"I had so much it didn't seem fair": Eight-year-olds reject two forms of inequity

Research using economic games has demonstrated that adults are willing to sacrifice rewards in order to prevent inequity both when they receive less than a social partner (disadvantageous inequity) and when they receive more (advantageous inequity). We investigated the development of both forms of inequity aversion in 4- to 8-year-olds using a novel economic game in which children could accept or reject unequal allocations of candy with an unfamiliar peer. The results showed that 4- to 7-year-olds rejected disadvantageous offers, but accepted advantageous offers. By contrast, 8-year-olds rejected both forms of inequity. These results suggest that two distinct mechanisms underlie the development of the two forms of inequity aversion.     

Dyadic processes of disclosure and reciprocity in bargaining with communication

We offer a study revealing the mechanisms through which communication helps actual bargaining behavior outperform economic predictions. The possibility of individually strategic behavior in the presence of private information leads to game‐theoretic predictions of less than full efficiency. We present a one‐stage, simultaneous offers bargaining game in which buyers and sellers have independent, privately held valuations for the item being sold (i.e. a bilateral auction with two‐sided private information). In three communication treatments, parties are: (a) allowed face‐to‐face communication prior to submitting offers; (b) allowed written communication prior to submitting offers; or (c) allowed no‐communication prior to submitting offers. When parties are allowed pre‐play communication, we find nearly full efficiency (98%). We examine two systematically predictable aspects of dyadic interaction—disclosure and reciprocity—to explain how negotiators achieve this efficiency. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social influence in investigative interviews: The effects of reciprocity

This study examined how a principle of social influence—reciprocity—affects the informational elements produced in an investigative interview. Participants from 3 ethnic/cultural groups recruited from the community either received a bottle of water or not prior to their engaging in an investigative interview, in which they either told the truth or lied about having committed a mock crime. Three different informational elements (Relevant details, Irrelevant details, and Plausibility) were coded from their responses, and rapport in the interaction was coded from video. Offering water facilitated greater rapport and influenced the informational elements. These effects were moderated by Veracity condition: For liars, offering water produced more Relevant details and greater Plausibility in the statements and this effect was mediated by rapport. Ethnicity/culture did not moderate these findings. These findings suggested the applicability of principles of social influence in investigative interviews across cultures/ethnicities and had theoretical, empirical, and practical implications.     

Building reciprocity: the dialectic processes of creating a grounded theory and the emergence of a theoretical framework

We reflect on and illustrate with concrete examples the various systematic and creative steps taken along the process of grounded theory (GT). This process led to the emergence of a theoretical framework centered on building reciprocity as a way of collaborating with socio-economically disadvantaged communities and a means for facilitating poverty-reduction initiatives. This article aims to present the systematic processes of analysis that lie behind the theoretical framework and to reflect on the lessons learned along the path to creating a GT. In this way, the emergence of the theoretical framework is examined along the different inductive and analytic steps, and the interrelation between concepts is discussed. Theoretical sensitivity, pacing, sampling, coding, memoing, and sorting in this research are illustrated and brought to light.     

The role of anxiety and perspective-taking strategy on affective empathic responses

Empathy is an important pro-social behaviour critical to a positive client–therapist relationship. Therapist anxiety has been linked to reduced ability to empathise and lower client satisfaction with therapy. However, the nature of the relationship between anxiety and empathy is currently unclear. The current study investigated the effect of experimentally-induced anxiety on empathic responses elicited during three different perspective-taking tasks. Perspective-taking was manipulated within-subjects with all participants (N = 52) completing imagine-self, imagine-other and objective conditions. A threat of shock manipulation was used to vary anxiety between-subjects. Participants in the threat of shock condition reported higher levels of anxiety during the experiment and lower levels of empathy-related distress for the targets than participants in the control condition. Perspective-taking was associated with higher levels of empathy-related distress and concern compared to the objective condition. The present results suggest that perspective-taking can to a large extent mitigate the influence of heightened anxiety on an individual’s ability to empathise.     

Payback: Effects of relationship and cultural norms on reciprocity

This experimental investigation explores differences in reciprocal norms between friends and strangers and the effects of culture on reciprocity. Based on altruistic and strong reciprocity theories, a hybrid trust‐dictator game tested the influence of relationship (i.e. friends vs. strangers), treatment (i.e. positive vs. negative) and culture (i.e. collectivistic vs. individualistic) on reciprocation. The results show that participants reciprocated more positively when treated positively in general. However, the results demonstrate intercultural differences in reciprocal norms, specifically in the negative treatment condition. Participants from the individualistic culture provided stronger punishment to the norm violator, compared to participants from the collectivistic culture. We discuss implications of the impact of relationship and culture on reciprocation with respect to the olive branch response.     

Direct and generative retrieval of autobiographical memories: The roles of visual imagery and executive processes

Two experiments used a dual task methodology to investigate the role of visual imagery and executive resources in the retrieval of specific autobiographical memories. In Experiment 1, dynamic visual noise led to a reduction in the number of specific memories retrieved in response to both high and low imageability cues, but did not affect retrieval times. In Experiment 2, irrelevant pictures reduced the number of specific memories but only in response to low imageability cues. Irrelevant pictures also increased response times to both high and low imageability cues. The findings are in line with previous work suggesting that disrupting executive resources may impair generative, but not direct, retrieval of autobiographical memories. In contrast, visual distractor tasks appear to impair access to specific autobiographical memories via both the direct and generative retrieval routes, thereby highlighting the potential role of visual imagery in both pathways.     

Pathways between attachment and marital satisfaction: The mediating roles of rumination,empathy, and forgiveness

This study explored a path to marital satisfaction based on attachment theory. For this purpose, a sample of 208 Korean married teachers completed a survey on adult attachment, rumination, empathy, forgiveness, and marital satisfaction. Through structural equation modeling (SEM), a path in which adult attachment leads to marital satisfaction, mediated by dispositional forgiveness, was found. I also found a distinctive path by which anxious and avoidant attachment negatively affect forgiveness and marital satisfaction through excessive rumination and lack of empathy. These results suggest that the most accurate model of the relation between attachment, rumination, empathy, forgiveness, and marital satisfaction involves analyzing direct, indirect, and gender effects. Marriage counselors and therapists can use these results to gain a deeper understanding of the underpinnings of marital life and, ultimately, help reduce the very high divorce rate in Korea.     

Giving and receiving social support at work: The roles of personality and reciprocity

Social support is an important variable in occupational stress research and theory, yet little is know about the factors that influence the amount of social support one gives, and receives at work. We examined personality (extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness) and reciprocity as potential antecedents to giving and receiving support from co-workers. Data collected from 108 participants employed in a number of organizations indicated that giving social support was positively associated with the receipt of social support. Both extraversion and agreeableness predicted giving and receiving non-job support and positive work-related support. The relationship between personality and social support received was, in many cases, mediated by social support given.     

The affective organization of parenting: adaptive and maladaptive processes

This article presents a 3-component model of parenting that places emotion at the heart of parental competence. The model emphasizes (a) child, parent, and contextual factors that activate parents' emotions; (b) orienting, organizing, and motivating effects that emotions have on parenting once aroused; and (c) processes parents use to understand and control emotions. Emotions are vital to effective parenting. When invested in the interest of children, emotions organize sensitive, responsive parenting. Emotions undermine parenting, however, when they are too weak, too strong, or poorly matched to child rearing tasks. In harmonious relationships emotions are, on average, positive because parents manage interactions so that children's and parents' concerns are promoted. In distressed relationships chronic negative emotion is both a cause and a consequence of interactions that undermine parents' concerns and children's development.     

The spiral of distrust: (Non‐)cooperation in a repeated trust game is predicted by anger and individual differences in negative reciprocity orientation

This study investigated state anger and individual differences in negative reciprocity orientation as predictors of individuals' willingness to cooperate with strangers. In order to observe real behaviour, we used a trust game that was played over six periods. In the trust game, a first player (sender) determines how much of a certain endowment she/he wants to share with a second player (trustee), who then can give something back. We varied whether participants received feedback [feedback (yes, no)] about the trustee's behavioural decision (amount sent back). Supporting our hypotheses, the results suggest that feedback compared with no feedback about the trustee's behaviour increased anger. Specifically, information about low back transfers triggered anger and non‐cooperation in return. Importantly, participants with a strong negative reciprocity orientation reported higher levels of anger and were less willing to cooperate with the trustee compared with those with low negative reciprocity orientation. Moreover, even when anger was low, individuals with a strong negative reciprocity orientation were less willing to cooperate compared with those with a low negative reciprocity orientation. Thus, negative reciprocity orientation seems to arouse a spiral of distrust. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Some reflections on empathy and reciprocity in the use of countertransference between supervisor and supervisee

Reciprocity refers in its general meaning to a mutual give and take. It is a background feature of all productive supervisory relationships. In this essay I want to bring it into the foreground. I will describe it by contrasting supervision and analysis. For, in my view, that is exactly what reciprocity is in the supervisory relationship: it is an attitude of mind in which the supervisor performs the task of differentiating internally the supervisory from the analytic vertex, in the context of the asymmetry of the supervisory relationship.     

The implicit cognition of reciprocal exchange: automatic retrieval of positive and negative experiences with partners in a prisoner's dilemma game

Models of reciprocity imply that cheater detection is an important prerequisite for successful social exchange. Considering the fundamental role of memory in reciprocal exchange, these theories lead to the prediction that memory for cheaters should be preferentially enhanced. Here, we examine whether information of a partner's previous behaviour in an interaction is automatically retrieved when encountering the face of a partner who previously cheated or cooperated. In two studies, participants played a sequential prisoner's dilemma game with cheaters and cooperative partners. Alternating with the game blocks, participants were asked to classify the smiling or angry facial expressions of cooperators and cheaters. Both experiments revealed congruence effects, reflecting faster identification of the smiles of cooperators (Experiments 1 and 2) and faster identification of the angry facial expressions of cheaters (Experiment 2). Our study provides evidence for the automatic retrieval of the partner's behaviour in the game, regardless of whether partners cheated or cooperated, and thus provides further evidence against the cheater detection hypothesis.     

Attachment and empathy as predictors of roles as defenders or outsiders in bullying interactions

Bullying almost always occurs in the presence of peers, most of whom do not intervene to stop it. This study examined the role of attachment, empathy, and gender in predicting the behavior of 105 middle school students who reported being either (a) defenders who actively intervened to stop bullying, or (b) outsiders who were either not involved or stood by passively. It was hypothesized that gender, attachment to mother, attachment to father, and empathy would predict whether children nominated themselves as defenders in bullying situations. A hierarchical logistic regression analysis indicated that these variables together significantly predicted whether children nominated themselves as defenders or outsiders. Gender was not a unique significant predictor. Attachment to mother contributed significant unique variance to the model, but attachment to father did not after accounting for gender and attachment to mother. Empathy contributed significant unique variance to the model even after accounting for all other variables. Results suggest that middle school personnel should openly discuss with students their roles in bullying interactions. In addition, teaching empathy towards others and involving parents may be critical components in comprehensive prevention programs.     

Human content in affect-inducing stimuli: A secondary analysis of the international affective picture system

We report a secondary analysis of the international affective picture system (IAPS), the broadest available standardized sample of emotional stimuli, which confirmed our prediction that the distribution of slides across the valence and arousal dimensions would be related to human versus inanimate slide content. Pictures depicting humans are over-represented in the high arousal/positive and high arousal/negative areas of affective space as compared to inanimate pictures, which are especially frequent in the low arousal/neutral valence area. Results pertaining to dominance ratings and gender differences in valence and arousal ratings further suggest that there are qualitative differences between emotional reactions to animal or human slide content and responses to nonsocial still photos. Researchers need to be mindful of this distinction when selecting affect-inducing stimuli.

Reconsidering the roles of gratitude and indebtedness in social exchange

Receiving favors is often a mixed blessing and commonly triggers two emotions: the positive emotion gratitude and negative emotion indebtedness. In three studies, we examined the hypothesis that gratitude and indebtedness have distinct functions in social exchange. Contrary to current views, we believe that the function of gratitude does not primarily reside in facilitating social exchange. Instead, we propose that indebtedness motivates people to repay favours received, and thus accounts for most of the prosocial effects commonly attributed to gratitude. On the other hand consistent with current views, we believe that gratitude signals the potential for developing a relationship and fosters proximity seeking. Supporting these assumptions, in Study 1 we found that gratitude and indebtedness were associated with aspects of the favour that reflect the concern for relationship and the level of inequity. Studies 2 and 3 provided causal support for these relations, and revealed the unique associations between gratitude and the motivation of proximity seeking, and between indebtedness and the motivation to reciprocate. We argue that this functional distinction has escaped research attention as gratitude and indebtedness are naturally correlated because they stem from the same eliciting event. To appreciate this functional distinction, both emotions should be studied simultaneously in the context of social exchange.     

直觉和深思下积极互惠行为的信任水平差异：基于收益框架视角

采用2（加工方式：直觉加工vs.深思加工）×3（信任水平：低vs.中vs.高）被试内设计,探讨双响应范式中直觉加工和深思加工下积极互惠行为存在差异的原因。结果发现,（1）在直觉加工中,处于低、中信任时被试更为利己,高信任时更为利他;深思加工中,信任水平越高利他行为越明显。（2）在低信任时,被试深思后呈现利己行为;中信任、高信任时,深思后呈现利他行为。这表明是信任水平的差异决定了被试在直觉和深思阶段的利己或利他倾向。     

Understanding intentions from actions: Direct perception,inference, and the roles of mirror and mentalizing systems

This review asks whether observers can obtain information about others’ intentions from observation of their actions; and if so, whether this process is performed using direct perceptual or inferential processes (prominent examples of each being the intention understanding theory of mirror neuron function, and mentalizing accounts of intention understanding, respectively). I propose four conditions that should be fulfilled in order to support a direct perception account, and suggest that only two of these conditions are supported by the existing data. I then propose and review three further sources of evidence which have the potential to inform this debate, concluding that the data do not support the direct perception account. In particular, mirror neurons may be involved in lower-level processes of action perception, but there is no evidence to support their involvement in the type of higher-level intention understanding that is proposed by the direct perception account.     

Reciprocating (More) Specifically to You: The Role of Benefactor's Identifiability on Direct and Upstream Reciprocity

Research suggests that benefiting from someone's voluntary, intentional, costly effort encourages reciprocal prosocial behavior, as well as promoting upstream reciprocity, that is, increases reciprocal actions by the recipient for the benefit of an unrelated third party. The current study examines the role of the identifiability of the benefactor in determining the extent to which people engage in direct and upstream reciprocity. Results of three studies reveal that while an identified benefactor tends to engender greater direct reciprocal reactions than an unidentified one, this strong reaction toward the identified benefactor does not hold to the same extent when upstream reciprocity is considered (regardless of identification of the third party). On the other hand, when the benefactor is unidentified, levels of direct and upstream reciprocity remain similar. Moderated‐mediation analysis suggests that ethical commitment associated with the universal norm of reciprocity explains the decrease in prosociality between reactions toward the benefactor himself or herself and toward a third party under the identified condition. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.