Het doel van dit onderzoek is om te kijken naar de invloed van de persoon (expert vs niet-expert) en de manier van berichtgeving (warmte vs. logica) op de geloofwaardigheid van een complottheorie...Show moreHet doel van dit onderzoek is om te kijken naar de invloed van de persoon (expert vs niet-expert) en de manier van berichtgeving (warmte vs. logica) op de geloofwaardigheid van een complottheorie wanneer deze ontkracht wordt. Voorgaand onderzoek suggereert dat de meest overtuigende combinatie afhankelijk is van het motief van de ontvanger (Linne et al., 2022). Dat resulteert in de verwachting dat er een mogelijk verschil is tussen de algemene populatie en mensen die eerder geneigd zijn in complottheorieën te geloven. Verwacht wordt dat experts meer invloed hebben op de algemene populatie (vergeleken niet-experts), terwijl niet-experts meer invloed hebben op hoge complotgelovers(vergeleken experts) wanneer zij een complottheorie ontkrachten. Warmte zou voor beide groepen overtuigender zijn dan logica. Vervolgens onderzochten we verschillende combinaties van expertise en warmte voor zowel de algemene populatie als de groep hoge complotgelovers. We voerden een online quasi-experiment uit met 179 respondenten, waarbij we eerst gegevens verzamelden over de neiging tot algemeen complotgeloof (GCBS-15). Na een voormeting werden de respondenten willekeurig verdeeld over vier condities (warmte expert; warmte niet-expert; logica expert; logica niet-expert) waarin een complottheorie ontkracht werd, gevolgd door een nameting. De verschilscores werden geanalyseerd met een twee bij twee between subject ANOVA van expertise en warmte, vervolgens werd deze data gesplitst voor hoge versus lage complotgelovers. De resultaten tonen aan dat er een significant effect van expertise op de verschilscores van het complotgeloof is voor de algemene populatie, maar geen effect van warmte op deze verschilscores. Ook werd er geen significant effect gevonden voor de groep hoge complotgelovers voor zowel expertise als warmte. Toekomstig onderzoek zou zich kunnen richten op een grotere steekproefsample met meer hoge complotgelovers. Hierbij kunnen de oorzaken van complottheorieën in acht genomen worden. Zo kunnen instanties die slachtoffers zijn van complottheorieën een passend plan bedenken om deze theorieën te ontkrachten.Show less
This study investigated the effects on the victim of bystander non-intervention in the workplace. We performed a vignette study, with three different scenarios: active bystanders, passive...Show moreThis study investigated the effects on the victim of bystander non-intervention in the workplace. We performed a vignette study, with three different scenarios: active bystanders, passive bystanders, and no bystanders. We hypothesised that in the passive bystander condition the four psychological fundamental needs (belonging, meaningful existence, control, and self-esteem) would go down, sexual harassment myth acceptance would be higher, self-blame and bystander blame would be higher and blame towards the perpetrator and society would be lower. The data from the 159 participants showed that the fundamental needs of belonging and meaningful existence decreased, and that bystander blame was higher in the passive bystander condition, compared to the active bystander condition. The fundamental needs of control and self-esteem, sexual harassment myth acceptance, self-blame, perpetrator blame and society blame were not affected. Possible explanations for the results are provided, as well as the limitations of the study and recommendations for further research.Show less
Routine Activity Theory is central in the field of criminology. However, most research related to Routine Activity Theory has been of a correlational nature. In our study, we tested Routine...Show moreRoutine Activity Theory is central in the field of criminology. However, most research related to Routine Activity Theory has been of a correlational nature. In our study, we tested Routine Activity Theory experimentally. In addition, we tried to extend Routine Activity Theory, by experimentally testing the effect that social identity might have on transgressive behavior. Our experiment consisted of an online quiz where participants performed a quiz alone, or in the presence of guardians. Furthermore, when in the presence of guardians, those guardians were either part of the participants’ ingroup or outgroup. Ingroup and outgroup were created through the manipulation of gender. Based on Routine Activity Theory, we expected cheating rates to be highest in the condition without guardians. Moreover, we expected cheating rates to be higher in the ingroup condition compared to the outgroup condition. We did not find significant differences across the conditions in our experiment. For future research, changing our method to create stronger manipulations of the different conditions should be considered.Show less
Social settings can influence someone’s decision to perform small transgressions. Through conducting an online experiment it was researched what the effect of different bystanders was on the...Show moreSocial settings can influence someone’s decision to perform small transgressions. Through conducting an online experiment it was researched what the effect of different bystanders was on the cheating behavior of an individual. The study had a between subjects design and an ingroup bystanders, an outgroup bystanders and a no bystanders condition. Gender was used as variable to create an ingroup or outgroup condition. Even though the manipulation check failed, the results showed that individuals are more likely to cheat with no bystanders than with ingroup bystanders. However, this was not the case when the no-bystander condition was compared to the outgroup condition. Individuals were also not more likely to cheat when bystanders were part of their ingroup compared to when bystanders were part of their outgroup. For future experiments it is recommended to enhance the feeling of being part of the ingroup or outgroup by making this more salient and to control the setting in which a participant is conducting the online experiment.Show less
Life History Theory is an evolutionary theory claiming that early life circumstances help us develop abilities and behaviors beneficial to those specific conditions. This study aimed to investigate...Show moreLife History Theory is an evolutionary theory claiming that early life circumstances help us develop abilities and behaviors beneficial to those specific conditions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of childhood poverty on cognitive abilities such as switching and visuospatial memory in current financially difficult situations. We hypothesized that people who grew up poor would score better on a task measuring switching and visuospatial memory, but only in current financially difficult situations. Conversely, their counterparts in the low financial difficulty situations would underperform due to the dissimilarity of the circumstances the cognitive abilities adapted to in childhood. Our results provided support for the hypothesis as participants who grew up poor performed better at switching and visuospatial memory in current financially difficult situations compared to their peers in the low difficulty situation. These findings indicate that difficult circumstances in childhood could improve cognitive abilities needed to persist in those circumstances.Show less
