On the Nature, Modeling, and Neural Bases of Social Ties

This paper addresses the nature, formalization, and neural bases of (affective) social ties and discusses the relevance of ties for health economics. A social tie is defined as an affective weight attached by an individual to the well-being of another individual (‘utility interdependence’). Ties can be positive or negative, and symmetric or asymmetric between individuals. Characteristic of a social tie, as conceived of here, is that it develops over time under the influence of interaction, in contrast with a trait like altruism. Moreover, a tie is not related to strategic behavior such as reputation formation but seen as generated by affective responses. A formalization is presented together with some supportive evidence from behavioral experiments. This is followed by a discussion of related psychological constructs and the presentation of suggestive neural findings, based on the existing literature. We conclude with some suggestions for future research. Publication forthcoming in 'On the Nature, Modeling and Neural Bases of Social Ties', Daniel E. Houser and Kevin A. McCabe (eds), Neuroeconomics, Advances in Health Economics and Health Services Research, Emerald Insight Publishing

Celebrities and Shoes on the Female Brain: The Neural Correlates of Product Evaluation in the Context of Fame

Celebrity endorsement is omnipresent. However, despite its prevalence, it is unclear why celebrities are more persuasive than (equally attractive) non-famous endorsers. The present study investigates which processes underlie the effect of fame on product memory and purchase intention by the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging methods. We find an increase in activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) underlying the processing of celebrity-product pairings. This finding suggests that the effectiveness of celebrities stems from a transfer of positive affect from celebrity to product. Additional neuroimaging results indicate that this positive affect is elicited by the spontaneous retrieval of explicit memories associated with the celebrity endorser. Also, we demonstrate that neither the activation of implicit memories of earlier exposures nor an increase in attentional processing is essential for a celebrity advertisement to be effective. By explaining the neural mechanism of fame, our results illustrate how neuroscience may contribute to a better understanding of consumer behavior

Relationships between non-acoustic factors and subjective reactions to floor impact noise in apartment buildings

The aim of this study was to provide an understanding of how residents in apartment buildings perceive and react to impact sounds coming from the upstairs neighbours' dwellings. Based on existing theoretical and empirical studies on environmental noise, a conceptual model was developed to explain relationships among noise annoyance and non-acoustic factors. The model was then tested using structural equation modelling with survey data from residents living in apartment buildings (N = 487). The findings showed that the conceptual model was consistent with other models developed for environmental noises. The results indicated that annoyance induced by floor impact noise was associated with perceived disturbance, coping, and self-reported health complaints. Noise sensitivity had a direct impact on perceived disturbance and an indirect impact on annoyance, and moderating variables affected the non-acoustic factors. Exposure to footstep noises increased the impact size of noise sensitivity to disturbance. Predictability, marital status, and house ownership were found to influence the relationship between attitudes towards authorities and coping. In addition, a negative attitude towards neighbours (i.e., the noise source) moderated the positive relationship between annoyance and coping

The influence of social contagion within education: a motivational perspective

This article provides an overview of research on social contagion in the context of education. We highlight the importance of students' social interactions in school, considering contagion between peers and contagion from teachers to students, using a motivation perspective. The framework of contagion is introduced broadly, followed by a focused review on social contagion in school environments, both peer and teacher related. Then we introduce methodology for mapping behavior change to networks that are a direct representation of school cohorts. We argue that these different lines of research can be coherently interpreted from a motivation perspective, suggesting the critical role of motivation in social contagion, in the context of education. We highlight the limited amount of research on positive contagion effects and we call for further investigation into ways in which to increase the contagion of positive, academic behaviors. Finally, the neuroscience behind social contagion, both for the mechanisms and the interactions, is discussed

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Decision-makers self-servingly navigate the equality-efficiency trade-off of free partner choice in social dilemmas among unequals

Cooperation is more likely upheld when individuals can choose their interaction partner. However, when individuals differ in their endowment or ability to cooperate, free partner choice can lead to segregation and increase inequality. To understand how decision-makers can decrease such inequality, we conducted an incentivized and preregistered experiment in which participants (n=500) differed in their endowment and cooperation productivity. First, we investigated how these individual differences impacted cooperation and inequality under free partner choice in a public goods game. Next, we calculated if and how decision-makers should restrict partner choice if their goal is to decrease inequality. Finally, we studied whether decision-makers actually did decrease inequality when asked to allocate endowment and productivity factors between individuals, and combine individuals into pairs of interaction partners for a two-player public goods game. Our results show that without interventions, free partner choice, indeed, leads to segregation and increases inequality. To mitigate such inequality, decision-makers should curb free partner choice and force individuals who were assigned different endowments and productivities to form pairs with each other. However, this comes at the cost of lower overall cooperation and earnings, showing that the restriction of partner choice results in an equality-efficiency trade-off. Participants who acted as third-parties were actually more likely to prioritize inequality reduction over efficiency maximization, by forcing individuals with unequal endowment and productivity levels to form pairs with each other. However, decision-makers who had a ‘stake in the game’ self-servingly navigated the equality-efficiency trade-off by preferring partner choice interventions that benefited themselves. These preferences were partly explained by norms on public good cooperation and redistribution, and participants’ social preferences. Results reveal potential conflicts on how to govern free partner choice stemming from diverging preferences ‘among unequals’