Cooperation and Conflict Final

True or False: Capitalism relies on generalized trust

True.

Do hunter-gatherers trust more or less than us in the ultimatum game?

hunter-gatherers trust less in this game

In interpersonal situations, do we try to maximize joint or personal payoffs?

In interpersonal situations, we focus on maximizing joint paypffs.

• in interpersonal situations, we tend to be cooperative and trusting

What happens when you switch the prisoners dilemma game to groups rather than individuals?

When people play the prisoners dilemma game in groups, the most common choice is the selfish and untrusting one.

• When you put ppl in groups, they are more competitive and selfish

Who is Sumner and what did he find?

• Sumner was a sociologist & the first to look at group membership via research

• he found that we treat ingroup members warmly and want deep connections with them, and treat outgroup members with hostility.

• This applies more to societies a bit more behind us, since for ius it isn’t this black/white

• thought the ability to divide the world by ingroup/outgroup was a powerful aspect of our psychology

What are the modern updates to Sumner’s research?

• we do think negatively about outgroups, but its more indifference than hostility

  • but, we still have that biological propensity for violence with the outgroup within us

What is the realistic conflict theory?

This is a theory of why group conflict happens

• says that group conflict happens to compete for scarce resources

What is the social identity theory?

This is a theory of why group conflict happens

• says that we are defending our own group’s morals/beliefs/customs by fighting groups that don’t have the same ones

• we gain personal identity through what our group believes, so when there’s another group with an opposing belief, we feel that as an attack to us

What is the problem with realistic conflict theory?

It can’t explain the times when we use moral/belief statements to justify conflict. So these things must be a part of conflict reasoning, but they’re left out of this theory of conflict

What are the two theories of conflict discussed?

Realistic conflict theory

Social identity theory

What is a moral community?

A group of people that share moral values and beliefs.

• members of our ingroup tend to form our moral community

What can cause the perceived boundaries between groups to harden?

When there is conflict in life, or groups are experiencing threatening events, the boundary between groups seem to harden.

True or false: in most group conflicts, the power of and harm done by the two groups are relatively equal

False. Usually, the conflict is asymmetric with one group having more power and doing more harm than the other

What is collective blame?

Collective blame is when actions done by individuals are blamed on the entirety of their group

What does divergent construal refer to?

The two groups in a conflict have diverging constructs (understandings) of the conflict.

Usually they have the same but opposite understandings, thinking the other group started it and is the mean on

What good came out of the flu pandemic?

After the flu pandemic: the government took a role in detecting and preventing from new illnesses. This was expanded health care

What good came out of the great depression?

After the great depression: development of the social security system. Safety nets that made life happier and more secure were enacted.

What good came out of WW2?

After WW2: creation of the UN, start of treaties between countries that led to the EU

How do community-based strategies work to foster positive intergroup relations?

Having connections with members of other groups, especially close friendship connections, lead to better attitudes towards members of the group

How do governmental / societal reparations work to foster positive intergroup relations?

Being given closure is very important for healing and then moving on and forgiving.

How do non-violent movements work to foster positive intergroup relations?

The public, and other nations, are more likely to accept and agree with non-violent movements. Also, seeing non-violent people be punished by the government turns ppl against the government

What are the 3 categories of non-violent action?

1. Protests & persuasion

2. non-cooperation

3. intervention

In interpersonal situations, people show a tendency towards ____

In interpersonal situations, people show a tendency towards cooperation and trust

• for modern & industrialized societies, that is.

• Because we have generalized trust

In intergroup situations, people show a tendency towards ____

In intergroup situations, people show a tendency towards conflict and competition

Is violence innate and therefore inevitable? Or is it preventable?

Violence is always preventable — even conflict falls under motivational autonomy

• shown by the fact that we are biologically they same at 100 years ago, but much less violence in the world

What does social cooperative rationality refer to?

Social cooperative rationality is an alternative to rational choice theory.

We approach things with a social cooperative rationality, rather than rational choice. We do what is best for social cooperation a lot of the time.

Do humans trust unconditionally?

No. We are aware of the threat of exploitation & deception, and so we are cautious with our trust

Everyday lying is ____ common with people closest to us

Everyday lying is less common with people closest to us

The most serious lies are commonly told to people ____ close to us. Why?

The most serious lies are commonly told to people most close to us. These relationships are the most important, and therefore have the most to lose, so we try really hard to protect them

What is our accuracy of telling if someone is lying or telling the truth?

54%. We are basically just guessing.

What is the primary way we usually figure out someone is lying?

Inconsistencies (past experiences, consistency in long stories, knowledge of a person and what they might do, etc)

• we aren’t good at lie detection, but we’re alright at pattern recognition

A person is _____ iikely to act morally if they have already done so earlier in the day. What is this called?

A person is less likely to act morally if they have already done so earlier in the day. This is called moral licensing

• We “give ourselves a break” if we have just done something good already

What is tit for tat recipricity

Tit for tat reciprocity is the desire to treat others the same way they treated you, with equal cooperation or uncooperating.

• this protects us from being exploited. The threat of this makes ppl not want to exploit others all the time, bc there will be payback.

• this also explains that we cooperate not just to be nice, but in hopes of recieving cooperation back, in tit-tat form

What did the De Queverian Neuro-Imaging study conclude?

People show higher activations in the pleasure area of the brain when they are anticipating retaliating against someone who hurt them

Does retaliation work in reducing your anger?

No. In the long run, retaliation does not get rid of the anger at all. It does not help you feel better. So it must only be around for tit-tat reciprocity logic.

What is the result of the Carlsmith mood expectancy and retaliation studies?

People think that retaliation will change their mood and ease the anger, but this doesn’t happen. They continue to angrily ruminate, even after retaliating.

What is the conciliation tendency?

CT is the tendency for more pro-social (conciliation) behavior after having conflict. The want to be extra friendly to regain the connection & get forgiveness.

• this is high in primates, including humans

There are task & identity goals. What is the difference?

Task goals: objective tasks that need to get done

Identity goals: who am I, who are you, what are we

What was the DePaola interaction record study?

College & community members kept track of all their interactions 10+ minutes in thier week.

• it was found that 30% of those interactions included lies, and that the most serious lies were told to people closest to the participants

What is the “better than average effect”, and how does it relate to unconscious exploitation?

The better than average effect causes us to think we are slightly better at things than others.

This causes us to report our skills as better than they really are — which is a lie, but not purposeful

What is “motivated cognition/reasoning”, and how does it relate to unconscious exploitation?

Motivated cognition/reasoning: we attend to a remember the evidence that aligns with the outcome we want / believe is true

• we may misremember or report our participation in group projects, making it seem like more work than we did, because this makes us feel good about ourselves. We may actually believe this, but it is still technically a lie

What is the “moral licensing”, and how does it relate to unconscious exploitation?

Moral licensing: we keep track of our moral actions, and may use this to reason our moral actions

• if we acted kindly and morally earlier in the day, we may “reason” that we don’t need to be kind now. This leads to not cooperating with others just bc we don’t think we “need” to

Does this class look at our behavior and history logically, or with intuition?

This class uses logic, and should NOT use intuition or moral feelings.

We should be able to analyze what is happening, and why, in cooperation/conflict situations, without thinking about whether it is right/wrong

True or False: Humanity’s morals and values are rooted in our biology

False.

This incorrect assumption comes from the naturalistic fallacy. There is no biological basis for determining our values — they come out of our culture, which is an entirely separate aspect of our species’ past

The Naturalistic Fallacy

This behavior is evolved/typical → therefore, this behavior is “right” or “moral”

This is wrong becuase biology does not say what “should be”, only “what is/was”.

Motivational Autonomy

Our biology dictates what our capabilities and options are, but we have the autonomy to chose within those, what to do with our lives. Nothing has to happen because it is “dictated” by biology

What is the deck of cards analogy

The deck of cards analogy helps to understand motivational autonomy. You have a finite (53) # of cards, just like biology created a finite set of capabilities and decisions for us. But with those limited cards you could create infinite games, just like you could make infinite decisions about your life with the finite biology restraints

What are the two distinct chimp species we talked about, and what are their main differences?

• Common chimp

  • more aggressive

  • more violent to strangers

  • more competition for status

• Bonobo

  • less violent, more sexual conflict management

  • more variety in sexual behaviors

  • more female leadership

Why did we specifically talk about 2 chimp species? What can be learned from their differences?

We talked about Bonobos and common chimps, as they share a very recent common ancestor (they are closely related)

The differences between them show the limited power of biology, as they are so closely related but have vastly different cooperation & conflict behaviors

Our closest non-living relative??

Neanderthals

• 500-800 kya common ancestor

Our closest living relative?

Chimps

• 7 mya common ancestor

Are Neaderthals and Homo Sapiens the same thing?

No.

Neaderthals are our closest non-living relative. Homo Sapiens are biologically modern humans, so they technically are us.

What about ancestral humans caused such little variation within our Homo Sapien species?

Ancestral human population got really low at one point, maybe even as small as 5k.

So we evolved from so few ancestors, that the variation in our species is not that big.

Generalized trust

The idea that most people in your society can be trusted, and will follow the same social rules as you do.

It comes from a feeling of interconnectedness just because you are members of the same society

The first _____ created context for less personal forms of social control and communication

The first cities created context for less personal forms of social control and communication

• with higher pop density, and bigger cities, it was now possible to interact and do business with ppl you do not closely know

What invention can be credited with the beginning of mass literacy?

Gutteneberg’s printing press. He was able to print in bulk, and very rapidly, and so print was able to get out to the common ppl — it wasn’t only for a small group anymore

What is the order of the technological/communication advancements we talked about? Start with Homo Sapiens.

Homo Sapiens → Agriculture → Cities → Written language → Printing Press → Telegraph → Radio → TV → Internet → WWW → Social Media

The ______ relational models theory includes….

The Fiske relational models theory lists the 4 core ways of managing interpersonal interactions.

They are…

• communal sharing

• equality matching

• market pricing

• authority ranking

Communal sharing

A relational model.

Needs and costs assigned to people are not kept track of, so that distinct individual identities are disregarded and commonalities are emphasized.

Equality matching

A relational model

There is tracking of exchange. Goal is to keep resources/burdens relatively equal, but not keeping track of exact worth

Market pricing

A relational model

Participants each measure and try to maximize/optimize the value of exchange for themselves. This is often by not always monetary value

Authority ranking

A relational model

Participants are guided by heirararchical ranking to make decisions. Lower status’ follow, higher status’ protect.

What is the definition of a group?

A group is a set of ppl that have some kind of interaction and shared identity over time

True or false: modern groups have a greater diversity of members than ancestral groups?

True.

In ancestral environments, groups were just family, hunting groups, band structures, and language groups. Now, there are many more group, much more different from each other, and members are more diverse as well.

Intimacy groups

Intimacy groups: small, very tight knit groups, invest a lot in them

Task groups

Task groups: not as tight knit

• More equality matching & market pricing

• Employment groups, juries, volunteer groups, hobby groups

Loose associations

Loose associations: a wide array of groups with more superficial or short-lasting membership

• Ex: Lecture at umass

Social categories

Social categories: broad identities, long-standing membership, very large

What are the 4 types of groups we discussed?

Intimacy groups, Task groups, Loose associations, and Social categories

what is the rational choice model?

The rational choice model is a theory of human behavior that assumes it is rational and self-interested.

Experimental games must have two things to function properly, and ensure they reflect a persons’ behaviors in the real world.

These two things are…

Full information

Real incentives

What is the prisoners’ dilemma?

What does the rational choice model predict, and what is actually revealed?

The prisoners’ dilemma is a situation where there are two people, and they can each choose to cooperate or be selfish. there are different rewards for if they both cooperate (highest total reward), both are selfish (lowest total reward), or one cooperates and one is selfish (selfish person gets highest individual reward, cooperative person gets lowest)

Rational choice model predicts being selfish, since it is the most logical to increase your outcome regardless of what the other person does

In reality, cooperation is revealed. People often choose the cooperative option, gaining the highest total sum of money when they work together.

What is the trust game?

What does the rational choice model predict, and what is actually revealed?

In the trust game, player 1 gets a sum of money, and chooses how much if any) to give to player 2, knowing it will be trippled on the way. Player 2 then gets to decide how much money to send back. How much does player 1 chose to send??

Rational choice model predicts not sending any money, since you shouldn’t risk the outcome for yourself

In reality, trust is revealed. Player 1 tends to send more than ½ the original money, and is typically rewarded by getting more than that back.

What is the dictator game?

What does the rational choice model predict, and what is actually revealed?

This is a 1-time interaction, where player 1 is given a sum of money, and gets to share some with the other player if they wish

Rational choice model predicts keeping all the money to yourself.

In reality, altruism/helping is revealed. The dictator usually gives at least something away, the average amt being 28% of their money.

What is the ultimatum game?

What does the rational choice model predict, and what is actually revealed?

Player 1 is given a sum of money, and gets to deicde how much (if any) to give to player 2. Player 2 can veto any offer, causing both parties to get nothing.

Rational choice model predicts that player 2 will never veto anything greater than $0, becuase it is better than nothing

In reality, costly punishment/an unwillingness to engage in unfair situations is revealed. People often veto low offers, or offers they percieve to be unfair, just to punish player 1 (even though they are losing out on money by doing so)

What is the theory that includes 4 different forms of interpersonal connection?

The Fiske Relational models theory: sorts our interpersonal relationships into 4 core types. Any relationship should be able to be classified as one of these. A relationship can use different ones based on the situation

Has humanity’s use of market pricing gone down, up, or stayed the same since the rise of agriculture?

Since the rise of agriculture, we have much more heavily relied on market pricing.

There is even some debate if all human cooperation is based on market pricing now.

Should/can there be deception in experimental games?

No. In experimental games, participants should have full information and there should be no deception.

What is the gini index?

Has it changed in the past decade?

The gini index: a measure of overall income inequality

It has been increasing since the 70’s — so the welath in the US has been getting more and more unfair since then.

Higher income inequality is linked to _____ social mobility

Higher income inequality is linked to lower social mobility.

• the larger in income gap in the country, the harder it is to move up classes

What was revealed in the Kiatpongsan & Norton Expected pay study?

People across cultures want lower levels of inequality than whey they think exists in their societies

But, even though they know there is a big pay gap, they radically underestimate how huge the gap actually is between workers & exec. pay.

Can we tell when someone is lying to us?

No, not really.

In the Bond & DePaolo meta-analysis: when participants knew they were being lied to 50% of the time, they still only had 54% accuracy in knowing what was lies — so they were basically just guessing

• they saw 60% as truth and 40% as false, so we have a tendency to beleive people are telling the truth

What does the Eisenberger cyberball fMRI study find?

Participants played the cyberball game with “two other participants”

• recorded fMRI: baseline, inclusions, exclusions

Exclusion led to activation in the areas of the brain activated by physical pain

• post-experiment reports of how distressed participants felt correlated with brain activation

→ So, ostracism is experienced the same way (and in the same place in the brain) as physical pain is

What are the 4 ways of managing group conflict?

• Educational strategies

• Community-based strategies

• Governmental reparations

• Non-violent strategies