Territoriality and Compliance: The Influence of Gender and Location on Willingness to Sign Petitions

Abstract

The effects of territory type and gender on compliance behavior were examined in a field experiment. Undergraduate students (N = 180; 90 men, 90 women) were approached by male experimenters in primary and public territories and in nonterritories (mobile individuals outdoors) and were asked to sign either an unappealing counterattitudinal petition or a petition more neutral in content. It was hypothesized that subjects would comply with the negative request most often in the nonterritory condition, least often in the primary territories, and an intermediate amount in public territories and that territory type would not affect compliance with the neutral request. The results fully supported all the hypotheses. In addition, an unexpected interaction occurred between territory type and sex of subject for the unappealing petition: Although female behavior paralleled male behavior in central and public territories, women in nonterritories resisted compliance more than men did.     

Sequential Requests and Organ Donation

Abstract

The author investigated the effectiveness of the foot-in-the-door technique as a method of increasing participants' intention to become organ donors. The participants who agreed to a 1st request were presented with a larger request either immediately or 3 days later. The 2nd request was presented either by the same requester or by a different requester. Compared with a control group receiving only the 2nd request, a significant foot-in-the-door effect emerged in all conditions except 1 (same requester-immediate request), in which the participants showed neither more nor less intention to become organ donors than did the control group.     

Effects of Compliance Techniques on Spontaneous and Asked-For Helping

Abstract

American college students (N = 90) were exposed to either a foot-in-the-door (small request followed by large request) or door-in-the-face (large request followed by small request) compliance manipulation, or to a control situation, prior to an opportunity to provide either spontaneous help or asked-for help. Results showed faster helping in the asked-for condition relative to the spontaneous condition. Moreover, in the spontaneous condition, the door-in-the-face technique produced faster helping than the foot-in-the-door or control manipulations. The findings support prior contentions of distinctions between the two types of helping and imply that they operate under different mechanisms.     

Promising reciprocity: When proposing a favor for a request increases compliance even if the favor is not accepted

ABSTRACT

Research has reported that reciprocity is an important social norm in relationships. In previous studies on reciprocity, participants’ behavior was examined after receiving a favor from someone. In a series of field studies, we examined the effect of a statement that proved that a solicitor was someone who respected this principle. Confederates solicited participants for money or a cigarette in exchange for stamps or money, respectively. It was found that the participants complied more readily with the request in the promised favor condition, but most of them refused to take the promised favor. We conclude that individuals were led to help those who respected the putative norm of reciprocity in their social interaction.     

Do humans prefer altruistic mates? Testing a link between sexual selection and altruism towards non‐relatives

Humans are often seen as unusual in displaying altruistic behaviour towards non‐relatives. Here we outline and test a hypothesis that human altruistic traits evolved as a result of sexual selection. We develop a psychometric scale to measure mate preference towards altruistic traits (the MPAT scale). We then seek evidence of whether mate choice on the basis of altruistic traits is present and find it in one study (N=170 couples). We also predict that a stronger female MPAT, as measured by responses to the MPAT scale, will be expressed – a result found in all three studies (Ns=380, 340, and 398). Both sets of results are consistent with the hypothesized link between human altruism towards non‐relatives and sexual selection.     

Humble persons are more helpful than less humble persons: Evidence from three studies

Connections between humility and other prosocial qualities led us to develop a humility–helpfulness hypothesis. In three studies, humble persons were more helpful than less humble persons. In Study 1, participants (n?=?117) completed self-report measures of humility, the Big Five, and helpfulness. In Study 2, participants (n?=?90) completed an implicit measure of humility and were presented with an unexpected opportunity to help someone in need. In Study 3, participants (n?=?103) completed self-report and implicit measures of humility and were presented a similar helping opportunity. Humility and helpfulness correlated positively when personality and impression management were controlled. Humble participants helped more than did less humble participants even when agreeableness and desirable responding were statistically controlled. Further, implicit humility uniquely predicted helping behavior in an altruistic motivation condition.     

Four experiments on the relational dynamics and prosocial consequences of gratitude

Abstract

Four experiments utilized experimental inductions of gratitude and behavioral measures of prosociality to explore the effects of 4 variables on gratitude and grateful prosocial outcomes: benefactor similarity (Study 1), intention (Study 2), future benefits (Study 3), and anonymity (Study 4). We consistently found that the receipt of a favor increased prosocial behavior, and this effect was mediated by gratitude. Benefactor similarity did not meaningfully influence either prosocial behavior or gratitude. Although benefactor intention did meaningfully affect gratitude, the effect was too small to influence the mediational effect of gratitude on prosocial behavior. Neither anonymity nor the possibility of future procurement decreased the role of gratitude in distribution; instead, both of these variables may have enhanced the role of gratitude. These data support gratitude as an important component of prosocial behavior and suggest that gratitude may contain an altruistic component, consistent with its relational function.     

利他行为的内隐启动研究

通过视觉与组词任务启动范式的两个实验考察了利他人物形象与利他词语对利他行为的内隐启动效应。结果发现,完成利他人物形象视觉启动(实验1)与完成利他组词任务启动(实验2)的实验组被试,在独裁者分配任务中分配给他人的钱数显著多于控制组被试。研究结果表明:利他人物形象视觉和利他语义组词都可以使个体的利他行为被显著直接无意识启动,即内隐启动。研究对设计能更好地启动人们的利他行为的一般情境有重要的启示。     

Effects of High-Probability Request Sequences on Preschoolers' Compliance and Disruptive Behavior

A high-probability request sequence was implemented with three preschool children with developmental delays within their classroom during typical activities. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to evaluate the effects of the high-probability request sequence on compliant responding to low-probability requests and the occurrence of disruptive behavior. Results of the study indicate that the use of the high-probability request sequence was effective in increasing compliant responding to low-probability requests delivered by two different trainers for all children. No increases in disruptive behavior were noted as a result of using the high-probability request sequence. When the high-probability request sequence was withdrawn, compliant responding to low-probability requests was maintained for all children across time and in different settings.     

大学生特质移情与网络利他行为:网络社会支持的中介效应

为了探讨大学生特质移情与网络利他行为之间的关系,以及网络社会支持在其中所起的中介效应,本研究采用特质移情量表、青少年网络社会支持量表和大学生网络利他行为量表对560名大学生进行调查,结果表明:(1)大学生的整体特质移情能力较高,且女生显著高于男生;其所获得的网络社会支持总体状况良好,且不存在显著的性别差异;网络利他行为处于中等水平,也不存在显著的性别差异。(2)大学生特质移情和网络社会支持均显著正向预测网络利他行为。(3)大学生网络社会支持在特质移情与网络利他行为的关系之间起完全中介作用,其中,网络社会支持的两个分维度情感支持和友伴支持在特质移情与网络利他行为之间的中介效应更为显著。     

Physical Attractiveness and Altruism in Two Modified Dictator Games

Several studies find that male individuals are more altruistic toward attractive women, suggesting altruism may serve as a courtship display. Many studies exploring this phenomenon have used vignettes and facial images. We tested the sexual selection hypothesis as an explanation for altruistic behavior, where players played the dictator game with “live” participants. Two studies were conducted (Study 1, n = 212; Study 2, n = 188) where we manipulated stakes and anonymity between participants to explore the relationship between the dictator’s allocations and their perceived attractiveness of the recipient. We found no relationship between attractiveness and altruism. Dictators were consistently fair when allocating stakes, irrespective of the recipients’ attractiveness.     

The Value and Vulnerability of Perceived Religious Involvement

Abstract

The relation between sequential request influence strategies and social power was examined, using a social impact theory model of perception. It was predicted that a door-in-the-face (DITF) scenario would suggest a greater difference in power between a giver and seeker than a foot-in-the-door (FITD) scenario would. Two judgment studies using American students at two different universities measured the perceived power of two individuals, the favor giver and the favor seeker, in either the DITF or the FITD. In both studies, the subjects perceived a significantly greater power difference between the giver and the seeker in the DITF strategy than they did in the FITD.     

Ask and You Shall be Given: Request Size and Donations to a Good Cause1

In an attempt to replicate the findings reported in this Journal by Weyant and Smith (1987), members or recent donors to a Canadian civil liberties organization were asked to donate money under one of three conditions: (a) In the control condition, they were simply asked for a donation; (b) in the “smaller request” condition, they were asked to make a donation, but amounts of Canadian $30 to $100 were suggested; and (c) in the “larger request” condition, amounts of $50 to $250 were suggested. Unlike the Weyant and Smith studies, we found no difference in the proportion of respondents making a donation, but significant differences in the size of the donations made by those making donations. In our study, the most effective way of getting large donations was to ask for a large amount. It was suggested that the most likely explanations for the differences in the results of the two studies were the following: First, our target population were previous donors to the organization, whereas those in the Weyant and Smith studies were not likely to have been. Previous research suggests that those who had been donors previously are influenced, positively, by requests for a specific large donation, whereas those not previously approached are, if anything, negatively influenced. Second, our “larger request” appears to be within a plausible range for donations, whereas the larger request in the Weyant and Smith study may have been seen as being outside of the plausible range. In any case, however, we would recommend caution in drawing a conclusion about the most effective request size to encourage people to donate money to charity.     

Modulatory effects of transcranial direct current stimulation of right insula on compassion motivation

BackgroundCompassion motivation is associated with increased heart rate variability (HRV), reflecting a calm and self-soothing physiological state. Recent work, however, suggests that this association is dynamic for the specific components of compassion.ObjectivesThe present study adopted anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the right insula to see whether this would modulate the sensitivity to suffering and the commitment to engage in helpful actions (i.e., the components of compassion motivation).MethodNinety-seven healthy individuals underwent 15-min anodal or sham tDCS over the frontotemporal lobe, while watching a video inducing empathic sensitivity and performing a Redistribution Game. Tonic and phasic HRV, dispositional traits, and momentary affects were assessed.ResultsCompared to sham condition, anodal stimulation favored significant i) HRV reductions during the video and HRV increases during the Redistribution Game; ii) decreases in self-reported levels of negative affect and increases in positive affect during task when the latter was preceded by the video, without influencing altruistic behavior.ConclusionsAnodal tDCS over the right insula may modulate the engagement phase of compassion by intensifying the psychophysiological sensitivity to signals of distress and protecting from being subjectively overwhelmed by it.     

The lure technique: Generalization and moderating effects

IntroductionThe lure technique, first studied by Joule, Gouilloux and Weber (1989), involves three stages: (1) an individual is led to make a rewarding decision to realize a given behavior; (2) he is informed of the impossibility of realizing this behavior; (3) we propose making a new less rewarding decision based on another behavior (target-request).ObjectiveFive experiments are presented in this paper that tested the effect of the delay between the two requests, whether the same experimenter or a further made the second request and whether the two requests concerned or not the same specific goal.Method and resultsIn the experiments, the rewarding decision deals with participating in a paid and interesting research project (viewing a video before answering a questionnaire) and the target-request concerns participating in an unpaid and more tedious research project (copying symbols). As expected, the participants subjected to the lure technique were significantly more numerous to accept the target-request than the participants in the control group. This effect was obtained independently of the sex of the experimenter and the participants (Experiment 1), whether the same experimenter successively makes the first and second request or the two requests are made by two different experimenters (Experiment 2). It was also obtained when the initial request and the target-request do not concern the same specific goal (Experiment 3), but it is no longer obtained when a delay separates the target-request from the announcement of the impossibility of carrying out the first decision (Experiments 4 and 5).ConclusionThe discomfort aroused by the fact of not being able to carry out the first request and pressure to reduce such discomfort was used to explain the lure technique effect.     

Who cares when nobody is watching? Psychopathic traits and empathy in prosocial behaviors

Prosocial behaviors are voluntary acts intended to benefit others. Lack of empathy is a core feature of psychopathy, a constellation of personality traits that includes callousness, egocentricity, and antisociality. While psychopathy is often associated with antisocial behavior, its relation to prosociality may depend upon the class of prosocial behavior and facet of psychopathy considered. Public prosocial behavior may be more motivated by extrinsic social rewards than anonymous prosociality, which may be more motivated by empathy and altruistic motives. It was hypothesized that primary psychopathy, especially affective callousness, would be positively and uniquely associated with public prosociality, and inversely associated with anonymous and altruistic prosociality, and that these associations would be mediated by empathy. In contrast, secondary psychopathy was expected to be weakly and inversely associated with all three types of prosocial behavior and with empathy. In an undergraduate student sample (n = 539), unique and interaction effects were tested in hierarchical regression. Predictions were supported for primary psychopathy. Gender did not moderate associations. Theoretical and practical implications are considered.     

Remembering with a friend or a stranger: comparing acquainted and unacquainted pairs in collaborative eyewitness interviews

ABSTRACT

Previous findings show that collaborative interviews with pairs of eyewitnesses can result in more accurate testimony than individual interviews, and that partners remember more together if they acknowledge, repeat, rephrase and elaborate upon each other's contributions. In the present study, we investigated whether these findings differ for pairs of acquainted and unacquainted partners, respectively. Participants viewed a violent movie in the cinema and took part in three eyewitness interviews approximately five days later. The first and the last interview were always individual. The second interview was individual in the nominal condition (N?=?22 pairs), collaborative with a known partner in the acquainted condition (N?=?21 pairs), and collaborative with a stranger in the unacquainted condition (N?=?20 pairs). We replicated benefits of collaborative eyewitness interviews, in terms of error pruning as well as delayed cross-cuing. However, we found no significant differences between acquainted and unacquainted pairs, neither in recall performance nor in retrieval strategies during the collaborative interview. Regardless of acquaintance, pairs who elaborated upon each other's contributions during the collaborative interview, remembered more together. The findings are evaluated within the theoretical framework of transactive memory. Practical implications for investigative interviewers are discussed.     

Efficacy of an internet-based intervention for burnout: a randomized controlled trial in the German working population

Background and Objectives: Internet-based interventions are a viable treatment option for various mental problems. However, their effects on the burnout syndrome yielded mixed results. In this paper, we examine the efficacy of a structured and therapist-guided internet intervention, based on solution-focused and cognitive-behavioral therapy, for individuals with symptoms of burnout.

Design: Two-arm, Internet-based, randomized, wait-list controlled trial (RCT).

Methods: Participants were recruited through in-house events and online advertising. They were randomly assigned to the intervention or a wait-list. Group comparison was conducted three months after randomization. Outcomes were the burnout level according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-GS) and the levels of depression, anxiety and stress according to the DASS-21.

Results: Thirty-nine participants were included in the trial; 36 (92.3%) took part at the 3-months-follow-up. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed significant group differences in favor of the intervention group in depression (d?=?0.66), cynicism (d?=?0.87) and personal accomplishment (d?=?0.75).

Conclusions: The intervention helped ameliorate symptoms of work-related stress and burnout. Although limited by a small sample size, the study suggests that the program provides effective support for affected individuals. However, further studies with bigger sample sizes should be conducted to examine the effects of such programs more precisely.     

The role of affect in the decision to exercise: Does being happy lead to a more active lifestyle?

ObjectiveThis study investigated the influence of affect on individuals' intentions to engage in physical activities such as exercise. Behavior intentions were examined through the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).MethodAn experimental survey was conducted among 153 undergraduates randomly assigned to three conditions – positive affect, neutral, and negative affect. Key variables from the TPB were assessed across these conditions.ResultsAnalyses showed that participants in the positive affect and the negative affect conditions reported lower intentions to exercise than those in the neutral condition. Participants in the negative affect condition also reported more unfavorable attitudes toward exercise than their positive or neutral counterparts. Other TPB measures remained stable across the three conditions. In particular, perceived behavioral control and attitude were significant predictors of behavior intention in the pooled sample.ConclusionThese results underline the important role that affect, especially negative affect, plays in individuals' decision to exercise. Rational models for health behavior change, such as the TPB, should take into account the impact of affect.     

Does “chaining” always work towards compliance gaining? The case of the “but you are free” technique and social proof applied to charitable donation

IntroductionThe chaining procedure consists in linking together two or more compliance gaining strategies in order to obtain greater behavioral compliance.ObjectiveIn two studies we tested chaining that included two compliance gaining procedures: the “but you are free” technique (BYAF) and social proof (SP).MethodA total of 2204 passersby were approached in different countries (France, Tunisia, China and Moldavia). They were asked to donate money for cancer research with, respectively, a control formulation, a BYAF formulation, a SP formulation or a BYAF + SP formulation.ResultsObservations indicate that chaining did not work because the BYAF + SP condition produced the same behavioral compliance as BYAF or SP separately (studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, we analyzed the participants’ justifications after complying with or rejecting the request and the reasons were substantially the same under each condition (study 2).ConclusionFailure to observe the chaining process is interpreted through theoretical explanations whereby BYAF and SP are antagonistic.