Psychology Assignment: The Press Release

Psychology Assignment Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Psychology Assignment Part 1 In the original article, the authors report that they collected data regarding “age, employment status, gender, parental status, income, savings, debt, and cash withdrawals” from 718 customers of a bank in the U.K. However, in the press release, it is indicated that data was collected regarding “personality, age, income, and employment”. It is clear that the press release misrepresented the data that was collected. In the press release, it is also noted that the customers did agree to allow the researchers to access their bank account and have access to their transaction information for them to determine the types of purchases they were involved in over the last 12 months. This was also a misrepresentation because what the researchers did was to ask them questions that were linked to their bank accounts for the last 12 months. In the results, there was an over-exaggeration of the findings in the press release. In the release, it is made to look like there is a great difference is the spending habits of the introverts and the extroverts. In the original document, the authors have made it clear that the difference in spending is telling at low income levels. At high income levels, there is no much difference in spending between introverts and extroverts. This is something that is not brought out clearly in the press release. While it is true in the original document that extraversion is a major cause of status spending especially among low-income individuals, the authors have not made any comment of the link between extraversion and debts. Besides, the authors were categorical that extraversion only led to status spending among low income individuals and not all individuals. This is something that is not brought out clearly in the press release. Again, there is an attempt to relate status spending with classy items. It is noted that that the reason why extroverts spend heavily is because they want to attract friends with status. It is also noted that extroversion can help to build relationships. These are just claims that are correlational to the results of the research. There is also a claim that what the authors of the original document wanted to remind us is that some of our unique features can allow us to reap a lot while it rewards in certain domains of life, they can bring us hardship in others, and that the next time a person thinks that their introversion is a problem, they think again. These claims were never studied in the original document. The press release does not cover any measures of tasks. However, in the original document, the authors are categorical that the study participants did complete personality measures together with measures of self-control and materialism. They used this data to measure the spending of the participants and they also determined the metrics of the spending categories that were used. The authors stated the study limitation in the original document. They note that they used non-representative data and that their ratings were also independent. These limitations are not covered in the press release. In press release, there is a warning sign of pseudoscience. Specially, there is an attempt to relate extroversion with the ability to keep happy relationships. There is also an argument alluding to the fact that extroversion can lead to overspending which may cause higher debts. In the original document, there is no warning sign of pseudoscience. Further, it is misleading because, firstly, it does not tell the truth of the intention of the original document. The original document sought to establish the link that exists between status spending and low income. In press release makes it look like it was only about establishing how personality differences contribute to spending habits. Therefore, it does not provide an accurate summary of the original paper. Part 2 Introduction Have you ever wondered why people spend the way they do? What comes to your mind when you see a person you think spends a lot? Different people have different spending behaviors. A lot of researchers have tried to establish why people spend the way they do. A lot of this debt is credit card debt. In the U.S, consumer debt has been rising gradually. In fact, more people continue spending way above what they are capable of. But the spending patterns among people are different and they vary along several lines such as different power levels. The spending rates have continued to rise as shown in the image below: Summary of the Article In the article, “Conspicuous consumption versus utilitarian ideals: How different levels of power shape consumer behavior” Rucker & Galinsky sought to examine how “experiencing high versus low power creates qualitatively distinct psychological motives that p...