The American Way
Shinobu Kitayama, Lucian Gideon Conway, Paula Pietromonaco, Hyekyung Park & Victoria Plaut
American Psychologist, September 2010, Pages 559-574
Abstract:
Contemporary U.S. culture has a highly individualistic ethos. Nevertheless, exactly how this ethos was historically fostered remains unanalyzed. A new model of dynamic cultural change maintains that sparsely populated, novel environments that impose major threats to survival, such as the Western frontier in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries, breed strong values of independence, which in turn guide the production of new practices that encourage self-promotion and focused, competitive work. Faced with few significant threats to survival, residents in traditional areas are likely to seek social prestige by adopting existing practices of other, higher status groups. Because of both the massive economic success of the frontier and the official endorsement of the frontier by the federal government, eastern residents of the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries may have actively adopted the frontier practices of independence, thus incorporating the frontier ethos of independence to form the contemporary U.S. national culture. Available evidence is reviewed, and implications for further research on cultural change are suggested.
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Sex, Arts and Verbal Abilities: Three Further Indicators of How American Life is not Improving
John Robinson
Social Indicators Research, October 2010, Pages 1-12
Abstract:
Despite clear evidence that Americans' economic standard of living has improved over the last half-century in terms of income, ownership of technology and housing among other indicators, there is scant evidence from non-economic quality-of-life (QOL) indicators of improved life quality to parallel these economic gains. The present article adds to this list in showing little if any progress in three QOL indicators (the first two about time and activity) that have received less or no attention in the social indicators literature, namely (1) frequency of the highly enjoyable activity of sex, (2) participation in various serious arts activities and (3) scores of verbal ability. The data on sexual activity and verbal ability come from the 1974-2008 General Social Surveys (GSS) from the University of Chicago, and for the arts from the 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) conducted by the US Census Bureau for the National Endowment for the Arts since 1982. All three surveys interviewed nationally representative samples, with over 70% response rates and sample sizes of more than 15,000 adults. The GSS data on sexual frequency show no significant increase in estimated frequency of sex since 1989, despite its strong appeal and the availability of new societal conveniences. This held both before and after adjustment for the age, marital status and education in the population; contrary to expectation, working long hours was associated with increased sex both before and after adjustment for these other demographic predictors. The SPPA trend data on arts participation actually showed a decline in participation, especially after adjustment for its major predictor of years of education; again no decreased participation was found among those working long hours. While scores on verbal ability in the GSS have stayed rather steady since 1974, they have decreased after MCA adjustment for the increased college education in more recent years, as documented by Nie et al. (2009). Thus, contrary to expectations, increases in public education have not been accompanied by improvements on these three indicators.
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Tatsuya Kameda, Takafumi Tsukasaki, Reid Hastie & Nathan Berg
Psychological Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
We introduce a game theory model of individual decisions to cooperate by contributing personal resources to group decisions versus by free riding on the contributions of other members. In contrast to most public-goods games that assume group returns are linear in individual contributions, the present model assumes decreasing marginal group production as a function of aggregate individual contributions. This diminishing marginal returns assumption is more realistic and generates starkly different predictions compared to the linear model. One important implication is that, under most conditions, there exist equilibria where some, but not all, members of a group contribute, even with completely self-interested motives. An agent-based simulation confirmed the individual and group advantages of the equilibria in which behavioral asymmetry emerges from a game structure that is a priori perfectly symmetric for all agents (all agents have the same payoff function and action space but take different actions in equilibria). A behavioral experiment demonstrated that cooperators and free riders coexist in a stable manner in groups performing with the nonlinear production function. A collateral result demonstrated that, compared to a dictatorial decision scheme guided by the best member in a group, the majority/plurality decision rules can pool information effectively and produce greater individual net welfare at equilibrium, even if free riding is not sanctioned. This is an original proof that cooperation in ad hoc decision-making groups can be understood in terms of self-interested motivations and that, despite the free-rider problem, majority/plurality decision rules can function robustly as simple, efficient social decision heuristics.
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The Emotional Timeline of September 11, 2001
Mitja Back, Albrecht Küfner & Boris Egloff
Psychological Science, forthcoming
"In sum, we investigated a large data set providing unobtrusive behavioral measures of negative emotions actually expressed during September 11. We were able to determine that people did not react primarily with sadness; that they experienced a number of anxiety outbursts, but recovered quickly; and that they steadily became angrier."
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The Role of Television in Household Debt: Evidence from the 1950's
Matthew Baker & Lisa George
B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2010
Abstract:
We examine whether advertising increases household debt by studying the initial expansion of television in the 1950's. Exploiting the idiosyncratic spread of television across markets, we use micro data from the Survey of Consumer Finances to test whether households with early access to television saw steeper debt increases than households with delayed access. Results indicate that exposure to television advertising increases the tendency to borrow for household goods and the tendency to carry debt. Television access is associated with higher debt levels for durable goods, but not with the total amount of non-mortgage debt. We provide suggestive evidence that increased labor supply may drive our results. The role of media in household debt may be greater than suggested by existing research.
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Blazing the trail versus trailing the group: Culture and perceptions of the leader's position
Tanya Menon, Jessica Sim, Jeanne Ho-Ying Fu, Chi-yue Chiu & Ying-yi Hong
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, September 2010, Pages 51-61
Abstract:
Research suggests that power triggers assertive action. However, people from different cultures might expect different types of action from powerful individuals such as leaders. In comparing cultural differences in leadership imagery, we find that Americans represent leaders standing ahead of groups, whereas Asians also represent leaders behind groups. We propose that front versus back positions embody two faces of leader action: individual assertion versus group-focused action. Studies 1a and 1b respectively employed etic and emic methods to demonstrate that Singaporeans were more likely than Americans to represent leaders behind groups. In Study 2, Singaporeans evaluated back leaders more favorably than Americans did, and group focus mediated cultural differences. Simulating the conditions under which cultural differences arise, Study 3 demonstrates that a primarily Western managerial sample primed with threat (versus opportunity) preferred back leaders. By describing cultural variations in imagery, we reveal more nuanced implicit theories of leader action.
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Keith Campbell, Joshua Miller & Laura Buffardi
Social Psychological and Personality Science, July 2010, Pages 222-229
Abstract:
It has been suggested that the United States has an increasingly narcissistic culture. In the present research, perceptions of national character (PNCs) are used to examine cultural levels of narcissism. In Study 1, archival data show that American PNCs assessed with the five factor model (FFM) closely fit with the profile of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD); archived FFM reports of acquaintances, however, did not fit well. Likewise, in a cross-national comparison, U.S. PNCs of NPD were the highest among examined cultures and U.S. acquaintance reports of NPD were in the top 10. In Study 2, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was modified to assess PNCs. PNCs reflected high levels of narcissism, whereas self-reports and acquaintance reports reflected more moderate levels. In Study 3, PNCs were examined using the NPI and four personality disorder (PD) scales, including NPD. The difference between self-reports and PNCs was highest for narcissism and NPD compared to other PDs.
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Gun Cultures or Honor Cultures?: Explaining Regional and Race Differences in Weapon Carrying
Richard Felson & Paul-Philippe Pare
Social Forces, March 2010, Pages 1357-1378
Abstract:
We use the National Violence against Women (and Men) Survey to examine the effects of region and race on the tendency to carry weapons for protection. We find that Southern and Western whites are much more likely than Northern whites to carry guns for self-protection, controlling for their risk of victimization. The difference between Southern and Northern whites is particularly strong for women. We do not find much evidence for regional/race differences in carrying knives or mace. These findings provide support for the idea that regional differences in weapon carrying reflect a gun culture rather than an honor culture. We see more evidence of an honor culture among blacks: they are more likely than whites to carry knives as well as guns, controlling for their risk of victimization.
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Packing Heat in the Tar Heel State: A County-Level Assessment of Concealed Carry Permits
Joel Thompson & Ronald Stidham
Criminal Justice Review, March 2010, Pages 52-66
Abstract:
This study analyzes variations in the rates at which North Carolina citizens apply for and are issued concealed carry permits (CCPs). Various theories, primarily those related to fear of/response to crime, demographic/geographic factors, and social learning theories of gun ownership, guide the analysis. Generally speaking, the authors find little support for socioeconomic and demographic explanations of CCPs in North Carolina. In addition, the authors find no support for the notion that violent or property crimes, or changes in these crimes over time, affect CCP policy. The authors do find some evidence that change in minority population (Black, but not Hispanic) is significantly related to permitting. In North Carolina, there is support for a cultural model of CCPs. Both the political conservatism and the proportion of hunters in the population (our indicator of a cultural norm that values and cherishes gun ownership) are consistently related to permitting. The authors conclude that the combination of political conservatism and socialization into a hunting/gun-owning culture are more important than socioeconomic variables in explaining CCPs.
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John Paul Wilson & Kurt Hugenberg
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
The current research investigated the well-established outgroup homogeneity effect in face memory (worse recognition for outgroup faces than ingroup faces). Because past research has shown that group distinctiveness threat can enhance ingroup homogeneity, of interest in the current research was whether distinctiveness threat affects face recognition. Across two studies, we found that threatening White American participants' ethnic distinctiveness led to a reduction in same-race face recognition. In other words, distinctiveness threat created ingroup homogeneity in face memory. In both studies, distinctiveness threat led Whites' same-race recognition to drop to cross-race levels. Implications were discussed in terms of how the structure of intergroup relations may drive intergroup differences in face memory.
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Divine Boundaries: How Religion Shapes Citizens' Attitudes Toward Immigrants
Eric Leon McDaniel, Irfan Nooruddin & Allyson Faith Shortle
American Politics Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
How does religion affect one's attitudes toward immigrants? Scholars have shown that members of minor religious groups are less anti-immigrant than members of majority affiliations and that Evangelical Protestants are particularly hostile. Other scholars have demonstrated that increased religiosity reduces immigrant animus. Here, we argue that religion affects immigration attitudes via a distinct religiously informed interpretation of America's national identity, which we call Christian nationalism. Christian nationalists believe that America has a divinely inspired mission and link its success to God's favor. Using social identity complexity theory, we argue that citizens who ascribe to this worldview should be least tolerant of those they perceive as symbolic threats to American national identity. We assess this claim using the 2006 Pew Immigration Attitudes Survey and the 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Survey. Christian nationalism is a robust determinant of immigrant animus, whereas religious affiliation only affects immigrant animus when Christian nationalism is excluded.
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Patricia Lyons, Jared Kenworthy & Jason Popan
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, September 2010, Pages 1267-1280
Abstract:
In four studies, the authors explored factors contributing to negative attitudes and behavior toward Arab immigrants in the United States. In Study 1, Americans reported greater threat from Arabs, compared to other groups (e.g., Latino, Asian). In Study 2, they tested the effects of ingroup identification and group-level narcissism on attitudes toward Arab, Latino, Asian, and European immigrants. Identification interacted with group narcissism in predicting attitudes toward Arab (but not other) immigrants, such that identification predicted negative attitudes toward Arab immigrants only at mean and high levels of group narcissism. Study 3 explored the convergent and discriminant validity of the group narcissism construct. In Study 4, the authors added a behavioral dependent measure. Again, ingroup identification predicted negative behavior and attitudes toward an Arab immigrant group (but not comparison groups) only at mean and high levels of group narcissism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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Between Poverty and a Lifestyle: The Leisure Activities of Homeless People in Las Vegas
Kurt Borchard
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, August 2010, Pages 441-466
Abstract:
Housed people judge homeless people, and in particular their leisure activities, as indicators of whether that person has chosen a "homeless lifestyle" and therefore deserves homelessness. To achieve a more complex understanding of contemporary homelessness, the author conducted ethnographic fieldwork over ten months in Las Vegas, Nevada, interviewing and participant observing dozens of homeless men and women, including observations of their leisure activities and "free time." The author argues that homeless people's pursuit of leisure activities helps explain the popularity of both Las Vegas as a destination for homeless people and why it is a difficult place for homeless people to end their poverty. A consideration of homeless people's lifestyles in such a postmodern tourist environment also shows how such environments both sustain homeless people and produce homelessness.