Prosocial Behavior at the Micro-Level
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Leadership, Followership, and Evolution Some Lessons from the Past
Leadership, Followership, and Evolution Some Lessons From the Past Mark Van Vugt University of Kent Robert Hogan Hogan Assessment Systems Robert B. Kaiser Kaplan DeVries Inc. This article analyzes the topic of leadership from an evo- Second, the literature focuses on leaders and tends to lutionary perspective and proposes three conclusions that ignore the essential role of followers (Hollander, 1992; are not part of mainstream theory. First, leading and Yukl, 2006). Third, research largely concentrates on prox- following are strategies that evolved for solving social imate issues of leadership (e.g., What makes one person a coordination problems in ancestral environments, includ- better leader than others?) and rarely considers its ultimate ing in particular the problems of group movement, intra- functions (e.g., How did leadership promote survival and group peacekeeping, and intergroup competition. Second, reproductive success among our ancestors?) (R. Hogan & the relationship between leaders and followers is inher- Kaiser, 2005). Finally, there has been little cross-fertiliza- ently ambivalent because of the potential for exploitation of tion between psychology and disciplines such as anthro- followers by leaders. Third, modern organizational struc- pology, economics, neuroscience, biology, and zoology, tures are sometimes inconsistent with aspects of our which also contain important insights about leadership evolved leadership psychology, which might explain the (Bennis, 2007; Van Vugt, 2006). alienation and frustration of many citizens and employees. This article offers a view of leadership inspired by The authors draw several implications of this evolutionary evolutionary theory, which modern scholars increasingly analysis for leadership theory, research, and practice. see as essential for understanding social life (Buss, 2005; Lawrence & Nohria, 2002; McAdams & Pals, 2006; Nettle, Keywords: evolution, leadership, followership, game the- 2006; Schaller, Simpson, & Kenrick, 2006). -
Beowulf and Competitive Altruism,” P
January 2013 Volume 9, Issue 1 ASEBL Journal Association for the Study of Editor (Ethical Behavior)•(Evolutionary Biology) in Literature St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D. ~ Editorial Board ~▪▪~ Kristy Biolsi, Ph.D. THIS ISSUE FEATURES Kevin Brown, Ph.D. Wendy Galgan, Ph.D. † Eric Luttrell, “Modest Heroism: Beowulf and Competitive Altruism,” p. 2 Cheryl L. Jaworski, M.A. † Dena R. Marks, “Secretary of Disorientation: Writing the Circularity of Belief in Elizabeth Costello,” p.11 Anja Müller-Wood, Ph.D. Kathleen A. Nolan, Ph.D. † Margaret Bertucci Hamper, “’The poor little working girl’: The New Woman, Chloral, and Motherhood in The House of Mirth,” p. 19 Riza Öztürk, Ph.D. † Kristin Mathis, “Moral Courage in The Runaway Jury,” p. 22 Eric Platt, Ph.D. † William Bamberger, “A Labyrinthine Modesty: On Raymond Roussel Michelle Scalise Sugiyama, and Chiasmus,” p. 24 Ph.D. ~▪~ Editorial Interns † St. Francis College Moral Sense Colloquium: - Program Notes, p. 27 Tyler Perkins - Kristy L. Biolsi, “What Does it Mean to be a Moral Animal?”, p. 29 - Sophie Berman, “Science sans conscience n’est que ruine de l’âme,” p.36 ~▪~ Kimberly Resnick † Book Reviews: - Lisa Zunshine, editor, Introduction to Cognitive Cultural Studies. Gregory F. Tague, p. 40 - Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth. Wendy Galgan, p. 42 ~▪~ ~ Contributor Notes, p. 45 Announcements, p. 45 ASEBL Journal Copyright©2013 E-ISSN: 1944-401X *~* [email protected] www.asebl.blogspot.com ASEBL Journal – Volume 9 Issue 1, January 2013 Modest Heroism: Beowulf and Competitive Altruism Eric Luttrell Christian Virtues or Human Virtues? Over the past decade, adaptations of Beowulf in popular media have portrayed the eponymous hero as a dim-witted and egotistical hot-head. -
Altruism, Morality & Social Solidarity Forum
Altruism, Morality & Social Solidarity Forum A Forum for Scholarship and Newsletter of the AMSS Section of ASA Volume 3, Issue 2 May 2012 What’s so Darned Special about Church Friends? Robert D. Putnam Harvard University One purpose of my recent research (with David E. Campbell) on religion in America1 was to con- firm and, if possible, extend previous research on the correlation of religiosity and altruistic behavior, such as giving, volunteering, and community involvement. It proved straight-forward to show that each of sev- eral dozen measures of good neighborliness was strongly correlated with religious involvement. Continued on page 19... Our Future is Just Beginning Vincent Jeffries, Acting Chairperson California State University, Northridge The beginning of our endeavors has ended. The study of altruism, morality, and social solidarity is now an established section in the American Sociological Association. We will have our first Section Sessions at the 2012 American Sociological Association Meetings in Denver, Colorado, this August. There is a full slate of candidates for the ASA elections this spring, and those chosen will take office at the Meetings. Continued on page 4... The Revival of Russian Sociology and Studies of This Issue: Social Solidarity From the Editor 2 Dmitry Efremenko and Yaroslava Evseeva AMSS Awards 3 Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences Scholarly Updates 12 The article was executed in the framework of the research project Social solidarity as a condition of society transformations: Theoretical foundations, Bezila 16 Russian specificity, socio-biological and socio-psychological aspects, supported Dissertation by the Russian foundation for basic research (Project 11-06-00347а). -
1 December 19, 2019 the Psychology of Online Political Hostility
The Psychology of Online Political Hostility: A Comprehensive, Cross-National Test of the Mismatch Hypothesis Alexander Bor* & Michael Bang Petersen Department of Political Science Aarhus University August 30, 2021 Please cite the final version of this paper published in the American Political Science Review at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055421000885. Abstract Why are online discussions about politics more hostile than offline discussions? A popular answer argues that human psychology is tailored for face-to-face interaction and people’s behavior therefore changes for the worse in impersonal online discussions. We provide a theoretical formalization and empirical test of this explanation: the mismatch hypothesis. We argue that mismatches between human psychology and novel features of online environments could (a) change people’s behavior, (b) create adverse selection effects and (c) bias people’s perceptions. Across eight studies, leveraging cross-national surveys and behavioral experiments (total N=8,434), we test the mismatch hypothesis but only find evidence for limited selection effects. Instead, hostile political discussions are the result of status-driven individuals who are drawn to politics and are equally hostile both online and offline. Finally, we offer initial evidence that online discussions feel more hostile, in part, because the behavior of such individuals is more visible than offline. Acknowledgements This research has benefitted from discussions with Vin Arceneaux, Matt Levendusky, Mark Van Vugt, John Tooby, and members of the Research on Online Political Hostility (ROHP) group, among many others. We are grateful for constructive comments to workshop attendees at the Political Behavior Section of Aarhus University, at the NYU-SMAPP Lab, at the NYU Social Justice Lab, at the Hertie School, and to conference audiences at APSA 2019, HBES 2019, and ROPH 2020. -
Evolution of Leadership
Running Head: EVOLUTION OF LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP, FOLLOWERSHIP, AND EVOLUTION Some Lessons from the Past Mark Van Vugt Robert Hogan University of Kent Hogan Assessment Systems Robert B. Kaiser Kaplan DeVries Inc. Abstract This paper analyzes the topic of leadership from an evolutionary perspective and proposes three conclusions that are not part of mainstream theory. First, leading and following are strategies that evolved for solving social coordination problems in ancestral environments, including in particular the problems of group movement, intragroup peace-keeping, and intergroup competition. Second, the relationship between leaders and followers is inherently ambivalent due to the potential for exploitation by leaders. Third, modern organizational structures are sometimes inconsistent with aspects of our evolved leadership psychology, which might explain the alienation and frustration of many citizens and employees. The authors draw several implications of this evolutionary analysis for leadership theory, research, and practice. Key Words: EVOLUTION, LEADERSHIP, FOLLOWERSHIP, GAME THEORY, MISMATCH HYPOTHESIS Manuscript # 2006-0958RR in press at American Psychologist Please do not cite or circulate without permission from the authors 11 December, 2007 Author notes Mark Van Vugt is professor of social psychology at the University of Kent; Robert Hogan is the President of Hogan Assessment Systems; Rob Kaiser is the Director of Research & Development and a Partner with Kaplan DeVries Inc. The authors contributed equally to this paper. We are indebted to Rob Kurzban for his intellectual input and to Robin Dunbar, Dominic Johnson, Muhammad Ghufran Ahmad, and Peter Richerson for their comments on previous drafts. We also acknowledge constructive criticism from William C. Howell and three anonymous reviewers. -
Twisting the Tale of Human Evolution
COMMENT BOOKS & ARTS details the evolutionary analysis of human mating patterns, showing that monogamous mating goes way back. Human childhood is long compared with that of our ape relatives, and the palaeofantasy explanation is that cognitive development necessitates a long childhood. Zuk runs through extensive data on the supply side, establishing the credibil- ity of the alternative hypothesis that humans have maintained high rates of reproduction MUSEUM, LONDON/SPL HISTORY NATURAL by reducing maternal energy investment in children, instead recruiting grandparents and other relatives to help care for them. There are other such examples. Many clear cases of recent adaptation show that natu- ral selection has kept pace with some rapid environmental shifts. For example, malaria has induced dozens of genetic adaptations in tropical peoples during the past few thou- A recreation of a Neanderthal hunting party in prehistoric Britain. sand years. And diets in the late Pleistocene epoch, which came to a close about 11,700 EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY years ago, were very diverse; Neanderthals, for instance, noshed on cooked grains. With advances in our understanding of the global human population and the rapidly shifting Twisting the tale of climates of the most recent glaciation, no single model can encompass this diversity. There are a few real mismatches among human evolution the fake ones Zuk highlights. Diet is one. Pleistocene people did not rely on large John Hawks enjoys a debunking of myths about our stored harvests of starchy grains, fatty meat evolutionary fitness for the twenty-first century. and milk from domesticated animals, or processed sugars — all of which are among the causes of the obesity, type 2 diabetes and dvances in medicine and psychology to feet, legs and backs metabolic syndrome that are so prevalent may be stunning, but why is human- are rife among run- today. -
Nudging Evolutionary Mismatched Behaviors
Evolutionary Mismatch 1 Nudging Evolutionary Mismatched Behaviors: Implications for Social Psychology and Public Policy Mark van Vugt Lianne P. De Vries Norman P. Li To appear in: J.P. Forgas, K. Fiedler, & W.D. Crano, Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology Draft: 26 April 2019 Word count: approximately 5000 (excl. references) Correspondence address: Mark van Vugt, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, [email protected] Evolutionary Mismatch 2 Introduction Aliens visiting planet Earth would find Homo Sapiens a remarkable species. They would discover astonishing examples of human intelligence and ingenuity such as airplanes, skyscrapers, electricity, and the internet. At the same time, they would also witness our miserable failure in preventing poverty, violence, disease, and ecological disasters. Humans are both highly intelligent and highly stupid, the alien anthropologists would probably conclude. It is true, we humans are very good at some things but very bad at others. People are able to recognize the faces of persons they met many years ago, but they easily misremember the telephone numbers of their best friends. People are very patient in accumulating knowledge and training skills through a long period of intense education, but they are not patient enough to save money for their pension or resist the temptation of a Big Mac. And, although most people would be reluctant to steal from shopkeepers, these same individuals have no moral reservations to illegally download music and movies from the net. Why is it that humans are very good at some things but very bad at others? Why is it that we can learn some things much quicker and easier than others? What does this tell us about human psychology, and what can we learn from this for public policy? Here we argue that the human mind, with all its strengths and weaknesses, follows a logical, predictable pattern. -
Philosophical Adventures
Philosophical Adventures Elisabeth A. Lloyd INDIANA UNIVERSITY John Dewey lecture delivered at the one hundred tenth annual Central Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 21, 2013. I had the lovely opportunity of being introduced by Alison Wylie, to whom I owe a large thank you, and thank you especially to Anne Jacobson, and the whole program committee, for this chance to share a bit of my life and career with you. This invitation charged that I was to give an “autobiographical sort” of talk. Specifically, it required the speaker to provide “an intellectual autobiography, with perhaps some account of the way in which [she] was shaped by or shaped the profession, how the profession seems to have changed over the years, etc. The lecturer might reflect on the people and issues that led [her] into philosophy and provide a personal perspective on the state of the field today.” I tried to stick pretty closely to this mandate. Over the course of my career, which is now—although I find this astounding—over thirty years long, I have had the great pleasure of seeing my primary field of research grow and establish itself as a serious field of thought and activity in philosophy. When I was in graduate school at Princeton in the early 1980s, I was told, and I quote, “there is no such thing as Philosophy of Biology. You can’t write a dissertation on that.” And John Beatty wrote that same year: “In the world of academic specialties and subspecialties, philosophy of biology certainly counts as a self-respecting, if not otherwise respected, field of study.”1 It is impossible to imagine anyone saying that now! Five years later, I was also told that feminist philosophy of science was hopeless, that there were no good cases of male bias in science worth discussing, and that since science was self- correcting, those sorts of bias couldn’t have any long-term significance. -
Harnessing Stone Age Psychological Biases to Foster Environmental Behavior
Naturally Green: Harnessing Stone Age Psychological Biases to Foster Environmental Behavior Mark van Vugt VU University and University of Oxford ∗ Vladas Griskevicius University of Minnesota P. Wesley Schultz California State University It is widely agreed that humans must reduce their environmental impact. We propose that an improved understanding of our evolved human nature can help to improve programs and policies to address environmental problems. Combining evolutionary and social psychological approaches, we argue that environmental problems are often caused or exacerbated by five evolutionarily adaptive psychological biases: Humans (1) value personal over collective outcomes (self-interest), (2) prefer immediate over delayed rewards (shortsightedness), (3) value relative over absolute status (status), (4) copy the behaviors of others (social imitation), and (5) ignore problems that we cannot see or feel (sensing). By considering how and why these five “Stone Age” biases continue to influence modern environmental practices, although acknowledging the role of individual and cultural differences, we present novel ways that human nature can be harnessed to develop intervention strategies to lessen resource depletion, restrain wasteful consumption, curb overpopulation, and foster green choices. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mark van Vugt, Professor of Psychology, Department of Social and Organizational∗ Psychology, VU University, van der Boe- chorsstraat 1, Room 1B-57, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tel: +31205985323(8700); [e-mail: [email protected]]. Personal website (www.professormarkvanvugt.com) This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Van Vugt, M., Griskevicius, V., & Schultz, P. W. (2014). Naturally green: Harnessing “stone age” biases to foster environmental conservation behavior. Social Issues and Policy Review, 8, 1- 32. -
States in Mind Anthony C. Lopez, Rose Mcdermott, and Michael
States in Mind States in Mind Anthony C. Lopez, Rose McDermott, and Evolution, Coalitional Psychology, and Michael Bang International Politics Petersen One of the most com- monly studied puzzles in international politics is the recurrence of coalitional competition and aggression between political groups such as states. Indeed, this pattern constitutes an enduring and central feature of all politics. Yet de- spite the tragic endurance of this leitmotif throughout history, its manifestation varies through time and space. Some wars are fought for honor or revenge, whereas others are ignited for mere opportunism or as a consequence of vari- ous misperceptions, whatever their source. We argue that evolutionary theory provides a theoretical framework that can explain both the stubborn endur- ance and dynamic diversity of coalitional behavior. Debate on the relevance of “human nature” and biological factors for explaining political behavior is not new.1 Yet the comprehensive value of evo- lutionary theory for explaining important aspects of international politics has not been adequately explicated. As we discuss below, this has in part been a consequence of general skepticism about the validity and scope of evolution- ary theory for explaining political behavior. We argue, however, that evolu- tionary psychology can generate falsiªable ex ante predictions that are of central interest to the study of international politics, and we offer several hy- potheses derived from this model to illustrate the depth of this approach. Evo- lutionary psychologists have already generated a large body of work that suggests that the human brain contains webs of psychological mechanisms, or adaptations, each designed to operate in domains relevant to modern politics, and which emerged as a product of natural selection. -
Testing a Cultural Evolutionary Hypothesis,” Pg
ASEBL Journal – Volume 12 Issue 1, February 2016 February 2016 Volume 12, Issue 1 ASEBL Journal Association for the Study of (Ethical Behavior)•(Evolutionary Biology) in Literature EDITOR St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D. ~ ▬ EDITORIAL BOARD [click on last name of lead/author to navigate to text] Divya Bhatnagar, Ph.D. ▬ Kristy Biolsi, Ph.D. † Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson, “Moral Beliefs about Homosexuality: Kevin Brown, Ph.D. Testing a Cultural Evolutionary Hypothesis,” pg. 2 Alison Dell, Ph.D. Comments By: Robert A. Paul, pg. 21; Nicole A. Wedberg and Glenn Geher, pg. 23; Austin John Tom Dolack, Ph.D Jeffery and Todd Shackelford, pg. 24; Andreas De Block and Olivier Lemeire, pg. 27; James Waddington, pg. 29; Jennifer M. Lancaster, pg. 30 Wendy Galgan, Ph.D. Cheryl L. Jaworski, M.A. Newson’s and Richerson’s Reply to Comments, pg. 32 Joe Keener, Ph.D. ▬ † Craig T. Palmer and Amber L. Palmer, Eric Luttrell, Ph.D. “Why Traditional Ethical Codes Prescribing Self-Sacrifice Are a Puzzle to Evolutionary Theory: The Example of Besa,” pg. 40 Riza Öztürk, Ph.D. Comments By: Eric Platt, Ph.D. David Sloan Wilson, pg. 50; Guilherme S. Lopes and Todd K. Shackelford, pg. 52; Anja Müller-Wood, Ph.D. Bernard Crespi, pg. 55; Christopher X J. Jensen, pg. 57; SungHun Kim, pg. 60 SCIENCE CONSULTANT Palmer’s And Palmer’s Reply to Comments, pg. 61 Kathleen A. Nolan, Ph.D. ▬ EDITORIAL INTERN Lina Kasem † Aiman Reyaz and Priyanka Tripathi, “Fight with/for the Right: An Analysis of Power-politics in Arundhati Roy’s Walking with the Comrades,” pg. -
Trustworthiness and Competitive Altruism Can Also Solve the ''Tragedy
Evolution and Human Behavior 25 (2004) 209–220 Trustworthiness and competitive altruism can also solve the ‘‘tragedy of the commons’’$ Pat Barclay* Department of Psychology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4K1 Received 4 November 2003; accepted 19 April 2004 Abstract The benefits of a good reputation can help explain why some individuals are willing to be altruistic in situations where they will not receive direct benefits. Recent experiments on indirect reciprocity have shown that when people stand to benefit from having a good reputation, they are more altruistic towards groups and charities. However, it is unknown whether indirect reciprocity is the only thing that can cause such an effect. Individuals may be altruistic because it will make them more trustworthy. In this study, I show that participants in a cooperative group game contribute more to their group when they expect to play a dyadic trust game afterwards, and that participants do tend to trust altruistic individuals more than nonaltruistic individuals. I also included a condition where participants had to choose only one person to trust (instead of being able to trust all players) in the dyadic trust game that followed the cooperative group game, and contributions towards the group were maintained best in this condition. This provides some evidence that competition for scarce reputational benefits can help maintain cooperative behaviour because of competitive altruism. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Evolution; Competitive altruism; Game theory; Trust; Public goods 1. Introduction Altruism towards unrelated individuals has puzzled evolutionary biologists for decades, and several theories provide possible explanations for its existence.