Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
Humans regularly face collective problems calling for cooperation. To solve such problems, people can establish public goods that require contributions from individual members and benefit the whole...Show moreHumans regularly face collective problems calling for cooperation. To solve such problems, people can establish public goods that require contributions from individual members and benefit the whole group, e.g. public health care and infrastructure. It has been suggested that in modern society people have become less dependent on the creation of public goods and more able to solve problems individually (Santos, Varnum, & Grossmann, 2017). Nevertheless, solving shared problems individually is tied to resources that are often unequally distributed between people. Inequality (Zelmer, 2003) and individualism (Gross & De Dreu, 2019) can complicate cooperation, however, their interplay is largely unknown. We confronted 50 groups (N = 200) with a public goods game with the additional option to solve a shared problem individually through a private solution. Across groups, group members had either an equal or an unequal resource distribution. The private solution allowed wealthier group members to leave the group and avoid contributing to the public good. This resulted in increased inequality. Specifically, the easier it was to opt for a private solution, the higher the inequality was. We further investigated voting preferences and fairness perceptions by having sixty-one impartial raters complete the task from a third-party perspective. The third-party players preferred a more equitable solution that would result in lower inequality. While group members dependent on the public solution voted for delegating allocation decisions to the third party, the wealthier, and thus, more independent members voted against it revealing self-serving motives. Our findings highlight unique problems emerging with self-reliance in the face of global issues, such as a pandemic and global warming, that require cooperation. Especially, when self-reliance is only affordable for some, collective action can fail and further increase wealth gaps.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
As the negative consequences of debts are substantial, it is important that indebted people seek and accept help. However, people in debt are often reluctant to contact the creditor and identify...Show moreAs the negative consequences of debts are substantial, it is important that indebted people seek and accept help. However, people in debt are often reluctant to contact the creditor and identify shame as a barrier. Moreover, they experience a lack of acknowledgement when communicating with creditors. Given the human need for acknowledgement and the suggestion that acknowledgement can reduce shame, the current study examined the effect of acknowledgement on indebted people’s willingness to contact the creditor and explored the role of financial shame. To this end, 206 native English-speaking people with current or past debts completed an online experiment in which they read either a standard creditor letter or a creditor letter in which the creditor acknowledged the situation of the person in debt. Willingness to contact the creditor and financial shame did not differ between participants who read a creditor letter in which their situations were acknowledged and those whose read a standard creditor letter. However, higher financial shame was associated with lower willingness to contact. We conclude that acknowledging indebted people’s situations is not enough to increase their willingness to contact the creditor. Future research could test other ways to address and reduce the financial shame.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
Past studies have offered conflicting findings on how wealth affects the way people behave when self-interest and fairness considerations are in conflict. The present study aimed to investigate...Show morePast studies have offered conflicting findings on how wealth affects the way people behave when self-interest and fairness considerations are in conflict. The present study aimed to investigate this conflict further by using the household task to experimentally induce the feeling of financial scarcity, then having the participants play an ultimatum game as both the proposer and responder. It was expected that people who experienced scarcity would make lower offers in the ultimatum game than those who experienced abundance. Furthermore, I hypothesized that people who experienced scarcity would accept lower offers in the ultimatum game than those who experienced scarcity. The first hypothesis was supported by the data, however the second one was not. It appears that under financial scarcity people become more motivated to serve their self-interest and are less interested in fairness considerations.Show less
Creating value is a fundamental skill during dyadic negotiations. Negotiators who ask themselves the question: ‘how can we expand the pie instead of sharing it’ reach better agreements. This...Show moreCreating value is a fundamental skill during dyadic negotiations. Negotiators who ask themselves the question: ‘how can we expand the pie instead of sharing it’ reach better agreements. This research was affected by the measurements resulting of COVID-19 and therefore partly executed the way it was intended. The experiment (N = 74) tested value creation amongst negotiations with unequal power distribution. Negotiators participated in a role playing game where they had to negotiate about four issues and had the possibility to add 3 more optional issues. The challenge to expand the pie for both players was found in the mandatory-optional paradigm, a payoff schedule specially designed for this research. Participants were divided into two benefit conditions (powerful could add more value or the powerless could add more value). Results were analyzed out of our two control conditions and showed that the powerful players reached higher outcomes than the powerless players and thus seemed better in adding more value. This however, was not found. The difference in adding more value to the agreement between the two players was not significant. Reasons, limitations and implications are discussed and suggestions for further research are proposed.Show less
Since the use of social media networks has strongly increased, people have the opportunity to easily discuss their opinions (Kim et al., 2013). Discussions on moral issues, such as abortion and...Show moreSince the use of social media networks has strongly increased, people have the opportunity to easily discuss their opinions (Kim et al., 2013). Discussions on moral issues, such as abortion and meat consumption, often take place online. In the current research (N = 310), the effect of moral emotional framing on attitude polarization was examined. It was predicted that moral emotional frames would lead to more attitude polarization compared to nonmoral frames and that this effect was mediated by moralization of the issue. Additionally, it was investigated whether a higher moral identity centrality would lead to a stronger effect of moral emotional frames on moralization. The results only partly supported these expectations. The results showed that the higher someone’s moral identity centrality, the stronger that person tends to moralize issues. Also, moralization was directly and positively related to attitude polarization. This study may serve as a solid basis for future research.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
open access
In public areas, people often encounter situations of close proximity to others where it is likely that an individual’s personal space (PS) gets intruded. PS is the area surrounding an individual...Show moreIn public areas, people often encounter situations of close proximity to others where it is likely that an individual’s personal space (PS) gets intruded. PS is the area surrounding an individual that includes the intimate and personal domain (within 1.50 meters of a person). We aimed to investigate the role of PS in seating behavior and to extend previous research by distinguishing an immediate PS consideration (i.e., considering PS in the immediate situation) from an anticipated PS consideration (i.e., considering PS also in a possible future situation). We conducted an observational study (N = 237), an open-ended question study (N = 40), and an experimental online study using a mixed-design (N = 325) in the context of choosing a seat in a railway station concourse. The results revealed that most participants chose a seat outside their intimate and personal domain. We concluded that people try to safeguard their PS. Furthermore, immediate and anticipated PS considerations both play a role in seating behavior; however, both are merely facets of PS rather than two exclusive concepts. With our results, we hope to extend the theory of PS as well as inform and possibly influence the design of seating arrangements to optimize people’s well-being in public areas.Show less
While fewer people endorse blatant sexism, sexism is still an ongoing problem. Several measures have been taken to create awareness, but the question arises whether the confirming messages, for...Show moreWhile fewer people endorse blatant sexism, sexism is still an ongoing problem. Several measures have been taken to create awareness, but the question arises whether the confirming messages, for example, from the media or studies might give cues to women that they are being excluded. This research hypothesizes that if women pick up cues from confirming messages, it leads to more feelings of social exclusion compared to a context in which sexism is denied or is not mentioned. This research examines the effects of the confirmation of sexism on social exclusion, need-threats, feelings, motivation to apply, and expectations of their chances on the labor market. In this between-subjects study (confirmation of sexism vs. modern sexism vs. control condition), 157 female students from Leiden University completed a questionnaire. This study showed that women in the confirmation of sexism condition reported more feelings of social exclusion, more need-threats, more negative feelings, lower motivation to apply for a job, and lower expectations of their chances on the labor market compared to the other conditions. These results support the hypothesis that confirming sexism is more harmful than a context of modern sexism or not mentioning sexism, but more research is needed to provide general support for this hypothesis.Show less
In modern society, there is an increased attention for the acknowledgement of sexism. This comes almost as a counter movement against modern sexism, a form in which sexism is denied. The goal of...Show moreIn modern society, there is an increased attention for the acknowledgement of sexism. This comes almost as a counter movement against modern sexism, a form in which sexism is denied. The goal of this study was to investigate potential negative effects of exposure to acknowledgement of sexism, such as feelings of exclusion and low motivation to apply for a job. 161 female participants from a Dutch university, divided over three conditions, filled in a survey in order to measure exclusion and motivation to apply. The three conditions were the acknowledgement of sexism, modern sexism and a control condition. We found significant results for our hypotheses. The acknowledgement of sexism leads to feelings of exclusion, low need fulfilment, negative feelings, low expectancy to get a job and low motivation to apply for one. This shows that exposure to the acknowledgement sexism in, for example, the media can have negative effects. This thesis also provides several suggestions on how messages concerning the acknowledgment of sexism can be communicated, including future research suggestions.Show less
