Abstract
Inspired by theories of prosocial behavior, we tested the effect of relationship status and incentives on intended voluntary blame-taking in two experiments (Experiment 2 was pre-registered). Participants (NE1 = 211 and NE2 = 232) imagined a close family member, a close friend, or an acquaintance and read a scenario that described this person committing a minor traffic offense. The person offered either a monetary, social, or no incentive for taking the blame. Participants indicated their willingness to take the blame and reasons for and against blame-taking. Overall, a sizable proportion of participants indicated to be willing to take the blame (E1: 57.8%; E2: 34.9%). Blame-taking rates were higher for family members than close friends or acquaintances in both experiments, as expected. Unexpectedly, there was no difference between a close friend and an acquaintance in Experiment 2. Social incentives did not have an effect on voluntary blame-taking in either experiment. Neither did we find an interaction between relationship status and incentives. The results highlight the importance of kin relationships in the context of voluntary blame-taking.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 621960 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-10 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Frontiers in Psychology |
Volume | 12 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 7 Feb 2021 |
Keywords
- close relationship
- Kinship Premium
- prosocial behavior
- Social Exchange Theory
- voluntary false confessions
Datasets
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Voluntary Blame-Taking Behavior: Kinship before Friendship and no Effect of Incentives
Schneider, T. (Creator), Sauerland, M. (Contributor), Merckelbach, H. (Contributor), Puschke, J. (Contributor) & Cohrs, J. C. (Contributor), DataverseNL, 13 Jan 2021
DOI: 10.34894/2h1zbp, https://doi.org/10.34894%2F2h1zbp
Dataset/Software: Dataset