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- Compliance (4)
- Egocentrism (4)
- Perspective-taking (4)
- Help-seeking (3)
- Prosocial behavior (3)
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- Emotions (2)
- Helping behavior (2)
- Interpersonal relations (2)
- Social influence (2)
- Absolute value (1)
- Affect (1)
- Altruism (1)
- Compatibility (1)
- Complementarity (1)
- Cooperation (1)
- Cross-cultural differences (1)
- Dominance (1)
- Economic outcomes (1)
- Embodiment (1)
- Empathy gaps (1)
- Goal-pursuit strategies (1)
- Guilt (1)
- Help seeking (1)
- Helping (1)
- Influence research (1)
- Instigators (1)
- Interdependence (1)
- Job design (1)
- Job performance (1)
- Joint tasks (1)
Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Labor Relations
“Why Didn’T You Just Ask?” Underestimating The Discomfort Of Help-Seeking, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn
“Why Didn’T You Just Ask?” Underestimating The Discomfort Of Help-Seeking, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn
Vanessa K. Bohns
Across four studies we demonstrate that people in a position to provide help tend to underestimate the role that embarrassment plays in decisions about whether or not to ask for help. As a result, potential helpers may overestimate the likelihood that people will ask for help (Studies 1 and 2). Further, helpers may be less inclined to allocate resources to underutilized support programs than help-seekers because they are less likely to attribute low levels of use to help-seekers’ concerns with embarrassment (Study 3). Finally, helpers may misjudge the most effective means of encouraging help-seeking behavior - emphasizing the practical benefits …
For A Dollar, Would You…? How (We Think) Money Affects Compliance With Our Requests, Vanessa K. Bohns, Daniel A. Newark, Amy Z. Xu
For A Dollar, Would You…? How (We Think) Money Affects Compliance With Our Requests, Vanessa K. Bohns, Daniel A. Newark, Amy Z. Xu
Vanessa K. Bohns
Research has shown a robust tendency for people to underestimate their ability to get others to comply with their requests. In five studies, we demonstrate that this underestimation-of-compliance effect is reduced when requesters offer money in exchange for compliance. In Studies 1 and 2, participants assigned to a no-incentive or monetary-incentive condition made actual requests of others. In both studies, requesters who offered no incentives underestimated the likelihood that those they approached would grant their requests; however, when requesters offered monetary incentives, this prediction error was mitigated. In Studies 3-5, we present evidence in support of a model to explain …
Are Social Prediction Errors Universal? Predicting Compliance With A Direct Request Across Cultures, Vanessa K. Bohns, Michael J. J. Handgraaf, Jianmin Sun, Hillie Aaldering, Changguo Mao, Jennifer Logg
Are Social Prediction Errors Universal? Predicting Compliance With A Direct Request Across Cultures, Vanessa K. Bohns, Michael J. J. Handgraaf, Jianmin Sun, Hillie Aaldering, Changguo Mao, Jennifer Logg
Vanessa K. Bohns
Previous research conducted in the United States has demonstrated that help-seekers fail to appreciate the embarrassment and awkwardness (i.e., social costs) targets would experience by saying “no" to a request for help. Underestimation of such social costs leads help-seekers to underestimate the likelihood that others will comply with their requests. We hypothesized that this error would be attenuated in a collectivistic culture. We conducted a naturalistic help-seeking study in the U.S. and China and found that Chinese help-seekers were more accurate than American help-seekers at predicting compliance. A supplementary scenario study in which we measured individual differences in collectivistic and …
Once Bitten, Twice Shy: The Effect Of A Past Refusal On Expectations Of Future Compliance, Daniel A. Newark, Francis J. Flynn, Vanessa K. Bohns
Once Bitten, Twice Shy: The Effect Of A Past Refusal On Expectations Of Future Compliance, Daniel A. Newark, Francis J. Flynn, Vanessa K. Bohns
Vanessa K. Bohns
Four studies examined help-seekers’ beliefs about how past refusals affect future compliance. In Study 1, help-seekers were more likely than potential helpers to believe that a previous refusal would lead a potential helper to deny a subsequent request of similar size. Study 2 replicated this effect and found that help-seekers underestimated the actual compliance rate of potential helpers who had previously refused to help. Studies 3 and 4 explain this asymmetry. Whereas potential helpers’ willingness to comply with a subsequent request stems from the discomfort of rejecting others not once, but twice, help-seekers rely on dispositional attributions of helpfulness to …
If You Need Help, Just Ask: Underestimating Compliance With Direct Requests For Help, Francis J. Flynn, Vanessa K. Bohns
If You Need Help, Just Ask: Underestimating Compliance With Direct Requests For Help, Francis J. Flynn, Vanessa K. Bohns
Vanessa K. Bohns
A series of studies tested whether people underestimate the likelihood that others will comply with their direct requests for help. In the first 3 studies, people underestimated by as much as 50% the likelihood that others would agree to a direct request for help, across a range of requests occurring in both experimental and natural field settings. Studies 4 and 5 demonstrated that experimentally manipulating a person’s perspective (as help seeker or potential helper) could elicit this underestimation effect. Finally, in Study 6, the authors explored the source of the bias, finding that help seekers were less willing than potential …
(Mis)Understanding Our Influence Over Others: A Review Of The Underestimation-Of-Compliance Effect, Vanessa K. Bohns
(Mis)Understanding Our Influence Over Others: A Review Of The Underestimation-Of-Compliance Effect, Vanessa K. Bohns
Vanessa K. Bohns
I review a burgeoning program of research examining people’s perceptions of their influence over others. This research demonstrates that people are overly pessimistic about their ability to get others to comply with their requests. Participants in our studies have asked more than 14,000 strangers a variety of requests. We find that participants underestimate the likelihood that the people they approach will comply with their requests. This error is robust (it persists across various samples and requests) and substantial (on average, requesters underestimate compliance by 48%). We find that this error results from requesters’ failure to appreciate the awkwardness of saying …
It Hurts When I Do This (Or You Do That): Posture And Pain Tolerance, Vanessa K. Bohns, Scott Wiltermuth
It Hurts When I Do This (Or You Do That): Posture And Pain Tolerance, Vanessa K. Bohns, Scott Wiltermuth
Vanessa K. Bohns
Recent research (Carney, Cuddy, & Yap, 2010) has shown that adopting a powerful pose changes people's hormonal levels and increases their propensity to take risks in the same ways that possessing actual power does. In the current research, we explore whether adopting physical postures associated with power, or simply interacting with others who adopt these postures, can similarly influence sensitivity to pain. We conducted two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants who adopted dominant poses displayed higher pain thresholds than those who adopted submissive or neutral poses. These findings were not explained by semantic priming. In Experiment 2, we manipulated power …
Empathy Gaps Between Helpers And Help-Seekers: Implications For Cooperation, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn
Empathy Gaps Between Helpers And Help-Seekers: Implications For Cooperation, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn
Vanessa K. Bohns
Help-seekers and potential helpers often experience an “empathy gap” – an inability to understand each other’s unique perspectives. Both parties are concerned about their reputation, self-esteem, and relationships, but these concerns differ in ways that lead to misinterpretation of the other party’s actions, and, in turn, missed opportunities for cooperation. In this article, we review research that describes the role-specific concerns of helpers and help-seekers. We then review studies of emotional perspective-taking, which can help explain why help-seekers and helpers often experience empathy gaps. We go on to discuss recent work that illustrates the consequences of empathy gaps between helpers …
Underestimating Our Influence Over Others’ Unethical Behavior And Decisions, Vanessa K. Bohns, M. Mahdi Roghaniziad, Amy Z. Xu
Underestimating Our Influence Over Others’ Unethical Behavior And Decisions, Vanessa K. Bohns, M. Mahdi Roghaniziad, Amy Z. Xu
Vanessa K. Bohns
We examined the psychology of “instigators,” i.e., people who surround an unethical act and influence the wrongdoer (the “actor”) without directly committing the act themselves. In four studies, we found that instigators of unethical acts underestimated their influence over actors. In Studies 1 and 2, university students enlisted other students to commit a “white lie” (Study 1) or commit a small act of vandalism (Study 2) after making predictions about how easy it would be to get their fellow students to do so. In Studies 3 and 4, online samples of participants responded to hypothetical vignettes, e.g., about buying children …
Guilt By Design: Structuring Organizations To Elicit Guilt As An Affective Reaction To Failure, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis K. Flynn
Guilt By Design: Structuring Organizations To Elicit Guilt As An Affective Reaction To Failure, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis K. Flynn
Vanessa K. Bohns
In this article, we outline a model of how organizations can effectively shape employees’ affective reactions to failure. We do not suggest that organizations eliminate the experience of negative affect following performance failures—instead, we propose that they encourage a more constructive form of negative affect (guilt) instead of a destructive one (shame). We argue that guilt responses prompt employees to take corrective action in response to mistakes, while shame responses are likely to elicit more detrimental effects of negative affect. Further, we suggest that organizations can play a role in influencing employees’ discrete emotional reactions to the benefit of both …
Opposites Fit: Regulatory Focus Complementarity And Relationship Well-Being, Vanessa K. Bohns, Gale M. Lucas, Daniel C. Molden, Eli J. Finkel, Michael K. Coolsen, Madoka Kumashiro, Caryl E. Rusbult, E. Tory Higgins
Opposites Fit: Regulatory Focus Complementarity And Relationship Well-Being, Vanessa K. Bohns, Gale M. Lucas, Daniel C. Molden, Eli J. Finkel, Michael K. Coolsen, Madoka Kumashiro, Caryl E. Rusbult, E. Tory Higgins
Vanessa K. Bohns
Two studies of romantic couples examined the circumstances under which complementary goal-pursuit strategies (specifically, the pairing of a relationship partner who prefers to pursue goals eagerly with a relationship partner who prefers to pursue goals vigilantly) lead to positive relationship outcomes. As hypothesized, couples who reported higher levels of goal congruence (Study 1) or greater self-other overlap (Study 2) benefited from complementary regulatory focus orientations. We suggest that such benefits stem from the advantages provided by the availability of both eager and vigilant strategic preferences, which allow complementary couples to “divide and conquer” goal pursuits as a unit so that …
Regulatory Focus And Interdependent Economic Decision-Making, Jun Gu, Vanessa K. Bohns, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli
Regulatory Focus And Interdependent Economic Decision-Making, Jun Gu, Vanessa K. Bohns, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli
Vanessa K. Bohns
Traditional theories of self-interest cannot predict when individuals pursue relative and absolute economic outcomes in interdependent decision-making, but we argue that regulatory focus (Higgins, 1997) can. We propose that a concern with security (prevention focus) motivates concerns with social status, leading to the regulation of relative economic outcomes, but a concern with growth (promotion focus) motivates the maximization of opportunities, leading to a focus on absolute outcomes. Two studies supported our predictions; regardless of prosocial or proself motivations, a promotion focus yielded greater concern with absolute outcomes, but a prevention focus yielded greater concern with relative outcomes. Also, Study 3 …
Underestimating Our Influence Over Others At Work, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn
Underestimating Our Influence Over Others At Work, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn
Vanessa K. Bohns
Employees at all organizational levels have influence over their subordinates, their colleagues, and even their bosses. But are they aware of this influence? We present evidence suggesting that employees are constrained by cognitive biases that lead them to underestimate their influence over others in the workplace. As a result of this underestimation of influence, employees may be reluctant to spearhead organizational change, discount their own role in subordinates’ performance failures, and fail to speak up in the face of wrongdoing. In addition to reviewing evidence for this bias, we propose five moderators that, when present, may reverse or attenuate the …
Liking The Same Things, But Doing Things Differently: Outcome Versus Compatibility In Partner Preferences For Joint Tasks, Vanessa K. Bohns, E. Tory Higgins
Liking The Same Things, But Doing Things Differently: Outcome Versus Compatibility In Partner Preferences For Joint Tasks, Vanessa K. Bohns, E. Tory Higgins
Vanessa K. Bohns
We propose a distinction between two types of interpersonal compatibility in determining partner preferences for joint tasks: outcome compatibility and strategic compatibility. We argue that these two types of compatibility correspond to preferences for similar and complementary task partners, respectively. Five studies support this distinction. A pilot study demonstrates that established scales for measuring attitudes and values (variables associated with similarity effects) capture more information about desired outcomes, whereas established scales for measuring dominance (the variable most widely associated with complementarity effects) capture more information about desired strategies. Studies 1a and 1b demonstrate that framing the same variable as either …