Alle Publikationen
2014
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(2014): To be respected and to respect: The challenge of mutual respect in intergroup relations. In: British Journal of Social Psychology 53 (1), S. 39-53. DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12019 Abstract: Building on theorizing in social and political philosophy the article illuminates the phenomenology of respect and examines its role in intergroup relations. The particular focus is on members of the gay and lesbian community in Germany (total of 1,028 gay men and 703 lesbian women aged 15-76 years), their respect experiences, and how these experiences relate to their attitudes toward Muslims. The authors predicted and found that the experience of being respected in society primarily reflected perceived recognition of gays and lesbians as equal members of society. In addition, they predicted and found that perceived respect from the Muslim community was negatively related to anti-Muslim attitude among gays and lesbians. The same was true for perceived respect from society at large. More specifically, respondents who felt respected by the majority of society showed lower levels of anti-Muslim attitude and, in line with the dominant status of perceived equality recognition in the experience of being respected, this decrease was fully mediated via an increase in perceived equality recognition.
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(2014): Varietätenlinguistik. Eine Einführung. Tübingen: Narr
Abstract: Der Band gibt eine umfassende Einführung in die Varietätenlinguistik. Auf einen Einblick in die Verortung und die Geschichte der Varietätenlinguistik folgt eine Darstellung unterschiedlicher Varietätenmodelle und verschiedener Methoden der Analyse der diasystematischen Variation. In weiteren Kapiteln werden unter Bezug auf varietätenlinguistische Untersuchungen und anhand von zahlreichen Daten und Beispielen aus verschiedenen Sprachen und Varietäten wesentliche Termini und Kategorien, theoretische Ansätze, Probleme und Lösungsansätze betrachtet. Eigene Kapitel sind der AuseinanderSetzung mit varietätenlinguistischen Fragestellungen u. a. in der ÜberSetzungswissenschaft und der Fremdsprachendidaktik gewidmet. Die Kapitel werden jeweils durch vielfältige Arbeitsaufgaben zum Selbststudium und bibliografische Hinweise abgerundet.
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Smari, Waleed W. (2014): International Conference on Collaboration Technologies and Systems (CTS), 2014. 19-23 May 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA ; [including symposia and workshops]. 2014 International Conference on Collaboration Technologies and Systems (CTS). Minneapolis, MN, USA, 5/19/2014 - 5/23/2014. Annual IEEE Computer Conference; International Conference on Collaboration Technologies and Systems (CTS); International Symposium on Big Data and Data Analytics in Collaboration (BDDAC); International Symposium on Security in Collaboration Technologies and Systems (SECOTS); International Symposium on Collaborative Analysis and Reasoning Systems (CARS); Workshop on Cloud Services and Web 2.0 Technologies for Collaboration (CSWC); International Workshop on Collaborative Robots and Human-Robot Interaction (CR-HRI); International Workshop on Collaborations in Emergency Response and Disaster Management (ERDM); International Workshop on Collaboration Technologies and Systems in Healthcare and Biomedical Fields (CoHeB). Piscataway, NJ: IEEE
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(2014): Partizipation. Metapher, Mimesis, Musik - und die Kunst, Texte bewohnbar zu machen. Paderborn: Fink
Abstract: Dieses Buch legt Grundlagen für ein neues Verständnis von Literatur. Ausgehend von dem, was Leser nur als körperliche Wesen können, eröffnet es neue Fragen zum Sinn von Texten und zur literarischen Ästhetik. Literatur kann das Herz rasen, den Atem stocken, die vorlesende Stimme zittern lassen. Sie hat an der Körperlichkeit der Menschen teil. Aber auf welche Weise? Anhand von linguistischen, phänomenologischen, evolutionstheoretischen, medienphilosophischen und neurowissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen geht Jan Söffner dieser Frage nach. Er setzt bei dem gleichermaßen kulturell und evolutionär geformten Menschen an und versucht, seine Relation mit der Sprache zu bestimmen. Dabei wird das Paradigma sprachlicher Partizipation demjenigen der Referentialität zur Seite gestellt: Literatur nimmt nicht nur auf die körperliche Welt der Leser Bezug, sie hat an ihr auch teil.
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(2014): Evaluation of Head Gaze Loosely Synchronized With Real-Time Synthetic Speech for Social Robots. In: IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems 44 (6), S. 767-778. DOI: 10.1109/THMS.2014.2342035
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/THMS.2014.2342035 Abstract: This study demonstrates that robots can achieve socially acceptable interactions using loosely synchronized head gaze-speech acts. Prior approaches use tightly synchronized head gaze-speech, which requires significant human effort and time to manually annotate synchronization events in advance, restricts interactive dialog, or requires that the operator acts as a puppeteer. This paper describes how autonomous synchronization of head gaze can be achieved by exploiting affordances in the sentence structure and time delays. A 93-participant user study was conducted in a simulated disaster site. The rescue robot “Survivor Buddy” generated head gaze for a victim management scenario using a 911 dialog. The study used pre- and postinteraction questionnaires to compare the social acceptance level of loosely synchronized head gaze-speech against tightly synchronized head gaze-speech (manual annotation) and no head gaze-speech conditions. The results indicated that for attributes of Self-Assessment Manikin, i.e., Arousal, Robot Likeability, Human-Like Behavior, Understanding Robot Behavior, Gaze-Speech Synchronization, Looking at Objects at Appropriate Times, and Natural Movement, the loosely synchronized head gaze-speech is similar to tightly synchronized head gaze-speech and preferred to the no head gaze-speech case. This study contributes to a fundamental understanding of the role of social head gaze in social acceptance for human-machine interaction, how social gaze can be produced, and promotes practical implementation in social robots.
Keywords: Angemessen(heit) (von Technik), Autonomous generation, autonomous head gaze synchronization, Evaluation, human robot interactions, Human-Machine Interaction, human-robot interaction, Human–robot interaction, ieee xplore, interactive conversation, interactive systems, loosely synchronized head gaze-speech acts, real-time synthetic speech, Real-time systems, rescue robots, Robot kinematics, self-assessment manikin, social head gaze, social robots, speech, Survivor Buddy rescue robot, synchronisation, Synchronization, tightly synchronized head gaze-speech, User study, victim management scenario -
(2014): Anerkennung, Subjektivität und Gesellschaftskritik. In: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie 62 (2), S. 239-259. DOI: 10.1515/dzph-2014-0019
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(2014): Age-related differences in judgments of inappropriate behavior are related to humor style preferences. In: Psychology and Aging 29 (3), S. 528-541. DOI: 10.1037/a0036666
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25244473 Abstract: Identifying social gaffes is important for maintaining relationships. Older adults are less able than young to discriminate between socially appropriate and inappropriate behavior in video clips. One open question is how these social appropriateness ratings relate to potential age differences in the perception of what is actually funny or not. In the present study, young, middle-aged, and older adults were equally able to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate social behavior in a diverse set of clips relevant across age groups. However, young and middle-aged adults rated the gaffe clips as funnier than control clips and young adults smiled more during the inappropriate clips than the control clips. Older adults did not show this pattern, suggesting that they did not find the inappropriate clips funny. Additionally, young adults endorsed a more aggressive humor style than middle-aged and older adults and aggressive humor style endorsement mediated age differences in social appropriateness ratings. Results are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms such as cohort differences in humor and developmental prioritization of certain humor styles, as well as the importance of investigating age differences in both abilities and preferences.
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(2014): Visual mismatch negativity. A predictive coding view. In: Frontiers in human neuroscience 8
Abstract: Reviewed the theoretical underpinnings of visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) in light of methodological considerations and provided recommendations for measuring and interpreting the vMMN. An increasing number of studies have investigated the vMMN or used the vMMN as a tool to probe various aspects of human cognition. The following key issues were discussed from the experimentalist's point of view in a predictive coding framework: (1) experimental protocols and procedures to control refractoriness effects; (2) methods to control attention; and (3) vMMN and veridical perception. zitiert von 93
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(2014): Factors influencing trust in Ambient Assisted Living Technology: A scenario-based analysis. In: Gerontechnology 12 (2), S. 81-100. DOI: 10.4017/gt.2013.12.2.002.00
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2013.12.2.002.00 Abstract: Demographic aging in Germany and the related structural change in the health care sector enable a market for assistive technologies for elderly people in a home living environment. The objective of this study is a scenario-based analysis regarding trust in Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). A standardized questionnaire survey with 292 participants from 50 to 93 years of age was conducted in Germany. Two different interview groups, people who need support in daily life due to different kinds of impairment and people without need for care, have been considered. The analysis was using correlation and stepwise regression analysis. As an important finding, a strong relationship between trust in AAL and an intention to use AAL can be highlighted. The significant influencing factors on trust are expected reliability, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness of AAL. Information procurement, interest in technology, and perceived health status are further variables which directly influence the end-user intention to use. People with need for care showed lower trust and intention to use values than people without need for care. The analyses show additionally that younger as well as participants with better perceived health status have higher trust values and more intention to use AAL based on the two scenarios. In contrast to a former study in the AAL context, gender has no significant influence on trust. In the future, further experimental studies with focus on elderly persons’ trust in AAL will be performed. These experiments will include, on the one hand, personal remote assistance for the end-user and, on the other hand, variation of actual reliability of AAL technology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
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(2014): Personal remote assistance in Ambient Assisted Living - Experimental research of elderly people's trust and their intention to use. In: International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 30 (7). Online verfügbar unter URL: http://www.hcirn.com/res/period/ijhci.php
Abstract: Analyzed the meaning of two different support functions regarding the use of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). 32 older persons (mean age 69 years) and a younger control group (n = 21; mean age 24 years) were examined in an experiment with three different tasks using a tablet computer. The first group operated with a mock-up that provided personal remote assistance (PRA) and the second group with one that provided embedded technical assistance (ETA). The main results show that older participants with PRA solve significantly more tasks than people with ETA. Moreover, a significant influence of perceived ease of use with PRA is revealed. Multiple regressions in the senior sample highlight a significant connection between trust in AAL technology and perceived reliability as well as perceived ease of use. No significant correlation between the type of assistance and older persons' trust, as well as an intention to use AAL, was found.
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(2014): Personal remote assistance in Ambient Assisted Living - Experimental research of elderly people's trust and their intention to use. In: International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 30 (7). Online verfügbar unter URL: http://www.hcirn.com/res/period/ijhci.php
Abstract: Analyzed the meaning of two different support functions regarding the use of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). 32 older persons (mean age 69 years) and a younger control group (n = 21; mean age 24 years) were examined in an experiment with three different tasks using a tablet computer. The first group operated with a mock-up that provided personal remote assistance (PRA) and the second group with one that provided embedded technical assistance (ETA). The main results show that older participants with PRA solve significantly more tasks than people with ETA. Moreover, a significant influence of perceived ease of use with PRA is revealed. Multiple regressions in the senior sample highlight a significant connection between trust in AAL technology and perceived reliability as well as perceived ease of use. No significant correlation between the type of assistance and older persons' trust, as well as an intention to use AAL, was found.
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(2014): Soziales Lernen – Angewandte Sozialpsychologie für Lernende und Lehrende in Schule und Universität. In: Gruppendynamik und Organisationsberatung 45 (1), S. 5-23. DOI: 10.1007/s11612-014-0234-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11612-014-0234-6 Abstract: In this paper, two interdigitated current training projects will be presented. The presentation is to show that social psychological theories can be applied profitably for school development. The content is about social learning in school. Social learning is aimed at the acquisition of social and emotional skills. These skills are positively correlated with the cognitive development of students. Social skills need to be explicitly taught and practiced, especially if they were developed insufficiently in childhood. In the project Social learning we examine what contents may include social learning. In the project Classroom Management we explore how these contents are best taught and this teaching can be taught. Insights of Social Psychology are introduced for each resulting different extracts of reality and their uses are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
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Stets, Jan E.; Turner, Jonathan H. (Hg.) (2014): Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions: Volume II. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands (Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research)
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(2014): Three orders in the organization of human action. On the interface between knowledge, power, and emotion in interaction and social relations. In: Language in Society 43 (02), S. 185-207. DOI: 10.1017/S0047404514000037
Abstract: All social life is based on people's ability to recognize what others are doing. Recently, the mechanisms underlying this human ability have become the focus of a growing multidisciplinary interest. This article contributes to this line of research by considering how people's orientations to who they are to each other are built-in in the organization action. We outline a unifying theoretical framework in which the basic facets of human social relations are seen as being anchored in three orders-epistemic order, deontic order, and emotional order-each of which, we argue, also pertains to action recognition. This framework allows us to account for common ambiguities in action recognition and to describe relationship negotiations involving a complex interface between knowledge, power, and emotion.
Keywords: POWER -
(2014): Gerechtigkeitsurteile und Konflikte. Warum Menschen unfaire Informationen bevorzugen. In: Konfliktdynamik 3 (1), S. 8-17
Abstract: Grunde fur die Bevorzugung unfairer Informationen in Konflikten werden reflektiert. Nach einem Einblick in Prozesse der fairessrelevanten Informationssuche in Konfliktsituationen werden basierend auf der Theorie der kognitiven Dissonanz und der Fairness-Heuristik-Theorie Bewertungsprozesse erlautert. Anhand empirischer Befunde wird die Praferenz von Informationen verdeutlicht, die eine unfaire Wahrnehmung unterstutzen. Als Ursache fur diese Praferenz wird die unterschiedliche Glaubwurdigkeit von als fair und als unfair wahrgenommenen Informationen diskutiert, aus der diefolgende Hypothese abgeleitet wird: Wahrend wahrgenommene Fairness als zweifelhaft beurtielt wird wird und somit eine vertiefende der Informationssuche hervorruft, wird Unfairnessempfinden als so uberzeugend wahrgenommen, dass es zur Bestatigung des ersten Eindrucks motiviert. Die Bedeutung dieser Prozesse fur die Vermittlung von positiven Fairnessinformationen in Konfliktsituationen und fur die Konfliktlosung wird verdeutlicht. Source: 978-3-642-19034-6
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(2014): Art as behaviour – an ethological approach to visual and verbal art, music and architecture. In: Anthropologischer Anzeiger 71 (1), S. 3-13. DOI: 10.1127/0003-5548/2014/0371
Abstract: In recent years, the fine arts, architecture, music and literature have increasingly been examined from the vantage point of human ethology and evolutionary psychology. In 2011 the authors formed the research group 'Ethology of the Arts' concentrating on the evolution and biology of perception and behaviour. These novel approaches aim at a better understanding of the various facets represented by the arts by taking into focus possible phylogenetic adaptations, which have shaped the artistic capacities of our ancestors. Rather than culture specificity, which is stressed e.g. by cultural anthropology and numerous other disciplines, universal human tendencies to perceive, feel, think and behave are postulated. Artistic expressive behaviour is understood as an integral part of the human condition, whether expressed in ritual, visual, verbal or musical art. The Ethology of the Arts-group's research focuses on visual and verbal art, music and built environment/architecture and is designed to contribute to the incipient interdisciplinarity in the field of evolutionary art research.
Keywords: Aesthetics, architecture, built environment, Communication, culture specificity, Disziplin, Ethologie, Ethologie der Kunst, ethology of arts, Evolution, evolutionary musicology, human ethology, Kognitive Skills/Social Cognition, Kulturtheorie, Kunstgeschichte, lyrics, music, poetry, SEXUAL SELECTION, universal human tendencies, universals, urban ethology, visual arts, VOCAL EXPRESSION, Voraussetzungen für sozial angemessenes Verhalten, ZEBRA FINCHES -
(2014) : Integration of work operation and embodied multimodal interaction in task modeling for collaborative robot development: The 4th Annual IEEE International Conference on Cyber Technology in Automation, Control and Intelligent Systems: The 4th Annual IEEE International Conference on Cyber Technology in Automation, Control and Intelligent: Hong Kong, China: IEEE, S. 615-618
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/CYBER.2014.6917534 Abstract: In a collaborative robot development, the robot is required to understand both the content of the work operation, and the current condition of the working environment and the progress of the human, in order to provide exact assistance in the correct timing. This work aims to integrate together both robot knowledge in work operation and embodied multimodal interaction for collaborative robot development. A task modeling approach is proposed to build a hierarchical task model of the entire work operation and grounding with the actual condition (“state”) of the objects and environment, and the action (“transition”) of work in the embodied dimension. The system is implemented in a simulation environment with human interaction in both structured (collaborative cooking task) and unstructured (clean up task) operations.
Keywords: ieee xplore, Operation & Assistance Systems -
(2014): When stereotypes meet robots. The double-edge sword of robot gender and personality in human–robot interaction. In: Computers in Human Behavior 38, S. 75-84. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.014 Abstract: With the emerging application of social and psychological concepts to human–robot interaction, we investigated the effects of occupational roles (security vs. healthcare), gender (male vs. female), and personality (extrovert vs. introvert) on user acceptance of a social robot. In a laboratory experiment, a robot performed two different roles of a healthcare and security to address the potential usage of social robots at home. During the task, the robot manifested different genders and personalities via nonverbal cues. The results showed that participants (n=164) preferred the robot with matching gender-occupational role and personality-occupational role stereotypes. This finding implies that the gender and personality of social robots do not monotonically influence user responses; instead, they interact with corresponding role stereotypes to affect user acceptance of social robots. In addition, personality-occupational role stereotypes showed a stronger effect on users' responses than gender-occupational role stereotypes. The overall results lay a foundation for designers to reduce the wide design spaces of social robots by grouping the various parameters under the big umbrella of social role stereotypes.
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(2014): Grenzen - seelische Struktur und der Einfluss veranderter Arbeits-, Lebens- und Selbstkonzepte. In: Psychodynamische Psychotherapie 13 (3), S. 152-161
Abstract: Seelische Erkrankungen werden zunehmend vor dem Hintergrund veranderter Arbeits- und Lebensbedingungen diskutiert. Aufgrund der Komplexitat der Entstehungsbedingungen dieser Storungen ist die Auseinandersetzung mit den moglichen Ursachen schwierig und entsprechend unvollstandig. Ausgehend vom grundlegenden Aufbau organischer Substanz und Freuds Annahmen zur Funktion eines effektiven Reizschutzes werden Grenzen und deren Auswirkungen auf das Gleichgewicht bzw. Ungleichgewicht untersucht. Reflektiert werden Wachstums- und Machbarkeitsideologien und entsprechende Auswirkungen auf das Selbstbild und die Erwartungen des Individuums an sich selbst und an andere. Die Leugnung der Begrenztheit befordert grandiose Erwartungen und fuhrt, bei entsprechender Disposition, zu seelischer Krankheit. Die Modediagnose "Burnout" hat diesem Phanomen einen Namen gegeben.
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(2014): Is stress affecting our ability to tune into others? Evidence for gender differences in the effects of stress on self-other distinction. In: Psychoneuroendocrinology 43, S. 95-104. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.02.006
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24703175 Abstract: Stress is a ubiquitous challenge in society as we consistently interact with others under the influence of stress. Distinguishing self- from other-related mental representations plays an important role for social interactions, and is a prerequisite for crucial social skills such as action understanding, empathy, and mentalizing. Little is known, however, about the effects of stress on self-other distinction. We assessed how acute stress impacts self-other distinction in the perceptual-motor, the affective, and the cognitive domain, in a male and female sample. In all domains, the results show opposing effects of stress on the two genders: while women showed increases in self-other distinction, men showed decreases. Our findings suggest that women flexibly disambiguate self and other under stress, enabling accurate social responses, while men respond with increased egocentricity and less adaptive regulation. This has crucial implications for explaining gender differences in social skills such as empathy and prosociality. zitiert von 72
Keywords: Adolescent, Adult, Ego, Einzelstudie / spezifisch, Empathy/physiology, Female, Gender, Geschlechterforschung, Heart Rate, Humans, Hydrocortisone/metabolism, Imitative Behavior, Interpersonal Relations, Kognitionswissenschaften, Male, Sex Characteristics, Stress, Psychological/psychology, Young Adult -
(2014): Cities by Design. The Social Life of Urban Form. Hoboken: Wiley. Online verfügbar unter http://gbv.eblib.com/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1602914
Abstract: Who makes our cities, and what part do everyday users have in the design of cities? This book powerfully shows that city-making is a social process and examines the close relationship between the social and physical shaping of urban environments. With cities taking a growing share of the global population, urban forms and urban experience are crucial for understanding social injustice, economic inequality and environmental challenges. Current processes of urbanization too often contribute to intensifying these problems; cities, likewise, will be central to the solutions to such problems. Focus
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(2014): An auction behavior-based robotic architecture for service robotics. In: Intelligent Service Robotics 7 (3), S. 157-174. DOI: 10.1007/s11370-013-0141-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11370-013-0141-7 Abstract: Service robots have the potential of improving the quality of life and assist with people’s daily activities. Such robots must be capable of operating over long periods of time, performing multiple tasks, and scheduling them appropriately for execution. In addition, service robots must be capable of dealing with tasks whose goals may be in conflict with each other and would need to determine, dynamically, which task to pursue in such a case. Adding to the complexity of the problem is the fact that some task requests may have time constraints—deadlines by which the task has to be completed. Given the dynamic nature of the environment, the robots must make decisions on what tasks to pursue in situations where there could be incomplete or missing information. The robots should also be capable of accepting requests for new tasks or services at runtime, while possibly working on another task. In order to achieve these requirements, this paper presents the Auction Behavior-Based Robotic Architecture that brings the following contributions: (1) it uses an auction mechanism to determine the relevance of a task to run at any given time, (2) it handles multiple user requests while dealing with potentially critical time constraints and incomplete information, (3) it enables long-term robot operation and (4) it allows for dynamic assignment of new tasks. The proposed system is validated on a physical robotic platform, the Segway RMP® and in simulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
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(2014): The figure and ground of engagement. In: AI & society : the journal of human and machine intelligence 29 (1), S. 33-43
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(2014): The consistency of fairness rules. An experimental study. In: Journal of Economic Psychology 41, S. 88-100. DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2012.12.007
Abstract: This paper studies individual consistency in the use of fairness rules, together with the role of self-serving bias in decision-making. We likewise attempt to characterize the different decision-making processes associated with the two types of self-interested behavior (pure selfish and self-serving). We use a within-subject design, which allows us to compare individual behavior when the context changes. In line with the literature, we find a multiplicity of fairness rules. However, the set of fairness rules is considerably smaller when we control for consistency. Only selfishness and strict egalitarianism seem to survive the stricter consistency requirements. We observe that this result is mainly explained by a self-serving bias. Additionally, we observe that faster decisions are self-interested and decisions dealing with moral trade-off are slower.
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(2014): Social Autopoiesis?. In: CONSTRUCTIVIST FOUNDATIONS (9/2), S. 153-166
Abstract: In previous papers, I suggested six rules proposed by Varela, Maturana and Uribe as a validation test to assess the autopoietic nature of a complex dynamic system. Identifying possible non-biological autopoietic systems is harder than merely assessing self-organization, existence of embodied boundaries and some observable autonomous behavioural capabilities: any rigorous assessment should include a close observation of the "intra-boundaries" phenomenology in terms of components' self-production, their spatial distribution and the temporal occurrence of interaction events. >Problem . Under which physical and components' relational conditions can some social systems be properly considered as autopoietic unities compliant with the six rules? >Results . Dynamic systems can be classified according to "degrees of autonomous behaviour" that they may acquire as a result of the emergence of organizational closure (i.e., autonomy). Also, the different "degrees of attainable systemic autonomy" depend on the "degrees of autonomy" shown by a system's dynamic components. For human social systems, a necessary balance between individuals' autonomy and the heteronomous behaviour brought about on people by social norms (laws, culture, tradition or coercion) sets limits to the "degree of systemic autonomy" that human organizations may acquire. Therefore social systems, defined as dynamic systems composed of physical agents, could not attain the high "levels of systemic autonomy" ascribable to autopoietic systems without constraining the autonomy of agents to "levels" that are incompatible with spontaneous human behaviour. Also, social organizations seen as composed of physical agents interacting in physical space cannot be construed as autopoietic systems. Alternatively, if seen as composed of "process-like" entities, where agents participate as actors within processes, some social systems could be described as autopoietic wholes existing in the abstract space in which we distinguish interactions between processes, provided that we can assess compliance with the rules for some specific cases. >Implications . These conclusions contribute to the debate on the possible autopoietic nature of some human social systems and to grasping the opportunity to shift focus to the more interesting issue of the "degrees of systemic autonomy" that human organizations could acquire (if needed) without imposing unbearable limitations on the autonomy of human actors. Also, the conceptual framework of this explanatory approach could be used in practical terms to assist the development of new dynamic modelling languages capable of simulating social systems.
Keywords: autonomy, Autopoiesis, causation, complex dynamic system, degrees of autonomous behaviour, Disziplin, heteronomy, Luhmann, Maturana, Multi-Agenten-Systeme, organizational closure, Philosophie, self-organization, simulating social systems, simulation, social system, social systems, Soziologie, Technikphilosophie, Varela