Social mindfulness in the real world: the physical presence of others induces other-regarding motivation

Niels J. Van Doesum*, Johan C. Karremans, Rosanne Fikke, Martijn A. de Lange, Paul A.M. Van Lange

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Two studies show that being socially mindful only requires a minimal social context: The presence of a specific other is enough to bring out greater social mindfulness in a one-shot social decision-making task that focuses participants’ decisions on leaving or limiting other people’s choice. Study 1 contrasts a control condition (with no second chooser) with two conditions in which a confederate chooses after the participant. We find that participants are socially mindful by leaving choice to the confederate more often. Study 2 reveals that a specified, identifiable other is left choice more often than an unspecified next chooser. The physical presence of others may thus be enough to elicit greater social mindfulness as manifested in simple and low-cost social decision-making.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)209-222
Number of pages14
JournalSocial Influence
Volume13
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Oct 2018

Funding

This work was partly supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) [grant number 022.003.040], awarded to the Kurt Lewin Institute, with Paul Van Lange as the applicant representing the Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands We thank Eline Bosch, Nicolien Groeneveld, Natasja Overman, and Farrah Ridderhof for their help in designing and collecting data for Study 2. This work was partly supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) [grant number 022.003.040], awarded to the Kurt Lewin Institute, with Paul Van Lange as the applicant representing the Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands

FundersFunder number
Eline Bosch
Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek022.003.040

    Keywords

    • presence of others
    • social decision-making
    • Social mindfulness

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Social mindfulness in the real world: the physical presence of others induces other-regarding motivation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this