Hamutal Kreiner

The moderating role of objective and subjective numeracy in attribute framing

Previous research has found that objective numeracy moderates framing effects: People who are less numerate were found to be more susceptible to goal-framing and attribute-framing effects than people who are highly numerate. This study examined the possibility that subjective numeracy likewise moderates attribute framing in contexts where participants are presented with percentages of success or failure. The results show that compared with highly numerate participants, less numerate participants were more susceptible to the effect of attribute framing. Interestingly, this moderating effect was revealed only when using objective numeracy measures, and not when subjective numeracy measures were used. Future research is suggested to replicate these findings, to establish the generalizability of numeracy as a moderator of other cognitive biases, and to examine several possible theoretical explanations for the differential moderation of attribute-framing bias.

The effect of construal level on unethical behavior

ABSTRACT Construal level theory predicts that people will judge immoral events more harshly when these are presented in a way that elicits a higher construal level, relative to a lower construal level. Previous research supported this prediction using an Israeli sample but not a U.S. sample. This article compared Israeli and U.S. samples with respect to the interactive effect of utility and construal level on unethical behavioral intentions. We found that construal level did not affect unethical behavioral intentions in either the U.S. samples for low-utility level or the Israeli samples for low- and high-utility levels. In contrast, construal level affected unethical behavioral intentions in the U.S. sample for high-utility level: unethical behavioral intentions were higher in the low-construal level compared to the high-construal level. We discuss these findings and suggest additional factors that challenge arguments concerning the direct effect of construal level on unethical behavior.

Personality Traits Moderate Attribute Framing Effects

Previous research on attribute framing effects focused on context-specific variables that moderate it. This research examined whether two personality traits, namely agreeableness and conscientiousness, moderate the effect of attribute framing on the perceived fairness of allocation criteria. Two experiments showed that attribute framing affected the perceived fairness of allocation criteria for participants who score high on these personality traits. In contrast, participants who score low on these personality traits were relatively immune to attribute framing effect. Critically, these personality traits did not moderate the effect of attribute framing on evaluations in a nondistributive justice scenario. These findings are consistent with the possibility that highly agreeable and highly conscientious people are more sensitive to social issues, and, consequently, are more susceptible to attribute framing in scenarios that involve distributive justice. Theoretical implications are discussed and future research is suggested.

Outcome proportions, numeracy, and attribute-framing bias

Objectives An object presented positively is often judged more favourably than the same object described negatively even when the descriptions are logically equivalent. This difference, termed the attribute‐framing bias, has been shown to be affected by numeracy, such that less numerate individuals are more susceptible to the bias than highly numerate individuals. This article examines the hypothesis that less numerate individuals are less attentive to numerical information than highly numerate individuals; hence, their judgements rely more heavily on positive and negative words that elicit the bias. Method In two experiments, participants’ numeracy was measured, and they were asked to rate different scenarios while attribute framing was manipulated by presenting logically equivalent scenarios described with either positive or negative outcomes in three different proportions. Results Significant attribute‐framing effects were found in both experiments. Critically, less numerate participants were as sensitive to different outcome proportions as highly numerate participants. Nevertheless, numeracy affected attribute framing as hypothesised: Less numerate participants were typically more susceptible to attribute‐framing bias than highly numerate individuals. Conclusions Individual differences in sensitivity to numerical information did not modulate the effect of numeracy on attribute framing. We discuss the implications of these findings to understanding the cognitive processes underlying attribute‐framing bias.

What You Say and How You Say It Analysis of Speech Content and Speech Fluency as Predictors of Judged Self-Disclosure

Self-disclosure (SD) in interpersonal interaction is essentially a verbal behavior. The present study focused on this behavior and examined how it is related to two other aspects of SD, namely, subjective SD and SD as judged by others (JSD). Participants were interviewed, and their recorded responses were presented to judges who rated their JSD levels. Analysis of speech content and speech fluency of participants’ responses significantly correlated with JSD but not with subjective SD. Regression analysis revealed that linguistic parameters provided good prediction of JSD, whereas self-reported SD measures failed to predict the judges’ ratings. These findings highlight the close relationship between linguistic measures and JSD while suggesting that the subjective SD is poorly correlated with these measures. Future research exploring the gap between subjective and judges SD may highlight situational factors that affect SD and pave the way for better understanding of the dynamics of SD in interpersonal interactions.