Robust inequality comparisons

This paper is concerned with the problem of ranking Lorenz curves in situations where the Lorenz curves intersect and no unambiguous ranking can be attained without introducing weaker ranking criteria than first-degree Lorenz dominance. To deal with such situations, Aaberge (Soc Choice Welf 33:235–259, 2009) introduced two alternative sequences of nested dominance criteria for Lorenz curves, which proved to characterize two separate systems of nested subfamilies of inequality measures. This paper uses the obtained characterization results to arrange the members of two different generalized Gini families of inequality measures into subfamilies according to their relationship to Lorenz dominance of various degrees. Since the various criteria of higher degree Lorenz dominance provide convenient computational methods, these results can be used to identify the largest subfamily of the generalized Gini families, and thus the least restrictive social preferences, required to reach unambiguous ranking of a set of Lorenz curves. We further show that the weight-functions of the members of the generalized Gini families offer intuitive interpretations of higher degree Lorenz dominance, which generally has been viewed as difficult to interpret because they involve assumptions about third and higher derivatives. To demonstrate the usefulness of these methods for empirical applications, we examine the time trend in income and earnings inequality of Norwegian males during the period 1967–2005.     

Unwanted personal contact and risky situations in ten disney animated feature films

The relationships between child maltreatment and the media have been examined in several recent papers. In the authors' previous work representations of neglect, and physical and emotional (but not sexual) child abuse were found in a content analysis of 45 Disney films released from 1937–2006. (Two additional Disney films, released in 2007, are included in the present analysis.) While conducting the content analysis the authors noted unexpected content in ten films. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of depictions of unwanted personal contact and situations that suggest risk due to unsupervised contact with malevolent or questionable strangers. These depictions are described and analyzed, their potential influences on child audiences are discussed, and implications for new research directions are suggested. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How information frame influences risky decisions: Between-subjects and within-subject comparisons

Previous studies have demonstrated that subjects who receive positively framed information evaluate decision options more favorably than do other subjects who receive the same information framed negatively. This study examines whether the initial frame continues to influence responses of a given subject even after the frame is changed. In separate sequentially administered booklets, subjects were presented a series of gambles expressed in terms of probability of winning (positive condition), probability of losing (negative condition), or both (mixed condition). Subjects indicated whether they would take each ganble and rated their confidence in each decision Between-subjects analyses based on only the first condition received by each subject revealed a significant framing effect. Evaluations were most favorable in the positive condition and least favorable in the negative condition. Within-subject analyses based on all three conditions received by each subject revealed no significant framing effect. The effect of the initial frame apparently perseveres despite subsequent changes in the frame.     

Predicting relapse of problematic child-rearing situations

BackgroundThe development and evaluation of risk assessment instruments for child maltreatment is still in its infancy, both in the Netherlands and internationally. The aim of this study was to examine the predictive validity of a structured clinical judgement instrument – the Check List of Child Safety (CLCS) – that is widely used in the Netherlands. The second aim was to examine the predictive validity of a newly developed actuarial risk classification that is based on variables measured with the CLCS.MethodThe sample consisted of 3963 Dutch families who were under the supervision of the Dutch Child Welfare Agency (CWA) between 2011 and 2013 because of problematic child-rearing situations. Relapse was defined as restarting treatment by the CWA because of newly substantiated problematic child-rearing situations. The actuarial risk classification was developed by means of a CHAID analysis. The predictive validity of the CLCS and the actuarial risk classification were examined by calculating several performance indicators (sensitivity, specificity, false positives, false negatives and AUC values).ResultsThe predictive validity of the CLCS was poor, with a non-significant AUC of .530, meaning that the CLCS performed no better than chance. The predictive validity of the actuarial risk classification was moderate, with a significant AUC of .630.ConclusionThe actuarial risk classification not only outperformed the CLCS, but is also time-saving in practice since it comprises only variables that are significantly related to relapse.     

The pursuit of socially modifiable contingencies in mental health

The effort to understand the meanings of the well-demonstrated linkages between mental health and one's locations in the social structure has commanded a great deal of research attention over the past half century. Following a brief consideration of my early efforts to make a contribution in this regard, some recent and ongoing work is summarized. In concert with important work by others, these findings support the conclusion that differences in exposure to social stress represent a much more critical contingency in mental health and substance use outcomes than has generally been assumed. In addition, reported results indicate that the lifetime experience of multiple adversities is quite common among young people in South Florida and, presumably, elsewhere and the likelihood that the compelling linkage observed between cumulative adversity and risk for psychiatric and substance disorders is causal in nature. It is suggested that the development of interventions in the service of stress prevention or reduction should command a greater proportion of the attention of researchers and interventionists.     

Objective interpersonal comparisons of utility

 This paper examines the problem of distilling conflicting interpersonal comparisons into a single set of interpersonal comparisons. The mapping that achieves this has a richer co-domain than all social choice problems (and a richer domain than most social choice problems). The set of mappings satisfying a mild set of restrictions is very small. If interpersonal comparisons embody ratio-scale comparability then the mapping is Cobb–Douglas in form; if interpersonal comparisons embody no more than level and difference comparability then the mapping must be dictatorial and it is impossible to combine different interpersonal comparisons. Received: 16 February 1995/Accepted: 13 October 1995     

Independence of irrelevant interpersonal comparisons

Arrow's independence of irrelevant alternatives (IIA) condition makes social choice depend only on personal rather than interpersonal comparisons of relevant social states, and so leads to dictatorship. Instead, a new independence of irrelevant interpersonal comparisons (IIIC) condition allows anonymous Paretian social welfare functionals such as maximin and Sen's leximin, even with an unrestricted preference domain. But when probability mixtures of social states are considered, even IIIC may not allow escape from Arrow's impossibility theorem for individuals' (ex-ante) expected utilities. Modifying IIIC to permit dependence on interpersonal comparisons of relevant probability mixtures allows Vickrey-Harsanyi utilitarianism. Thus, if we wish to go beyong the comparisons that are possible using only the [pareto] principle of the new welfare economics, the issue is not whether we can do so without making interpersonal comparisons of satisfactions. It is rather, what sorts of interpersonal comparisons are we willing to make. Unless the comparisons allowed by Arrow's Condition 3 [independence of irrelevant alternatives] could be shown to have some ethical priority, there seems to be no reason for confining consideration to this group.Hildreth (1953, p 91)     

Therapists' prototypical assessment of domestic violence situations

Prototypical perceptions by therapists have the potential to influence the therapeutic process of assessment. The purpose of this study is to begin to develop an understanding of how prototypes might affect marriage and family therapists' assessments of domestic violence situations. Participants evaluated one of three domestic violence scenarios that were identical in dynamics but different in terms of sexual orientation of the couple (i.e., heterosexual, gay, or lesbian). The most significant finding was that initial assessments of victim and perpetrator identification and power attribution differed depending on the sexual orientation of the couple. The "man as perpetrator, woman as victim" prototypical paradigm for heterosexual domestic violence emerged. In the same-sex scenarios, often "both" partners were perceived to be indicated both as victim and perpetrator.     

On enforcing socially best alternatives of binary group decision rules

We consider a large class of group decision rules based on pairwise comparisons. We show that if a socially best alternative is defined by the group decision rule, then one can devise a game form such that at least one such alternative can be realized under the appropriate notion of equilibrium.We are extremely grateful to G. Chichilinsky, P. Coughlin and an anonymous referee for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper     

Elderly Korean immigrants' socially and culturally constructed definitions of elder neglect

Little research has been conducted among the elderly on the topic of neglect. Not only is there a paucity of research, but also there is the problem of widely varying definitions of neglect. These two challenges led to a study of how neglect is understood by elderly Korean immigrants as it pertains to behaviors of adult children and family members. Interviews with 124 elderly Korean immigrants were conducted to assess conceptualizations of elder neglect. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results revealed five interrelated themes with strong connections to dimensions of health and mental health: (a) culture-specific definitions of elder neglect, (b) contexts in which elder neglect occurs, (c) impact of neglect on elders, (d) expectations from adult children, and (e) strategies for dealing with elder neglect. Implications for culturally competent, family-centered service delivery to elderly Korean immigrants are discussed, specifically focusing on service provision of health and mental health care.     

Toward a normative explanation of “old fashioned revivals”

Much of the literature attempting to explain revival phenomena has resorted to psychological explanations to the exclusion of sociological factors. The purpose of this paper is to provide an explanation of revival behavior employing a normative framework. Four propositions are stated, each the prerequisite for the next. First, sinner and the revival culture must interact, and definitions of self and others must be forged. Second, structural facilities must be available for learning the Christian role. Third, opportunity structures must present themselves to afford the expression of appropriate behaviors that are in accord with pre-established patterns. Fourth, the status passage from salvation to sanctification is an orderly one, requiring that a sinner be saved before sanctified. The position taken is that in order to arrive at adequate explanation, revival behavior must be observed as a social process. Therefore, the necessary requisite of the participant observation strategy is noted.     

The effect of comparisons on detecting deceit

The present study examined the impact of viewing condition on accuracy in detecting deception. In Experiment 1, observers saw: 1) a single interview for each subject and then judged whether it was honest or deceptive; or 2) two interviews for each subject, and then judged which one was deceptive. All observers were given the full audiovisual record; they were able to see the face and the entire body and to hear the speech as it was spoken. As predicted, detection accuracy when two interviews were available for comparison was significantly higher than accuracy for a single interview. In both cases, however, mean detection accuracy was not significantly different from chance. In Experiment 2, the impact of viewing order of the two interviews (honest first vs. deception first) was assessed. When honest interviews were shown first, judges' accuracy was significantly greater than when deceptive interviews were shown first, and it was also significantly better than chance. Heuristics such as anchoring and representativeness may account for this phenomenon. Reasons for observers' inability to detect deception in this, and other studies, are discussed.Paul Ekman's work is also supported by a Research Scientist Award from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 06092) and a previous grant from NIMH (MH11976).     

Cooperation between newcomers and incumbents: The role of normative disagreements

Cooperation in groups often requires individual members to make costly contributions that benefit the group as a whole. Prior research suggests that shared norms can help to support ingroup cooperation by prescribing common standards of how much to contribute. These common standards may be disrupted when groups undergo membership change, i.e., when members from outgroups enter the ingroup. When newcomers and incumbents have different notions about how much to contribute, a normative disagreement ensues that could undermine cooperation and the extent to which individuals identify with the group. In a laboratory experiment, we manipulate whether newcomers and incumbents disagree about how much to contribute in a public goods game with peer punishment. We examine whether normative disagreement between newcomers and incumbents affects newcomer-incumbent relations in terms of group identification, the emergence of a social norm, and costly punishment. The main goal is to test whether normative disagreement and the resulting newcomer-incumbent relations harm cooperation in terms of contributions to the common good. We find that normative disagreement between newcomers and incumbents negatively affects the emergence of a shared social norm and lowers feelings of group identification. Contrary to expectations, normative disagreement does not affect cooperation negatively. Instead, participants adjust their behavior to each other’s standards, using punishment for norm enforcement. This punishment is especially directed at low-contributing newcomers, leading them to conform to the incumbents’ higher contribution standards.     

Using computers to develop concept models of social situations

Concept modeling is presented as a way to describe and understand social situations. Concepts are developed from field data and supported by sets of exemplars drawn from the data which illustrate the various concepts. The computer is considered an essential tool for conducting this type of qualitative data analysis and displaying the resulting concept models. Two sample concept models are presented along with a discussion of how concept models can be related to teaching and learning, as well as to the nonlinear presentation of research results. Assessment of concept models is then considered. Three types of assessment are suggested: empirical, qualitative and quantitative.     

Collegial oligarchy and networks of normative alignments in transnational institution building

This paper presents a combined relational and cultural approach to transnational institution building by focusing on a network analysis of a small collegial oligarchy and normative alignments among its peers. To contribute to a theory of institutionalization, we propose hypotheses about whom professionals as institutional entrepreneurs are likely to select as members of their collegial oligarchy, about the role of social networks among them in identifying these leaders, and about the costs of alignments on these leaders’ normative choices. We test these hypotheses using mainly Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) applied to a dataset including network information and normative choices collected at the so-called Venice Forum – a field-configuring event that was central in creating and mobilizing a network of European patent judges for the construction of a new transnational institution, the European Unified Patent Court. We track normative alignments on the collegial hierarchy in this network of judges and their divergent interpretations of the contemporary European patent. Highlighting this under-examined articulation of relational infrastructures and cultural framing in transnational institutionalization shows how Northern European forms of capitalism tend to dominate in this institutionalization process at the expense of the Southern European forms. It also helps reflect on the usefulness of analyses of small networks of powerful players in organizational societies, where power and influence are highly concentrated.     

Correction of normative misperceptions: an alcohol abuse prevention program.

Normative misperception refers to the tendency of college students to misperceive campus drinking norms to be more liberal than they actually are. Initial investigations have demonstrated the effectiveness of normative education on reduction of alcohol use in primary and secondary education settings. This study examined the utility of a group program designed to challenge seventy-one male college students' misperceptions of college drinking norms. Participants were enrolled into either a normative education group or a control group representing traditional alcohol education efforts. Participants in the normative education groups demonstrated more accurate perceptions of campus drinking norms and a significant reduction in consequences of alcohol use while those in the control group did not. Changes in normative perceptions were among the strongest contributors to a function discriminating between those who decreased their drinking and those who did not. Results suggest that normative education may be an effective approach to modifying drinking behaviors.     

Social capital as social relations: the contribution of normative structures

This paper presents a framework for social capital that highlights the normative structures through which it is manifested. The primary focus is on the ways that norms structure the relationships in which social capital is embedded. To this end, we introduce four types of normative structures which condition social capital: market, bureaucratic, associative, and communal. A field site in Japan is used to illustrate how different aspects of social capital interact. This case analysis also serves to make an important distinction between the availability and use of social capital. The central arguments are that 1) social capital is organized in different ways by the normative structures in which it is embedded; 2) there are important interactions between these different aspects of social capital that are often overlooked by simpler frameworks; 3) a useful distinction can be made between available social capital and used social capital; 4) access to social capital can be used to analyze power relations; and 5) distinguishing different aspects of social capital makes areas visible that are overlooked by other understandings of social capital. We conclude by identifying the utility of our perspective for informing public policy and guiding future research.