William E Davis
Biographic Data
| ID | 156237 |
|---|---|
| NAME | William E Davis |
| GIVEN NAMES | William E |
| FAMILY NAME | Davis |
| SIGNATURE | DAVIS W E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Texas A&M University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8119-821X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 260 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1968 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Effects of Psychological Distance on Mental Abstraction
Construal-level theory (CLT) proposes that psychological distance influences the level of abstraction at which something is mentally construed: Things perceived as less probable (likelihood) or further away from the here (spatial distance), now (temporal distance), or self (social distance) are thought about more abstractly. In this international multilab study, we tested four basic hypotheses derived from core assumptions of CLT and explore pote…
Measuring the semantic priming effect across many languages
(In)Alienable Worth? Cultural Logics of Dignity, Honor, and Face and their Links to Prosociality Across the World
Cultural logic is a set of cultural scripts and patterns organized around a central theme. The cultural logics of dignity, honor, and face describe different ways of evaluating a person’s worth and maintaining cooperation. These cultural logics vary in prevalence across cultures. In this study, we collaboratively develop and validate a measure capturing these cultural logics, which will allow us to map world cultures based on the prevalence of th…
Self-administered mindfulness interventions reduce stress in a large, randomized controlled multi-site study
Mindfulness witnessed a substantial popularity surge in the past decade, especially as digitally self-administered interventions became available at relatively low costs. Yet, it is uncertain whether they effectively help reduce stress. In a preregistered (OSF https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UF4JZ; retrospective registration at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06308744) multi-site study (nsites = 37, nparticipants = 2,239, 70.4% women, Mage = 22.4, s.d.age …
Author Correction
Emotional, motivational and attitudinal consequences of autonomous prosocial behaviour
When do prosocial actors experience positive versus negative psychological outcomes from helping others? In four studies and an internal meta‐analysis, we tested the hypothesis that autonomy shapes the psychological consequences of helping others. In Study 1, prosocial behaviour was associated with a robust pattern of negative well‐being outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress) for individuals low but not high in autonomy. In Studies 2–4, rel…
Nostalgia confers psychological wellbeing by increasing authenticity
Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one's past, predicts or augments psychological wellbeing (PWB). We hypothesized that it does so—at least in part—via authenticity, a sense of alignment with one's true self. We obtained support for this hypothesis in four studies. Using a measurement-of-mediation design, across a Western (United States) and East-Asian (China) culture, we found that nostalgia is associated with both authenticity and PWB, and th…
Author Correction
A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic
Approaching the true self
Many Labs 2
We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings, with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance, to examine variation in effect magnitudes across samples and settings. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples that comprised 15,305 participants from 36 countries and territories. Using the conventional criterion of statistical significance ( p < .05), we found that 15 (54%) of …
Attitudes and Motivations of Owners Who Enroll Pets in Pet Life-Care Centers
The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics, motivations, and expectations of humans who enroll their dogs, cats, and other pets into pet life-care centers. Pet life-care centers are groups or institutions that provide a permanent home for pets in the event of the owner's illness, inability to care for their pet, or death. The long-term pet care industry has grown in the quality and type of care available to pet owners and is a c…
Judgments of Meaning in Life, Religious Beliefs, and the Experience of Cognitive (Dis)Fluency
The primary aim of the current studies was to test whether religiousness interacted with self‐reported levels of meaning in life ( MIL ) to predict the ease or difficulty in judging one's MIL , the search for meaning itself, and religious doubt. Undergraduate students in Study 1 ( N = 111) and adult participants recruited online in Study 2 ( N = 206) completed measures of religious beliefs, MIL , cognitive fluency related to MIL , and related var…
Many Labs 3
Free Will, Counterfactual Reflection, and the Meaningfulness of Life Events
Research has found that counterfactual reflection, the act of mentally undoing past events, imbues major life experiences with meaning. The current studies examined whether individual differences in free will beliefs moderate this relationship. Participants described a significant event in their lives, were randomly assigned to counterfactual or factual reflection about the event, and completed measures of meaning and free will. Two studies found…
Investigating Variation in Replicability
Although replication is a central tenet of science, direct replications are rare in psychology. This research tested variation in the replicability of 13 classic and contemporary effects across 36 independent samples totaling 6,344 participants. In the aggregate, 10 effects replicated consistently. One effect – imagined contact reducing prejudice – showed weak support for replicability. And two effects – flag priming influencing conservatism and …
Commentaries and Rejoinder on
While direct replications such as the “Many Labs” project are extremely valuable in testing the reliability of published findings across laboratories, they reflect the common reliance in psychology on single vignettes or stimuli, which limits the scope of the conclusions that can be reached. New experimental tools and statistical techniques make it easier to routinely sample stimuli, and to appropriately treat them as random factors. We encourage…
The dynamic interplay between perceived true self-knowledge and decision satisfaction
The present research used multiple methods to examine the hypothesis that perceived true self-knowledge and decision satisfaction are inextricably linked together by a widely held "true-self-as-guide" lay theory of decision making. Consistent with this proposition, Study 1 found that participants rated using the true self as a guide as more important for achieving personal satisfaction than a variety of other potential decision-making strategies.…
Free Journal Access as a Public Issue
A New Partnership
Executive Director's 2002 Annual Report
From the Executive Director
Establishment of US National Committee for Iuaes
Executive Director's Report
Dean of the Birdwatchers
Journal Article Dean of the Birdwatchers: A Biography of Ludlow Griscom. By William E. Davis Jr. (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994. xvi, 234 pp. $35.95, ISBN 1-56098310-8.) Get access Oliver H. Orr, Jr. Oliver H. Orr, Jr. Chapel Hill, North Carolina Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 82, Issue 2, September 1995, Page 796, https://doi.org/10.2307/2082344 Publi…
Investigating Variation in Replicability
Although replication is a central tenet of science, direct replications are rare in psychology. This research tested variation in the replicability of 13 classic and contemporary effects across 36 independent samples totaling 6,344 participants. In the aggregate, 10 effects replicated consistently. One effect – imagined contact reducing prejudice – showed weak support for replicability. And two effects – flag priming influencing conservatism and …
Many Labs 2
We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings, with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance, to examine variation in effect magnitudes across samples and settings. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples that comprised 15,305 participants from 36 countries and territories. Using the conventional criterion of statistical significance ( p < .05), we found that 15 (54%) of …
Many Labs 3
Commentaries and Rejoinder on
While direct replications such as the “Many Labs” project are extremely valuable in testing the reliability of published findings across laboratories, they reflect the common reliance in psychology on single vignettes or stimuli, which limits the scope of the conclusions that can be reached. New experimental tools and statistical techniques make it easier to routinely sample stimuli, and to appropriately treat them as random factors. We encourage…
The dynamic interplay between perceived true self-knowledge and decision satisfaction
The present research used multiple methods to examine the hypothesis that perceived true self-knowledge and decision satisfaction are inextricably linked together by a widely held "true-self-as-guide" lay theory of decision making. Consistent with this proposition, Study 1 found that participants rated using the true self as a guide as more important for achieving personal satisfaction than a variety of other potential decision-making strategies.…
Nostalgia confers psychological wellbeing by increasing authenticity
Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one's past, predicts or augments psychological wellbeing (PWB). We hypothesized that it does so—at least in part—via authenticity, a sense of alignment with one's true self. We obtained support for this hypothesis in four studies. Using a measurement-of-mediation design, across a Western (United States) and East-Asian (China) culture, we found that nostalgia is associated with both authenticity and PWB, and th…
A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic
Emotional, motivational and attitudinal consequences of autonomous prosocial behaviour
When do prosocial actors experience positive versus negative psychological outcomes from helping others? In four studies and an internal meta‐analysis, we tested the hypothesis that autonomy shapes the psychological consequences of helping others. In Study 1, prosocial behaviour was associated with a robust pattern of negative well‐being outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress) for individuals low but not high in autonomy. In Studies 2–4, rel…
Approaching the true self
A Morphological Analysis of Stone Circles from the Copper Mountain Project, Shoshoni, Wyoming
One potential avenue of research that has not yet received appropriate recognition as an informative data base is the morphological diversity of stone circles. Little attention has been focused on comparison or matching of morphological variations of stone circles with ethnographic attributes of the historic skin-covered tipi. The bulk of the data presented in this paper deal with the isolation and identification of those variables that control m…
An Experimenter Variable
20 male and 20 female Ss were tested individually and orally on the Taylor MAS, MMPI K scale, and MMPI L scale by a layman. The same layman dressed as a Roman Catholic priest tested 20 more males and 20 more females. A Roman Catholic priest dressed both as a priest and a layman, also tested 80 Ss. Analyses of the data indicated that E and the layman-priest variables were not relevant; however, “true-role” and “simulated-role” analyses resulted in…
Relationship between Patients' Responses to Objective Tests and Examiners' Characteristics
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the age, race, and sex of psychological examiners (Es) would affect the objective personality scale performance of Negro and Caucasian psychiatric patients. Eight groups of 10 Ss each were administered the Taylor MAS, the MMPI K scale, and the MMPI L scale by one of eight Es. Half the Ss were Negro and half were Caucasian. Half the Es were Negro and half were Caucasian; half the Es were male an…
Relationship between the Qt and the Wais
Quick Test IQs (combination form) correlated highly with WAIS Full Scale IQ for 43 neuropsychiatric inpatients. A significantly higher relationship was found between WAIS Verbal IQ and QT scores than between WAIS Performance IQ and QT scores. The results were interpreted as supporting the position that the QT is a good estimate of intelligence which is highly resistant to the reduction in performance on some intelligence test tasks often associat…
Relationship between Quick Test and Wais IQS for Brain-Injured and Schizophrenic Subjects
Quick Test IQs (combination form) correlated highly with WAIS Full Scale IQs (.80, .79) and WAIS Verbal IQs (.86, .79) obtained from separate groups of 48 brain-injured and 48 schizophrenic Ss. Significantly lower relationships were found between Quick Test IQs and WAIS Performance IQs (.60, .56). These results were interpreted as supporting the position that the Quick Test is a valid, reliable estimate of intelligence which “holds up” with popul…
A Morphological Analysis of Stone Circles from the Copper Mountain Project, Shoshoni, Wyoming
One potential avenue of research that has not yet received appropriate recognition as an informative data base is the morphological diversity of stone circles. Little attention has been focused on comparison or matching of morphological variations of stone circles with ethnographic attributes of the historic skin-covered tipi. The bulk of the data presented in this paper deal with the isolation and identification of those variables that control m…
Keep Them Talking
Dean of the Birdwatchers
Journal Article Dean of the Birdwatchers: A Biography of Ludlow Griscom. By William E. Davis Jr. (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994. xvi, 234 pp. $35.95, ISBN 1-56098310-8.) Get access Oliver H. Orr, Jr. Oliver H. Orr, Jr. Chapel Hill, North Carolina Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 82, Issue 2, September 1995, Page 796, https://doi.org/10.2307/2082344 Publi…
Establishment of US National Committee for Iuaes
Executive Director's Report
From the Executive Director
Executive Director's 2002 Annual Report
A New Partnership
Free Journal Access as a Public Issue
The dynamic interplay between perceived true self-knowledge and decision satisfaction
The present research used multiple methods to examine the hypothesis that perceived true self-knowledge and decision satisfaction are inextricably linked together by a widely held "true-self-as-guide" lay theory of decision making. Consistent with this proposition, Study 1 found that participants rated using the true self as a guide as more important for achieving personal satisfaction than a variety of other potential decision-making strategies.…
Investigating Variation in Replicability
Although replication is a central tenet of science, direct replications are rare in psychology. This research tested variation in the replicability of 13 classic and contemporary effects across 36 independent samples totaling 6,344 participants. In the aggregate, 10 effects replicated consistently. One effect – imagined contact reducing prejudice – showed weak support for replicability. And two effects – flag priming influencing conservatism and …
Commentaries and Rejoinder on
While direct replications such as the “Many Labs” project are extremely valuable in testing the reliability of published findings across laboratories, they reflect the common reliance in psychology on single vignettes or stimuli, which limits the scope of the conclusions that can be reached. New experimental tools and statistical techniques make it easier to routinely sample stimuli, and to appropriately treat them as random factors. We encourage…
Free Will, Counterfactual Reflection, and the Meaningfulness of Life Events
Research has found that counterfactual reflection, the act of mentally undoing past events, imbues major life experiences with meaning. The current studies examined whether individual differences in free will beliefs moderate this relationship. Participants described a significant event in their lives, were randomly assigned to counterfactual or factual reflection about the event, and completed measures of meaning and free will. Two studies found…
Judgments of Meaning in Life, Religious Beliefs, and the Experience of Cognitive (Dis)Fluency
The primary aim of the current studies was to test whether religiousness interacted with self‐reported levels of meaning in life ( MIL ) to predict the ease or difficulty in judging one's MIL , the search for meaning itself, and religious doubt. Undergraduate students in Study 1 ( N = 111) and adult participants recruited online in Study 2 ( N = 206) completed measures of religious beliefs, MIL , cognitive fluency related to MIL , and related var…
Many Labs 3
Many Labs 2
We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings, with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance, to examine variation in effect magnitudes across samples and settings. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples that comprised 15,305 participants from 36 countries and territories. Using the conventional criterion of statistical significance ( p < .05), we found that 15 (54%) of …
Attitudes and Motivations of Owners Who Enroll Pets in Pet Life-Care Centers
The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics, motivations, and expectations of humans who enroll their dogs, cats, and other pets into pet life-care centers. Pet life-care centers are groups or institutions that provide a permanent home for pets in the event of the owner's illness, inability to care for their pet, or death. The long-term pet care industry has grown in the quality and type of care available to pet owners and is a c…
Approaching the true self
A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic
Nostalgia confers psychological wellbeing by increasing authenticity
Nostalgia, a sentimental longing for one's past, predicts or augments psychological wellbeing (PWB). We hypothesized that it does so—at least in part—via authenticity, a sense of alignment with one's true self. We obtained support for this hypothesis in four studies. Using a measurement-of-mediation design, across a Western (United States) and East-Asian (China) culture, we found that nostalgia is associated with both authenticity and PWB, and th…
Author Correction
Psychology (22 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Citation (5 works) · Library science (5 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Statistics (5 works)