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Observing others give & take: A computational account of bystanders’ feelings and actions

Author

Listed:
  • Bastien Blain

    (UCL - University College of London [London])

  • Joseph Marks

    (UCL - University College of London [London])

  • Philipp Czech

    (Berlin School of Mind and Brain [Berlin] - HU Berlin - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin = Humboldt University of Berlin = Université Humboldt de Berlin, UCL - University College of London [London])

  • Tali Sharot

    (Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences - MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UCL - University College of London [London])

Abstract

Social interactions influence people's feelings and behavior. Here, we propose that a person's well-being is influenced not only by interactions they experience themselves, but also by those they observe. In particular, we test and quantify the influence of observed selfishness and observed inequality on a bystanders' feelings and non-costly punishment decisions. We developed computational models that relate others' (un)selfish acts to observers' emotional reactions and punishment decisions. These characterize the rules by which others' interactions are transformed into bystanders' reactions, and successfully predict those reactions in out-of-sample participants. The models highlight the impact of two social values—‘selfishness aversion' and ‘inequality aversion'. As for the latter we find that even small violations from perfect equality have a disproportionately large impact on feelings and punishment. In this age of internet and social media we constantly observe others' online interactions, in addition to in-person interactions. Quantifying the consequences of such observations is important for predicting their impact on society.

Suggested Citation

  • Bastien Blain & Joseph Marks & Philipp Czech & Tali Sharot, 2022. "Observing others give & take: A computational account of bystanders’ feelings and actions," Post-Print hal-05106285, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05106285
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010010
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