This research builds on previous research by Horlings and Massaar (2020) and Luhulima and Bennema (2021). The aim of this study was to examine if there is a difference in how observers judge both...Show moreThis research builds on previous research by Horlings and Massaar (2020) and Luhulima and Bennema (2021). The aim of this study was to examine if there is a difference in how observers judge both the help provider and the help itself, depending on whether a motive to appear moral (morality) or a motive to appear social (sociability) was used. An experiment was conducted in which participants (N = 209) read a scenario about a group offering help based on the strategic motive to appear moral or social. Within this scenario it was manipulated whether the underlying motive for the help was in line with the actual traits of the help provider. The scenario was followed by a questionnaire. Results of this study showed that participants had a more positive attitude towards the help providers when they acted in line with their actual traits (reality congruence) compared to when they acted inconsistently with who they truly are (reality incongruence). Unexpectedly, no significant results were found that showed a difference in attitude towards the help provider depending on morality and sociability. Other results showed that help providers induced more negative attitudes when they behaved inconsistently with who they truly are, compared to when they behaved in line with their actual traits, because they were perceived as more hypocritical. Considering we were unable to find any significant results of the strategic use of warmth dimensions, more research on this topic is necessary. Suggestions for future research have been made.Show less
Privacy is a hotly debated topic. Many claim that their privacy is of great importance to them, yet at the same time people are prone to self-disclose a lot of information online. This privacy...Show morePrivacy is a hotly debated topic. Many claim that their privacy is of great importance to them, yet at the same time people are prone to self-disclose a lot of information online. This privacy paradox is at the centre of a lot of scholarly debate. By expanding on the horizontal/vertical privacy model by Quinn and Epstein (2018, July), this thesis aims to better understand the privacy paradox. Horizontal privacy pertains to sharing information in the peer domain. Vertical privacy pertains to sharing information in the government/corporation domain. Using a fictious social networking site, self-report measures were taken that predict behaviour. 165 (71 male; 94 female) Participants were led to believe that their data was breached and leaked either in the horizontal or vertical domain or not at all. It was hypothesized that data breaches, and the horizontal data breach in particular, would create negative experiences that would lead to discontinuing the fictitious SNS. The results of this thesis remain inconclusive. No significant differences between the horizontal, vertical data breaches and control condition were found. Although the data do not support the research hypotheses, the present study does give some insights in how to improve future research. What is more, it makes a case for the horizontal/vertical privacy model, since it nevertheless can be of use to both scholars and society.Show less
Loss aversion has been widely investigated as a factor influencing decision-making and conflict. I proposed that conflicts in groups are most likely to occur when maximizing ingroup benefit...Show moreLoss aversion has been widely investigated as a factor influencing decision-making and conflict. I proposed that conflicts in groups are most likely to occur when maximizing ingroup benefit involves harming the outgroup and both parties believe they would suffer losses if they did not compete, losses that loom larger than equivalent gains due to loss aversion. This study examined whether high levels of loss aversion are indeed a potential drive for intergroup conflict. Participants consisted of 126 individuals. The study operationalized the Intergroup Prisoner’s Dilemma—Maximizing Difference (IPD-MD) game, which investigates the motivational processes that lead to intergroup conflict. There were two main hypotheses in the present study: first, even though people avoid benefiting the ingroup while deliberately harming the outgroup, I hypothesized that they will do so when it is more efficient for their group, and, second, that high scores in loss aversion will be associated with more investments in the between-group pool (intergroup conflict). The findings strongly supported my first hypothesis, as, indeed, participants decided to invest more in the between-group pool compared to the within-group pool when the former was more efficient. The results for the second hypothesis did not reach significance in our sample. Nonetheless, future research is encouraged with a larger sample size and with added moderators to the model, such as age.Show less
This research builds on previous research by Horlings and Massaar (2020) and Luhulima and Bennema (2021). The aim of this study was to examine if there is a difference in how observers judge both...Show moreThis research builds on previous research by Horlings and Massaar (2020) and Luhulima and Bennema (2021). The aim of this study was to examine if there is a difference in how observers judge both the help provider and the help itself, depending on whether a motive to appear moral (morality) or a motive to appear social (sociability) was used. An experiment was conducted in which participants (N = 209) read a scenario about a group offering help based on the strategic motive to appear moral or social. Within this scenario it was manipulated whether the underlying motive for the help was in line with the actual traits of the help provider. The scenario was followed by a questionnaire. Results of this study showed that participants had a more positive attitude towards the help providers when they acted in line with their actual traits (reality congruence) compared to when they acted inconsistently with who they truly are (reality incongruence). Unexpectedly, no significant results were found that showed a difference in attitude towards the help provider depending on morality and sociability. Other results showed that help providers induced more negative attitudes when they behaved inconsistently with who they truly are, compared to when they behaved in line with their actual traits, because they were perceived as more hypocritical. Considering we were unable to find any significant results of the strategic use of warmth dimensions, more research on this topic is necessary. Suggestions for future research have been made.Show less
Background: Distraction and emotions have been proven to affect eating behavior. Design: In this online study, 120 participants were randomly assigned to one of three distraction conditions whilst...Show moreBackground: Distraction and emotions have been proven to affect eating behavior. Design: In this online study, 120 participants were randomly assigned to one of three distraction conditions whilst eating lunch, after which a covert snacking period was implemented. Lastly, participants filled out a subset of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire on emotional eating. Research questions: With this experiment I investigated whether distracted eating increases subsequent consumption (H1), and whether emotional eating moderates that relationship (H2). Results: Distracted eating did not increase subsequent snacking, and the distraction conditions did not significantly differ from one another (H1). Emotional eating did not moderate this relationship (H2). Conclusion: Neither distracted eating or emotional eating (as a moderator) showed a significant impact on subsequent eating, and limitations concerning the design and sample of the study and alternative explanations are discussed.Show less
Previous research showed that a growth mindset, the belief that human skills and traits can be developed, is positively related to academic success. Other research shows a positive relation between...Show morePrevious research showed that a growth mindset, the belief that human skills and traits can be developed, is positively related to academic success. Other research shows a positive relation between a lifelong learning mindset, where someone is focused on learning opportunities, and career success. The current study investigated the relation between a growth mindset and subjective and objective career success. This would be useful for career success interventions. In addition, we expected that subjective and objective career success would be related. 96 graduates from the Master of Psychology of Leiden University filled in a survey. The results showed no relation between a growth mindset and subjective and objective career success. However, we found a small positive relationship between subjective and objective career success. Future research could investigate the relation between a growth mindset and career success, by taking career stages, learning from error, and the controllability belief into account.Show less
Financial scarcity forms a heavy burden, both on individuals and society. Being unable to meet your basic needs can threaten autonomy. Coping styles determine how individuals handle this adversity...Show moreFinancial scarcity forms a heavy burden, both on individuals and society. Being unable to meet your basic needs can threaten autonomy. Coping styles determine how individuals handle this adversity and contribute to the likelihood of help acceptance. The current study investigated the moderating effect of problem-focused coping on the association between implicit need for autonomy and help acceptance. British participants completed a survey consisting of the Picture Story Exercise, a help acceptance questionnaire and the Brief-Cope. The study showed that neither need for autonomy, nor problem-focused coping is predictive for help acceptance. Furthermore, problem-focused coping did not moderate the association between need for autonomy and help acceptance. Exploratory analyses indicated that emotion-focused or avoidant coping did not moderate this association. Future studies should include indebted participants to reliably investigate the complexity of financial scarcity. Such findings could provide insights for debt agencies on effective help for people facing (financial) adversity.Show less
Lack of contact is one of the reasons people in debt cannot receive the help they need to improve their financial situation. Therefore, this study focuses on whether increasing shame resilience for...Show moreLack of contact is one of the reasons people in debt cannot receive the help they need to improve their financial situation. Therefore, this study focuses on whether increasing shame resilience for people in debt leads to more willingness to contact their creditor. Literature shows that indebted people experience shame over their situation. This shame causes them to show avoidance behaviour and ignore the creditors that reach out for contact. The Shame Resilience Theory (SRT; Brown, 2006) states that an increased sense of power and a decreased feeling of being trapped can cause someone to become more resilient to shame. Besides, where shame leads to avoidance behaviour, feeling powerful leads to approach behaviour (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Thus, based on SRT we hypothesised that increasing power, decreasing feelings of being trapped, and a combination of the latter, leads to an increase of willingness to contact a creditor compared to the control group. Participants (n = 182) were randomly divided into four conditions: the power, the trapped, the combined, and the control condition. Each condition received a different manipulation. As a result, increasing power increased participants’ willingness to contact. More research is suggested on reducing feeling trapped and its effect on willingness to contact.Show less
Humans frequently need to cooperate, especially when facing collective threats such as natural disasters, pandemics or climate change. Recent scientific findings suggest that the model response to...Show moreHumans frequently need to cooperate, especially when facing collective threats such as natural disasters, pandemics or climate change. Recent scientific findings suggest that the model response to threats is not, as previously thought, characterized by selfishness, but rather prosocial in nature. The current study aims to replicate a previously observed positive effect of threat on cooperation, and investigates whether the effect of threat is comparable to the cooperation-inducing effect of peer punishment. During a public goods game, participants in groups of three were exposed to the threat of an electric shock, while their heart rate and skin conductance were recorded to verify the successful induction of the neurophysiological freezing response. Additionally, half of the groups were given the option to utilize costly peer punishment to enforce cooperation. The analysis suggests that the freezing response was successfully induced and that peer punishment facilitated cooperation. However, contrary to our expectations, threat did not have a significant positive effect on cooperation.Show less
Mediation is a form of conflict intervention, where a neutral third party helps and guides the parties involved in the conflict to reach a mutually beneficial decision. There are various mediation...Show moreMediation is a form of conflict intervention, where a neutral third party helps and guides the parties involved in the conflict to reach a mutually beneficial decision. There are various mediation styles, but the focus of this thesis is on facilitative and directive mediation style. Specifically, this quantitative study used the context of the workplace and examined the role of personality, cultural values and gender on influencing the employee’s preferred mediation style. Recruited participants voluntarily filled out a set of questionnaires in exchange for the results of their personality test and the possibility to win €25. Multiple linear regressions and an independent t-test were conducted to analyse the data from sixty-two participants. The results showed that employees who rated themselves high on extraversion showed a preference for directive mediation style, while employees who rated themselves high on neuroticism showed a preference for facilitative mediation style. Further on, male employees who rated themselves as higher in neuroticism were more likely to prefer facilitative mediation style, while male employees who rated themselves as lower in neuroticism were more likely to prefer directive mediation style. However, on its own, both gender and cultural values did not significantly predict employees’ preferred mediation style.Show less
We assumed that conspiracy belief would be associated with greater interoceptive sensitivity (i.e., people’s perceptions of their internal bodily activity). Specifically, people who believe in...Show moreWe assumed that conspiracy belief would be associated with greater interoceptive sensitivity (i.e., people’s perceptions of their internal bodily activity). Specifically, people who believe in conspiracy theories (CTs) may rely more heavily on their “gut feelings” and intuitions than people who do not believe in CTs. As a first test of this possible relationship, we examined whether interoceptive sensitivity is related to greater conspiracy mentality (CM) using a heartbeat detection task (N = 67). Further, we expected the relation between interoceptive sensitivity and CM to be positively mediated by faith in intuition and negatively mediated by analytical thinking. Contrary to our predictions, there was no relationship between interoceptive sensitivity and CM (β = -.15, p = .222). Mediation analyses did not reveal a mediated effect of intuitive or analytical thinking either. Yet, consistent with previous research, CM was related to analytical thinking and faith in intuition, albeit only marginally to the latter. Importantly, all results should be considered with caution, as our study has insufficient power. Further research on the relation between conspiracy beliefs and interoceptive sensitivity using well-suited manipulations is needed. Such research may have wide ranging implications for our understanding of conspiracy as well as ideological beliefs.Show less
