New Content From Perspectives on Psychological Science

Protective Gun Ownership as a Coping Mechanism
Nicholas Buttrick

Buttrick proposes that people who own firearms for protection use their guns symbolically to cope with threats to their safety, control, and sense of belonging. Owning a gun for protection may thus be a coping mechanism for those who believe that the world is a dangerous place and society will not protect them. However, the author suggests that the ownership of guns to cope with “a dangerous world” might make the world seem even more dangerous. He hopes this exploration of gun ownership as a coping mechanism may also shed light on why American gun culture has diverged so sharply from other developed countries.

Distinguishing Between Investigator Discriminability and Eyewitness Discriminability: A Method for Creating Full Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves of Lineup Identification Performance
Andrew M. Smith, Yueran Yang, and Gary L. Wells

Smith and colleagues integrate police-lineup procedures with signal detection theory, which uses computing receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves to plot incorrect identifications of suspects against correct identifications at different levels of response bias. The researchers argue that lineup procedures are characterized by two simultaneous signal detection tasks: (a) The eyewitness has to identify whether the suspect is present and who he/she is; and (b) the investigator has to identify whether the suspect is the culprit, using the eyewitness’s decision and confidence to make his/her decision. Based on this assumption, the authors demonstrate a method to compute ROC curves for eyewitness lineup procedures.

The Effects of Gender Trouble: An Integrative Theoretical Framework of the Perpetuation and Disruption of the Gender/Sex Binary
Thekla Morgenroth and Michelle K. Ryan

Although gender and sex are not binary, they have usually been viewed as such. Morgenroth and Ryan present a framework to explain the perpetuation and disruption of the gender/sex binary. They propose that the misalignment of character, appearance, and behaviors disrupts the binary and causes “gender trouble,” which can elicit personal and system threats. Efforts to alleviate these threats may result in reinforcement of the binary. However, gender trouble can also lead to changes in gender stereotypes and enable everyone to live their gender/sex authentically and without fear.

Psychological Antecedents of Refugee Integration (PARI)
Gerald Echterhoff, Jens H. Hellmann, Mitja D. Back, et al.

Echterhoff and colleagues propose that perceptions of forcedness (i.e., coercion and loss of control) and associated risks and potential suffering during migration activate processes relevant to refugee integration, affecting both refugees and residents. For example, refugees’ memories of forcedness can interfere with integration-related activities, and residents’ perceptions of forcedness may enhance empathy with refugees but also magnify feelings of threat. The authors discuss the implications of these processes for occupational work, education, and mental health.

Big Five and HEXACO Personality Traits, Proenvironmental Attitudes, and Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis
Alistair Raymond Bryce Soutter, Timothy C. Bates, and René Mõttus

A meta-analysis of 38 sources indicates that the personality traits of openness and honesty-humility are strongly associated with proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors. Agreeableness, conscientiousness, and to a lesser extent, extraversion are also moderately associated with proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors. These findings are important to understand why some individuals are more likely to adopt proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors than others, which is especially relevant as we face climate change and its consequences.