depicts the media as being
intentionally deceptive, as opposed to merely incompetent.
In this sense, a worldview that sees the news media as being
deceptive provides more structure and predictability than
one that views the news media as being sloppy or error
prone. As a result, the belief that the news media is
intentionally deceiving others may be especially appealing
to individuals with a greater need for personal structure,
and we review initial studies investigating this question.
Such work may clarify an important contributor to rising
distrust in the news media, and may in turn provide insight
into why claims of fake news are effective and how belief in
fake news can be reduced.},
Doi = {10.4324/9780429295379-15},
Key = {fds362844}
}
@misc{fds364242,
Author = {Shepherd, S and Kay, AC},
Title = {Politics and religion: commutable, conflicting, and
collaborative systems for satisfying the need for
order},
Pages = {421-434},
Booktitle = {The Science of Religion, Spirituality, and
Existentialism},
Year = {2020},
Month = {January},
ISBN = {9780128172056},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817204-9.00030-5},
Abstract = {In this chapter, we outline a program of research that has
sought to understand how sociopolitical and religious
systems overlap in their satiation of psychological needs
and suggest that this overlap helps one explain a range of
sociocultural phenomenon regarding the complex relationship
between these systems. Compensatory control theory (CCT)
posits that people have a psychological need to see the
world as orderly and nonrandom, and when a sense of personal
control cannot satiate this need, people will turn to
external systems of control and order, such as secular
institutions (e.g., government) and religious institutions
and beliefs (e.g., organized religion and belief in a
controlling god). We summarize work showing that both the
secular and the religious can be turned to in order to
maintain a view of an orderly, nonrandom world. Due to this
overlap, they are also substitutable, such that relying on
one renders the other less necessary. Finally, symbolic (or
literal) alignments between secular and religious systems
can be incidentally or strategically leveraged to further
maintain confidence in these systems to satiate concerns
about disorder, randomness. We relate these findings to the
broader literature on religious and political beliefs and
ideology and use a CCT lens to explain a range of
sociocultural phenomenon.},
Doi = {10.1016/B978-0-12-817204-9.00030-5},
Key = {fds364242}
}
| |
Duke University * Arts & Sciences * Faculty * Staff * Grad * Postdocs * Reload * Login | ||
