Evolution of cooperation driven by zealots

Recent experimental results with humans involved in social dilemma games suggest that cooperation may be a contagious phenomenon and that the selection pressure operating on evolutionary dynamics (i.e., mimicry) is relatively weak. I propose an evolutionary dynamics model that links these experimental findings and evolution of cooperation. By assuming a small fraction of (imperfect) zealous cooperators, I show that a large fraction of cooperation emerges in evolutionary dynamics of social dilemma games. Even if defection is more lucrative than cooperation for most individuals, they often mimic cooperation of fellows unless the selection pressure is very strong. Then, zealous cooperators can transform the population to be even fully cooperative under standard evolutionary dynamics.Comment: 5 figure

Fragile and Resilient Trust: Risk and Uncertainty in Negotiated and Reciprocal Exchange

Both experimental and ethnographic studies show that reciprocal exchanges (in which actors unilaterally provide benefits to each other without formal agreements) produce stronger trust than negotiated exchanges secured by binding agreements. We develop the theoretical role of risk and uncertainty as causal mechanisms that potentially explain these results, and then test their effects in two laboratory experiments that vary risk and uncertainty within negotiated and reciprocal forms of exchange. We increase risk in negotiated exchanges by making agreements nonbinding and decrease uncertainty in reciprocal exchanges by having actors communicate their intentions. Our findings support three main theoretical conclusions. (1) Increasing risk in nego-tiated exchange produces levels of trust comparable to those in reciprocal exchange only if the partner’s trustworthiness is near-absolute. (2) Decreasing uncertainty in reciprocal exchange either increases or decreases trust, depending on network struc-ture. (3) Even when reciprocal and negotiated exchanges produce comparable levels of trust, their trust differs in kind, with reciprocal exchange partners developing trust that is more resilient and affect-based

How can indigenous research contribute to universal knowledge?: an illustration with research on interpersonal harmony

The indigenous perspective can provide a more complete, in‐depth, and accurate account of psychological phenomena for a given culture, but a major issue is that indigenous research tends to be ignored by researchers from other cultures. Chinese researchers who conduct research on indigenous issues may find it hard to publish in major English‐language journals. This paper explores how Chinese indigenous research is able to contribute to universal knowledge. Chinese are characterized by a relational and collectivistic orientation, whereas theories in the West tend to have a self‐focus, primarily due to its individualistic culture. However, most psychological research conducted in the Chinese context is guided by Western theories, which likely results in incomplete understanding of Chinese behavior. A relational perspective can augment Western theories and facilitate the contribution of Chinese indigenous research to new theory development. To illustrate this possibility, this article summarizes current indigenous research on two harmony motives, and shows how such research can contribute to a compelling refinement and extension of social exchange theory

Why people resort to coercion: The role of utility and legitimacy

This study focuses on why people may resort to coercive tactics. We tested the proposition that considerations of utility and legitimacy mediate effects of a powerholder's competence and reward structure on the use of coercion. Results showed that in general coercive tactics are employed less often than softer tactics, that coercive tactics are used more by more competent individuals than by less competent individuals, and that coercive tactics are used more often when the revenues of task performance benefited the agent of power than when they benefited both agent and target or when they benefited the target solely. Results identified perceived utility and perceived legitimacy as mediators of the decision to coerce the other or not. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Team sports performance analysed through the lens of social network theory: implications for research and practice

This paper discusses how social network analyses and graph theory can be implemented in team sports performance analyses to evaluate individual (micro) and collective (macro) performance data, and how to use this information for designing practice tasks. Moreover, we briefly outline possible limitations of social network studies and provide suggestions for future research. Instead of cataloguing discrete events or player actions, it has been argued that researchers need to consider the synergistic interpersonal processes emerging between teammates in competitive performance environments. Theoretical assumptions on team coordination prompted the emergence of innovative, theoretically-driven methods for assessing collective team sport behaviours. Here, we contribute to this theoretical and practical debate by conceptualising sports teams as complex social networks. From this perspective, players are viewed as network nodes, connected through relevant information variables (e.g., a ball passing action), sustaining complex patterns of interaction between teammates (e.g., a ball passing network). Specialized tools and metrics related to graph theory could be applied to evaluate structural and topological properties of interpersonal interactions of teammates, complementing more traditional analysis methods. This innovative methodology moves beyond use of common notation analysis methods, providing a richer understanding of the complexity of interpersonal interactions sustaining collective team sports performance. The proposed approach provides practical applications for coaches, performance analysts, practitioners and researchers by establishing social network analyses as a useful approach for capturing the emergent properties of interactions between players in sports teams

On violating one’s own privacy: N-adic utterances and inadvertent disclosures in online venues

Purpose: To understand the phenomena of people revealing regrettable information on the Internet, we examine who people think they’re addressing, and what they say, in the process of interacting with those not physically or temporally co-present. Design/methodology/approach: We conduct qualitative analyses of interviews with student bloggers and observations of five years’ worth of their blog posts, drawing on linguists’ concepts of indexical ground and deictics. Based on analyses of how bloggers reference their shared indexical ground and how they use deictics, we expose bloggers’ evolving awareness of their audiences, and the relationship between this awareness and their disclosures. Findings: Over time, writers and their regular audience, or “chorus,” reciprocally reveal personal information. However, since not all audience members reveal themselves in this venue, writers’ disclosures are available to those observers they are not aware of. Thus, their over-disclosure is tied to what we call the “n-adic” organization of online interaction. Specifically, and as can be seen in their linguistic cues, N-adic utterances are directed towards a non-unified audience whose invisibility makes the discloser unable to find out the exact number of participants or the time they enter or exit the interaction. Research implications: Attention to linguistic cues, such as deictics, is a compelling way to identify the shifting reference groups of ethnographic subjects interacting with physically or temporally distant others. Originality/value: We describe the social organization of interaction with undetectable others. N-adic interactions likely also happen in other on- and offline venues in which participants are obscured but can contribute anonymously.postprin

Makeni City Council and the Politics of Co?production in Post?conflict Sierra Leone

Policymakers in Sierra Leone have identified recently established local councils as the main vehicles for delivering on commitments to improve local public goods provision, but little is known about which strategies work for councils as public goods providers, and why. I compare two cases of public goods provision led by a single urban council, one relatively successful, another less so. I find that both are examples of co?production of public goods by the council and interest?based associations and that the dynamics of the relationships between these actors strongly influence the quality of public goods outcomes. I argue that the presence of a pattern of reciprocal exchange is the most significant determinant of success in co?production. I conclude by considering the conditions under which reciprocity is most likely to emerge in the context of co?productive relationships between local councils and interest?based associations

Social exchange:Relations and networks

In this short paper, I review the literature on social exchange networks, with specific attention to theoretical and experimental research. I indicate how social exchange theory is rooted in general social theory and mention a few of its main links to social network analysis and empirical network research. The paper provides an accessible entry into the literature on social exchange

Motivating employee referrals: The interactive effects of the referral bonus, perceived risk in referring, and affective commitment

Research has provided compelling evidence that employee referrals result in positive outcomes for organizations and job seekers, but it has been limited on how organizations can increase the likelihood of obtaining employee referrals. Using the theoretical lens of social exchange theory and tenets from expectancy theory, we tested two common assumptions of most employers: A referral bonus motivates employees to refer, and higher bonus amounts incite greater likelihood of referring. We theoretically developed and tested a model integrating the effects of perceived risk in referring and affective commitment and their interactions with the referral bonus to better explain the likelihood of referring. Results largely supported our predictions. Referral bonus presence, referral bonus amount, and affective commitment positively related to likelihood of referring, while perceived risk in referring negatively related to likelihood of referring. The findings also suggest that larger referral bonuses can help offset perceived risk in referring and low affective commitment levels. We contribute to the literature by developing theory, expanding the scope of the current referral literature, and offering a quantitative examination of previously theorized variables in the referring process. We conclude with suggestions to practicing managers on ways to improve the motivating potential of their employee referral programs

Re-Examining the Frustrated Homemaker Hypothesis

Multiple Classification Analyses on responses from 946 white women, drawn from the 1972 American National Election Study survey, were used to test the "frustrated homemaker hypothesis" that full-time homemakers are more dissatisfied with their lives than women employed outside the home. The fit between actual and desired roles proved to be a better predictor of personal satisfaction than the traditional dichotomy between homemakers and employed women. Homemakers who had wanted a career were more personally dissatisfied than homemakers who had never wanted a career. The career-oriented homemakers were the ones who expressed greater personal dissatisfaction than employed women. Employed women and career-oriented homemakers were about equally critical of women's collective position in society, while homemakers who had never wanted a career were more accepting of women's status quo. The importance of including evaluations of both personal and collective well-being was shown by the fact that these two domains bore different relationships to employment-homemaker status.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69078/2/10.1177_073088848100800404.pd