Brad J. Sagarin

The Effects of Perspective Taking on Motivations for Helping: Still No Evidence for Altruism

To investigate the existence of true altruism, the authors assessed the link between empathic concern and helping by (a) employing an experimental perspective-taking paradigm used previously to demonstrate empathy-associated helping and (b) assessing the empathy-helping relationship while controlling for a range of relevant, well-measured nonaltruistic motivations. Consistent with previous research, the authors found a significant zero-order relationship between helping and empathic concern, the purported motivator of true altruism. This empathy-helping relationship disappeared, however, when nonaltruistic motivators (oneness and negative affect) were taken into account: Only the nonaltruistic factors of oneness (merged identity with the victim) and negative affect mediated helping, whereas empathic concern did not. Evidence for true altruism remains elusive.

A Functional Approach to Volunteerism: Do Volunteer Motives Predict Task Preference?

A central premise of the functional approach is that the same behavior may serve different functions for different individuals. More recently, this approach has been used to understand the motives behind volunteering. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether certain volunteer tasks (e.g., reading to the blind, entering data) differentially satisfy certain motives (e.g., expression of values, career building) and whether individuals prefer tasks with benefits aligned with their own preferred volunteer motives. Results suggested that people idiosyncratically differentiate tasks based on the motives they satisfy. Furthermore, when given a choice, individuals prefer tasks with benefits that match their personally relevant motives. Practical implications for volunteer organizations are discussed.

Sex differences (and similarities) in jealousy: The moderating influence of infidelity experience and sexual orientation of the infidelity

Past demonstrations of sex differences in jealousy have generally employed Buss et al.’s [Psychol. Sci. 3 (1992) 251] forced-choice methodology, a limitation criticized by DeSteno and Salovey [Psychol. Sci. 7 (1996) 367]. The present studies address this criticism by demonstrating the sex difference using both forced-choice and continuous measures of jealousy. In addition, the results distinguish two important moderators of the sex difference: infidelity experience, in which male victims and female perpetrators of infidelity reported greater distress in response to a sexual infidelity, and sexual orientation of the infidelity, in which the sex difference disappears completely when an infidelity carries no risk of conception because an opposite-sex partner has become involved with a same-sex lover. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex Differences in Jealousy in Response to Actual Infidelity

The present studies address two criticisms of the theory of evolved sex differences in jealousy: (a) that the sex difference in jealousy emerges only in response to hypothetical infidelity scenarios, and (b) that the sex difference emerges only using forced-choice measures. In two separate studies, one a paper-and-pencil survey with a student sample and the other a web-based survey targeting a non-student sample, men and women showed significant sex differences in jealousy in response to actual infidelity experiences; men experienced more jealousy in response to the sexual aspects of an actual infidelity, whereas women experienced more jealousy in response to the emotional aspects of the infidelity. Sex differences emerged using both continuous measures of jealousy as well as the traditional forced-choice measure. Overall, our results demonstrate that sex differences in jealousy are not limited to responses to hypothetical infidelity scenarios; they also emerge in response to actual infidelity experiences.

Implementation intentions, occupational stress, and the exercise intention-behavior relationship.

Many individuals intend to exercise, but fail to link this intention to behavior. The present study examined the impact of an implementation intention intervention (i.e., instructions to form specific if-then plans) on an exercise intention-behavior relationship among working adults who varied in reported occupational stress levels. Results indicated that implementation intentions backfired, such that participants who did not form an implementation intention exercised significantly more than participants who formed an implementation intention.

Hormonal changes and couple bonding in consensual sadomasochistic activity.

In two studies, 58 sadomasochistic (SM) practitioners provided physiological measures of salivary cortisol and testosterone (hormones associated with stress and dominance, respectively) and psychological measures of relationship closeness before and after participating in SM activities. Observed activities included bondage, sensory deprivation, a variety of painful and pleasurable stimulation, verbal and non-verbal communication, and expressions of caring and affection. During the scenes, cortisol rose significantly for participants who were bound, receiving stimulation, and following orders, but not for participants who were providing stimulation, orders, or structure. Female participants who were bound, receiving stimulation, and following orders also showed increases in testosterone during the scenes. Thereafter, participants who reported that their SM activities went well showed reductions in physiological stress (cortisol) and increases in relationship closeness. Among participants who reported that their SM activities went poorly, some showed decreases in relationship closeness whereas others showed increases. The increases in relationship closeness combined with the displays of caring and affection observed as part of the SM activities offer support for the modern view that SM, when performed consensually, has the potential to increase intimacy between participants.

An Ethical Approach to Peeking at Data

When data analyses produce encouraging but nonsignificant results, researchers often respond by collecting more data. This may transform a disappointing dataset into a publishable study, but it does so at the cost of increasing the Type I error rate. How big of a problem is this, and what can we do about it? To answer the first question, we estimate the Type I error inflation based on the initial sample size, the number of participants used to augment the dataset, the critical value for determining significance (typically .05), and the maximum p value within the initial sample such that the dataset would be augmented. With one round of augmentation, Type I error inflation maximizes at .0975 with typical values from .0564 to .0883. To answer the second question, we review methods of adjusting the critical value to allow augmentation while maintaining p < .05, but we note that such methods must be applied a priori. For the common occurrence of post-hoc dataset augmentation, we develop a new statistic, paugmented, that represents the magnitude of the resulting Type I error inflation. We argue that the disclosure of post-hoc dataset augmentation via paugmented elevates such augmentation from a questionable research practice to an ethical research decision.

Deceiver's Distrust: Denigration as a Consequence of Undiscovered Deception

Although psychologists have long recognized the havoc that a discovered lie can wreak on a relationship, this study indicates that even an undiscovered deception can bring about negative consequences. An experiment explored one such consequence by examining the hypothesis that in a dyadic relationship, if one partner lies to the other, the liar will begin to perceive the recipient as less honest. Participants who were induced to lie to a partner in a believable and, in some conditions, damaging manner then rated the partner on a variety of traits, including honesty. The results indicated a significant reduction in perceived honesty of the recipient of the lie, particularly by participants who told damaging lies. An exploration into the underlying mechanisms of the effect suggested that deceivers distrust operates through affective means, with the liars justifying their actions in a self-protection motivated version of the false consensus effect.

Figural Vividness and Persuasion: Capturing the “Elusive” Vividness Effect

Despite the widespread belief that the use of vividness in persuasive communications is effective, many laboratory studies have failed to find vividness effects. A possible explanation for this discrepancy is that many laboratory tests have not vivified solely the central thesis of the message but have vivified irrelevant portions of the message as well or instead. Two experiments examined the effect of vivifying the central (“figure”) or noncentral (“ground”) features of a message on persuasion. In both experiments, the formerly “elusive vividness effect” of superior persuasion was found, but only in vivid-figure communications. A mediation analysis revealed the salutary role of supportive cognitive elaborations, rather than memory for the communication, in mediating the vividness effect. The findings caution against attempts to persuade by increasing overall message vividness because off-thesis vividness has the unintended and undercutting consequence of distracting recipients from the point of the communication.

Whatever Happens in the Laboratory Stays in the Laboratory: The Prevalence and Prevention of Participant Crosstalk

Foreknowledge in research participants can undermine the validity of psychological research. Three studies examined a potentially major source of foreknowledge: participant crosstalk in an undergraduate subject pool. Participants in all three studies attempted to win extra experimental credit by guessing the number of beans in a jar—a nearly impossible task without foreknowledge of the answer. Participants guessing incorrectly were told the correct answer by the experimenter. In Study 1, 23 of 809 participants showed clear evidence of having received the correct answer from a prior participant. In Study 2, a classroom-based treatment asking students not to talk about experiments to other students significantly reduced crosstalk rates. In Study 3, a laboratory-based treatment supplemented the classroom-based treatment. After revealing the number of beans in the jar, the experimenter obtained a verbal commitment from participants that they would not tell anyone about the experiment. The combined treatment nearly eliminated crosstalk.