All kids these days scales were coded on -3 to 3 scales with higher numbers indicating a belief that children today are much worse. Psychopathy scale was coded as the average of all items. Narcissism scale was coded as the sum of all items in the narcissism scale and the 2 overlapping items with the entitlement scale. Entitlement scale was coded as the total of all the items in the entitlement scale and the 2 overlapping items with the Narcissism scale. Machiavellianism was coded as the average of all items. Brief self-control scale was broken into its constituent subscales (restraint, impulsiveness) as the mean of the items on each subscale. Analyses of each of the primary questions will proceed in regressions with no control variables using robust standard errors. **Psychopathy** People believed that children today are more psychotic than children were when they were a child (*b*0 = 2.022, *p* < .001, 95%CI = 2.217 to 1.828). Furthermore, consistent with our predictions, the less psychopathic tendencies someone has, the more they believe children today are becoming more psychotic (*beta* = -.345, *p* < .001). regress ktdpsycho psychopathy if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 1, 1403) = 162.01 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1188 Root MSE = 1.6245 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdpsycho | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- psychopathy | -.3789364 .0297709 -12.73 0.000 -.4373366 -.3205362 _cons | 2.022735 .0991277 20.41 0.000 1.82828 2.217189 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Narcissism** On average, people believed that children today are a little more narcissistic than children were when they were a child (*b*0 = 1.288, *p* < .001, 1.423 to 1.152). Consistent with our theoretical model, the less narcissistic someone is, the more they believe children are becoming more narcissistic (*beta* = -.131, *p* < .001). regress ktdnarc narcissism if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 1, 1403) = 23.60 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0173 Root MSE = 1.5129 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdnarc | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- narcissism | -.0604336 .0124388 -4.86 0.000 -.0848342 -.036033 _cons | 1.287855 .0691123 18.63 0.000 1.15228 1.423429 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Entitled** On average, people thought children today are a little more entitled than children were when they were a child (*b*0 = 1.449, *p* < .001, 95%CI = 1.588 to 1.311). Again consistent with our theoretical model, the less entitled someone is, the more they believe children today are becoming more entitled (*beta* = -.109, *p* < .001). regress ktdentitle entitlement if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 1, 1403) = 15.85 Prob > F = 0.0001 R-squared = 0.0118 Root MSE = 1.6031 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdentitle | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- entitlement | -.0723618 .0181764 -3.98 0.000 -.1080177 -.0367059 _cons | 1.449772 .0706011 20.53 0.000 1.311277 1.588267 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Machiavellianism/Manipulative** On average, people believed that children today are becoming more manipulative than children were when they were a child (*b*0 = 1.392, *p* < .001, 95%CI = 1.573 to 1.211). Again consistent with out theoretical model, the less manipulative someone is, the more they believe that children today are becoming more manipulative (*beta* = -.155, *p* < .001). regress ktdmach machiavelli if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 1, 1403) = 28.40 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0241 Root MSE = 1.5133 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdmach | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- machiavelli | -.1483742 .0278399 -5.33 0.000 -.2029866 -.0937617 _cons | 1.392183 .0921107 15.11 0.000 1.211493 1.572872 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Across the four negative traits, including psychopathic tendencies, narcissism, entitlement, and Machiavellianism/manipulation, we found consistent evidence that people who score lower on a trait are more likely to believe that children today are deficient in those specific traits. Next, we extend our previous work into a new positive domain, self-control. **Self-Control** On average, people believed that children today are worse at exerting self-control than children were when they were a child (*b*0 = 2.256, *p* < .001, 2.622 to 1.889). When it came to the two measures of participants self-control, our pre-registered model used both impulsivity and restraint as predictors simultaneously. In this model, consistent with our theoretical model, the less impulsivity problems someone has, the more they believe that children today are worse at self-control (*beta* = -.296, *p* < .001). There was no residual relationship between how much restraint who believes they have and the belief that children today are in decline in self-cotrol (*beta* = -.052, *p* = .135). regress ktdsc restraint impulsivity if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 2, 1402) = 53.33 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0894 Root MSE = 1.5135 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdsc | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- restraint | -.1127701 .0753648 -1.50 0.135 -.2606099 .0350698 impulsivity | -.4113769 .0507678 -8.10 0.000 -.510966 -.3117878 _cons | 2.255596 .1869349 12.07 0.000 1.888894 2.622299 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Age** In all cases, adding age to the model showed a significant effect where older participants believed that children today are more deficient; and adding age did not alter the kids these days effect (see SOM). regress ktdpsycho psychopathy agec if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 2, 1402) = 135.42 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1664 Root MSE = 1.5806 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdpsycho | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- psychopathy | -.2956336 .0312541 -9.46 0.000 -.3569435 -.2343237 agec | .0232218 .0026377 8.80 0.000 .0180477 .028396 _cons | 1.104591 .1477007 7.48 0.000 .8148529 1.394329 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdnarc narcissism agec if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 2, 1402) = 27.97 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0376 Root MSE = 1.4977 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdnarc | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- narcissism | -.0406297 .0130183 -3.12 0.002 -.0661671 -.0150922 agec | .0132261 .0023889 5.54 0.000 .00854 .0179123 _cons | .8130043 .1121488 7.25 0.000 .5930067 1.033002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdentitle entitlement agec if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 2, 1402) = 47.07 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0676 Root MSE = 1.5577 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdentitle | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- entitlement | -.037975 .0184849 -2.05 0.040 -.074236 -.001714 agec | .0226657 .0025898 8.75 0.000 .0175853 .027746 _cons | .6897702 .1121436 6.15 0.000 .4697829 .9097575 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdmach machiavelli agec if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 2, 1402) = 30.78 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0451 Root MSE = 1.4974 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdmach | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- machiavelli | -.1016545 .0290047 -3.50 0.000 -.1585517 -.0447572 agec | .01363 .0024017 5.68 0.000 .0089187 .0183413 _cons | .8597795 .1321183 6.51 0.000 .6006087 1.11895 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdsc restraint impulsivity agec if serious == 1, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1405 F( 3, 1401) = 67.60 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1363 Root MSE = 1.4746 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdsc | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- restraint | -.1210565 .0722514 -1.68 0.094 -.2627891 .0206762 impulsivity | -.2729318 .0530205 -5.15 0.000 -.37694 -.1689236 agec | .021513 .0024888 8.64 0.000 .0166308 .0263952 _cons | 1.353618 .2165716 6.25 0.000 .9287786 1.778458 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Furthermore, including all participants, not just those that passed the seriousness check, did not change the results at all. regress ktdpsycho psychopathy, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1512 F( 1, 1510) = 203.51 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1363 Root MSE = 1.624 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdpsycho | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- psychopathy | -.3960008 .0277591 -14.27 0.000 -.4504512 -.3415503 _cons | 2.044659 .0962388 21.25 0.000 1.855883 2.233435 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdnarc narcissism, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1512 F( 1, 1510) = 31.89 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0217 Root MSE = 1.5402 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdnarc | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- narcissism | -.0686307 .0121526 -5.65 0.000 -.0924684 -.044793 _cons | 1.282969 .0684647 18.74 0.000 1.148673 1.417265 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdentitle entitlement , vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1512 F( 1, 1510) = 19.42 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0132 Root MSE = 1.6377 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdentitle | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- entitlement | -.0786038 .0178349 -4.41 0.000 -.1135877 -.04362 _cons | 1.406739 .0702372 20.03 0.000 1.268966 1.544511 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdmach machiavelli, vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1512 F( 1, 1510) = 37.51 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.0298 Root MSE = 1.5395 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdmach | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- machiavelli | -.1631139 .0266321 -6.12 0.000 -.2153536 -.1108741 _cons | 1.383572 .0909572 15.21 0.000 1.205156 1.561988 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ regress ktdsc restraint impulsivity , vce(robust) Linear regression Number of obs = 1512 F( 2, 1509) = 67.75 Prob > F = 0.0000 R-squared = 0.1007 Root MSE = 1.5325 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Robust ktdsc | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- restraint | -.0792343 .0724012 -1.09 0.274 -.2212519 .0627833 impulsivity | -.4492194 .0490414 -9.16 0.000 -.5454161 -.3530228 _cons | 2.194519 .1767802 12.41 0.000 1.847758 2.54128 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Intervention Effect on Implicit Theories** First, 64% of the sample passed the initial comprehension check (65% of all those who also passed the seriousness check). Of those, 85% complied with the intervention (83% when including everyone). Our primary analysis is an intention to treat design, where participants are analyzed in their condition regardless of whether they complied with the intervention. For the overall intervention effects, there was no difference in how much people believed children today no onge rrespect authority based on what article they read (*F*(2, 917) = .01, *p* = .988). anova ktdrespect increase if serious == 1 & attchange == 1 Number of obs = 920 R-squared = 0.0000 Root MSE = 1.50003 Adj R-squared = -0.0022 Source | Partial SS df MS F Prob > F -----------+---------------------------------------------------- Model | .052564238 2 .026282119 0.01 0.9884 | increase | .052564238 2 .026282119 0.01 0.9884 | Residual | 2063.33874 917 2.25009677 -----------+---------------------------------------------------- Total | 2063.3913 919 2.24525713 Our primary concern was the difference between those induced to believe respect for authority increases throughout the lifespan versus those who were induced to believe respect for authority is flat across the lifespan. This analysis revealed no significant effect of the intervention on beliefs, conditional on whether one complied. ivreg ktdrespectscale ( complychange =increase)if serious == 1 & attchange == 1 & increase != 2 Instrumental variables (2SLS) regression Source | SS df MS Number of obs = 494 -------------+------------------------------ F( 1, 492) = 0.32 Model | -158.915708 1 -158.915708 Prob > F = 0.5713 Residual | 1061.46024 492 2.15743952 R-squared = . -------------+------------------------------ Adj R-squared = . Total | 902.544534 493 1.83071914 Root MSE = 1.4688 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ktdrespect~e | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| [95% Conf. Interval] -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------- complychange | 2.0836 3.677776 0.57 0.571 -5.142484 9.309684 _cons | -.4376428 3.134995 -0.14 0.889 -6.597273 5.721988 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Instrumented: complychange Instruments: increase ------------------------------------------------------------------------------