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Rationality and Social Responsibility

Essays in Honor of Robyn Mason Dawes

Rationality and Social Responsibility
  • e-Book: 392 pages
  • Also available in Hardback
  • Published: April 2008
  • ISBN: 978-0-203-88969-5
  • Publisher: Psychology Press

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Series: Modern Pioneers in Psychological Science.

This volume brings together a diverse group of authors who have been associated with Robyn Dawes over the years. The breadth of topics covered reflects Dawes’s wide-ranging impact on psychological theory and empirical practice. The two themes of rationality and social responsibility are well developed in the book. Dawes had always urged investigators to take seriously the question of how individuals can reconcile self-interest (i.e. rationality) with the collective good (i.e. social responsibility). The area of judgment and decision-making poses a similar challenge: here, rational judgment is the most responsible judgment because it minimizes errors. To attain rationality in this domain, individuals need to accept the limitations of their own intuitions.

This volume presents an up-to-date overview of how far psychological science has come in its struggle to reconcile what is true with what is good. Each chapter is a stimulus for new research and a reminder not to forget the hard-won lessons of the past – in particular, those taught by Robyn Dawes.

Table of Contents

J.I. Krueger, A Psychologist Between Logos and Ethos. E. Gold & G. Hester, The Gambler's Fallacy and a Coin's Memory. H.R. Arkes, Being an Advocate for Linear Models of Judgment Is Not an Easy Life. J. Dana, What Makes Improper Linear Models Tick? D. Faust, Why Meta-Science Should Be Irresistible To Decision Researchers. J.I. Krueger, The Robust Beauty Of Simple Associations. D. Moore & D. Small, When It's Rational For The Majority To Believe That They Are Better Than Average. M. Bar-Hillel, D.V. Budescu, & M. Amar, Wishful Thinking In Predicting World Cup Results: Still Elusive. C. Bicchieri, How Expectations Affect Behavior: Fairness Preferences Or Fairness Norms? M.B. Brewer, Depersonalized Trust and Ingroup Cooperation. D. Messick, Must Good Guys Finish Last? S.J. Byram, L.M. Schwartz, S. Woloshin, & B. Fischhoff, Women's Beliefs About Breast Cancer Risk Factors: A Mental Models Approach. L.R. Caporael, Groups and the Evolution of Good Stories and Good Choices.

Reviews

"Rationality and Social Responsibility: Essays in Honor of Robyn Mason Dawes is thought provoking and challenging. The concepts need to be digested and debated by any psychologist who does research or clinical or forensic work. The authors are respected in the field, and the chapters are well written and intriguing." - Arthur D. Williams, PsycCRITIQUES