Maxwell Klein
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Zachary Reese, Ph.D. Student
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Social Psychology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 3 (1pm-1:50pm)
Breakout Room: Room 3
Presenter: 2
Abstract
How does cosmic uncertainty “” the general feeling that the world lacks a higher power, order, or meaning “” affect social decision-making? Some prior studies suggest that whether conditions are certain or uncertain, people default to cooperative behavior (Zuckerman 1975; Torii & Hidaka, 2015); yet, there too exists research which suggests that uncertainty leads to more competitive behavior (Burleigh & Meegan, 2017). These conflicting findings create a gap in our understanding of how circumstances of uncertainty impact competitive behavior. In order to resolve this conflict, we will conduct two studies wherein we differentiate between task uncertainty and a more global (cosmic) sense of uncertainty. The first study will examine the relationship between two dispositional forms of (un)certainty “” belief in a just world and ambiguity tolerance “” and competitive behavior. We have already recruited data from participants (N = 153) who engaged in a prisoner’s dilemma task; data will be analyzed in a multiple logistic regression predicting a person’s decision to cooperate/compete from each individual difference measure. Following data analysis, we will follow this exploratory study with a confirmatory study in which we experimentally manipulate belief in a just world and/or outcome ambiguity to test the effect more rigorously. In sum, we aim to shed light on how people’s beliefs about the world drive their decisions to compete or cooperate.
Authors: Duncan Drewry, Maxwell Klein, Zachary Reese
Research Method: Community Based Research
