Michael Ranney

Ecological Behavior, Environmental Attitude, and Feelings of Responsibility for the Environment

Given their definition of subjective norms, rational-choice theories must be located within the realm of social conventionality. However, subjective norms can be grounded in moral as well as conventional considerations. Not surprisingly, then, rational-choice theories insufficiently explain behaviors that are at least partially moral, such as ecological behavior. The present paper establishes an expanded rational-choice model of environmental attitude that extends into the moral domain by using feelings of personal obligation toward the environment (i. e., feelings of responsibility) as an additional predictor of intentions to behave ecologically. Findings from two studies are presented. In Study 1 a sample of Swiss adults (N = 436) was used to test the proposed model. Study 2 replicates the findings of Study 1 with a sample of California college students (N = 488). Assessments were carried out in a structural equation modeling framework. Environmental knowledge, environmental values, and responsibility f...

Ecological behavior and its environmental consequences: a life cycle assessment of a self-report measure

The environmental impact of individuals, namely, how much they pollute and what resources they consume, is of paramount importance. However, even environmental psychologists rarely study levels of pollution or resource and energy savings. The present paper aims to ecologically validate 52 behaviors of a well-established self-report measure of ecological conduct (i.e. the General Ecological Behavior scale; Kaiser, J. Appl. Social Phychol. 28 (1998) 395, using the items’ environmental consequences. Our objective is to contrast a behavior’s environmental consequences with the comparable effect of a reasonable alternative. By means of applying data from available Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) literature and databases, two LCA experts were able to compare each of 52 performance pairs’ overall environmental impact. None of the 30 presumably ecological behaviors of the scale turned out to be less environmentally effective than its alternative, and none of the 22 unecological behaviors turned out to be more environmentally effective than its alternative. The correspondence between a behavior’s environmental consequences and its scale-incorporated, presumed, impact falls between 79% and 100%, both being statistically significant. r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cognitive Differences in Proficient and Nonproficient Essay Scorers

This article examines the behavioral differences of essay scorers who demonstrate different levels of proficiency for a psychometric scoring task. The authors compare three proficiency groups to identify differences in (a) essay features they consider, (b) their understanding of the scoring rubric, and (c) their decision-making procedures. Results indicate scorers with different levels of proficiency do not focus on different essay features when making evaluative decisions but their understandings of the scoring criteria may vary. Proficient scores are more likely to focus on general features of an essay when making evaluative decisions and to adopt values espoused by the scoring rubric than are less proficient scorers. Also, proficient scorers make evaluations by reading the entire essay and then reviewing its content, whereas less proficient scorers may interrupt the reading process to monitor how well the essay satisfies the scoring criteria. Finally, the authors discuss implications for scorer selection and training.

Improved reasoning with Convince Me

This paper describes Convince Me, a tool for generating and analyzing arguments. Results indicate that the system makes people better reasoners while they employ it, and yields transfer to situations unsupported by the software.

Relative consistency and subjects' theories in domains such as naive physics : common research difficulties illustrated by Cooke and Breedin

While augmenting the literature with data that further exhibit context-specific responding to qualitative motion problems, Cooke and Breedin (1994) exhibit common theoretical and methodological difficulties that undermine their conclusions. Herein these flaws are explicated and con. trasted with features of studies that avoid the pitfalls of (2) theoretical vagueness, (2) overly coarse data aggregation, (3) nondiagnostic, errarful assessment items, and (4) imprecise measures of the variety of (mis/)conceptions (e.g., of “impetus,” or inertia). The difficulties call into question Cooke and Breedin’s claims that impetus ideas play minor roles in performance and that “naive theories” of motion are largely constructed on line. Because each confusion often arises from the polysemy of “theory,” same empirical criteria for “theoryness” are discussed, including subjects’ conceptual, temporal, and coherence-based consistencies (regarding researchers’ models and isomorphs). While naive physics may be idiosyncratic, baroque, context-driven, and apparently inconsistent, it might (additionally) be based upon fairly a priori, systematic, and temporally stable information.

Protocol modeling, textual analysis, the bifurcation/bootstrapping method, andConvince Me: Computer-based techniques for studying beliefs and their revision

This paper traces a progression of four computer-based methods for studying and fostering both the structure and the on-line development of knowledge. Each empirical technique employs ECHO, a connectionist model that instantiates the theory of explanatory coherence (TEC). First, verbal protocols of subjects’ reasonings were modeled post hoc. Next, ECHO predicted, a priori, subjects’ text-based believability ratings. Later, the bifurcation/bootstrapping method was developed to elicit and account for individuals’ background knowledge, while assessing intercoder reliability regarding ECHO simulations. Finally,Convince Me, our “reasoner’s workbench,” automated the explication both of subjects’ knowledge bases and of their belief assessments; theConvince Me software permits contrasts between the model’s predictions and subjects’ proposition-wise evaluations. These experimental systems enhance our understanding of the relationships among—and determinant features regarding—hypotheses, evidence, and the arguments that incorporate them.

Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning

Journalism has the potential––and arguably the mandate––to expand public understanding of societally important phenomena. However, some methods for more effectively educating the public have been persistently underutilized: in particular, embedding informative numerical rates and efficient scientific explanations in news reports. In the current era of disrupting and downsizing the news business, the challenges to using such methods have only increased. To address this problem, this article seeks to (a) raise awareness about the psychological reasons that help explain why it is crucial to use such elements in news reports, and (b) exhibit some methods for doing so that require modest effort. Building on a review of relevant psychological literatures, principles, and existing reporting methods, we describe findings from a series of cognitive-scientific studies that demonstrate how using key––and relatively minimal––scientific and numerical elements can enhance public learning from news reports. We conclude by also describing curricula and resources designed to help journalists and bloggers use these methods.