Actively Open-Minded Thinking, Bullshit Receptivity, and Susceptibility to Framing: Evaluating the Dual-Process Account in North America and Bulgaria

The framing effect occurs when different presentations of the same problem lead to predictably different preferences. The dual-process framework of higher cognition assumes that the effect violates rational principles, but alternative accounts and recent evidence have contested this interpretation. Contributing to this debate, we tested the dual-process assumption by investigating associations between susceptibility to framing and the willingness and ability to think in line with rational norms, conceptualized as actively open-minded thinking and pseudo-profound bullshit receptivity. We conducted two online studies among North American (N = 259) and Bulgarian (N = 248) university students and administered several framing problems within subjects, presumably a necessary condition for the associations to appear. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that susceptibility to framing was associated with decreased actively open-minded thinking and increased bullshit receptivity in both sites. Exploratory multi-group analyses demonstrated partial strong invariance and showed that the findings generalize across both sites in terms of direction and partially in terms of magnitude. These results broadly support the dual-process account of the framing effect. Our study further contributes to adapting existing measures to a novel setting and expanding the findings across borders and populations.

Use and Impact of Online Travel Reviews for Planning Free and Easy Holidays

Online travel reviews (OTRs) are used by travelers to plan and book their holiday particular by the free and easy traveler. Hence, it is essential for hoteliers to understand the factors that affect and empower travelers when using OTRs to plan their holidays. This study has adopted three theories: dual-process theory, psychological empowerment (PE) and TPB. These theories were used to test additional dimensions of the informational and normative social influence, its links with perceived empowerment, and their impact on the intention to use OTRs. Using SmartPLS to analyze the data collected from 392 Malaysian, the results show that PE is significantly affected by informational and normative social influence, from travelers’ perception of PE positively affects their attitude toward using OTRs, and attitude significantly influences intention to use OTRs when plans for travel. Furthermore, the research findings contribute to the literature on travelers’ behavioral intention; this study also has direct implications for online travel providers.

THE FAILURE OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN AFGHANISTAN: THE POLITICAL DIMENSION

In every phase of the conflict in Afghanistan, serious War Crimes and crimes against humanity were committed, resulting in mass killings and forced displacement of millions of Afghan civilians and political opponents. Based on relevant literature, this article investigates the political factors responsible for the failure of transitional justice in Afghanistan, particularly internal and external factors. The article also brings to the fore the impact of the dual process of state-building and peace-building on the implementation of transitional justice. In addition, the paper investigates why the 'Peace first and justice later' strategy proved to be unsuccessful in Afghanistan as the Taliban continued their atrocities, fighting Afghan forces and killing innocent people in suicide attacks. The paper finds that the failure of transitional justice in Afghanistan is due to both internal and external factors. Further, the paper finds that Afghanistan has never been a post-conflict state, unlike other countries that have experienced transitional justice processes. Therefore transitional justice measures were never implemented.

Dual-Process Theory as a Theory of the Classification of Information Processing Acts

The article proposes a consideration of the dual-process theory of higher cognition as a theory of the classification of acts of information processing. One of the reasons why the dual-process approach has been criticized is the fact that the information processing process can sometimes have characteristics that undermine a clear-cut attribution to one of the two traditionally defined opposite types. To avoid this criticism, it is proposed that the object of classification should not be the processes of information processing, but separate acts of combining two units of information. Unlike a process, a particular act of information processing at a particular moment in time cannot simultaneously have opposite characteristics, nor can it simultaneously have and not have some characteristic. In order to show the qualitative difference between various information processing acts as falling individually into either Type 1 or Type 2 processing, it is proposed to classify them by a feature that is present in one type and absent in another. It is suggested to take conscious control as such a feature. As a result, in the information processing acts corresponding to Type 2 category, units of information are combined in a consciously controlled way, whereas in the acts to be considered as Type 1, those units either already are combined or combine autonomously due to the existence of indirect associative connections.

Linking the Robo-advisors Phenomenon and Behavioural Biases in Investment Management: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review and Research Agenda

Technological advancements bring continuous changes into the investment industry. The paper aims to provide insights on future research agenda based on a review of the current stance of research on the links between the Robo-advisors phenomenon and behavioural biases of individual investors. A qualitative investigation method has been applied for literature review on Robo-advisors and their impact on behavioural biases. The key findings indicate that Robo-advisors can help users to make better informed and less biased decisions. However, Robo-advisors activate the investors’ automatic system processes. The resulting passive investment approach could lead to alienation of the investors from the stock market, decreasing their understanding of the investment process that could widen a gap between different clusters of investors. The paper makes several contributions to the literature. First, it provides arguments on why a dual process theoretical framework in the relationship between financial advisory and investment behavioural biases is applicable. Second, it studies the Robo-advisor phenomenon and proposes a comprehensive definition of Robo-advisors. Third, the literature review suggests drivers of the Robo-advisors effect on the changes of behavioural biases as a future research direction.

Implizite Einstellungen, explizite Einstellungen und die Affinität zur AfD

ZusammenfassungDas Gros der Wahlforschung und insbesondere der empirischen Forschung zur Frage, wie sich die Wahlabsicht für die Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) erklären lässt, berücksichtigt zwar den Einfluss kultureller Orientierungen, aber nur in Form expliziter Einstellungen, welche vermöge evaluativer Verbaläußerungen erhoben werden. In diesem Beitrag wird vor dem Hintergrund der Dual-Process-Perspektive argumentiert, dass neben expliziten Einstellungen auch implizite Einstellungen, welche assoziative Verknüpfungen von mental repräsentierten Einstellungsobjekten und ihrer Bewertung darstellen, für die Wahlabsicht der AfD von Bedeutung sind. Dem Prinzip der Katalysation nach schlagen sich implizite Einstellungen stärker in expliziten Einstellungen und auch im overten Verhalten nieder, wenn sich die Artikulation der expliziten Einstellungen oder das Verhalten im Rahmen eines eher intuitiven als reflektierten kognitiven Prozesses vollzieht. Diese handlungstheoretischen Ideen werden im Rahmen einer explorativen Studie mit 960 Befragten überprüft. Es zeigt sich, dass beide, implizite und explizite Einstellungen zum Populismus und zum Rassismus, die Wahlabsicht der AfD bedingen, wobei der Einfluss der impliziten Einstellungen, wie vom katalytischen Prinzip vorhergesagt, davon abhängt, ob die Befragten eher zu intuitiven oder aber eher zu reflektierten kognitiven Prozessen neigen.