IV. The Lay Theory of Inalienability: The Crown

1955 ◽  
pp. 81-112
Keyword(s):  
Lay Theory

Perceptions of Political Deviants: A Lay Theory of Subjective Group Dynamics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danica Kulibert ◽  
Aaron J Moss ◽  
Jacob Appleby ◽  
Laurie O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Group Norms ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
Lay Theory ◽  
Lay Understanding

People who deviate from group norms pose problems for their ingroup, but not all forms are deviance are equivalent. Four experiments (N=1,063) investigated whether people hold a lay understanding of these subjective group dynamics by assessing people’s beliefs about how others would perceive two types of deviants within U.S. political parties—political moderates and extremes. Participants thought both Democrats (Experiment 1) and Republicans (Experiment 2) would view moderate political candidates more negatively (e.g., less loyal, less principled, less typical, and more likely to defect) than extreme candidates. Moreover, these relatively negative evaluations of moderates extended to rank and file members of the Democratic (Experiment 3) and Republican (Experiment 4) Parties. These findings suggest that people intuitively understand subjective group dynamics and, when applied to politics, this understanding may have important consequences for how people with moderate and extreme beliefs engage in political discourse.

Ethical Products = Less Strong: How Explicit and Implicit Reliance on the Lay Theory Affects Consumption Behaviors

2017 ◽  
Vol 158 (3) ◽  
pp. 659-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Mai ◽  
Stefan Hoffmann ◽  
Wassili Lasarov ◽  
Arne Buhs
Keyword(s):  
Lay Theory ◽  
Ethical Products

We stand in solidarity with you (if it helps our ingroup)

2022 ◽  
pp. 136843022110671
Author(s):  
Kimberly E. Chaney ◽  
Marley B. Forbes
Keyword(s):  
White Women ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
White Men ◽  
Women Studies ◽  
Lay Theory

Intraminority solidarity research has previously focused on how similarities in discrimination experiences can facilitate stigma-based solidarity. Yet, research on a lay theory of generalized prejudice has demonstrated that people tend to perceive attitudes towards stigmatized social groups as co-occurring. Integrating these lines of research, the present studies sought to examine if the extent to which prejudices are perceived to co-occur can facilitate stigma-based solidarity for marginalized social groups, and in turn promote interest in coalitional justice. Recruiting heterosexual Black Americans (Study 1), White women (Studies 2–3), and White men (Study 4), the present research demonstrates that perceiving prejudices as co-occurring increases stigma-based solidarity that in turn produces greater interest in coalitional justice efforts that include the ingroup. The present findings demonstrate the importance of focusing on beliefs about perpetrators’ attitudes when examining intraminority solidarity and highlight the limitations of a lay theory of generalized prejudice to fight prejudices broadly.

Is the Illusion of Authenticity Beneficial? Merely Perceiving Decisions as Guided by the True Self Enhances Decision Satisfaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-90
Author(s):  
Jinhyung Kim ◽  
Andrew G. Christy ◽  
Grace N. Rivera ◽  
Joshua A. Hicks ◽  
Rebecca J. Schlegel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Optimal Strategy ◽  
True Self ◽  
Positive Functioning ◽  
Lay Theory ◽  
Decision Satisfaction ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Perceptual Mechanism

Many people endorse a “true-self-as-guide” (TSAG) lay theory of decision-making that suggests following one’s true self is an optimal strategy for making decisions. Across five studies ( N = 1,320), we test whether perceived use of the true self enhances decision satisfaction. Study 1 provides correlational evidence. Studies 2 and 3 provide experimental evidence that participants felt more satisfied with choices made under TSAG instructions, compared to alternate strategies. Critically, we argue that perceived use of the true self enhances decision satisfaction regardless of whether consulting the true self actually influences the decision made. Studies 4 and 5 find evidence in support of this perceptual mechanism. This research provides insight into one way by which people find satisfaction amid life’s uncertainty, extending existing research on the role of the concept of true selves in positive functioning.

Cultural Differences in the Construal of Suffering and the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 194855062095880
Author(s):  
Li-Jun Ji ◽  
Mark Khei ◽  
Suhui Yap ◽  
Xinqiang Wang ◽  
Zhiyong Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Dialectical Thinking ◽  
Lay Theory

The present research examines how suffering is construed across cultures. Study 1 ( N 1 = 264; N 2 = 745) asked participants to provide free associations for suffering. Chinese individuals generated more positive associations than did Euro-Canadians. Study 2 ( N = 522) had participants create a hypothetical potion of suffering to represent what people would experience while suffering. Chinese participants added more positive ingredients and fewer negative ingredients than Euro-Canadians did. How would cultural differences in the construal of suffering matter in a real-life negative situation? Study 3 ( N = 608) showed that Chinese participants generated a greater proportion of potential positive outcomes for the COVID-19 outbreak and reported more positive affect during the pandemic than did Euro-Canadians. Thus, Chinese construe suffering more positively than Euro-Canadians. These findings are consistent with previous research on cultural differences in dialectical thinking and lay theory of change and have implications for coping and resilience.

scholarly journals Understanding the Relationship Between Perceived Authenticity and Well-Being

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace N. Rivera ◽  
Andrew G. Christy ◽  
Jinhyung Kim ◽  
Matthew Vess ◽  
Joshua A. Hicks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Future Research ◽  
True Self ◽  
Lay Theory ◽  
Central Tenet ◽  
The Relationship

A central tenet of many prominent philosophical and psychological traditions is that personal authenticity facilitates psychological well-being. This idea, however, is at odds with numerous perspectives arguing that it is difficult, if not impossible, to really know one's self, or the true self may not even exist. Moreover, empirical findings suggest that reports of authenticity are often contaminated by positively valenced behavior, further potentially undermining the validity of authenticity measures. Despite these concerns, we argue that subjective feelings of authenticity do uniquely contribute to well-being. Specifically, we argue that the relationship between perceived authenticity and well-being may be understood from a social-cognitive lay theory perspective that we label “true-self-as-guide,” that suggests people use these feelings of authenticity as a cue to evaluate whether they are living up to a shared cultural value of what it means to live a good life. We end with a call for future research on the antecedents of perceived authenticity, boundary conditions for the consequences of personal authenticity, and discuss cultural differences in true-self-as-guide lay theories.

The effect of a no-pain, no-gain lay theory on product efficacy perceptions

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kramer ◽  
Caglar Irmak ◽  
Lauren G. Block ◽  
Veronika Ilyuk
Keyword(s):  
Lay Theory

scholarly journals Those who ignore the past are doomed…to be heartless: Lay historicist theory is associated with humane responses to the struggles and transgressions of others

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0246882
Author(s):  
Michael J. Gill ◽  
Michael R. Andreychik ◽  
Phillip D. Getty
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Implicit Measures ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Lay Theory ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Base Study ◽  
General Fact ◽  
Consistent Support

When one learns that current struggles or transgressions of an individual or group are rooted in an unfortunate history, one experiences compassion and reduced blame. Prior research has demonstrated this by having participants receive (or not) a concrete historicist narrative regarding the particular individual or group under consideration. Here, we take a different approach. We explore the possibility that everyday people show meaningful variation in a broad lay theory that we call lay historicism. Lay historicists believe that—as a general fact—people’s psychological characteristics and life outcomes are powerfully molded by their life histories. We present eight studies linking lay historicism to broad tendencies toward compassion and non-blaming. Collectively, Studies 1–5 suggest that lay historicism affects compassion and blame, respectively, via distinct mechanisms: (1) Lay historicism is associated with compassion because it creates a sense that—as a general fact—past suffering lies behind present difficulties, and (2) lay historicism is associated with blame mitigation because historicists reject the idea that—as a general fact—people freely and autonomously create their moral character. Thus, lay historicism increases compassion and decreases blame via distinct mechanisms. The remaining studies diversify our evidence base. Study 6 examines criminal justice philosophies rather than broad moral traits (as in the earlier studies) and shows that lay historicism is associated with preference for humane criminal justice philosophies. Study 7 moves from abstract beliefs to concrete situations and shows that lay historicism predicts reduced blaming of an irresponsible peer who is encountered face-to-face. One additional study—in our Supplemental Materials—shows that lay historicism predicts lower levels of blaming on implicit measures, although only among those who also reject lay controllability theories. Overall, these studies provide consistent support for the possibility that lay historicism is broadly associated with humane responding to the struggles and transgressions of others.

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