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Kononova A, Huddleston P, Moldagaliyeva M, Lee H, Alhabash S. Influence of cultural values and hierarchical social norms on buying counterfeits online: a 17-country study. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1394660. [PMID: 39100560 PMCID: PMC11294889 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1394660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction As a globally prevalent phenomenon, buying counterfeit products harms consumers, economies, societies, governments, and the environment. The study examined the hierarchy of injunctive normative influence (personal vs. societal) on counterfeit purchase intentions and trends in non-deceptive (known) counterfeit purchase behavior. The current research expands the hierarchical norms approach by examining how the cultural values of power distance and individualism-collectivism predict injunctive normative perceptions and counterfeit buying intention and behavior. Methods A cross-sectional survey (N = 13,053) of consumers from 17 nations, administered in seven languages, explored cross-country differences in perceived social norms about buying counterfeits. Results The findings of multilevel moderated mediation analyses showed that personal injunctive norms (perceived acceptance of buying counterfeits by close friends) mediated the relationship between societal injunctive norms (perceived acceptance for buying counterfeits by peers in the same country) and the outcome variables. Selected paths of the mediation model were moderated by the two cultural dimensions. Discussion Theoretical implications are discussed within the context of cultural orientations' and social norms' roles in informing risky behavior, and practically, within the context of awareness-raising and behavior-change interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Kononova
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Patricia Huddleston
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Moldir Moldagaliyeva
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Heijin Lee
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
| | - Saleem Alhabash
- Department of Advertising and Public Relations, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
- Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection (A-CAPP), Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
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2
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Macanovic A, Tsvetkova M, Przepiorka W, Buskens V. Signals of belonging: emergence of signalling norms as facilitators of trust and parochial cooperation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230029. [PMID: 38244608 PMCID: PMC10799729 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Mechanisms of social control reinforce norms that appear harmful or wasteful, such as mutilation practises or extensive body tattoos. We suggest such norms arise to serve as signals that distinguish between ingroup 'friends' and outgroup 'foes', facilitating parochial cooperation. Combining insights from research on signalling and parochial cooperation, we incorporate a trust game with signalling in an agent-based model to study the dynamics of signalling norm emergence in groups with conflicting interests. Our results show that costly signalling norms emerge from random acts of signalling in minority groups that benefit most from parochial cooperation. Majority groups are less likely to develop costly signalling norms. Yet, norms that prescribe sending costless group identity signals can easily emerge in groups of all sizes-albeit, at times, at the expense of minority group members. Further, the dynamics of signalling norm emergence differ across signal costs, relative group sizes, and levels of ingroup assortment. Our findings provide theoretical insights into norm evolution in contexts where groups develop identity markers in response to environmental challenges that put their interests at odds with the interests of other groups. Such contexts arise in zones of ethnic conflict or during contestations of existing power relations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Social norm change: drivers and consequences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Macanovic
- Department of Sociology/ICS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Centre for Complex Systems Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Milena Tsvetkova
- Department of Methodology, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, WC2A 2AE, UK
| | - Wojtek Przepiorka
- Department of Sociology/ICS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Vincent Buskens
- Department of Sociology/ICS, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Centre for Complex Systems Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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3
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Gavrilets S, Tverskoi D, Sánchez A. Modelling social norms: an integration of the norm-utility approach with beliefs dynamics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230027. [PMID: 38244599 PMCID: PMC10799741 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
We review theoretical approaches for modelling the origin, persistence and change of social norms. The most comprehensive models describe the coevolution of behaviours, personal, descriptive and injunctive norms while considering influences of various authorities and accounting for cognitive processes and between-individual differences. Models show that social norms can improve individual and group well-being. Under some conditions though, deleterious norms can persist in the population through conformity, preference falsification and pluralistic ignorance. Polarization in behaviour and beliefs can be maintained, even when societal advantages of particular behaviours or belief systems over alternatives are clear. Attempts to change social norms can backfire through cognitive processes including cognitive dissonance and psychological reactance. Under some conditions social norms can change rapidly via tipping point dynamics. Norms can be highly susceptible to manipulation, and network structure influences their propagation. Future models should incorporate network structure more thoroughly, explicitly study online norms, consider cultural variations and be applied to real-world processes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Social norm change: drivers and consequences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Denis Tverskoi
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Angel Sánchez
- Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos, Departamento de Matemáticas Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganés, Madrid 28911, Spain
- Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50018, Spain
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4
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Gelfand MJ, Gavrilets S, Nunn N. Norm Dynamics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Social Norm Emergence, Persistence, and Change. Annu Rev Psychol 2024; 75:341-378. [PMID: 37906949 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-033020-013319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Social norms are the glue that holds society together, yet our knowledge of them remains heavily intellectually siloed. This article provides an interdisciplinary review of the emerging field of norm dynamics by integrating research across the social sciences through a cultural-evolutionary lens. After reviewing key distinctions in theory and method, we discuss research on norm psychology-the neural and cognitive underpinnings of social norm learning and acquisition. We then overview how norms emerge and spread through intergenerational transmission, social networks, and group-level ecological and historical factors. Next, we discuss multilevel factors that lead norms to persist, change, or erode over time. We also consider cultural mismatches that can arise when a changing environment leads once-beneficial norms to become maladaptive. Finally, we discuss potential future research directions and the implications of norm dynamics for theory and policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele J Gelfand
- Graduate School of Business and Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA;
| | - Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Nathan Nunn
- Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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5
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Liang D, Fu Y, Liu M, Sun J, Wang H. Promoting Low-Carbon Purchase from Social Norms Perspective. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:854. [PMID: 37887504 PMCID: PMC10604787 DOI: 10.3390/bs13100854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The importance of individual consumption behavior in a low-carbon economy is gradually recognized. Social norms have a significant effect on individual purchase behavior. However, the influence mechanism of social norms still needs more research. We conducted two behavioral experiments to explore the specific factors: first, the effect of descriptive norms on personal low-carbon consumption behavior through feedback information, and second, a comparison with injunctive norms, focusing on the impact of the normative focus shift brought by punishment represented by the policy implementation. The results show that social norms can effectively promote individual low-carbon consumption through feedback and high policy implementation efficiency. In particular, after effective policy implementation becomes an inherent element of injunctive norms, injunctive norms are activated and become the focus of norms, significantly improving the purchase rate of low-carbon goods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dapeng Liang
- School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Yang Fu
- School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Mengting Liu
- School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Jiayin Sun
- School of Humanities, Social Science and Law, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Hongyan Wang
- School of Mathematical Science, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
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6
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Shen L, Lee D. Predicting COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccination Confidence and Uptake in the United States. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1597. [PMID: 37896999 PMCID: PMC10611394 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11101597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
This study investigates and compares the predictors of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination confidence and uptake in the U.S. Vaccine hesitancy is defined as the reluctance or refusal (i.e., less than 100% behavioral intention) to vaccinate despite the availability of effective and safe vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy is a major obstacle in the fight against infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza. Predictors of vaccination intention are identified using the reasoned action approach and the integrated behavioral model. Data from two national samples (N = 1131 for COVID-19 and N = 1126 for influenza) were collected from U.S. Qualtrics panels. Tobit regression models were estimated to predict percentage increases in vaccination intention (i.e., confidence) and the probability of vaccination uptake (i.e., intention reaching 100%). The results provided evidence for the reasoned approach and the IBM model and showed that the predictors followed different patterns for COVID-19 and influenza. The implications for intervention strategies and message designs were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijiang Shen
- Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA;
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7
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Voorhees B. What Are Group Level Traits and How Do They Evolve? Integr Psychol Behav Sci 2023; 57:913-936. [PMID: 35474418 DOI: 10.1007/s12124-022-09689-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Cultural traits are seldom atomic, are distributed over multiple social domains, and undergo differential selection. This makes it important to study the nature and evolution of these traits from a global viewpoint. This paper considers group level cultural traits-what sort of traits are there, how do they evolve, and what is the relationship between cultural traits and their representation in individual worldviews. While not providing a concise theory, important aspects of cultural traits are elaborated and directions of further research indicated. Group level traits arising from individual biological traits are distinguished from those that are intrinsic to a group. The latter are formative of individual worldviews and are emotionally salient for group members. Children are saturated with culture from birth, it provides the scaffolding for their developing worldviews. Affective links between cultural ideas, social behavior, and material elements of culture develop so that the affordances in perceived situations carry biases influencing behavior toward culturally acceptable responses. Intrinsic traits are not, however, acted on directly by group level selection; rather, this selection acts on the behavior of group members and only indirectly on intrinsic cultural ideas through social exchange processes between group members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burton Voorhees
- Center for Science, Athabasca University, 1 University Dr., T9S 3A3, Athabasca, AB, Canada.
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8
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Kish Bar-On K, Lamm E. The interplay of social identity and norm psychology in the evolution of human groups. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210412. [PMID: 36688389 PMCID: PMC9869443 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
People's attitudes towards social norms play a crucial role in understanding group behaviour. Norm psychology accounts focus on processes of norm internalization that influence people's norm-following attitudes but pay considerably less attention to social identity and group identification processes. Social identity theory in contrast studies group identity but works with a relatively thin and instrumental notion of social norms. We argue that to best understand both sets of phenomena, it is important to integrate the insights of both approaches. Social status, social identity and social norms are considered separate phenomena in evolutionary accounts. We discuss assumptions and views that support this separation, and suggest an integrated view of our own. We argue that we should be open to the early origins of human social complexity, and conjecture that the longer that the human social world involved multi-level societies the more probable it is that norm psychology and social identity interacted in rich ways. This article is part of the theme issue 'Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kati Kish Bar-On
- The Science, Technology, and Society program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ehud Lamm
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
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9
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Ehret S, Constantino SM, Weber EU, Efferson C, Vogt S. Group identities can undermine social tipping after intervention. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:1669-1679. [PMID: 36138223 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01440-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Social tipping can accelerate behaviour change consistent with policy objectives in diverse domains from social justice to climate change. Hypothetically, however, group identities might undermine tipping in ways that policymakers do not anticipate. To examine this, we implemented an experiment around the 2020 US federal elections. The participants faced consistent incentives to coordinate their choices. Once the participants had established a coordination norm, an intervention created pressure to tip to a new norm. Our control treatment used neutral labels for choices. Our identity treatment used partisan political images. This simple pay-off-irrelevant relabelling generated extreme differences. The control groups developed norms slowly before intervention but transitioned to new norms rapidly after intervention. The identity groups developed norms rapidly before intervention but persisted in a state of costly disagreement after intervention. Tipping was powerful but unreliable. It supported striking cultural changes when choice and identity were unlinked, but even a trivial link destroyed tipping entirely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sönke Ehret
- Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Sara M Constantino
- School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Elke U Weber
- School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Charles Efferson
- Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Sonja Vogt
- Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
- Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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10
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Gavrilets S, Richerson PJ. Authority matters: propaganda and the coevolution of behaviour and attitudes. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2022; 4:e51. [PMID: 37588907 PMCID: PMC10426013 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.48] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Human decision-making is controlled by various factors including material cost-benefit considerations, values and beliefs, social influences, cognitive factors and errors. Among social influences, those by external authorities (e.g. educational, cultural, religious, political, administrative, etc.) are particularly important owing to their potential reach and power. To better understand the effects of 'soft' power of authorities we develop a unifying theoretical framework integrating material, cognitive and social forces controlling the joint dynamics of individual actions and beliefs. We apply our approach to three different phenomena: evolution of food sharing in small-scale societies, participation in political protests and effects of priming social identity in behavioural experiments. For each of these applications, we show that our approach leads to different (or simpler) explanations of human behaviour than alternatives. We highlight the type of measurements which can be helpful in developing practical applications of our approach. We identify and explicitly characterise the degree of mismatch between individual actions and attitudes. We assert that the effects of external authorities, of changing beliefs and of differences between people must be studied empirically, included in mathematical models, and accounted for when developing different policies aiming to modify or sustain human behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Mathematics, Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996, USA
| | - Peter J. Richerson
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA95616, USA
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11
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Yang L, Constantino SM, Grenfell BT, Weber EU, Levin SA, Vasconcelos VV. Sociocultural determinants of global mask-wearing behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2213525119. [PMID: 36191222 PMCID: PMC9565043 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213525119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral responses influence the trajectories of epidemics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) reduced pathogen transmission and mortality worldwide. However, despite the global pandemic threat, there was substantial cross-country variation in the adoption of protective behaviors that is not explained by disease prevalence alone. In particular, many countries show a pattern of slow initial mask adoption followed by sharp transitions to high acceptance rates. These patterns are characteristic of behaviors that depend on social norms or peer influence. We develop a game-theoretic model of mask wearing where the utility of wearing a mask depends on the perceived risk of infection, social norms, and mandates from formal institutions. In this model, increasing pathogen transmission or policy stringency can trigger social tipping points in collective mask wearing. We show that complex social dynamics can emerge from simple individual interactions and that sociocultural variables and local policies are important for recovering cross-country variation in the speed and breadth of mask adoption. These results have implications for public health policy and data collection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luojun Yang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Sara M. Constantino
- School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115
- School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Bryan T. Grenfell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Elke U. Weber
- Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Simon A. Levin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
| | - Vítor V. Vasconcelos
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
- Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, 1012 GC Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
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12
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Tverskoi D, Babu S, Gavrilets S. The spread of technological innovations: effects of psychology, culture and policy interventions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211833. [PMID: 35754991 PMCID: PMC9214287 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Technological innovations drive the evolution of human societies. The success of innovations depends not only on their actual benefits but also on how potential adopters perceive them and how their beliefs are affected by their social and cultural environment. To deepen our understanding of socio-psychological processes affecting the new technology spread, we model the joint dynamics of three interlinked processes: individual learning and mastering the new technology, changes in individual attitudes towards it, and changes in individual adoption decisions. We assume that the new technology can potentially lead to a higher benefit but achieving it requires learning. We posit that individual decision-making process as well as their attitudes are affected by cognitive dissonance and conformity with peers and an external authority. Individuals vary in different psychological characteristics and in their attitudes. We investigate both transient dynamics and long-term equilibria observed in our model. We show that early adopters are usually individuals who are characterized by low cognitive dissonance and low conformity with peers but are sensitive to the effort of an external authority promoting the innovation. We examine the effectiveness of five different intervention strategies aiming to promote the diffusion of a new technology: training individuals, providing subsidies for early adopters, increasing the visibility of peer actions, simplifying the exchange of opinions between people, and increasing the effort of an external authority. We also discuss the effects of culture on the spread of innovations. Finally, we demonstrate that neglecting the cognitive forces and the dynamic nature of individual attitudes can lead to wrong conclusions about adoption of innovations. Our results can be useful in developing more efficient policies aiming to promote the spread of new technologies in different societies, cultures and countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Tverskoi
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Sudarsanam Babu
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Manufacturing Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA
| | - Sergey Gavrilets
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
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13
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Houle C, Ruck DJ, Bentley RA, Gavrilets S. Inequality between identity groups and social unrest. J R Soc Interface 2022; 19:20210725. [PMID: 35317644 PMCID: PMC8941398 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Economic, social and political inequality between different identity groups is an important contributor to violent conflicts within societies. To deepen our understanding of the underlying social dynamics, we develop a mathematical model describing cooperation and conflict in a society composed of multiple factions engaged in economic and political interactions. Our model predicts that growing economic and political inequality tends to lead to the collapse of cooperation between factions that were initially seeking to cooperate. Certain mechanisms can delay this process, including the decoupling of political and economic power through rule of law and allegiance to the state or dominant faction. Counterintuitively, anti-conformity (a social norm for independent action) can also stabilize society, by preventing initial defections from cooperation from cascading through society. However, the availability of certain material resources that can be acquired by the state without cooperation with other factions has the opposite effect. We test several of these predictions using a multivariate statistical analysis of data covering 75 countries worldwide. Using social unrest as a proxy for the breakdown of cooperation in society, we find support for many of the predictions from our theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Houle
- Department of Political Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Damian J. Ruck
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - R. Alexander Bentley
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Sergey Gavrilets
- Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
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14
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Gavrilets S. Coevolution of actions, personal norms and beliefs about others in social dilemmas. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2021; 3:e44. [PMID: 37588544 PMCID: PMC10427329 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Human decision-making is affected by a diversity of factors including material cost-benefit considerations, normative and cultural influences, learning and conformity with peers and external authorities (e.g. cultural, religious, political, organisational). Also important are dynamically changing personal perceptions of the situation and beliefs about actions and expectations of others as well as psychological phenomena such as cognitive dissonance and social projection. To better understand these processes, I develop a unifying modelling framework describing the joint dynamics of actions and attitudes of individuals and their beliefs about the actions and attitudes of their groupmates. I consider which norms get internalised and which factors control beliefs about others. I predict that the long-term average characteristics of groups are largely determined by a balance between material payoffs and the values promoted by the external authority. Variation around these averages largely reflects variation in individual costs and benefits mediated by individual psychological characteristics. The efforts of an external authority to change the group behaviour in a certain direction can, counter-intuitively, have an opposite effect on individual behaviour. I consider how various factors can affect differences between groups and societies in the tightness/looseness of their social norms. I show that the most important factors are social heterogeneity, societal threat, effects of authority, cultural variation in the degree of collectivism/individualism, the population size and the subsistence style. My results can be useful for achieving a better understanding of human social behaviour and historical and current social processes, and in developing more efficient policies aiming to modify social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Mathematics, National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996USA
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Richerson PJ, Gavrilets S, de Waal FBM. Modern theories of human evolution foreshadowed by Darwin's Descent of Man. Science 2021; 372:372/6544/eaba3776. [PMID: 34016754 DOI: 10.1126/science.aba3776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man, published 150 years ago, laid the grounds for scientific studies into human origins and evolution. Three of his insights have been reinforced by modern science. The first is that we share many characteristics (genetic, developmental, physiological, morphological, cognitive, and psychological) with our closest relatives, the anthropoid apes. The second is that humans have a talent for high-level cooperation reinforced by morality and social norms. The third is that we have greatly expanded the social learning capacity that we see already in other primates. Darwin's emphasis on the role of culture deserves special attention because during an increasingly unstable Pleistocene environment, cultural accumulation allowed changes in life history; increased cognition; and the appearance of language, social norms, and institutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Richerson
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Mathematics, National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
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Gavrilets S, Richerson PJ, de Waal FBM. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Descent of Man. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2021; 3:e17. [PMID: 37588527 PMCID: PMC10427289 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey Gavrilets
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Mathematics, National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996, USA
| | - Peter J Richerson
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA95616, USA
| | - Frans B. M. de Waal
- Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA30322, USA
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