Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T12:35:51.423Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Quantifying the prevalence and adaptiveness of behavioral rationalizations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2020

Warren Tierney
Affiliation:
Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Castletroy, LimerickV94 T9PX, Ireland. [email protected]
Eric Luis Uhlmann
Affiliation:
Organisational Behaviour Area, INSEAD, 138676Singapore. [email protected]://socialjudgments.com/

Abstract

Critical aspects of the “rationality of rationalizations” thesis are open empirical questions. These include the frequency with which past behavior determines attitudes (as opposed to attitudes causing future behaviors), the extent to which post hoc justifications take on a life of their own and shape future actions, and whether rationalizers experience benefits in well-being, social influence, performance, or other desirable outcomes.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ajzen, I. (1985) From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In: Action control: From cognition to behavior, ed. Kuhl, J. & Beckman, J., pp. 1139. Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armitage, C. J. & Conner, M. (2001) Efficacy of the theory of planned behavior: A meta-analytic review. British Journal of Social Psychology 40:471–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bem, D. J. (1972) Self-perception theory. In: Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 6, pp. 162. Elsevier.Google Scholar
Bentler, P. M. & Speckart, G. (1981) Attitudes “cause” behaviors: A structural equation analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 40:226–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brescoll, V. L., Uhlmann, E. L. & Newman, G. N. (2013) The effects of system-justifying motives on endorsement of essentialist explanations for gender differences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 105:891908.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caruso, E. M., Shapira, O. & Landy, J. F. (2017) Show me the money: A systematic exploration of manipulations, moderators, and mechanisms of priming effects. Psychological Science 28:1148–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colvin, C. R., Block, J. & Funder, D.C. (1995) Overly-positive self evaluations and personality: Negative implications for mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68:1152–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunning, D., Leuenberger, A. & Sherman, D. A. (1995) A new look at motivated inference: Are self-serving theories of success a product of motivational forces? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59:5868.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fazio, R. H. (1990) Multiple processes by which attitudes guide behavior: The MODE model as an integrative framework. In: Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 23, ed. Zanna, M. P., pp. 75109. Academic Press.Google Scholar
Felin, T., Felin, M., Krueger, J. I. & Koenderink, J. (2019) On surprise-hacking. Perception 48:109–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Festinger, L. (1962) A theory of cognitive dissonance, vol. 2. Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975) Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Forscher, P. S., Lai, C. K., Axt, J. R., Ebersole, C. R., Herman, M., Devine, P. G. & Nosek, B.A. (2019) A meta-analysis of procedures to change implicit measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 117(3):522–59. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fredricks, A. J. & Dossett, D. L. (1983) Attitude-behavior relations: A comparison of the Fishbein-Ajzen and the Bentler-Speckart models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 45:501–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gazzaniga, M. (1985) The social brain. The Free Press.Google Scholar
Hodson, G., Dovidio, J. F. & Gaertner, S. L. (2002) Processes in racial discrimination: Differential weighting of conflicting information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28:460–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, V., Layton, D. & Prince, S. (2015) Diversity matters. McKinsey.Google Scholar
Inglehart, R. & Norris, P. (2003) Rising tide: Gender equality and cultural change around the world. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahle, L. R. & Berman, J. J. (1979) Attitudes cause behaviors: A cross-lagged panel analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37:315–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lodder, P., Ong, H. H., Grasman, R. P. P. P. & Wicherts, J. (2019) A comprehensive meta-analysis of money priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 148(4):688712. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCarthy, R. J., Skowronski, J. J., Verschuere, B., Meijer, E. H., Jim, A., Hoogesteyn, K., Orthey, R., Acar, O. A., Aczel, B., Bakos, B. E., F. Barbosa, F., Baskin, L., Bègue, E., Ben-Shakhar, G., Birt, A. R., Blatz, L., Charman, S. D., Claesen, A., Clay, S. L., Coary, S. P., Crusius, J., Evans, J. R., Feldman, N., Ferreira-Santos, F., Gamer, M., Gerlsma, C., Gomes, S., González-Iraizoz, M., Holzmeister, F., Huber, J., Huntjens, R. J. C., Isoni, A., Jessup, R. K., Kirchler, M., klein Selle, N., Koppel, L., Kovacs, M., Laine, T., Lentz, F., Loschelder, D. D., Ludvig, E. A., Lynn, M. L., Martin, S. D., McLatchie, N. M., Mechtel, M., Nahari, G., Özdoğru, A. A., Pasion, R., Pennington, C. R., Roets, A., Rozmann, N., Scopelliti, I., Spiegelman, E., Suchotzki, K., Sutan, A., Szecsi, P., Tinghög, G., Tisserand, J.-C., Tran, U. S., Van Hiel, A., Vanpaemel, W., Västfjäll, D., Verliefde, T., Vezirian, K., Voracek, M., Warmelink, L., Wick, K., Wiggins, B. J., Wylie, K. & Yildiz, E. (2018) Registered replication report on Srull & Wyer (1979) Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science 1:321336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monteith, M. J., Devine, P. G. & Zuwerink, J. R. (1993) Self-directed versus other-directed affect as a consequence of prejudice-related discrepancies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64:198210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norton, M. I., Vandello, J. A. & Darley, J. M. (2004) Casuistry and social category bias. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 87:817–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oswald, F. L., Mitchell, G., Blanton, H., Jaccard, J. & Tetlock, P. E. (2015) Using the IAT to predict ethnic and racial discrimination: Small effect sizes of unknown societal significance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 108(4):562–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pizarro, D. A. & Uhlmann, E. L. (2005) Do normative standards advance our understanding of moral judgment? Behavioral and Brain Sciences 28:558–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Randall, D. M. & Wolff, J. A. (1994) The time interval in the intention-behaviour relationship: Meta-analysis. British Journal of Social Psychology 33:405–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J. & Warshaw, P. R. (1988) The theory of reasoned action: A meta-analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of Consumer Research 15:325–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tannenbaum, D., Valasek, C. J., Knowles, E. D. & Ditto, P. H. (2013) Incentivizing wellness in the workplace: Sticks (not carrots) send stigmatizing signals. Psychological Science 24:1512–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, S. E. & Brown, J. D. (1988) Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin 103:193210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uhlmann, E. L. & Cohen, G. L. (2005) Constructed criteria: Redefining merit to justify discrimination. Psychological Science 16:474–80.Google ScholarPubMed
Uhlmann, E. L., Pizarro, D. A., Tannenbaum, D. & Ditto, P. H. (2009) The motivated use of moral principles. Judgment and Decision Making 4:476–91.Google Scholar
Webb, T. L. & Sheeran, P. (2006) Does changing behavioural intentions engender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin 132:249–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N. & Malone, T. W. (2010) Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Science 330:686–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed