Psychology of Social Decisions: Biases and Hope (5/15 & 5/22/02)

Social dilemmas and resource allocation decisions pit what is good for the individual against what is good for the group or for others.

Psychological factors working against other-regarding decisions

• ego-enhancement ("all above average") - main effect for ambiguous evaluations of the self;
• self-serving bias in allocation when evidence is ambiguous
• loss aversion
• barrier to negotiation - union versus management, "land for peace"
• barrier to redistribution - one reason why growth is necessary in an economy
• barrier to change - even when beneficial!
• biased assimilation/divergent construal
• Hastorf and Cantril, 1954 - "they saw a game"
• Ross et al. death penalty studies, hostile media effect, false consensus/egocentrism
• in-group biases
• favoritism based on similarity, proximity
• prejudices based on stereotypes
• ideologies -racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.; accentuated negative stereotyping based on power differences and majority/minority relationship (Chapman and Chapman study)
• tribalism - Robber's Cave study (Sherif)
• cognitive dissonance aversion
• motivation persistence of belief (e.g. Doomsday cult)
• evaluation adjustment based on commitment, inevitability, status quo -- people will justify inequalities they would not impose; Jost study
• derogation of victims - just world hypothesis
• attribution biases
• limitations of perspective due to salience and availability
• fundamental attribution error - consistent with just world belief
• fear and greed
• thoughtlessness
• lack of critical questioning/information seeking

• direct exposure to the other
• Fishkin/Luskin's deliberative polling
• Milgram study - 63% to 450 volts if different room, 40% if same room, 30% if held hand
• evoking cooperative norms
• Ross and Samuels - calling the prisoner's dilemma the "wall street game" versus "community game"
• restaurant tipping study - situational script
• equity/equality norms in de novo (zero-based) consideration
• dictator game - 76% give 50-50 split instead of 90-10
• ultimatum game - norms are self-reinforcing
• cultural dependency - can we change the culture?
• collectivism - egalitarianism within society
• gift-giving cultures and variations in ultimatum game
• Samuelson et al. - holland versus u.s.
• availability of social choice option when cooperation fails - can obviate voluntary goodness
• neutralizing frames
• framing effects - Harris and Joyce (expenses versus profits - inconsistent allocations)
• avoiding double standards (e.g. "terrorists" versus "soldiers")
• ethical frames - golden rule, categorical imperative,interpersonal test, simulation test
• Kaldor-Hicks compensation for losers when change occurs (note problems of Pareto criterion)
• positive role-modeling
• decentralized power