Enhancing and weakening conformity in third-party punishment: The role of empathic concern

IF 1.8 3区 心理学 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, APPLIED
Honghong Tang, Ruida Zhu, Zilu Liang, Sihui Zhang, Song Su, Chao Liu
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Conformity—shifting one's behavior patterns towards group norms—is both common and powerful. Prior research shows that conformity can drive behavioral patterns towards both positive and negative outcomes (e.g., environmentalism vs. anti-environmentalism). However, we know little about conformity in response to sanctions for norm violations. This research explores conformity in punishment for norm violations and how this behavior is enhanced or weakened by empathic concern (N = 1108). The participants acted as third parties to punish unfairness either in a third-party punishment game or in lifelike unfair allocation scenarios. They behaved in a group where other members inflicted either high or low punishment on the unfair proposers. The results of this study show that the participants conformed to both the high-punishment norm and the low-punishment norm, and their conformity persisted after removing the group context (Studies 1A and 1B). Studies 2A and 2B show that evoking empathic concern towards recipients (victims) in unfair situations increased the punishment of the dictator and diminished conformity to the low-punishment norm. Study 3 shows that the enhancement effect of empathic concern on conformity when embedded in the high-punishment norm strengthened over time, whereas the weakening effect of empathic concern on conformity among those representing a low-punishment norm declined over time. These findings extend the understanding of conformity and the role of emotion in this behavior, with the potential for conformity-modulating interventions.

第三方惩罚中从众行为的增强和减弱:共情关注的作用
从众——将一个人的行为模式转变为群体规范——既常见又强大。先前的研究表明,从众可以驱动行为模式走向积极和消极的结果(例如,环保主义与反环保主义)。然而,我们对违反规范而受到制裁的从众行为知之甚少。本研究探讨了对违反规范的惩罚中的从众行为,以及移情关注如何增强或削弱这种行为(N = 1108)。参与者在第三方惩罚游戏中或在逼真的不公平分配场景中扮演第三方来惩罚不公平。他们在一个小组中表现,其他成员对不公平的提议者施加或高或低的惩罚。本研究结果表明,参与者对高惩罚规范和低惩罚规范都有遵从性,并且在移除群体情境后,这种遵从性仍然存在(研究1A和1B)。研究2A和2B表明,在不公平的情况下,唤起对接受者(受害者)的共情关注会增加对独裁者的惩罚,并减少对低惩罚规范的遵从。研究3表明,当嵌入高惩罚规范时,共情关注对从众的增强作用随着时间的推移而增强,而当嵌入低惩罚规范时,共情关注对从众的减弱作用随着时间的推移而减弱。这些发现扩展了对从众心理和情绪在这种行为中的作用的理解,具有从众调节干预的潜力。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
4.40
自引率
5.00%
发文量
40
期刊介绍: The Journal of Behavioral Decision Making is a multidisciplinary journal with a broad base of content and style. It publishes original empirical reports, critical review papers, theoretical analyses and methodological contributions. The Journal also features book, software and decision aiding technique reviews, abstracts of important articles published elsewhere and teaching suggestions. The objective of the Journal is to present and stimulate behavioral research on decision making and to provide a forum for the evaluation of complementary, contrasting and conflicting perspectives. These perspectives include psychology, management science, sociology, political science and economics. Studies of behavioral decision making in naturalistic and applied settings are encouraged.
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