Gender differences in willingness to compete: The role of public observability

A recent literature emphasizes that gender differences in the labor market may in part be driven by a gender gap in willingness to compete. However, whereas experiments in this literature typically investigate willingness to compete in private environments, real world competitions often have a more public nature, which introduces potential social image concerns. If such image concerns are important, and men and women differ in the degree to which they want to be seen as competitive, making tournament entry decisions publicly observable may further exacerbate the gender gap. We test this prediction using a laboratory experiment (N = 784) that varies the degree to which the decision to compete, and its outcome, is publicly observable. We find that public observability does not alter the magnitude of the gender gap in willingness to compete in an economically or statistically significant way.     

Rank and response: A field experiment on peer information and water use behavior

Perception of peer rank, or how we perform relative to our peers, can be a powerful motivator. While research exists on the effect of social information on decision making, there is less work on how ranked comparisons with our peers influence our behavior. This paper outlines a field experiment conducted with 3896 households in Castro Valley, California, which uses household mailers with various forms of social information and peer rank messaging to motivate water conservation. The experiment tests the effect of a visible peer rank on water use, and how the competitive framing of rank information influences behavioral response. The results show that households with relatively low or high water use in the pre-treatment period responded differently to how rank information was framed. I find that a neutrally-framed peer rank caused a small “boomerang effect” (i.e., an increase in average water use) for low water use households, but this effect was eliminated by competitive framing. At the same time, a competitively-framed peer rank demotivated high water use households, increasing their average water use over the full period of the experiment. This result is supported by evidence that the competitive frame on rank information increased water use for households who ranked “last” in the peer group – a detrimental “last place effect” from competitively-framed rankings.     

INSTITUTIONALIZING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: The Dual Strategy of the Korean Women's Movement

Since the 1990s, scholars have paid attention to the role of social movements traversing the official terrain of politics by blending a “contention” strategy with an “engagement” strategy. The literature often highlights the contribution of institutionalized social movements to policymaking and sociopolitical change, but rarely addresses why and how specific social movement organizations gain routine access to formal politics. Using the Korean women's movement as a case study, I analyze the conditions for movement institutionalization. As I perceive it as the consequence both of social movements' decision to participate in government and of the state's desire to integrate such movements into its decision‐making process, movement institutionalization appears when the three factors are combined: (1) pressure from international organizations, (2) democratizing political structures, and (3) cognitive shifts by movement activists toward the role of the state.     

Politics in evaluation: Politically responsive evaluation in high stakes environments

The role of politics has often been discussed in evaluation theory and practice. The political influence of the situation can have major effects on the evaluation design, approach and methods. Politics also has the potential to influence the decisions made from the evaluation findings. The current study focuses on the influence of the political context on stakeholder decision making. Utilizing a simulation scenario, this study compares stakeholder decision making in high and low stakes evaluation contexts. Findings suggest that high stakes political environments are more likely than low stakes environments to lead to reduced reliance on technically appropriate measures and increased dependence on measures better reflect the broader political environment.     

Social Mobility,Equity and the Politics of Recruitment

Much reliance has been placed on increased equity as a way of improving social mobility but the evidence base for this view, for example in Britain, looks less and less convincing. Part of the attraction of equity was that it was believed to promote efficiency through the refinement of meritocracy. Sociological theory now suggests that the equation of equity with efficiency may have prevented reforms which would have improved social mobility. This theory fills a gap in the human resource management (HRM) literature to show that it is far from obvious what managers should do to increase organisational efficiency when they make recruitment decisions. Instead of recruiting for efficiency, their decisions are shaped by the politics of recruitment both inside organisations, affecting management decision‐making particularly, and outside organisations amongst legislators and pressure groups (for example). This politics has shaped the way equity figures in recruitment, it has, for the most part, only figured to the extent that it was believed to serve efficiency, yet what counted for efficiency was itself a political product. When it is hide‐bound in this way it is small wonder that insufficient progress has been made in improving social mobility, in Britain and elsewhere, by increasing equity.     

Putting social preferences to work: Can revealed preferences predict real effort provision?

This paper presents a model of real effort provision in conjunction with rational social preference theory to predict how individuals exert effort to replace an exogenously determined “state of the world” with a preferred social outcome. Binary dictator games and real effort tasks are used to examine whether individuals exert effort in a manner that is consistent with their revealed preferences. The analysis of controlled laboratory experiments suggest that while individuals’ effort provisions are generally consistent with the theory, those who reveal relatively pro-social preferences fail to procure their “preferred” outcomes too frequently when the state of the world is highly inequitable in their favor. Consideration is given to alternative theories, namely ego depletion and cognitive dissonance, as potential explanations of social outcomes. There is evidence to suggest that dictators, on average, experience ego depletion which leads to a reduction in pro-social behavior through time.     

Effects of the awareness of social dilemmas on advertising budget-setting: A scenario study

In this study, which examines the dynamics involved in setting advertising budgets, the social dilemma theory was applied in an attempt to understand the interdependency problems of advertisers in their investment decisions. In an experiment, a budget decision was made for a company after a period in which the company's market shares had either increased, decreased, or remained stable. Subjects were pre-screened with regard to their social value orientation (cooperative vs competitive). Half of the subjects were informed of the threat of social dilemmas and of the possible negative consequences; the other half were not informed. Budget decisions can be predicted on the basis of subjects' social value orientations and the awareness of the threat of social dilemmas. Subjects with a relatively strong competitive orientation are more zealous in setting their budgets. However, the awareness variable shows the strongest effects, especially in conditions when subjects experience a declining market share. It was concluded that knowledge about the dynamics of social dilemmas may prevent advertisers from a competitive reaction to the loss of share and may thus prevent them from becoming trapped in a competitive (social) dilemma.     

The Evolution of Culture and Sociology

Orthodox neo-Darwinians have typically sought to explain human pro-social behavior by invoking kin altruism and reciprocal altruism, principles that explain the pro-social behavior of non-human species. These principles, however, do not account for those features of our species that are most unique and of greatest importance to sociologists—our group identities and behavior, our cognitive and behavioral plasticity, our capacity for social learning and cumulative culture, among other things. This article describes the efforts of “dual inheritance” theorists to overcome the deficiencies of orthodox neo-Darwinism by developing an evolutionary theory of culture, a theory that also seeks to account for human “groupishness,” intelligence, language use, empathy, morality and religion. The article asserts that dual inheritance theory accommodates most of the traditional research interests of sociologists while proving a robust explanatory framework and that sociologists are positioned especially well to contribute to the study of the evolution of culture.     

Gendered uncertainty and variation in physicians' decisions for coronary heart disease: the double-edged sword of "atypical symptoms"

Nonmedical factors and diagnostic certainty contribute to variation in clinical decision making, but the process by which this occurs remains unclear. We examine how physicians' interpretations of patient sex-gender affect diagnostic certainty and, in turn, decision making for coronary heart disease. Data are from a factorial experiment of 256 physicians who viewed 1 of 16 video vignettes with different patient-actors presenting the same symptoms of coronary heart disease. Physician participants completed a structured interview and provided a narrative about their decision-making processes. Quantitative analysis showed that diagnostic uncertainty reduces the likelihood that physicians will order tests and medications appropriate for an urgent cardiac condition in particular. Qualitative analysis revealed that a subset of physicians applied knowledge that women have "atypical symptoms" as a generalization, which engendered uncertainty for some. Findings are discussed in relation to social-psychological processes that underlie clinical decision making and the social framing of medical knowledge.     

From Bricolage to Collage: The Making of Decisions at a Weather Forecast Office

This article elaborates the process of decision making in organizational environments characterized by disciplined improvisation. Building on an ethnography of forecasting operations at the National Weather Service, it introduces “collage” as a mediating concept between information bricolage and the forging of a decision. The concept of collage serves to (1) heuristically frame decision making as a process of assembling, appropriating, superimposing, juxtaposing, and blurring of information; and (2) externalize into digital practices of screenwork the cognitive labor of merging and distilling complex data into a provisionally coherent decision.     

Good enough decision‐making? Improving decision‐making in adult protection

This paper examines decision‐making in adult protection based on arrangements operating in a local authority social services department and discussion generated in a specialist training intervention. The paper seeks to identify ways in which approaches to decision‐making can be made both more effective and more user centred. The need for good information for efficient and effective decision‐making is highlighted, along with the need for user involvement for the production of positive and valued outcomes. The paper looks at how user centred arrangements can be put into practice and discusses the potential for advocacy, outlining possible approaches for adult protection casework. With local authority social services departments struggling to implement No Secrets (2000), with adult protection a key social care competence and with the implementation of PCP and similar approaches a priority (Valuing People, 2001), it is important to improve decision‐making in adult protection in ways that are not only time and resource efficient, but place service users and their advocates at the centre of related processes.     

Gender bias in job referrals: An experimental test

Employee referral programs, while efficient for the employer, have been shown to amplify sex-based occupational segregation in labor markets because of the tendency of workers to refer people of the same gender. We implement a controlled laboratory experiment that precludes any concern for network composition or reputation effects in referral choice. In this way, our experimental design allows us to disentangle statistical discrimination, preferences, and implicit same-gender bias. Our data suggest that women tend to favor women when choosing a candidate, whereas men do not attach much importance to the gender of potential candidates. We deduce from our various treatments that same-gender referrals are mainly driven by preferences in competitive environments and implicit same-gender bias in cooperative environments. Our findings add to the existing literature by highlighting that gendered networks alone fail to explain the observed gender homophily in referred-referrer pairs.     

SIMULTANEOUS DECISION‐MAKING IN COMPETITIVE AND COOPERATIVE ENVIRONMENTS

We experimentally investigate simultaneous decision‐making in two contrasting environments: one that encourages competition (lottery contest) and one that encourages cooperation (public good game). We find that simultaneous participation in the public good game affects behavior in the contest, decreasing sub‐optimal overbidding. Contributions to the public good are not affected by participation in the contest. The direction of behavioral spillover is explained by differences in strategic uncertainty and path‐dependence across games. Our design allows us to compare preferences for cooperation and competition. We find that in early periods, there is a negative correlation between decisions in competitive and in cooperative environments. (JEL C72, C91)     

Social media charity campaigns and pro-social behaviour. Evidence from the Ice Bucket Challenge

Social media use plays an important role in shaping individuals’ social attitudes and economic behaviours. One of the first well-known examples of social media campaigns is the Ice Bucket Challenge (IBC), a charity campaign that went viral on social media networks in August 2014, aiming to collect money for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We rely on UK longitudinal data to investigate the causal impact of the Ice Bucket Challenge on pro-social behaviours. In detail, this study shows that having been exposed to the IBC increases the probability of donating money, and it also increases the amount of money donated among those who donate at most £100. We also find that exposure to the IBC has increased the probability of volunteering and the level of interpersonal trust. However, all these results, except for the result on the intensive margins of donations, are of short duration and are limited to less than one year. This supports the prevalent consensus that social media campaigns may have only short-term effects.     

Social capital and public goods

Previous literature suggests positive relationships between social capital, pro-social behavior and subsequent economic development. We analyze the relationship between social networks and trust (two measures of social capital) and self-reported charitable contributions of time and/or money (pro-social behavior) using data collected from two ethnically distinct, low-income neighborhoods. We find that large social networks are positively related to charitable contributions, but that the effects of trust are less robust. We also find that social networks that are more geographically dispersed tend to be larger. Our results indicate that the social capital in a neighborhood is more important than ethnicity, ethnic diversity, or other demographic information in understanding public goods contributions.     

Relational Self‐Construal as a Moderator of Social Support in Career Decision Making

The authors examined relational self‐construal as a moderator of the influence of social support on career decision‐making difficulties among 352 college students (65% women, 63% Caucasian). Results of hierarchical regression analyses supported the hypothesis that individuals with higher relational self‐construal reported fewer difficulties in terms of lack of information and inconsistent information in career decision making as social support increased. Social support, however, did not reduce career decision‐making difficulties for those with lower relational self‐construal. Relational self‐construal did not moderate the relationship between social support and lack of readiness in career decision‐making difficulties as expected, possibly because of conceptual and measurement issues. Results suggest counselors work from relational and contextual perspectives to foster clients' self‐views and to use social support to facilitate their career decision making.     

On the likelihood of finding the right partner in an arranged marriage

Although arranged marriages have been around for quite a while, the economics literature has paid scant attention to the nature of decision making in such marriages. Consequently, very little is known about the utility of traditional methods of decision making in arranged marriages. Given this state of affairs, this paper has three objectives. First, we formalize the traditional decision making process in arranged marriages. We then analyze the properties of this formalized decision making process from the perspective of a marrying agent. Finally, once again from the perspective of a marrying agent, we study the likelihood that the use of this decision making process will result in the agent finding the right partner for himself or herself.     

There are no Answers,Only Choices: Teaching Ethical Decision Making in Social Work

Abstract

In teaching students about ethical decision making in social work, it is essential that the students are able to recognise the moral implications of their work and develop a deep understanding about ethical issues and their personal responsibility for making ethical choices. Thus, more than a “how to do it” approach is needed and teaching students about values and ethics is an essential thread that runs through our experience-based social work education program. The present paper describes a learning unit that sought to teach students about ethical decision making as a critical thinking process and, in so doing, to integrate students’ knowledge and experience of values, ethics, policy, and research in the final year of study. The relationship between values, ethics, policy, research, and social work practice provided an ideal context within which students could learn to integrate their knowledge and experience and apply it directly to their fieldwork practice. The paper ends with our critical reflection on this teaching experience and a critique of decisionist ethical frameworks.     

Moving the participation agenda forward

This article sets the scene for the other papers in this Special Issue on children's and young people's participation, by outlining the nature of the ESRC Seminar Series from which all are derived and by developing the main themes discussed at the seminars. The focus of this Issue is participation by children and young people as this relates to differing notions of social exclusion and inclusion. This article critically examines participation in the contexts of policy, practice, research and theory. In many respects the environments in each of these domains is supportive of increased participation, yet there is also much evidence of limited impact by recent participative measures and of disillusionment by many young people who have been engaged in consultation and decision‐making. A way forward is suggested, which entails collaboration among all the key stakeholders including children and young people, connects participatory and social inclusion aims and mechanisms, and is committed to achieving tangible outcomes based on the wishes of children and young people.     

Observing Different Faiths,Learning About Ourselves: Practice with Inter-married Muslims and Christians

Abstract

Advanced care planning and end-of-life decision making are part of contemporary debates about death and dying. A data-mining study reviewing medical records of patient deaths in hospital investigated these issues and the utilisation of social work services. Findings indicated that the majority of records included some form of documentation about end-of-life care, including cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) orders and that family members and surrogate decision makers were more likely to be consulted than patients about these plans. The incidence of referrals to social workers was found to be highest “out-of-hours”. Key social work interventions were identified, including establishing the reliability of surrogates' decisions through social work assessment. This paper discusses elements that contribute to a supportive environment for patients and family members to facilitate the decision making process, including the need for a broader ethical discourse to accommodate the increasing complexity of end-of-life decision making in hospital settings.