Human Behaviour PDF 2024-2025

Behaviour and Environment 1 2024-2025 05.11.2024 HUMAN BEHAVIOUR Many factors affect behaviour Social Psychology : The science that studies feelings, thoughts and behaviour of individuals in social situatio...

Behaviour and Environment 1 2024-2025 05.11.2024 HUMAN BEHAVIOUR Many factors affect behaviour Social Psychology : The science that studies feelings, thoughts and behaviour of individuals in social situations. Psychology of everyday life Experimental method Distal factors: in very broad way affect our behaviour, e.g. culture sets certain norms, which are proximal factors The theme of this course Two main hypothesis 1. The power of the situation 2. The power of the unconscious - People underestimate the influence of the situation/environment on the behaviour o Power of the situation: Bystander effect; diffusion of responsibility, fear of standing out, pluralistic ignorance Fundamental attribution error - The tendency to attribute behaviour to the person and not to the situation. - HOW? 3-step process (Gilbert) - Perceive the behaviour (“She does not help”) Automatic - Categorize the behaviour (“unhelpful, inconsiderate”) - Correct for the situation (“She was in a hurry…”) Controlled Dual-process models - Automatic (system 1): Unconscious, fast, associative, unintentional, effortless - Controlled (system 2): Conscious, slow, intentional, effort (energy) - Depends on capacity and motivation The power of the unconscious: System 1 and 2 do not always align nor meet… Behaviour and decisions for a large part determined by System 1 processes; without our knowledge Competence ratings (even after 250ms presentation) predicted election outcomes above chance (70%)1 (System1) Implication: lack of introspection… - Why did you choose to study psychology? Why did you vote for that political candidate? On what basis did you choose your friends or your partner? - We often don’t know why make a decision, but we think that we know -Post-hoc reasoning 1 Todorov et al., 2005, Science Ballew & Todorov, 2007, PNAS Change blindness 1 Unconscious processes and their power - ‘Channel factors’: small situational changes that ‘channel’ our behaviour (sometimes with serious consequences) 2 - Schemas ▪ Organised set of knowledge about a stimulus/situation, stored in long-term memory ▪ Helps to organise knowledge about the world, and make predictions (good and bad predictions) We have schemas about… - Groups of people (race, gender, etc.; stereotype - Personality traits (e.g. introverts) - Situations (or: scripts) - Specific individuals - Ourselves - These unconsciously affect our feelings, thoughts and behaviour in an automatic fashion - Very functional, but with both positive and negative outcomes… - Personal; cultural General Conclusion Today The role of the situation and unconscious processes in everyday behaviour and everyday social behaviour - Functional!!! Unconscious processes are much faster – they enable us to responds effectively to our environment - The importance of scientific research in determining the real causes of behaviour (eg. Interventions) - Belief in free will? SOCIAL INFLUENCE 07.11.2024 lecture 2 Attitudes What is an attitude? Consists of an Affective, Behavioural and Cognitive component A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour (Eagly & Chaiked, 1993) What are the building blocks of an attitude? The ABC Model Approach & Avoidance Positive/negative attitudes associated with an automatic approach/avoidance response Why do we have attitudes? - Utilitarian function - useful 2 Chanel factors: Nudging (smaller plate->less food, bigger plate->more food) 2  - helps in finding relevant things at a certain moment) - Knowledge function - cognitive representation about entities - Knowledge may help for predictive control - Stereotype & prejudice Value-expressive function Showing attitude by dressing up in a certain way Social adaptive function (easier to find connection with people) Attitude Behaviour “Would you accept members of the Chinese race as guests in your establishments?” 3 90% would not Second phase: went with a Chinese couple, Result: only one was not allowed inside “Attitudes? Get rid of them!” Wicker (1969) -> not useful for predicting behaviour Get rid of them? - Methodological issues - Measurement of explicit attitudes is extremely sensitive to social desirability 4 - One vs multiple behavioural observations 5 - Correspondence principle6 - Theoretical issues Behaviour is not only determined by attitudes Theory of Planned Behaviour Theory of Reasoned Action Attitude -> Intention->Behaviour Subjective norm Perceived control Theoretical issues - Attitude strength - Weak versus string attitudes ▪ Certainty, importance, centrality - Accessibility - Consistency affect and cognition - Inconsistent attitudes(A≠C - Consistent attitudes (A=C) - Introspection - Problem of introspection 3 LaPiere, 1934 4 Study by Fazio et al., 1995, score on Racism scale, Three conditions: Mass administration score:5(filling out questionnaires of college students), White Experimenter: a little lower score, Black Experimenter: significantly lower 5 multiple items to test one construct, use multiple observations 6 - “Correlation between attitude and the use of the pill in the next 2 years”, Attitude between contraception/pill/use of the pill/ use of the pill in the next 2 years 3  - “Why do we feel the way you do about your partner?” vs the simple ”Report how you feel about your partner? - Implicit versus explicit attitudes - A large part of our behaviour (most of our behaviour?) is not deliberative! - Explicit attitudes predict controlled and rational behaviour (fairly good) - ‘Implicit attitudes’ (automatic associations) for predicting automatic, uncontrolled behaviour Interim Conclusions - Complex relation because… - Other factors also predict our behaviour - It depends also on attitude strength - Explicit judgements are not very reliable (especially when it comes to ‘sensitive’ issues) - Or differences in types of behaviour (controllable vs. uncontrollable) - What about reverse causation, behaviour-> attitudes? Behaviour -> Attitude At a basic level Approach vs. Avoidance Cacioppo er al. Head shaking Petty & Wells Cognitive Dissonance Theory 7 I smoke Smoking is unhelathy Dissonance arousal Motivation to reduce dissonance Classic study on CD Induced compliance Do you want to tell the following participant that the task was fun? Reward a)20dollars, b) 1 dollar8 When does dissonance occur? - Insufficient justification - Behaviour stems from personal choice - Negative consequences...which could have been foreseen - When these conditions have been met: dissonance arousal Types of dissonance in daily life Effort justification: the more effort, time and money, etc. that you put in, the more positive 7 Festinger, 1957 8 Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959 4  - Example of ‘initiation’ - Saving up to pay 90$ for a concert ticket - Post-decisional dissonance, justification Justifying a choice (for example by enhancing the value of a chosen product and devaluing the rejected alternative) Alternatives to cognitive dissonance - Self-perception theory: do people actually change their attitudes to reduce arousal (motivation)? Or is it simply self-perception (cognitive process)? - Primarily depends on the strength and centrality of the behaviour/attitude. - Self-affirmation theory: Dissonance arousal -> threat to self. Can be resolved by self-affirmation (reinforcing central value) - Attitude is a determinant of behaviour but Behaviour is an important determinant of attitude The elaboration likelihood model9 Change of attitude prompted by others - Two general approaches that lead to a change of attitude/influence, namely the: - Central route (systematic): central processing of the message; content and arguments are the most important parts of the message - Peripheral route (superficial/heuristic): does not involve systematic processing of the message; content is not processed but influenced by ‘peripheral cues Route depends on… - Motivation: personal relevance; need for accuracy; - Ability: simply how tired or energetic a person is; the amount of distractions that are present; the arguments- are they understandable? Etc. - If levels of motivation and ability are high: central route - If levels of motivation and/or ability is low: peripheral route Study: The role of motivation “General examinations should be compulsory” Strong versus weak arguments (central route, systematic processing) From expert or non-expert (peripheral route; heuristic processing) Motivation manipulated by self-relevance: one’s own university versus other university 12.11.2024 Social Influence Third person perspective - Authority effects behaviour (white lab coats, Milgram experiment) 9 Petty & Cacioppo 5 Social Influence - Obedience: Influence as a consequence of power imbalances (Milgram) - Conformity: Social influence caused by behaviour of others who are present or are presume to be present; norms - Compliance: Complying to somebody’s explicit request Conformity is everywhere! - Fashion - Smoking; alcohol (later) - Restaurants and bars - Studying - What you eat - TV programmes - Etc., Etc., Etc., Conformity: Why? The ‘need to belong’ Conformity: How? - Chartrand & Bargh, 1999 - Automatically - How: motor resonance (ideomotor action) – perception – behaviour link - Social function: Imitation of behaviour leads to acceptance/increase in likeability - Presumed (psychological) presence of others Less automatic - Asch’s conformity study - Normative influence - Acceptance motive - Public acceptance - Sherif’s autokinetic illusion studies - Informational influence (use input of others in own judgment) - Uncertainty; Ambiguous situation - Private acceptance Factors associated with conformity - Anonymity - Status and expertise Normative? - Group size Informational? - Unanimity Both? - Culture Conformity: adapting to a norm - What is a norm actually? - Descriptive norm: What is normal, what do most people do? - Injunctive (prescriptive) norm: What should everyone do? (According to the rules or laws) - In many cases, both of the norms will overlap each other 6  - …but sometimes they will not Which ‘norm’ influences our behaviour? - Focus theory of normative conduct - It is the most salient norm (descriptive or injunctive) that influence behaviour Interim Conclusions We are like 'photocopying' machines: we either copy other people’s behaviour directly or we copy the (descriptive) ‘norm’ Important question: Do we always observe the (descriptive) ‘norm’ correctly? Based on what do we derive this ‘norm’? Other people’s behaviour (descriptive) Fundamental attribution error! Pluralistic Ignorance Is defined as: a situation in which many people mistakenly overestimate the consensus of values and norms, and consider their own violation of the norm as the exception. Possible consequence: Widespread adaptation to a norm with which nobody actually agrees Plays also a role in… - Bystander effect - Intergroup contact (and lack thereof) - Asking questions during a lecture - Criminal behaviour among gang members - Etc., etc., etc Compliance When do people comply with a request? - Social proof - Reciprocity - Free samples, paying someone a compliment, etc. - The that’s-not-all technique - 1 cake and 2 biscuits for 75 cents, vs 1 cake for 75 cents, including two free biscuits! - Commitment and consistency - Simply allow someone to make a ‘commitment’ - The foot-in-the-door technique ▪ Collect somebody’s signature for the ‘Save the Environment’ campaign and then ask them if you can put a sign in their garden ▪ The foor-in-the-door technique and Milgram… - ‘Low-balling’ – Adapting the conditions once consent has been given ▪ Do you want to take part in an experiment? ▪ It begins at 8 o’clock in the morning ▪ Do you want to take part in an experiment that begins at 8 o’clock in the morning? - The door-in-the-face technique ▪ Would you like to accompany a group of juvenile delinquents to the zoo sometime? 17% ▪ Or preceded by: Do you want to volunteer to counsel juvenile delinquents for two hours each week for the next two years? 7  Would you like to accompany a group of juvenile delinquents to the zoo sometime? 50% ▪ On which influence principle is this technique based? - Scarcity - Limited edition - “only one room left” -> urgency to book a room (Selling a product) (descriptive) - Authority - Milgram, white lab coat - Sympathy - Chances for agreement are higher if one is nice to the other person THEME §: SELF AND OTHERS Lecture 5 19.11.2024 The social self Example: looking in a mirror without a face Painting: third person perspective, -> use to look at other people Cannot share third perspective with anyone else Introspection illusion How can you tell who you really are? We only know results of processes but not what is happening in there Paradox of the self - The self does not exist! (mirror activation) Self in a broad sense - You do not ‘own’ yourself! Self is a social project Border(personal space) The self as basic phenomenon - Fundamental distinction between yourself and the outside world/others - The location of the boundary is physically and socially defined Cultural differences in interpersonal distance If you touch yourself, you feel sensation from inside -> double sensation (only true for your own body) Two types of consciousness Subjective self-awareness - Unreflected - More intuitive - Basis of normal activity - In common with other animals Objective self-awareness - Self-reflective - More cognitive (self-image) - Purposeful activity - Typically human 8 Using the social world as a mirror - Knowledge about ourselves derived from social interaction - Determining one’s personal standing through ongoing social comparison - Social context as a platform for self-presentation We use social environment to figure out who we are->mirror, not reliable because you interpret things, we try to figure out how others see us-> construct by ourselves Reflected self-appraisal - Self-image is derived from how others perceive us-> 3rd-person perspective on yourself - But no direct access to how others perceive us - Therefore, how we think others perceive us -> construal Neurology of reflected self-appraisal The importance of self-knowledge - Essential for behavioural regulation - Essential for social adjustment - Essential for integrating persona experiences Which is more useful? a. A realistic self-image - b. A positive self-image - Our self-image is biased ( for most in a positive direction) Totalitarian ego (Greenwald, 1980) - People are egocentric ( you are inside your body, own perspective -> centrum of the world, standards, everything is measured upon yourself) - People are narcissistic ( - People are conservative ( only open to information about themselves) Some basic motives in self-knowledge - Self-verification/consistencey: need to affirm self-image - Self-enhancement: need for positive self-image - 9 Self-schema’s & self-consistency Self-verification / -consistency Step 1: Assess whether participants see themselves as a dependent or independent person Step 2 (after three weeks): Participants have to review a list of characteristics and decide as quickly as possible whether they apply to them People are quicker at processing information that is consistent with their self-image Self-enhancement 3 positive illusions (Taylor & Brown, 1988) - Unrealistically positive self-image - Illusion of control (if benefits happen by chance, bad things: circumstances and not themselves, that things for in their favour) - Unrealistic optimism (hear a rosy imagination of the future) Contributions to well-being: - Protects self-esteem (fuel) - Enables people to be more open to others - Encourages focused behaviour (motivation for creating a future, self-fulfilling prophecy) Self-enhancement & well-being Step 1: Administration of the How I See Myself Questionnaire (attributiong positive/negative characteristics to yourself in comparison with others-> high/low self-enhancers) Step 2 (after 1 week): Biomedical stress measurement in baseline and during a stressful task (e.g counting down from 6233 in increments of 13) - High self-enhancers are less susceptible to stress than low self-enhancers 10 Strategic self-evaluation Self-esteem depends on: - Success within the relevant domains of one’s personal life (Crocker & Wolfe: contingencies of self-worth) - Seeking affirmation in successful experiences (Steele: Self-affirmation theory) - Social appreciation (Mark Leary: Sociometer hypothesis) - Support system if others like you - Beneficial social comparison - Downward - Upward - (reality TV shows or successful people) Bias blind spot Introspection illusion responsible for ‘bias blind spot’ People are susceptible for biases in self-evaluation Biases are unconscious Therefore, people are not aware of their own biases, only of others’ biases Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT) Self-discrepancy theory (e.g. Higgins, 1987 and 1999): Discrepancy between actual/ideal -> dejection-related emotions, e.g. self-criticism, shame Discrepancy between actual/ought -> agitation-related emotions, e.g. sense of guilt, anxiety SDT: Behavioural Interventions Promotion focus -> removal of the discrepancy between ideal/real (aimed at achieving positive outcomes) ->happiness, satisfaction Prevention focus -> removal of the discrepancy between ought/real (aimed at avoiding negative outcomes) -> guilt, uncertainty Self-presentation - Social sensitivity - Public perception (Face) - Altercasting - Social approval - Identity cues Self-presentation: Psychological impact - Division private/public self - Self-monitoring - Self-handicapping Hofstede: four cultural dimensions - Individualism/ collectivism - Masculinity/femininity (gender differences, dominant roles such as masculinity) - Power distance (Hierarchical, egalitarian) - Uncertainty avoidance (‘Tight’, ‘Loose’) Individualism vs. collectivism Do people see themselves as autonomous individuals or members of a group? Individualistic cultures 11  − Emphasis on personal freedom and responsibility − Focus on personal preferences and interests − Children encouraged to take initiative Collectivist cultures − Emphasis on group loyalty − Focus on reputation and well-being of one’s own group − Children encouraged to conform Independent vs. interdependent self Medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) involved in the activation of self-knowledge Evaluation of one’s own personality: activation of MPFC in Westerners and Chinese Evaluation of mother’s personality: deactivation of MPFC in Westerners and activation of MPFC in Chinese Self-enhancement culture-specific? Heine & Lehman, 1999: Westerners exhibit artificially high self- esteem Japanese exhibit ‘normal’ self-esteem Self-enhancement vs. -improvement Canadians primarily exhibit perseverance if they have been successful->promotion focus Japanese primarily exhibit perseverance if they have failed->prevention focus Conclusion Self (self-knowledge, self-evaluation, self-presentation, etc.) is at least partly a social phenomenon How we perceive ourselves determines our behaviour Characterised by unconscious cognitive and emotional biases Cognitive: self-verification/-consistency; emotional: self- enhancement Culture affects self-perception, biases, and self-regulation THEME 4: SOCIAL AFFECTS 28.11.2024 Lecture 6 Emotions What are emotions? - Hard to define - What makes up those feelings? Involuntary, automatic reactions Characterised by increased arousal In response to personally significant stimuli Nature of the emotion is dependent on the nature of the stimulus We interpret and evaluate our emotions Social interactions are the main source of human emotions - Cognitive Process Innate or acquired? 12 Emotions: paradoxical phenomena Animal response patterns - (only if survival, or enemy, competitior, animals - Range of emotion anger larger for humans Indication of what we humans value Physical reflex (automatic, same for humans and dogs) Interpreted as a feeling Think about it and reflect, why are we feeling like this? Irrational process Appropriate, functional responses Six basic emotions Ekman & Friesen #81871, 986): Fear Happiness Sadness Surprise Disgust Anger Ekman & Friesen’s study of emotion Darwin: Emotional expression as a result of evolutionary/universal mechanisms 13  Encoding emotion Emotions trigger same facial expressions worldwide Decoding emotion Facial expressions are interpreted in the same way worldwide Evidence: Papuans exhibited same motional expressions to scripts as we do These expressions were correctly recognised by Westerners (80-90%) Triumph and loss in sighted and blind athletes Conclusion on basic emotions Basic emotions such as happiness are universal Westerners -> basic emotion disgust (Yuck!) Koreans -> basic emotion happiness (Yum!) Disruptive or regulatory? Socially 14  Cognitively How functional are emotions? We all know that emotions are useless and bad for our peace of mind and our blood pressure. B. F. Skinner Embarrassment Is not an irrational impulse breaking through socially prescribed behaviour, but part of this orderly behaviour itself. Ervin Goffman Social function of ‘embarrassment’ Restores social harmony Keeping group together helps survival : function of Reconciliation Example of hardwired social affect Oxytocin responsible for preparing female body for pregnancy and breast feeding Strengthens bond between mother and child In both men as women (Bartz, 2016) o Increased prosocial feelings (e.g., trust, affection, cooperation) o Increased empathic attitude o Stronger focus on social cues (e.g., gaze to eyes, face recognition) Oxytocin works discriminatory Study De Dreu et al. (2010): Used IPD-MD game to measure in-group favouritism and out-group derogation Participants divided in two teams, playing against each other After receiving placebo or oxytocin puff ddd Group feeling 15 Emotional mimicry ( Hard to set them apart) Physical touch (Hard to get them apart) Emotion-cognition connection Emotions colour our perception and judgement E.g. socially anxious people: Having selective attention for potential threats have selective memory for threatening events Overestimation the occurrence of threatening events Broaden-and-build hypothesis: positive emotions result in an open mindset Social intuitionist model of moral judgements: moral judgments are often based on ‘gut feelings’ (see also Ch. 14!) Broaden-and-build hypothesis Emotions come first then cognition justification of emotions Gut feelings in five moral domains Care/harm (sympathy, compassion): upon seeing seeds of vulnerable others Fairness/cheating (indignation, punishment): upon seeing dishonest behaviour of others Loyalty/betrayal (sense of security, vengeance): maintaining group ties Authority/submission (pride awe, shame): obeying the group hierarchy Purity/degradation (repulsion, disgust): avoiding infectious substances and ideas We not guided in the same degree 16 Individual differences in gut feelings Universal or culture-specific? Cultural regulation of emotions 1. Appraisal of emotion-inducing situations (deliberate and automatic) Example: Dutch and Korean responses to dog meat 2. The extent to which emotions are expressed and the way in which emotions are expressed (emotional suppression; display rules) Example: Japanese people tend to suppress the expression of strong emotion in the presence of others 3. The way in which emotions are evaluated and interpreted (affect valuation theory) Example: Negative image of jealousy in the 1960s and 1970s 4. Culture-specific emotional expressions Example: Amae (Japan), Amok (Southeast Asia) 5. Centrality of emotions (focal emotions) Example: Mediterranean cultures of honour, East Asian shame cultures, romantic love in Western cultures 17 Components of emotional reaction Cultural differences Evolutionary foundation of emotions does not rule out cultural differences in emotions! Much of the cultural regulation of emotions occurs at an unconscious level! We are bad in ‘affective forecasting’ GROUPS 18 Lecture 7 03.12.2024 Prosocial and antisocial behaviour Explaining pro- & anti-social behaviour B = f(P,E) Psychology of good and evil Milgram experiment Stanford Prison experiment Aggressive behaviour Situational influence Ordinary citizens capable of evil Not impulsive, but purposeful The world does not consist of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people Situation determines whether our good or bad character traits guide our behaviour Personality – situation interaction MAOA promotes smooth neuronal communication in the brain Deficiency of MAOA -> poor impulse control Situation (being abused or not) explanatory factor Personality (genetic deficiency) explanatory factor Only the interaction between both factors fully explains tendency towards excessive violence Heat and violent behaviour More violent crimes are committed during warmer seasons than during colder seasons Same relation worldwide as result of El Nino Why? 19 Use of media as a source of socialisation - American adolescents spend on average 9 hours a day behind the screen (TV, computer, smart phone) - American adolescents spent 1.9 hours a day gaming, boys 2.2 hours, girls 1.3 hours - By the time they are 18, American children have witnessed ca. 200,000 acts of violence on screen Long term effect playing violent video games - Longitudinal study - American & Japanese children 9-18 yrs. - Measuring Habitual Video Game Violence exposure (HVGV) on T1 - Measuring aggressive behaviour (PA) in real life on T1 and T2 - Controlling for gender & individual differences in aggressive behaviour on T1 Meta-study on relationship between violent video games & aggression Or a matter of social rejection? Blasting strangers with white noise after social acceptance or rejection 20 Income inequality & homicide Interpretational influence (‘construal’) Does frustration automatically lead to aggression? Two remarks: - Aggression is not always the result of frustration (e.g. sadism) - Frustration does not always lad to aggression (e.g. learned helplessness) Missing link: Interpretation of situation - Only aggression if the situation is perceived as threatening and unfair - Leads to anger - Neutral condition 1 blast, anger provoking condition 7 blasts - Combination of perceived injustice (blue) and threat (gun) leads to more aggression 21 What helps to cross moral thresholds? Dehumanisation: no longer seeing others as human beings 1. Objectification – denial of human nature by viewing victim as an object 2. Animalisation – denial of unique human qualities by viewing victim as an animal Dehumanisation and sexual abuse Determined by evolution or culture? Cultures of honour & honour crimes – 1 Cultures of honour are characterised by: Importance of showing respect Avoidance of losing face Sensitivity to wounded pride Need to actively restore honour Argument-related murder: argument-related homicide (due to wounded pride) Felony-related murder: criminal homicide Cultures of honour & honour crimes – 2 After being insulted, Southerners were scared of coming across as not masculine enough Responsive involved an increase in cortisol Subsequently no longer gave way to passers-by 22 Evolutionary explanations of aggression - Is there evidence of universal patterns, preferably also in other animals? - Are there any genetic benefits (‘inclusive fitness’) attached for you or your offspring? Violence against stepchildren - In Canada, likelihood of deadly violence from father against stepchildren 70x larger than against biological children - In south American foraging tribes, 49% of stepchildren die before 15 yrs., vs. 19% of biological children Altruistic behaviour Altruism Aggression = pure self-interest; altruism = unselfishness Altruism is challenge for evolutionists because of inclusive fitness principle Altruism according to evolutionists Only if it offers genetic advantages: Kin selection Reciprocal altruism Social status Altruism according to psychologists Egoistical motives: Social rewards Personal distress Motive with no discernible self-interest: Empathy Pure altruism according to Batson If there are no personal benefits attached If you gain nothing in return (no reciprocity) If there are no social rewards to be gained (e.g. in the case of anonymous help) 23 Don’t forget: Empathy comes naturally Situational influence Interpretational influence (‘construal) Samaritans and social reality The role of the situation: - The good Samaritan experiment (see Chapter 1, pp.8-9) - Bystander intervention effect - Diffusion of responsibility The role of construal: - Pluralistic ignorance Determined by evolution or culture? In our neighbourhood, we can help each other out The world is becoming less violent Modernisation: more cooperation and impulse control Less impulse driven More deliberate & control 24 Priming of moral conscience Dictator game: participants given a sum of money and allowed to decide whether to anonymously share some of it with others 2 conditions: priming with image A or B Cooperation Research into cooperation: prisoner’s dilemma Prisoner’s dilemma: 1. Neither you or your partner in crime confess -> no punishment 2. Your partner confessed but you do not _Y severe punishment (10 yeasr in prison) 3. You confess but your partner does not -> considerable reduction of sentence (1 year in prison) 4. Both of you confess -> moderate reduction of sentence (8 years in prison) Prisoner’s dilemma: a matter of trust! Allow combinations of participants to play a number of rounds of prisoner's dilemma 2 competitive players against each other 2 cooperative players against each other Mixed pairs against each other Prisoner’s dilemma: Tit for tat wins! Only two rules: 1. Start with cooperation 2. Repeat the opponent’s behaviour Why is it so successful? Focuses on cooperation Allows others to benefit from cooperation Willingness to cooperate cannot be abused by others Forgiving Transparent and predictable Source: Axelrod, 1984 25  Lecture 8 05.12.2024 THEME 5: SOCIAL PERCEPTION AND RELATIONSHIPS Attraction & Relationships Significance of studying relationships - 1975: Golden fleece award - Coyne et al., 2001 - Berkman & Syme (1979) Higher degree of social integration meant that participants were 2 to 3 times more likely to be still alive 9 years later! - Relationships contribute to both the psychological and physical well-being (the need to belong) - WHO recognised loneliness as a global public health priority With WHOM do we form relationships? - On the basis of which criteria do we choose our friends? A romantic partner? - Appearance - The other’s characteristics - The role of the situation - Relationship quality Is appearance important? - Attractive people earn more (‘the beauty premium’; Dossinger et al. 2019) - Attractive people raise more for charities (Park et al. 2019) - Attractive students are judged to be smarter by their teachers (Berscheid et al.) - Attractive people are given lower sentences in court ( and offenders get longer sentences when victim is more attractive…Thorton,1977) - Elaine Hatfield’s research: physical attractiveness main reason for follow up date All people in study were rated at entrance by 5 raters by the level of attractiveness - Etc etc etc etc etc etc - Conclusion: Appearance does matter! Being attractive has its advantages What is attractive? - Subjective or objective? - Objective High consensus between people (on what they find attractive) Also across countries, cultures and ethnicity Babies who are several months old can distinguish between attractive and unattractive people (Langlois et al., 1987) Objective indicators of beauty - (Mere exposure effect (attracted to familiar)) - Symmetry - Average - Waist-to-hip ratio (=70;WHR) Other factors Smooth skin High cheekbones (women) Wide jawline (men) V-shaped torse (men) 26  And others Why is appearance so important? - Evolutionary explanation: ’fitness indicators’ - Halo effect: Beautiful people are perceived as being more social, intelligent, reliable, etc. (‘What is beautiful is good’ stereotype) (correlation with being more attractive and more social skills, personality built on how people respond to you, from a very early age on, different treatment based on appearance) Are attractive people more socially skilled? Men who believed they were speaking to an attractive woman acted friendlier towards the woman In turn, the men had a more The woman in the attractive positive impression of the photo condition were (According woman in the attractive photo to the descriptions given by condition assessors) warmer, more self- assured and nicer! Self-fulfilling prophecy Appearance DOES matter! There is even a kernel of truth in the idea that beautiful people are more socially skilled: ‘What is beautiful is good’ - stereotype But appearance is not the only thing that matters... Situational and personal factors - Proximity (physical closeness) - Friends? 44% neighbours, 22% two doors down, 10% on the other side of the building - Apartment 1 and 5 had more friends living upstairs - (Friendships are random) Explanations? - Probability of interaction (functional distance) - Expected interaction increase positive evaluation of others - Mere exposure (the more you see, the more familiar, the more you tend to like someone) Moreland & Beach: Mere exposure in the lecture hall - presence during lectures increases likeability Familiarity breeds liking Similarity or complementary? - We have a strong preference for people who resemble us (similarity) - Makes interaction easier 27  - (Self-)affirmation - Expectation that similar people will also like us (reciprocity) The power of the situation! - ‘Love at First Fright’ (Meston & Frohlich, 2003) - Misattribution of Arousal Also important in existing relationships! Interim conclusion - Who are your friends; who us your partner? Partially by chance! Circumstances – proximity, arousal In addition to other factors, such as attractiveness, similarity, reciprocity Relationship satisfaction and stability Specific indicators Attributions The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Etc... Global indicators Investment model Attachment processes (not today...) Etc (B3 course Interpersonal Relationships) Attribution processes in relationships - Causality? - Attributional styles in relationships predict relationship satisfaction and stability (Fincham & Bradbury) Micro factors in interaction - Gottman’s Love lab - Observations of couples in discussion with one another - Four indicators of an unhappy and unstable relationship (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) Criticism Defensiveness Contempt Stonewalling - Predicts with >70% accuracy which couples will still be together 14 years later - (Absence of) negative interactions not the only thing that matters! Global indicators: The investment model Satisfaction (CL) Quality of Commitment Stability Alternatives (CLalt) Investments Prorelational 28 behaviour Conclusions for today We are SOCIAL animals Attractiveness is more objective than subjective – related to a number of objective indicators (Once again) do not underestimate the power of the situation! Relationships are complex Will be discussed in more detail in the Interpersonal Relationships course, in the third year of the programme Social Cognition mkkmk THEME 6: A BROADER PERSPECTIVE Lecture 11 12.12.2024 Factor ‘culture’ COVID-virus parasitizes on… Our respiratory system AND our social behaviour Cultural differences in battling COVID pandemic - Culture affects behaviour - Isolate from other hard for loose cultures Explaining behaviour: Evolution vs. culture - Universal behaviour (determined by evolution) See p.19 textbook for overview - Culture-specific behaviour (determined socially) - “By birth the same; by custom different”( Confucious, 551-479 B.C.) - “Evolution made us for culture” (Baumeister, 2005, p.29) Risk of overgeneralisation Naturalistic fallacy: Tracing back each type if social behaviour to its evolutionary origin (or the way that people should behave is also the way that people behave naturally) “Women should not work, because they have a naturalistic disposition for nurturing” Culturalist fallacy: Tracing back each type of social behaviour to its cultural influences (or the way in which people behave is strictly the result of socialization) “Gender is purely a matter of social conventions” Psychological definition of culture Explaining behaviour - What is behaviour good for? - What is needed for behaviour to work? Tigers are solitary, Explanation: They live in the jungle Lions are social animals, Explanation: They live in the savannah Genetic overlap 99% Adapting to the habitat But people also create their own environment 29 Cultural evolution: The ratchet effect - Term comes from Tomasello (1999) - Ratchet works like a car jack - Cultural development cannot be reversed - Forms a basis on which each generation can build - As long as there is cultural transfer Example of ratchet effect - Language and script - Control of fire Cultural variations in human habitats Different environments made my man creates different mentality Psychological definition of culture “Culture consists of explicit and implicit patterns of historically derived and selected ideas and their embodiment in institutions, practices and artefacts: cultural patterns may on the on hand, be considered as products of action and in their other jand as conditioning elements of further action.” (Markus&Hamedani, 2007, p.11). - Shared mental patterns (beliefs, convictions, preferences, etc.) (Construal) - Condenses in: (Situation) Institutions (e.g. laws, ideological and religious systems, education) Practices (e.g. customs, traditions, rituals) Artefacts (e.g. language, tools, spatial planning, production systems, art, clothing) - Both product of hundreds years of behavioural synchronisation (C&S finetuning) - Guides behaviour Example of cultural variations in universal aspects of behaviour “Americans eat oysters but not snails, the French eat snails, but not locusts. The Zulus eat locusts but not fish. The Jews eat fish but not pork. The Hindus eat pork but not beef. The Russians eat beef but not snakes. The Chinese eat snakes but not people. The Jalé of New Guinea find people delicious.” (Robertson, 1987, p. 67) - Universal: Existence of food preferences and food taboos - Culture-specific: Implementation of framework (religious laws, traditions, availability, moral principles) 30 Contribution to psychology Contribution 1: Study on universality of behaviour - Command of conversation task - Part of pre-operational stage, 7 and 8-year-olds (Piaget) - Initially, bush children in the lead - Western schooling ultimately the deciding factor Contribution 2: Correction of psychology’s ethnocentricity Founders were mostly white and male: Received exactly the same education (Latin, Greek, training in science, gymnasium, Judaeo-Christian background, developed same kind of idea) The Judaeo-Christian tradition is characterised by two oppositions: - Body vs soul/mind - Individual vs environment Psychology as a western discipline Contribution 3: Insight into social adaptation of behaviour For example: - Identity development (Ericson) - Universal development task in adolescence - In western society, based on making one’s own choices-> identity crisis - Social media as a platform for identity construction - Consequences Increased expressiveness Increased Tentativeness Increased Social sensitivity Psychology is a behaviour science Complicating aspects in cultural psychological research Complication 1: Influence of culture is difficult to pinpoint Complication 2: Cultural differences are relative - Absolute differences in population levels refer to relative differences between individuals - Westerhof et al. (1997): Noone is purely individualistic or collectivistic Complication 3: Risk of confounding variables - Expectation: members of a collectivistic culture are more inclined to touch each other than members of an individualistic culture 31  - Results: exactly the opposite - Explanation: other cultural dimensions play a role (formal vs informal interaction) Complication 4: Consequences of globalisation Clear cultural differences eradicated by: - Decreasing intercultural and increasing intracultural diversity (‘hybridisation) - Increasing mix between global and local social environment (‘glocalisation’) - Increasing cultural complexity and dynamics Big brother in the middle east Reality TV: Big Brother Cultural differences Netherland – Middle east Middle east comparatively: - hierarchical - Collectivistic - Masculine - Uncertainty avoidant Safety, culture & behaviour The handrail - Companies emphasize necessity of holding handrail when using stairs Prevent some accidents Most of all: holding handrail is behaviour that lead to a safer attitude! -> reconfirms importance of safety The organization as environment of work behaviour - Colleagues - Managers - Culture, norms and values - Technology Safe behaviour in organizations - Don’t endanger yourself or others at work - Physical safety - Digital safety - Social safety - Safety (unintentional events: extreme weather, accidents) vs. security (intentional acts: crime, terrorism) The explosion - What is role of behaviour in safety incidents, wand what impact does environment have? - Insufficient picture of risks - Warnings of safety systems ignored - Didn’t learn enough from earlier incidents Human error!? Comparable: the ransomware attack at Maastricht University Handling signals - Three operators in control room of chemical plant. A warning light starts flashing. Which social-psychological factors influence what they will do? Safety in organizations - Which comes first? Safe behaviour or safe attitude? 32  - So people dare address each other on safety issues? - Are warnings taken seriously? - Does organization learn from (near-)incidents? - The social environment plays an important role - Safety culture and climate Culture and Climate - Safety climate: attitude around safety (“mood”) - Safety culture. Underlying norms and assumptions (“personality”) Reason’s error classification model Norms and compliance - Organizations typically have safety norms/procedures - Employees expected to comply/obey - But there are lots of reasons why that doesn’t always happen - Conflicting norms are inevitable Awareness - Interventions directed at safety awareness do have effect - But: effect is limited and short-lived - Behaviour is not only influenced by knowledge! Technology and behaviour - Technology can steer behaviour via interfaces - Nudging/friction Drifting into failure - “Incubation period” of accidents - Reconciling differential pressures on an organization (time, money, interest, but also safety) - Gradual shift in norms and erosion of safety margins - “Normalisation of deviance” (from the norm): “nobody turn of the power when doing maintenance” - Why do safety norms shift and how to prevent this? 33 Workarounds - “A workaround is a goal-driven adaptation, improvisation, or other change to one or more aspects of an existing work system in order to overcome, bypass, or minimize the impact of obstacles, exceptions, anomalies, mishaps, established practices, management expectations, or structural constraints that are perceived as preventing that work system or its participants from achieving a desired level of efficiency, effectiveness, or other organizational or personal goals.” - “Many workarounds that cause hazards involve turning off safety devices and/or alarms to accomplish goals such as avoiding interruptions and noise from alarms that are false positives.” Workarounds case - Why is this device dangerous? - What safety measures could be in place? - What workarounds could bypass these safety measures? - How could social influence play a role? Safety 1 vs. Safety 2 Safety 1: - Incidents should be prevented - That’s why there are rules for everyone to comply with Safety 2: - Focus on what goes right - Steer in terms of responsibility rather than rules - Expect that rules are not always followed (for good reasons) Role of leadership - You are responsible for a production line in a factory. Someone stopped production for half a day because of possible safety issue. In hindsight everything was ok. How do you react? - Emphasize importance of safety (how?) - Leading by example (role of conformity) - Handle risk-averse behaviour and signalling problems carefully; it’s easy to suggest that some things are more important than safety - Normalize behaviour as a topic of conversation Beyond safety - Social safety/transgressive behaviour - Fraud prevention - Ethics - Corporate social responsibility - Again the importance of culture and climate! Key Takeaways - The environment plays a crucial role in safe behaviour in organizations Technology and interfaces Organisational culture and climate 34 - Safe behaviour can be encouraged by: Designing technology and interfaces such that safe choices are the easiest Stimulating safe behaviour in all domains to create a safe attitude (handrail) Taking warning signs seriously and learn from (near-)incidents Communicating clearly and openly about responsibilities and problems 35