Psychology

Human beings are able to quickly step into others' shoes to predict peoples' actions. There is little consensus over how this cognitive feat might be accomplished. We tested the hypotheses that an efficient, but inflexible, mindreading system gives rise to appropriate reaction time facilitation in a standard unexpected transfer task, but not in a task involving an identity component. We created a new behavioural paradigm where adults had to quickly select whether an actor would reach, or not reach, for an object based on the actor's false belief about the object's location. By manipulating the type of object we compared participants' responding behaviour when they did and did not have to take the actor's perspective into account. While the overall accuracy reflected a high level of flexible belief reasoning across both tasks, the pattern of response times across conditions revealed a limit in the processing scope of an efficient mindreading system. Thus, we show, for the first time, that there are indeed different profiles of reaction times for object-location scenarios and for object-identity scenarios. The results elevate growing evidence that adult humans have not one, but two mindreading systems for dealing with mental states that underlie action.

Conscious emotional processing is characterized by a coordinated set of responses across multiple physiological systems. Although emotional stimuli can evoke certain physiological responses even when they are suppressed from awareness, it is not known whether unconscious emotional responses comprise a similar constellation or are confined to specific systems. To compare physiological responses to emotional stimuli with and without awareness, we measured a range of responses while participants viewed positive, negative and neutral images that were accompanied by noise bursts to elicit startle reflexes. We measured four responses simultaneously - skin conductance and heart rate changes in response to the images themselves; and startle eye-blink and post-auricular reflexes in response to the noise bursts that occurred during image presentation. For half of the participants, the images were masked from awareness using continuous flash suppression. The aware group showed the expected pat...

This review systematically examines the empirical literature to determine the support available for seven proposed Implicit Theories (ITs) held by heterosexual male and female perpetrators of intimate partner violence.  Based on previous literature that has hypothesised and identified ITs in intimate partner violence (IPV) and other types of offenders, we suggest six potential ITs likely to be held by men and women: “Opposite sex is dangerous”, “Relationship entitlement”, “General entitlement”, “Normalisation of relationship violence”, “Normalisation of violence”, and “It’s not my fault”.  We suggest one extra IT held by male perpetrators: “I am the man”.  Electronic databases were searched from 1980 onwards, using predetermined relevant key words, to identify IPV research that has examined factors associated with each of the proposed seven ITs. Support was found for the existence of all seven ITs, but it differed in terms of strength, mainly due to the dearth or poor quality of empirical research on specific areas, especially in female perpetrated IPV.  Implications for treatment and future directions are discussed.

Enculturation (cultural acquisition during identity development) has often been conceptualised as an unconscious process of cultural internalization. However, little research has explicitly examined the degree to which people are aware of cultural influences on the self (enculturation awareness) and how varying levels of awareness may influence the development of the self-concept. Drawing from extant qualitative research (Balanovic & Ward, 2013), the current investigation addressed this paucity through the development of the Enculturation Awareness Scale (EAS), which captures the degree to which individuals have consciously considered and come to understand cultural influences on the self. Using two distinct samples drawn from English speaking, multicultural nations (sample 1, New Zealand, N = 224; sample 2, New Zealand, Australia, USA, N = 317), the results present initial evidence for the validity and reliability of the EAS by demonstrating consistent relationships between the EAS...

Prejudiced attitudes and political nationalism vary widely around the world, but there has been little research on what predicts this variation. Here we examine the ecological and cultural factors underlying the worldwide distribution of prejudice. We suggest that cultures grow more prejudiced when they tighten cultural norms in response to destabilizing ecological threats. A set of seven archival analyses, surveys, and experiments (∑N = 3,986,402) find that nations, American states, and pre-industrial societies with tighter cultural norms show the most prejudice based on skin color, religion, nationality, and sexuality, and that tightness predicts why prejudice is often highest in areas of the world with histories of ecological threat. People’s support for cultural tightness also mediates the link between perceived ecological threat and intentions to vote for nationalist politicians. Results replicate when controlling for economic development, inequality, conservatism, residential ...

Context. Developing a new tool for wide-scale rat eradication is necessary for significant biodiversity gains. Underlying beliefs linked to public opinion can help guide policy makers to understand public concern and inform an effective discourse. Aims. We investigated underlying beliefs linked to levels of support for a potentially disruptive tool, gene drive, compared with a traditional stepwise tool, aerial distribution of a new pest-specific toxin. Methods. Using the theory of planned behaviour, we surveyed (n = 1200) a representative sample of New Zealanders to assess the level of support for the tool related to attitude, normative and control beliefs. Key results. Attitude (e.g. gene drive is good/bad and gene drive is risky/safe) and two norms (e.g. people like me and people in my household) were key contributors to level of support for gene drive. Behavioural beliefs (if scientific evidence can prove it works, concern there are unknown consequences, a humane way to rid New Z...

Predator Free 2050 (PF2050) was launched in 2016 with the aim of ridding New Zealand of the most damaging introduced predators—possums, rats, and mustelids (stoats, ferrets, weasels)—by 2050. However, it’s overarching goal is more inclusive than predator eradication alone. Indeed, it has been acknowledged that, to achieve PF2050, it will be vital to have national collaboration across multiple agencies, organisations, iwi, communities, and individuals (Department of Conservation, 2020a, 2020b). To be able to work well with individuals and communities, however, it is important to understand the human dimensions of biodiversity conservation and related methods (i.e., pest control and predator eradication). The aim of the following report is to provide a ‘snapshot’ of research on or related to the human dimensions of PF2050 to aid subsequent research scoping and allow for more targeted research prioritisation. It does this by presenting an overview of the social science research to date...