Psychological science
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Psychological science · Feb 2019
Income Inequality and White-on-Black Racial Bias in the United States: Evidence From Project Implicit and Google Trends.
Several theories predict that income inequality may produce increased racial bias, but robust tests of this hypothesis are lacking. We examined this relationship at the U. S. state level from 2004 to 2015 using Internal Revenue Service-based income-inequality statistics and two large-scale racial-bias data sources: Project Implicit ( N = 1,554,109) and Google Trends. ⋯ However, the effect was small, with income inequality accounting for 0.4% to 0.7% of within-state variation in racial bias, and was also contingent on model specification, with results dependent on the measure of income inequality used. We found no conclusive evidence linking income inequality to implicit racial bias or racially offensive Google searches. Overall, our findings admit multiple interpretations, but we discuss why statistically small effects of income inequality on explicit racial bias may nonetheless be socially meaningful.
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Psychological science · Aug 2018
Successfully Striving for Happiness: Socially Engaged Pursuits Predict Increases in Life Satisfaction.
Happiness is considered a highly desirable attribute, but whether or not individuals can actively steer their lives toward greater well-being is an open empirical question. In this study, respondents from a representative German sample reported, in text format, ideas for how they could improve their life satisfaction. ⋯ However, in line with our preregistered hypothesis, among individuals who described active pursuits ( n = 582), those who described social ideas (e.g., spending more time with friends and family) ended up being more satisfied, and this effect was partly mediated by increased socializing. Our results demonstrate that not all pursuits of happiness are equally successful and corroborate the great importance of social relationships for human well-being.
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Déjà vu is beginning to be scientifically understood as a memory phenomenon. Despite recent scientific advances, a remaining puzzle is the purported association between déjà vu and feelings of premonition. Building on research showing that déjà vu can be driven by an unrecalled memory of a past experience that relates to the current situation, we sought evidence of memory-based predictive ability during déjà vu states. ⋯ However, déjà vu states were accompanied by increased feelings of knowing the direction of the next turn. The results suggest that feelings of premonition during déjà vu occur and can be illusory. Metacognitive bias brought on by the state itself may explain the peculiar association between déjà vu and the feeling of premonition.
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Psychological science · Apr 2018
The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education.
The underrepresentation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a continual concern for social scientists and policymakers. Using an international database on adolescent achievement in science, mathematics, and reading ( N = 472,242), we showed that girls performed similarly to or better than boys in science in two of every three countries, and in nearly all countries, more girls appeared capable of college-level STEM study than had enrolled. ⋯ These sex differences in academic strengths and attitudes toward science correlated with the STEM graduation gap. A mediation analysis suggested that life-quality pressures in less gender-equal countries promote girls' and women's engagement with STEM subjects.
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Psychological science · Nov 2017
Meta AnalysisDebunking: A Meta-Analysis of the Psychological Efficacy of Messages Countering Misinformation.
This meta-analysis investigated the factors underlying effective messages to counter attitudes and beliefs based on misinformation. Because misinformation can lead to poor decisions about consequential matters and is persistent and difficult to correct, debunking it is an important scientific and public-policy goal. ⋯ A detailed debunking message correlated positively with the debunking effect. Surprisingly, however, a detailed debunking message also correlated positively with the misinformation-persistence effect.