Browsing by Author "Alper, Sinan"

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An Abstract Mind is a Principled One: Abstract Mindset Increases Consistency in Responses to Political Attitude Scales
(2018) Alper, Sinan; 0000-0002-9051-0690; ABG-6854-2020
Past literature suggested that not everyone is politically sophisticated. In the current research, it is proposed that an experimental manipulation of abstract mindset would decrease variation in responses to political attitude scales and render individuals more internally consistent in their political attitudes. Three hypotheses are proposed: (1) Abstract mindset would lower within-subject standard deviations (SDs) and increase Cronbach's alphas in responses to political attitude scales; (2) decrease in SDs could not be attributed to a response bias; and (3) abstract mindset would lower SDs even after controlling for differences in mean scores on those scales. In seven experiments, five different paradigms were used to manipulate abstractness and four different political scales were used as dependent measures on samples from two distinct cultures (US and Turkey). Analyses of individual studies and an aggregate analysis of combined data supported all hypotheses and showed that abstract mindset decreases SDs and increases Cronbach's alpha scores in self-reported political attitudes. Results suggest that abstract mindset enhances apparent political sophistication by highlighting core political beliefs behind different attitudinal statements. Implications for construal level theory and political sophistication research are discussed.
All the Dark Triad and some of the Big Five traits are visible in the face
(2021) Alper, Sinan; Bayrak, Fatih; Yilmaz, Onurcan; 0000-0001-6350-6234
Some of the recent studies suggested that people can make accurate inferences about the level of the Big Five and the Dark Triad personality traits in strangers by only looking at their faces. However, later findings provided only partial support and the evidence is mixed regarding which traits can be accurately inferred from faces. In the current research, to provide further evidence on whether the Big Five and the Dark Triad traits are visible in the face, we report three studies, two of which were preregistered, conducted on both WEIRD (the US American) and non-WEIRD (Turkish) samples (N = 880). The participants in both the US American and Turkish samples were successful in predicting all Dark Triad personality traits by looking at a stranger's face. However, there were mixed results regarding the Big Five traits. An aggregate analysis of the combined dataset demonstrated that extraversion (only female), agreeableness, and conscientiousness were accurately inferred by the participants in addition to the Dark Triad traits. Overall, the results suggest that inferring personality from faces without any concrete source of information might be an evolutionarily adaptive trait.
Control Deprivation Decreases, Not Increases, Belief in a Controlling God for People with Independent Self-Construal
(2019) Alper, Sinan; Sumer, Nebi; 0000-0002-7460-4515; AAA-7817-2020
Compensatory Control Model suggests that, when deprived of personal control, people compensate this lack by bolstering their belief in a controlling God. However, this is not the only way of reacting to control deprivation as past literature also depicted that people sometimes become motivated to restore their personal control. We argued that people with highly independent self-construal would not be comfortable with enhancing external control in the absence of a personal one. We conducted an online experiment (N = 246) and the results indicated that control deprivation actually decreased, not increased, belief in a controlling God for people with independent self-construal. Such finding suggested that not everyone compensates for the lack of personal control by enhancing external control. Implications of the findings and potential limitations were discussed.
Do changes in threat salience predict the moral content of sermons? The case of Friday Khutbas in Turkey
(2019) Alper, Sinan; Bayrak, Fatih; Us, Elif Oyku; Yilmaz, Onurcan; 0000-0002-6671-2129; 0000-0001-6350-6234; AAJ-6747-2020
We analyzed the content of "Friday Khutbas" delivered in Turkish mosques between January 2001 and December 2018 to test the prediction of moral foundations theory (MFT) literature that threat salience would lead to an increased endorsement of binding moral foundations. As societal-level indicators of threat, we examined (a) historical data on the proportion of terrorism-related news published in a Turkish newspaper, (b) the geopolitical risk score of Turkey as measured by Geopolitical Risk Index, and (c) Google Trends data on the search frequency of words "terror", "terrorism", or "terrorist". To measure the endorsement of moral foundations, we built a Turkish Moral Foundations Dictionary and counted the relative frequency of morality-related words in the khutbas delivered in Istanbul, Turkey. Time series analyses showed that risk salience in a certain month was positively related to endorsement of the loyalty/betrayal foundation in that month's Friday Khutbas. There were mixed results for the other moral foundations.
The evil eye effect: vertical pupils are perceived as more threatening
(2019) Alper, Sinan; Us, Elif Oyku; Tasman, Dicle Rojda; 0000-0002-6671-2129; 30486750; AAJ-6747-2020
Popular culture has many examples of evil characters having vertically pupilled eyes. Humans have a long evolutionary history of rivalry with snakes and their visual systems were evolved to rapidly detect snakes and snake-related cues. Considering such evolutionary background, we hypothesised that humans would perceive vertical pupils, which are characteristics of ambush predators including some of the snakes, as threatening. In seven studies (aggregate N = 1458) conducted on samples from American and Turkish samples, we found that vertical pupils are perceived as more threatening on both explicit (Study 1) and implicit level (Studies 2-7) and they are associated with physical, rather than social, threat (Study 4). Findings provided partial support regarding our hypothesis about the relevance of snake detection processes: Snake phobia, and not spider phobia, was found to be related to perceiving vertical pupils as threatening (Study 5), however an experimental manipulation of saliency of snakes rendered no significant effect (Study 6) and a comparison of fears of snakes, alligators, and cats did not support our prediction (Study 7). We discuss the potential implications and limitations of these novel findings.
Inferring political and religious attitudes from composite faces perceived to be related to the dark triad personality traits
(2021) Alper, Sinan; Bayrak, Fatih; Yilmaz, Onurcan
We used composite face images perceived to have different levels of Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) and asked participants to predict these target individuals' religious and political identities. In Study 1 (N = 550), Turkish participants rated faces with higher levels of perceived Dark Triad traits as less likely to be religious, to believe in God, and more likely to be left-winger, and to vote for a leftleaning party in all categories except for male narcissism. In a pre-registered follow-up study (N = 1001), we recruited a nationally representative US sample and replicated the same results with minor differences regarding male and female narcissism, and voting preferences. Participants' own political and ideological identities and their stereotypical evaluation of the target groups were mostly ineffective in explaining their predictions. The results suggest that people can perceive faces with higher levels of Dark Triad traits as less religious and less conservative.
Multidimensional Intuitive-Analytic Thinking Style and Its Relation To Moral Concerns, Epistemically Suspect Beliefs, and Ideology
(2023) Bayrak, Fatih; Dogruyol, Burak; Alper, Sinan; Yilmaz, Onurcan; 0000-0001-6350-6234
Literature highlights the distinction between intuitive and analytic thinking as a prominent cognitive style distinction, leading to the proposal of various theories within the framework of the dual process model. However, it remains unclear whether individuals differ in their thinking styles along a single dimension, from intuitive to analytic, or if other dimensions are at play. Moreover, the presence of numerous thinking style measures, employing different terminology but conceptually overlapping, leads to confusion. To address these complexities, Newton et al. suggested the idea that individuals vary across multiple dimensions of intuitive-analytic thinking styles and distinguished thinking styles between 4 distinct types: Actively open-minded thinking, close-minded thinking, preference for effortful thinking, and preference for intuitive thinking. They proposed a new measure for this 4-factor disposition, The 4-Component Thinking Styles Questionnaire (4-CTSQ), to comprehensively capture the psychological outcomes related to thinking styles; however, no independent test exists. In the current pre-registered studies, we test the validity of 4-CTSQ for the first time beyond the original study and examine the association of the proposed measure with various factors, including morality, conspiracy beliefs, paranormal and religious beliefs, vaccine hesitancy, and ideology in an underrepresented culture, Turkiye. We found that the correlated 4-factor model of 4-CTSQ is an appropriate measure to capture individual differences based on cognitive style. The results endorse the notion that cognitive style differences are characterized by distinct structures rather than being confined to two ends of a single continuum.
Psychological correlates of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures: Evidence from Turkey
(2020) Alper, Sinan; Bayrak, Fatih; Yilmaz, Onurcan; 32837129
COVID-19 pandemic has led to popular conspiracy theories regarding its origins and widespread concern over the level of compliance with preventive measures. In the current preregistered research, we recruited 1088 Turkish participants and investigated (a) individual differences associated with COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs; (2) whether such conspiracy beliefs are related to the level of preventive measures; and (3) other individual differences that might be related to the preventive measures. Higher faith in intuition, uncertainty avoidance, impulsivity, generic conspiracy beliefs, religiosity, and right-wing ideology, and a lower level of cognitive reflection were associated with a higher level of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories. There was no association between COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and preventive measures while perceived risk was positively and impulsivity negatively correlated with preventive measures. We discuss the implications and directions for future research.
The role of intentionality in perceiving terrorism as a more important problem than traffic accidents
(2021) Alper, Sinan; Us, Elif Oyku; 0000-0002-6671-2129; AAJ-6747-2020
We hypothesized that perceived intentionality is one of the factors explaining why terrorism is perceived to be a more important problem than traffic accidents. In Study 1, we conducted an experiment on a large Turkish sample (N = 385) and found that participants suggested allocating significantly more budget to prevent terror-related deaths, as compared to deaths caused by traffic accidents, and this difference was fully mediated by perceived intentionality. In Study 2, which was pre-registered, we hypothesized that American participants (N = 450) would similarly suggest allocating more budget to prevent deaths caused by terrorist incidents, as compared to traffic accidents, but this difference would disappear when traffic accidents are portrayed as involving a perpetrator consciously disregarding the safety of others. Our hypothesis was partially supported. We discuss the potential implications for policy-makers and social psychological research.
A tale of two hashtags: An examination of moral content of pro- and anti-government tweets in Turkey
(2021) Bayrak, Fatih; Alper, Sinan; 0000-0001-6350-6234
During the campaign period of the 2018 Presidential Election in Turkey, there was a burst in the number of tweets posted by both pro- and anti-government Twitter users. Both sides started their own hashtags and reached a total of 2 million tweets in only one day. We analyzed the content of 186,554 tweets from two opposing ideological camps to test the predictions of Moral Foundations Theory, which suggests that liberals and conservatives endorse different moral foundations. We scored each side's level of emphasis on different moral foundations using the Turkish Moral Foundations Dictionary and compared the two groups. Results revealed that the supporters of the conservative government in Turkey were more likely to endorse care, loyalty, and authority foundations of morality, as compared to those who oppose the conservative government. In addition, the general moral emphasis was higher in the tweets of the pro-government group. Being one of the first studies investigating the moral content of political tweets in a non-WEIRD context, the current study yields important findings regarding the external validity of the Moral Foundations Theory's predictions in different cultures.