A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• How situational activation of values evokes positive and negative feelings

  2020. William Montgomery, Henry Montgomery, Tommy Gärling. Motivation and Emotion 44 (4), 608-620

  Article

  We propose a theory of how situational activation of values evokes positive and negative feelings. In conjunction we present a re-conceptualization of Schwartz' et al. (J Personal Soc Psychol 103:663-688, 2012. 10.1037/a029393) value set including additional values. In our new value set, we posit contrastive values having opposite values and central values having no opposite values. As a consequence, balanced access to salient opposite contrastive values and maximal access to central values evoke the strongest positive and weakest negative feelings. Study 1 shows, as hypothesized, that contrastive values form a circumplex structure with central values located inside its periphery. Study 2 supports theoretically derived hypotheses of how positive and negative feelings are evoked by different degrees of access to values, salience of opposite values, and centrality of values.

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• I stormens öga

  2020. Henry Montgomery. Historien om svensk psykologisk forskning, 59-78

  Chapter

  Under 1800-talet och första hälften 1900-talet tillhörde psykologi som psykologisk disciplin ibland pedagogiken, ibland filosofin, och de första professurerna inom ämnet avsåg psykologi och pedagog i kombination.

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• Intransitivity and transitivity of preferences

  2020. Rob Ranyard (et al.). Decision 7 (4), 287-313

  Article

  Transitive preference, that is, if you prefer apples to bananas and bananas to cherries, you also prefer apples to cherries, is a basic property of some influential rational choice models. Contrary to this, Tversky, in his seminal 1969 article, presented evidence of intransitive preferences in two contexts, one of which involved choices between simple monetary lotteries. While early replications corroborated his findings, more recent research cast doubt on the strength of evidence of intransitive preferences in this task. Here, from Tversky’s extended additive difference model we develop a simplified additive difference (SAD) model that corresponds to alternative dimensional processing strategies. This predicts transitive or intransitive preferences, depending on its parameter values. We review six replications of Tversky’s lottery task and fit variants of the model to the choice data. We estimate the SAD model’s parameters for each individual data set using maximum likelihood estimation, examine the goodness of fit of the model, and use likelihood ratio tests to evaluate specific variants. The model has a very good fit to most individual choice data sets reviewed, with many predictably violating weak stochastic transitivity. We also find that many transitive patterns correspond to the application of simple, one-dimensional “take the best” heuristics. The findings support the view that human decision making is often based on dimensional processing in such a way that evaluations of decision alternatives are relative to the set under consideration, resulting in intransitivity of preferences.

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• Gender typing in stereotypes and evaluations of actual managers

  2013. Hanna Li Kusterer, Torun Lindholm, Henry Montgomery. Journal of Managerial Psychology 28 (5), 561-579

  Article

  Purpose - The pm-pose of this paper is to examine gender-related management stereotypes, perceived gender bias and evaluations of actual managers, and to directly compare stereotypes and ratings of actual managers. Design/methodology/approach - Questionnaires were distributed to employees in the bank and insurance sector, and 240 participants rated their actual managers and stereotypes of male and female managers. Findings - Men evaluated the female manager stereotype more positively on communal attributes, and the male manager stereotype more positively on agentic attributes. Women evaluated the female manager stereotype more positively on both communal and agentic attributes, but perceived a higher degree of gender bias in favor of male managers than men did. Actual male and female managers were rated similarly. Still, ratings of actual male managers corresponded more with stereotypes of male than female managers, and ratings of actual female managers corresponded more with stereotypes of female than male managers. Research limitations/implications - Future research needs to determine the direction of association between stereotypes and evaluations of actual managers, and the relative importance of agentic over communal attributes. Practical implications - While women appeared biased in favor of their own gender, men may underestimate the difficulties that female managers encounter. Managers and human resource practitioners should notice these different views, and recognize that gender equality is not achieved in Sweden. Originality/value - The present study contributes with data from an egalitarian society with a positive view of female managers, and a direct comparison of stereotypes and workplace evaluations.

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• Why do people dislike low-wage trade competition with posted workers in the service sector?

  2013. Lars Calmfors (et al.). The Journal of Socio-Economics 47, 82-93

  Article

  The issue of low-wage competition in services trade involving posted workers is controversial in the EU. Using Swedish survey data, people's attitudes are found to be more negative to such trade than to goods trade. The differences depend on both a preference for favouring social groups to which individuals belong (the domestic population) and altruistic justice concerns for foreign workers. In small-group experiments, we find a tendency for people to adjust their evaluations of various aspects of trade to their general attitude. This tendency is stronger for those opposed to than those in favour of low-wage trade competition. This may indicate that the former group forms its attitudes in a less rational way than the latter group.

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• Möjligheter att motverka finanskriser

  2012. Henry Montgomery. Efter finanskrisen, 135-180

  Chapter

  Ett grundtema i försök att psykologiskt förklara den finansiella krisen 2007-2008 är att den styrdes av så kallat System 1 tänkande, som kännetecknas av förenkling och skevhet i bedömningar och beslutsfattande. Krisen drevs på av ett flockbeteende, inspirerat av   en socialt delad och samtidigt förenklad verklighetsbild som omfattades av den politiska makten, affärsvärlden och vanliga medborgare. Vad kan psykologisk kunskap bidra med för att motverka framtida finansiella kriser? Försök att träna människor att undvika ensidigt och förenklat tänkande har varit måttlig framgångsrika.  Vad som behövs är att bygga upp en intellektuell miljö, där politiker, professionella aktörer och vanliga medborgare fattar kloka beslut inom det finansiella området. Mot bakgrund av forskning inom olika områden (beslutfattande, tidsasymmetrier i människors tänkande och belöningars psykologi) förslås ett antal åtgärder för att motverka finansiella kriser. Åtgärderna berör ökad transparens i olika placeringsprodukter, en mer nyanserad normpolitik, alternativ till ekonomiska prognoser, utformning av amorteringar så att de upplevs som lönsamt sparande, belöningssystem som gynnar stabilitet i det finansiella systemet, och att i den ekonomiska politiken utnyttja kompetens från olika vetenskaper.

   

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Show all publications by Henry Montgomery at Stockholm University