Pub Date : 2024-08-27DOI: 10.1177/09637214241264292
Michael D. Lee
The wisdom of the crowd is the finding that aggregating the judgments of many people can lead to surprisingly accurate group judgments. Usually statistical methods are used to aggregate people’s judgments, but there are advantages to using cognitive models instead. Crowd judgments based on cognitive modeling can (a) identify experts and amplify their judgments, (b) provide a representational structure for aggregating complicated multidimensional judgments, (c) debias judgments that are affected by heuristic cognitive processes or competitive social situations, and (d) diversify the crowd by incorporating predictions about judgments that have not been observed. Demonstrations of these advantages are provided in case studies involving ranking, probability estimation, and categorization problems.
{"title":"Using Cognitive Models to Improve the Wisdom of the Crowd","authors":"Michael D. Lee","doi":"10.1177/09637214241264292","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241264292","url":null,"abstract":"The wisdom of the crowd is the finding that aggregating the judgments of many people can lead to surprisingly accurate group judgments. Usually statistical methods are used to aggregate people’s judgments, but there are advantages to using cognitive models instead. Crowd judgments based on cognitive modeling can (a) identify experts and amplify their judgments, (b) provide a representational structure for aggregating complicated multidimensional judgments, (c) debias judgments that are affected by heuristic cognitive processes or competitive social situations, and (d) diversify the crowd by incorporating predictions about judgments that have not been observed. Demonstrations of these advantages are provided in case studies involving ranking, probability estimation, and categorization problems.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142084735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-26DOI: 10.1177/09637214241262334
Yong Hoon Chung, Timothy F. Brady, Viola S. Störmer
Visual working memory is traditionally studied using abstract, meaningless stimuli. Although studies using such simplified stimuli have been insightful in understanding the mechanisms of visual working memory, they also potentially limit our ability to understand how people encode and store conceptually rich and meaningful stimuli in the real world. Recent studies have demonstrated that meaningful and familiar visual stimuli that connect to existing knowledge are better remembered than abstract colors or shapes, indicating that meaning can unlock additional working memory capacity. These findings challenge current models of visual working memory and suggest that its capacity is not fixed but depends on the type of information that is being remembered and, in particular, how that information connects to preexisting knowledge.
{"title":"Meaningfulness and Familiarity Expand Visual Working Memory Capacity","authors":"Yong Hoon Chung, Timothy F. Brady, Viola S. Störmer","doi":"10.1177/09637214241262334","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241262334","url":null,"abstract":"Visual working memory is traditionally studied using abstract, meaningless stimuli. Although studies using such simplified stimuli have been insightful in understanding the mechanisms of visual working memory, they also potentially limit our ability to understand how people encode and store conceptually rich and meaningful stimuli in the real world. Recent studies have demonstrated that meaningful and familiar visual stimuli that connect to existing knowledge are better remembered than abstract colors or shapes, indicating that meaning can unlock additional working memory capacity. These findings challenge current models of visual working memory and suggest that its capacity is not fixed but depends on the type of information that is being remembered and, in particular, how that information connects to preexisting knowledge.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142084749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-26DOI: 10.1177/09637214241263020
Karen L. Campbell, Emily E. Davis
Associative memory declines with age, and this decline is thought to stem from a decreased ability to form new associations or bind information together. However, a growing body of work suggests that (a) the binding process itself remains relatively intact with age when tested implicitly and (b) older adults form excessive associations (or “hyper-bind”) because of a decreased ability to control attention. In this article, we review evidence for the hyper-binding hypothesis. This work shows that older adults form more nontarget associations than younger adults, which leads to increased interference at retrieval and forgetting, an effect that may extend to others with poor attentional control, such as children and people with attention-deficit disorder. We discuss why hyper-binding is apparent only under implicit test conditions and how it affects memory for everyday events. Although hyper-binding likely contributes to forgetting, it may also confer certain advantages when seemingly irrelevant associations later become relevant.
{"title":"Hyper-Binding: Older Adults Form Too Many Associations, Not Too Few","authors":"Karen L. Campbell, Emily E. Davis","doi":"10.1177/09637214241263020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241263020","url":null,"abstract":"Associative memory declines with age, and this decline is thought to stem from a decreased ability to form new associations or bind information together. However, a growing body of work suggests that (a) the binding process itself remains relatively intact with age when tested implicitly and (b) older adults form excessive associations (or “hyper-bind”) because of a decreased ability to control attention. In this article, we review evidence for the hyper-binding hypothesis. This work shows that older adults form more nontarget associations than younger adults, which leads to increased interference at retrieval and forgetting, an effect that may extend to others with poor attentional control, such as children and people with attention-deficit disorder. We discuss why hyper-binding is apparent only under implicit test conditions and how it affects memory for everyday events. Although hyper-binding likely contributes to forgetting, it may also confer certain advantages when seemingly irrelevant associations later become relevant.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142084736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-26DOI: 10.1177/09637214241266818
Carol D. Ryff
This article provides an overview of a model of psychological well-being put forth over 30 years ago. The intent was to advance new dimensions of positive functioning based on integration of clinical, developmental, existential, and humanistic thinking along with Aristotle’s writings about eudaimonia. The operationalization and validation of the model are briefly described, followed by an overview of scientific findings organized around (a) demographic and experiential predictors of well-being, (b) well-being as predictors of health and biomedical outcomes, (c) pathway studies that examine intervening processes (moderators, mediators), and (d) underlying mechanistic processes (neuroscience, genomics). Much prior work underscores the benefits of well-being, including for longevity. Widening socioeconomic inequality is, however, increasingly compromising the well-being of disadvantaged segments of the population. These problems have been exacerbated by recent historical stressors (Great Recession, COVID-19 pandemic). Cumulative hardships from these events and their implications for health are critical targets for future science and practice.
{"title":"The Privilege of Well-Being in an Increasingly Unequal Society","authors":"Carol D. Ryff","doi":"10.1177/09637214241266818","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241266818","url":null,"abstract":"This article provides an overview of a model of psychological well-being put forth over 30 years ago. The intent was to advance new dimensions of positive functioning based on integration of clinical, developmental, existential, and humanistic thinking along with Aristotle’s writings about eudaimonia. The operationalization and validation of the model are briefly described, followed by an overview of scientific findings organized around (a) demographic and experiential predictors of well-being, (b) well-being as predictors of health and biomedical outcomes, (c) pathway studies that examine intervening processes (moderators, mediators), and (d) underlying mechanistic processes (neuroscience, genomics). Much prior work underscores the benefits of well-being, including for longevity. Widening socioeconomic inequality is, however, increasingly compromising the well-being of disadvantaged segments of the population. These problems have been exacerbated by recent historical stressors (Great Recession, COVID-19 pandemic). Cumulative hardships from these events and their implications for health are critical targets for future science and practice.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142084737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-10DOI: 10.1177/09637214241262709
Jessica L. Tracy, Ian Hohm, Ari Makridakis
Humans need to experience meaning in their lives yet often find it difficult to do so. We argue that, for nonreligious individuals in many Western cultures, the materialist and reductionist ideology that surrounds scientific practice and data may be an impediment to attaining a robust sense of meaning in life. Furthermore, scientific materialism and reductionism may be especially problematic for existential mattering—the form of meaning entailing a belief that one’s life matters in the context of the universe as a whole. We review new research supporting this account, along with implications for those immersed in the materialist worldview. We conclude by suggesting possible means of finding meaning, including a sense of existential mattering, without abandoning science, and highlight research directions to further examine these possibilities.
{"title":"Does Science Erode Meaning?","authors":"Jessica L. Tracy, Ian Hohm, Ari Makridakis","doi":"10.1177/09637214241262709","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241262709","url":null,"abstract":"Humans need to experience meaning in their lives yet often find it difficult to do so. We argue that, for nonreligious individuals in many Western cultures, the materialist and reductionist ideology that surrounds scientific practice and data may be an impediment to attaining a robust sense of meaning in life. Furthermore, scientific materialism and reductionism may be especially problematic for existential mattering—the form of meaning entailing a belief that one’s life matters in the context of the universe as a whole. We review new research supporting this account, along with implications for those immersed in the materialist worldview. We conclude by suggesting possible means of finding meaning, including a sense of existential mattering, without abandoning science, and highlight research directions to further examine these possibilities.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141915252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-09DOI: 10.1177/09637214241262335
Igor Grossmann, Richard E. Eibach
We introduce the concept of “metajudgment” to provide a framework for understanding folk standards people use to navigate everyday decisions. Defined as a set of metatheories and beliefs about different types of judgment, metajudgment serves as the guiding principle behind the selection and application of reasoning strategies in various contexts. We review emerging studies on metajudgment to identify common dimensions, such as intuition versus deliberative reasoning and rationality versus reasonableness. These dimensions are examined across multiple societies. The reviewed findings illuminate an apparent paradox: Universal adaptive challenges produce largely consistent folk standards of judgment across cultures, whereas situational demands drive systematic within-person variability. Metajudgment offers a comprehensive framework for understanding diverse reasoning patterns in individual and cross-cultural contexts, calling for greater attention to the ecologically sensitive study of within-person judgmental variability.
{"title":"Metajudgment: Metatheories and Beliefs About Good Judgment Across Societies","authors":"Igor Grossmann, Richard E. Eibach","doi":"10.1177/09637214241262335","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241262335","url":null,"abstract":"We introduce the concept of “metajudgment” to provide a framework for understanding folk standards people use to navigate everyday decisions. Defined as a set of metatheories and beliefs about different types of judgment, metajudgment serves as the guiding principle behind the selection and application of reasoning strategies in various contexts. We review emerging studies on metajudgment to identify common dimensions, such as intuition versus deliberative reasoning and rationality versus reasonableness. These dimensions are examined across multiple societies. The reviewed findings illuminate an apparent paradox: Universal adaptive challenges produce largely consistent folk standards of judgment across cultures, whereas situational demands drive systematic within-person variability. Metajudgment offers a comprehensive framework for understanding diverse reasoning patterns in individual and cross-cultural contexts, calling for greater attention to the ecologically sensitive study of within-person judgmental variability.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"83 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141910322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-08DOI: 10.1177/09637214241257880
Shira Gabriel, Veronica Schneider
We propose that much of modern human behavior can be understood as the outcome of a primitive and implicit desire for social embeddedness (i.e., a desire to belong to a larger, societal-level collective). Research from our lab suggests that people watch television, follow celebrities, and go to concerts and sporting events, at least in part, to fill this need. Connections to other research and implications for understanding human behavior are discussed.
{"title":"The Need for Social Embeddedness: Human Belonging Goes Beyond Dyadic Bonds","authors":"Shira Gabriel, Veronica Schneider","doi":"10.1177/09637214241257880","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241257880","url":null,"abstract":"We propose that much of modern human behavior can be understood as the outcome of a primitive and implicit desire for social embeddedness (i.e., a desire to belong to a larger, societal-level collective). Research from our lab suggests that people watch television, follow celebrities, and go to concerts and sporting events, at least in part, to fill this need. Connections to other research and implications for understanding human behavior are discussed.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141909010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-23DOI: 10.1177/09637214241247017
Monica Biernat, Xian Zhao, Emily C. Watkins
Names are important signifiers of identity, but for many ethnic minority–group members, names trigger discriminatory responses. Name anglicization (or name whitening) is one proactive response to ward off anticipated discrimination and to signal assimilation. We review evidence suggesting that name anglicization may reduce discrimination (compared with using an original ethnic name), but it burdens minority-group members and is linked to lower well-being. We suggest a solution to this dilemma: training proper pronunciation of ethnic names. We provide a model of how this simple intervention may improve interethnic interactions, signal inclusion, and reduce prejudice in both ethnic majority- and minority-group members.
{"title":"Names Matter: Implications of Name “Whitening” for Ethnic Minority Discrimination and Well-Being","authors":"Monica Biernat, Xian Zhao, Emily C. Watkins","doi":"10.1177/09637214241247017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241247017","url":null,"abstract":"Names are important signifiers of identity, but for many ethnic minority–group members, names trigger discriminatory responses. Name anglicization (or name whitening) is one proactive response to ward off anticipated discrimination and to signal assimilation. We review evidence suggesting that name anglicization may reduce discrimination (compared with using an original ethnic name), but it burdens minority-group members and is linked to lower well-being. We suggest a solution to this dilemma: training proper pronunciation of ethnic names. We provide a model of how this simple intervention may improve interethnic interactions, signal inclusion, and reduce prejudice in both ethnic majority- and minority-group members.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"65 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141091766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-20DOI: 10.1177/09637214241245412
M. J. Crockett, Judy S. Kim, Yeon Soon Shin
We explore the role of intuitive theories in the cultural evolution of moral cognition, integrating recent work across subfields of psychology and suggesting directions for future research. Focusing on intuitive theories in the moral domain concerning how people judge the moral value of actions and make inferences about moral character, we review evidence that the specific forms these theories take vary across individuals and can change via social learning. We propose that cultural selection can operate over the intuitive theories people apply in the moral domain, in which particular variants of intuitive moral theories can be more “successful” to the extent that they are cognitively efficient or provide reputational benefits. Finally, we explore some implications of considering moral cognition as a kind of cultural technology that can be innovated, considering whether intuitive moral theories help or hinder our ability to improve our collective moral norms or practices.
{"title":"Intuitive Theories and the Cultural Evolution of Morality","authors":"M. J. Crockett, Judy S. Kim, Yeon Soon Shin","doi":"10.1177/09637214241245412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241245412","url":null,"abstract":"We explore the role of intuitive theories in the cultural evolution of moral cognition, integrating recent work across subfields of psychology and suggesting directions for future research. Focusing on intuitive theories in the moral domain concerning how people judge the moral value of actions and make inferences about moral character, we review evidence that the specific forms these theories take vary across individuals and can change via social learning. We propose that cultural selection can operate over the intuitive theories people apply in the moral domain, in which particular variants of intuitive moral theories can be more “successful” to the extent that they are cognitively efficient or provide reputational benefits. Finally, we explore some implications of considering moral cognition as a kind of cultural technology that can be innovated, considering whether intuitive moral theories help or hinder our ability to improve our collective moral norms or practices.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"60 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141074157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-20DOI: 10.1177/09637214241246553
Manuel J. Galvan, B. Keith Payne
Inequality is perpetuated, in part, by the psychological and behavioral tendencies that arise from the social context of inequality. Cognitive biases lead most people to see themselves as middle class, even when that perception does not align with economic reality. Those who perceive themselves as economically advantaged tend to view inequality as fair and legitimate, often dismissing proponents of redistributive solutions as ill-informed. And unequal contexts increase risky behaviors that can be profitable to some but are more likely to be costly for most. This research program suggests an inequality cycle, in which inequality experienced today tends to reproduce itself.
{"title":"The Inequality Cycle: How Psychology Helps Keep Economic Inequality in Place","authors":"Manuel J. Galvan, B. Keith Payne","doi":"10.1177/09637214241246553","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241246553","url":null,"abstract":"Inequality is perpetuated, in part, by the psychological and behavioral tendencies that arise from the social context of inequality. Cognitive biases lead most people to see themselves as middle class, even when that perception does not align with economic reality. Those who perceive themselves as economically advantaged tend to view inequality as fair and legitimate, often dismissing proponents of redistributive solutions as ill-informed. And unequal contexts increase risky behaviors that can be profitable to some but are more likely to be costly for most. This research program suggests an inequality cycle, in which inequality experienced today tends to reproduce itself.","PeriodicalId":10802,"journal":{"name":"Current Directions in Psychological Science","volume":"135 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141073882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}