Ronnie Janoff‐bulman
Biographic Data
| ID | 129270 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ronnie Janoff‐bulman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ronnie |
| FAMILY NAME | Janoff‐bulman |
| SIGNATURE | BULMAN R J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 528 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1978 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Parenting and Politics: Exploring Early Moral Bases of Political Orientation
Based on Lakoff’s (2002) Strict Father and Nurturant Parent metaphors for political conservatism and liberalism respectively, two studies explored parenting styles, political ideology, and the moral orientations that might link the two. Restrictive parenting (by both mother and father) predicted political conservatism, and this path was mediated by a strong Social Order orientation (Study 1) reflecting, more broadly, an inhibition-based proscript…
Surveying the Moral Landscape: Moral Motives and Group-Based Moralities
We present a new six-cell Model of Moral Motives that applies a fundamental motivational distinction in psychology to the moral domain. In addition to moral motives focused on the self or another, we propose two group-based moralities, both communal in orientation, but reflecting distinct moral motives (Social Order/Communal Solidarity vs. Social Justice/Communal Responsibility) as well as differences in construals of group entitativity. The two …
Paradoxical consequences of prohibitions
Explanations based in attribution theory claim that strong external controls such as parental restrictiveness and punishment undermine moral internalization. In contrast, 3 studies provide evidence that parental punishment does socialize morality, but of a particular sort: a morality focused on prohibitions (i.e., proscriptive orientation) rather than positive obligations (i.e., prescriptive orientation). Study 1 found young adults' accounts of p…
Lessons from Morality-Based Social Identity: The Power of Outgroup "Hate," Not Just Ingroup "Love
Where Do We Draw Our Lines? Politics, Rigidity, and the Role of Self-Regulation
Past research on political orientation suggests an association between conservatism and cognitive rigidity. In the area of self-regulation, cognitive rigidity has been related to avoidance motivation and cognitive flexibility to approach motivation. Furthermore, recent work suggests links between political orientation and self-regulation, with conservatism associated with (inhibition-based) avoidance motivation and liberalism with (activation-bas…
Moral judgments and the role of social harm: Differences in automatic versus controlled processing
To Provide or Protect: Motivational Bases of Political Liberalism and Conservatism
Political liberalism and conservatism differ in provide versus protect orientations, specifically providing for group members' welfare (political Left) and protecting the group from harm (political Right). These reflect the fundamental psychological distinction between approach and avoidance motivation. Conservatism is avoidance based; it is focused on preventing negative outcomes (e.g., societal losses) and seeks to regulate society via inhibiti…
Proscriptive versus prescriptive morality: Two faces of moral regulation
A distinction is made between two forms of morality on the basis of approach-avoidance differences in self-regulation. Prescriptive morality is sensitive to positive outcomes, activation-based, and focused on what we should do. Proscriptive morality is sensitive to negative outcomes, inhibition-based, and focused on what we should not do. Seven studies profile these two faces of morality, support their distinct motivational underpinnings, and pro…
Erroneous assumptions: Popular belief in the effectiveness of torture interrogation
People generally believe that torture is effective despite strong counterclaims by experienced military interrogators and intelligence experts. This article challenges us to reexamine some of our basic assumptions about torture by presenting four psychological factors—primarily errors and biases in human judgment—that help account for this mistaken popular belief
Macro versus micro justice and perceived fairness of truth and reconciliation commissions
Two studies explored the impact of micro justice (individual focus) and macro justice (societal focus) on perceptions of fairness within the context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa. All participants read and listened to a detailed description of the TRC and were asked to judge the fairness of the overall process and components of the TRC. In Study 1 participants were given a writing task that primed micro- versus …
Mapping moral motives: Approach, avoidance, and political orientation
Costs and satisfaction in close relationships: The role of loss–gain framing
Two studies were conducted to clarify the pattern of mixed results found in past research regarding the association between costs and satisfaction in close relationships. Insights from Prospect Theory (D. Kahneman & A. Tversky, 1979, 2000) suggested the importance of gain–loss framing in understanding costs. When costs are attached to valued outcomes, they are perceived as gains or investments; otherwise they are perceived as losses. Appreciation…
Culture and Social Obligation: When “Shoulds” Are Perceived as “Wants”
Victims' Responses to traumatic life events: An unjust world or an uncaring world
Optimism about Love Relationships: General vs Specific Lessons from One's Personal Experiences
Experiences with love in one's family of origin (between parent and child and between parents) and in recent romantic involvements were explored to understand better people's optimism about their success in intimate relationships. Two types of optimism were distinguished: optimism about future relationships in general, and optimism about marriage in particular. Experiences in own dating relationships predicted respondents' optimism about future l…
Grief and the Search for Meaning: Exploring the Assumptive Worlds of Bereaved College Students
Researchers have recently begun to challenge long-standing views of grief and have called for new approaches to help understand the phenomenon. In this vein, the present study examined the impact of bereavement on people's basic assumptions about themselves and their world. Three categories of assumptions were explored: Benevolence of the World, Meaningfulness of the World, and Self-Worth. Twenty-one undergraduates who had recently lost a parent …
Long-term impact of parental divorce on optimism and trust: Changes in general assumptions or narrow beliefs
Two studies were conducted to examine the long-term impact of parental divorce on beliefs about the self and others.In Study 1, college-aged children of divorce and students from intact families did not differ on 8 basic assumptions or on measures of depression.Those whose parents had divorced, however, were less optimistic about the success of their own future marriages.Assumptions about the benevolence of people best predicted the marital optim…
Assumptive Worlds and the Stress of Traumatic Events: Applications of the Schema Construct
Work on the psychological aftermath of traumatic events suggests that people ordinarily operate on the basis of unchallenged, unquestioned assumptions about themselves and the world. A heuristic model specifying the content of people's assumptive worlds is proposed. The schema construct in social cognition is used to explore the role of these basic assumptions following traumatic events. A major coping task confronting victims is a cognitive one,…
Women's Psychological Adjustment Following Emergency Cesarean Versus Vaginal Delivery
The present study was designed to investigate possible differences in psychological adjustment and satisfaction between women delivering vaginally and those delivering by emergency cesarean section. Women's satisfaction with the birth experience was distinguished from postpartum psychological adjustment, as measured by depression, anxiety, and confidence in mothering ability. Twenty-two women who delivered vaginally and twenty-two women who deliv…
Cognitive biases in blaming the victim
A Theoretical Perspective for Understanding Reactions to Victimization
Although specific victimizations may differ, there appear to be common psychological responses across a wide variety of victims. It is proposed that victims' psychological distress is largely due to the shattering of basic assumptions held about themselves and their world. Three assumptions that change as a result of victimization are: 1) the belief in personal invulnerability; 2) the perception of the world as meaningful; and 3) the view of the …
Esteem and control bases of blame: "Adaptive" strategies for victims versus observers
An experiment was conducted to determine the esteem and control correlates of behavioral and characterological blame for victims and observers. On the basis of a proposed motivation to minimize perceptions of vulnerability, it was predicted that behavioral self-blame would be “adaptive” for victims, whereas both behavioral and characterological blame of the victim would be “adaptive” for observers. As hypothesized, behavioral self-blame by victim…
Blame, Control, and Marital Satisfaction: Wives' Attributions for Conflict in Marriage
Margaret E. Madden, Ronnie Janoff-Bulman, Blame, Control, and Marital Satisfaction: Wives' Attributions for Conflict in Marriage, Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Aug., 1981), pp. 663-674
Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape
Two types of self-blame--behavioral and characterological--are distinguished. Behavioral self-blame is control related, involves attributions to a modifiable source (one's behavior), and is associated with a belief in the future avoidability of a negative outcome. Characterological self-blame is esteem related, involves attributions to a relatively nonmodifiable source (one's character), and is associated with a belief in personal deservingness f…
Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative
Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative
Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape
Two types of self-blame--behavioral and characterological--are distinguished. Behavioral self-blame is control related, involves attributions to a modifiable source (one's behavior), and is associated with a belief in the future avoidability of a negative outcome. Characterological self-blame is esteem related, involves attributions to a relatively nonmodifiable source (one's character), and is associated with a belief in personal deservingness f…
A Theoretical Perspective for Understanding Reactions to Victimization
Although specific victimizations may differ, there appear to be common psychological responses across a wide variety of victims. It is proposed that victims' psychological distress is largely due to the shattering of basic assumptions held about themselves and their world. Three assumptions that change as a result of victimization are: 1) the belief in personal invulnerability; 2) the perception of the world as meaningful; and 3) the view of the …
Proscriptive versus prescriptive morality: Two faces of moral regulation
A distinction is made between two forms of morality on the basis of approach-avoidance differences in self-regulation. Prescriptive morality is sensitive to positive outcomes, activation-based, and focused on what we should do. Proscriptive morality is sensitive to negative outcomes, inhibition-based, and focused on what we should not do. Seven studies profile these two faces of morality, support their distinct motivational underpinnings, and pro…
Optimism about Love Relationships: General vs Specific Lessons from One's Personal Experiences
Experiences with love in one's family of origin (between parent and child and between parents) and in recent romantic involvements were explored to understand better people's optimism about their success in intimate relationships. Two types of optimism were distinguished: optimism about future relationships in general, and optimism about marriage in particular. Experiences in own dating relationships predicted respondents' optimism about future l…
Mapping moral motives: Approach, avoidance, and political orientation
Cognitive biases in blaming the victim
Lessons from Morality-Based Social Identity: The Power of Outgroup "Hate," Not Just Ingroup "Love
Long-term impact of parental divorce on optimism and trust: Changes in general assumptions or narrow beliefs
Two studies were conducted to examine the long-term impact of parental divorce on beliefs about the self and others.In Study 1, college-aged children of divorce and students from intact families did not differ on 8 basic assumptions or on measures of depression.Those whose parents had divorced, however, were less optimistic about the success of their own future marriages.Assumptions about the benevolence of people best predicted the marital optim…
Blame, Control, and Marital Satisfaction: Wives' Attributions for Conflict in Marriage
Margaret E. Madden, Ronnie Janoff-Bulman, Blame, Control, and Marital Satisfaction: Wives' Attributions for Conflict in Marriage, Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Aug., 1981), pp. 663-674
Erroneous assumptions: Popular belief in the effectiveness of torture interrogation
People generally believe that torture is effective despite strong counterclaims by experienced military interrogators and intelligence experts. This article challenges us to reexamine some of our basic assumptions about torture by presenting four psychological factors—primarily errors and biases in human judgment—that help account for this mistaken popular belief
Culture and Social Obligation: When “Shoulds” Are Perceived as “Wants”
Macro versus micro justice and perceived fairness of truth and reconciliation commissions
Two studies explored the impact of micro justice (individual focus) and macro justice (societal focus) on perceptions of fairness within the context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa. All participants read and listened to a detailed description of the TRC and were asked to judge the fairness of the overall process and components of the TRC. In Study 1 participants were given a writing task that primed micro- versus …
Moral judgments and the role of social harm: Differences in automatic versus controlled processing
Women's Psychological Adjustment Following Emergency Cesarean Versus Vaginal Delivery
The present study was designed to investigate possible differences in psychological adjustment and satisfaction between women delivering vaginally and those delivering by emergency cesarean section. Women's satisfaction with the birth experience was distinguished from postpartum psychological adjustment, as measured by depression, anxiety, and confidence in mothering ability. Twenty-two women who delivered vaginally and twenty-two women who deliv…
Paradoxical consequences of prohibitions
Explanations based in attribution theory claim that strong external controls such as parental restrictiveness and punishment undermine moral internalization. In contrast, 3 studies provide evidence that parental punishment does socialize morality, but of a particular sort: a morality focused on prohibitions (i.e., proscriptive orientation) rather than positive obligations (i.e., prescriptive orientation). Study 1 found young adults' accounts of p…
Parenting and Politics: Exploring Early Moral Bases of Political Orientation
Based on Lakoff’s (2002) Strict Father and Nurturant Parent metaphors for political conservatism and liberalism respectively, two studies explored parenting styles, political ideology, and the moral orientations that might link the two. Restrictive parenting (by both mother and father) predicted political conservatism, and this path was mediated by a strong Social Order orientation (Study 1) reflecting, more broadly, an inhibition-based proscript…
Victims' Responses to traumatic life events: An unjust world or an uncaring world
Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative
Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape
Two types of self-blame--behavioral and characterological--are distinguished. Behavioral self-blame is control related, involves attributions to a modifiable source (one's behavior), and is associated with a belief in the future avoidability of a negative outcome. Characterological self-blame is esteem related, involves attributions to a relatively nonmodifiable source (one's character), and is associated with a belief in personal deservingness f…
Blame, Control, and Marital Satisfaction: Wives' Attributions for Conflict in Marriage
Margaret E. Madden, Ronnie Janoff-Bulman, Blame, Control, and Marital Satisfaction: Wives' Attributions for Conflict in Marriage, Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 43, No. 3 (Aug., 1981), pp. 663-674
Esteem and control bases of blame: "Adaptive" strategies for victims versus observers
An experiment was conducted to determine the esteem and control correlates of behavioral and characterological blame for victims and observers. On the basis of a proposed motivation to minimize perceptions of vulnerability, it was predicted that behavioral self-blame would be “adaptive” for victims, whereas both behavioral and characterological blame of the victim would be “adaptive” for observers. As hypothesized, behavioral self-blame by victim…
A Theoretical Perspective for Understanding Reactions to Victimization
Although specific victimizations may differ, there appear to be common psychological responses across a wide variety of victims. It is proposed that victims' psychological distress is largely due to the shattering of basic assumptions held about themselves and their world. Three assumptions that change as a result of victimization are: 1) the belief in personal invulnerability; 2) the perception of the world as meaningful; and 3) the view of the …
Cognitive biases in blaming the victim
Women's Psychological Adjustment Following Emergency Cesarean Versus Vaginal Delivery
The present study was designed to investigate possible differences in psychological adjustment and satisfaction between women delivering vaginally and those delivering by emergency cesarean section. Women's satisfaction with the birth experience was distinguished from postpartum psychological adjustment, as measured by depression, anxiety, and confidence in mothering ability. Twenty-two women who delivered vaginally and twenty-two women who deliv…
Assumptive Worlds and the Stress of Traumatic Events: Applications of the Schema Construct
Work on the psychological aftermath of traumatic events suggests that people ordinarily operate on the basis of unchallenged, unquestioned assumptions about themselves and the world. A heuristic model specifying the content of people's assumptive worlds is proposed. The schema construct in social cognition is used to explore the role of these basic assumptions following traumatic events. A major coping task confronting victims is a cognitive one,…
Long-term impact of parental divorce on optimism and trust: Changes in general assumptions or narrow beliefs
Two studies were conducted to examine the long-term impact of parental divorce on beliefs about the self and others.In Study 1, college-aged children of divorce and students from intact families did not differ on 8 basic assumptions or on measures of depression.Those whose parents had divorced, however, were less optimistic about the success of their own future marriages.Assumptions about the benevolence of people best predicted the marital optim…
Grief and the Search for Meaning: Exploring the Assumptive Worlds of Bereaved College Students
Researchers have recently begun to challenge long-standing views of grief and have called for new approaches to help understand the phenomenon. In this vein, the present study examined the impact of bereavement on people's basic assumptions about themselves and their world. Three categories of assumptions were explored: Benevolence of the World, Meaningfulness of the World, and Self-Worth. Twenty-one undergraduates who had recently lost a parent …
Optimism about Love Relationships: General vs Specific Lessons from One's Personal Experiences
Experiences with love in one's family of origin (between parent and child and between parents) and in recent romantic involvements were explored to understand better people's optimism about their success in intimate relationships. Two types of optimism were distinguished: optimism about future relationships in general, and optimism about marriage in particular. Experiences in own dating relationships predicted respondents' optimism about future l…
Victims' Responses to traumatic life events: An unjust world or an uncaring world
Culture and Social Obligation: When “Shoulds” Are Perceived as “Wants”
Costs and satisfaction in close relationships: The role of loss–gain framing
Two studies were conducted to clarify the pattern of mixed results found in past research regarding the association between costs and satisfaction in close relationships. Insights from Prospect Theory (D. Kahneman & A. Tversky, 1979, 2000) suggested the importance of gain–loss framing in understanding costs. When costs are attached to valued outcomes, they are perceived as gains or investments; otherwise they are perceived as losses. Appreciation…
Erroneous assumptions: Popular belief in the effectiveness of torture interrogation
People generally believe that torture is effective despite strong counterclaims by experienced military interrogators and intelligence experts. This article challenges us to reexamine some of our basic assumptions about torture by presenting four psychological factors—primarily errors and biases in human judgment—that help account for this mistaken popular belief
Macro versus micro justice and perceived fairness of truth and reconciliation commissions
Two studies explored the impact of micro justice (individual focus) and macro justice (societal focus) on perceptions of fairness within the context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa. All participants read and listened to a detailed description of the TRC and were asked to judge the fairness of the overall process and components of the TRC. In Study 1 participants were given a writing task that primed micro- versus …
Mapping moral motives: Approach, avoidance, and political orientation
To Provide or Protect: Motivational Bases of Political Liberalism and Conservatism
Political liberalism and conservatism differ in provide versus protect orientations, specifically providing for group members' welfare (political Left) and protecting the group from harm (political Right). These reflect the fundamental psychological distinction between approach and avoidance motivation. Conservatism is avoidance based; it is focused on preventing negative outcomes (e.g., societal losses) and seeks to regulate society via inhibiti…
Proscriptive versus prescriptive morality: Two faces of moral regulation
A distinction is made between two forms of morality on the basis of approach-avoidance differences in self-regulation. Prescriptive morality is sensitive to positive outcomes, activation-based, and focused on what we should do. Proscriptive morality is sensitive to negative outcomes, inhibition-based, and focused on what we should not do. Seven studies profile these two faces of morality, support their distinct motivational underpinnings, and pro…
Where Do We Draw Our Lines? Politics, Rigidity, and the Role of Self-Regulation
Past research on political orientation suggests an association between conservatism and cognitive rigidity. In the area of self-regulation, cognitive rigidity has been related to avoidance motivation and cognitive flexibility to approach motivation. Furthermore, recent work suggests links between political orientation and self-regulation, with conservatism associated with (inhibition-based) avoidance motivation and liberalism with (activation-bas…
Moral judgments and the role of social harm: Differences in automatic versus controlled processing
Surveying the Moral Landscape: Moral Motives and Group-Based Moralities
We present a new six-cell Model of Moral Motives that applies a fundamental motivational distinction in psychology to the moral domain. In addition to moral motives focused on the self or another, we propose two group-based moralities, both communal in orientation, but reflecting distinct moral motives (Social Order/Communal Solidarity vs. Social Justice/Communal Responsibility) as well as differences in construals of group entitativity. The two …
Paradoxical consequences of prohibitions
Explanations based in attribution theory claim that strong external controls such as parental restrictiveness and punishment undermine moral internalization. In contrast, 3 studies provide evidence that parental punishment does socialize morality, but of a particular sort: a morality focused on prohibitions (i.e., proscriptive orientation) rather than positive obligations (i.e., prescriptive orientation). Study 1 found young adults' accounts of p…
Lessons from Morality-Based Social Identity: The Power of Outgroup "Hate," Not Just Ingroup "Love
Parenting and Politics: Exploring Early Moral Bases of Political Orientation
Based on Lakoff’s (2002) Strict Father and Nurturant Parent metaphors for political conservatism and liberalism respectively, two studies explored parenting styles, political ideology, and the moral orientations that might link the two. Restrictive parenting (by both mother and father) predicted political conservatism, and this path was mediated by a strong Social Order orientation (Study 1) reflecting, more broadly, an inhibition-based proscript…
Psychology (25 works) · Social Psychology (23 works) · Political science (13 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (13 works) · Social Psychology (13 works) · Law (10 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (9 works) · Developmental psychology (8 works) · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment (8 works) · Law (7 works)