scholarly journals Under Pressure: Examining Social Conformity with Computer and Robot Groups

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Hertz ◽  
Eva Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Social Conformity ◽  
Informational Influence ◽  
Group Context ◽  
Human Agent ◽  
Social Tasks ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Conformity Effect ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
The Individual

Objective: To investigate whether non-human agents, such as computers or social robots, produce a social conformity effect within human operators and to what extent potential conformist behavior varies as a function of the human-likeness of the group members and the type of task that had to be performed. Background: People conform due to normative and/or informational motivations in human-human interactions, and conformist behavior is modulated by factors related to the individual, as well as factors associated with the group, context and culture. Studies have yet to examine whether non-human agents also induce social conformity. Method: Participants were assigned to a computer, robot, or human group and completed both a social and analytical task with the respective group. Results: Conformity measures (percentage of times participants answered in line with agents on critical trials) subjected to a 3 x 2 mixed ANOVA showed significantly higher conformity rates for the analytical versus the social task, as well as a modulation of conformity depending of the perceived agent-task fit. Conclusion: Findings indicate that non-human agents were able to exert a general conformity effect and that informational influence associated with the group’s expertise for a given task had a stronger impact on conformity than normative motivations associated with its human-likeness. Application: Results suggest that users may react differently to suggestions of non-human versus human agent groups with the potential of under-reliance on social tasks.

scholarly journals Under Pressure: Examining Social Conformity With Computer and Robot Groups

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (8) ◽  
pp. 1207-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Hertz ◽  
Eva Wiese
Keyword(s):  
Task Type ◽  
Social Conformity ◽  
Group Context ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Likeness ◽  
Conformity Effect ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Analytical Task

Objective: The authors investigate whether nonhuman agents, such as computers or robots, produce a social conformity effect in human operators and examine to what extent potential conformist behavior varies as a function of the human-likeness of the group members and the type of task that has to be performed. Background: People conform due to normative and/or informational motivations in human–human interactions, and conformist behavior is modulated by factors related to the individual as well as factors associated with the group, context, and culture. Studies have yet to examine whether nonhuman agents also induce social conformity. Method: Participants were assigned to a computer, robot, or human group and completed both a social and analytical task with the respective group. Results: Conformity measures (percentage of times participants answered in line with agents on critical trials) subjected to a 3 × 2 mixed ANOVA showed significantly higher conformity rates for the analytical versus the social task as well as a modulation of conformity depending of the perceived agent–task fit. Conclusion: Findings indicate that nonhuman agents were able to exert a social conformity effect, which was modulated further by the perceived match between agent and task type. Participants conformed to comparable degrees with agents during the analytical task but conformed significantly more strongly on the social task as the group’s human-likeness increased. Application: Results suggest that users may react differently to the influence of nonhuman agent groups with the potential for variability in conformity depending on the domain of the task.

scholarly journals Variations in EEG predicts the individual differences in social tasks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoming Zhang ◽  
Kunkun Zhang ◽  
Ziqi Zhang ◽  
Mingqi Zhao ◽  
Quanying Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Influence ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Social Conformity ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Social Tasks ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg

People experience events and form an impression of others in a way that is affected by social influence every day. In the present study, we designed a series of experiments centered on social influence to investigate people's bias in following others' opinions and its underlying neural predictors. Our results showed social conformity and proved that social influence-induced change can be predicted by the amount of electroencephalogram (EEG) variations when people view others' faces. This prediction effect is robust in the alpha-band over the right frontal and left occipital electrodes for negative influence. EEG variations can also predict the subsequent trust difference between negatively and positively influenced faces. Our findings suggest that higher EEG variations in the pre-influence task may serve as a predictor of high vulnerability to social influence. The present study provides a novel approach that considers both the stability of one's endogenous EEG and the variations in external task components to predict human social behaviors.

The Epistemology of Groups

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lackey
Keyword(s):  
Group Level ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Individual Group ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Normative Requirements ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Belief Justification ◽  
In Virtue Of ◽  
Trump Administration

Groups are often said to bear responsibility for their actions, many of which have enormous moral, legal, and social significance. The Trump Administration, for instance, is said to be responsible for the U.S.’s inept and deceptive handling of COVID-19 and the harms that American citizens have suffered as a result. But are groups subject to normative assessment simply in virtue of their individual members being so, or are they somehow agents in their own right? Answering this question depends on understanding key concepts in the epistemology of groups, as we cannot hold the Trump Administration responsible without first determining what it believed, knew, and said. Deflationary theorists hold that group phenomena can be understood entirely in terms of individual members and their states. Inflationary theorists maintain that group phenomena are importantly over and above, or otherwise distinct from, individual members and their states. It is argued that neither approach is satisfactory. Groups are more than their members, but not because they have “minds of their own,” as the inflationists hold. Instead, this book shows how group phenomena—like belief, justification, and knowledge—depend on what the individual group members do or are capable of doing while being subject to group-level normative requirements. This framework, it is argued, allows for the correct distribution of responsibility across groups and their individual members.

scholarly journals Prudential Use of the Morally Controversial COVID-19 Vaccines

2021 ◽  
pp. 002436392110176
Author(s):  
Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Agent ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
The Individual

In recent months, there has been a lot of debate surrounding the use of those COVID-19 vaccines that have been either tested or manufactured with cell lines that were isolated from the remains of an aborted fetal child. Most faithful and orthodox Catholic moral theologians, among whom I count myself, have concluded that their use is not intrinsically evil. Therefore, like every other decision that falls into the category of actions that are not intrinsically evil, the decision to be vaccinated with these morally controversial vaccines has to be governed by the virtue of prudence. It is a decision that calls for a wisdom that properly sees this action within the constellation of actions that propels the human agent to the heights of holiness. This is why prayer is so essential for authentic moral judgment. With prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit who is the all-prudent one to guide our actions so that we can choose and act well not only for our only well-being but for the well-being of all. Acts that are not themselves intrinsically evil are deemed virtuous or not within the narrative of the individual person’s life.

scholarly journals Decentralised sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) vine multiplication in Lake Zone, Tanzania: Five years later

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 677-689
Author(s):  
Margaret A. McEwan ◽  
Conny J. M. Almekinders ◽  
Moses S. Matui ◽  
Dorothy Lusheshanija ◽  
Mariana Massawe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Ipomoea Batatas ◽  
Water Access ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Lake Zone ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Market Factors ◽  
The Individual

AbstractFarmer-based seed multiplication is widely promoted by development practitioners, but there is limited understanding of the individual or collective motivations of farmers to engage or disengage in specialised seed production. The objective of this study is to understand the factors influencing the continuity of sweetpotato vine multiplication enterprises in the Lake Zone of Tanzania, five years after support from a project ended. A total of 81 out of 88 trained group or individual decentralised vine multipliers (DVMs) were traced to assess their vine multiplication activities. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through telephone and field interviews. Our data showed that 40% of the 81 DVMs had sold vines in the year prior to the study and 20% had maintained the improved varieties for their own use. Some group members had continued vine sales as individuals. The DVMs’ reasons for abandoning vine multiplication included climatic and water access issues, market factors and group dynamics. The DVMs did not engage in high volumes of commercial sales. Socio-economic norms and values underpin the transactions of sweetpotato vines. These norms may undermine the emergence of commercially viable enterprises yet seem navigable for a substantial number of the DVMs. Group DVMs seem less commercially successful than individuals.

scholarly journals Task allocation and site fidelity jointly influence foraging regulation in honeybee colonies

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 170344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago Mosqueiro ◽  
Chelsea Cook ◽  
Ramon Huerta ◽  
Jürgen Gadau ◽  
Brian Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Collective Behaviour ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Resource Collection ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Collective Foraging ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Colony Level ◽  
And Task

Variation in behaviour among group members often impacts collective outcomes. Individuals may vary both in the task that they perform and in the persistence with which they perform each task. Although both the distribution of individuals among tasks and differences among individuals in behavioural persistence can each impact collective behaviour, we do not know if and how they jointly affect collective outcomes. Here, we use a detailed computational model to examine the joint impact of colony-level distribution among tasks and behavioural persistence of individuals, specifically their fidelity to particular resource sites, on the collective trade-off between exploring for new resources and exploiting familiar ones. We developed an agent-based model of foraging honeybees, parametrized by data from five colonies, in which we simulated scouts, who search the environment for new resources, and individuals who are recruited by the scouts to the newly found resources, i.e. recruits. We varied the persistence of returning to a particular food source of both scouts and recruits and found that, for each value of persistence, there is a different optimal ratio of scouts to recruits that maximizes resource collection by the colony. Furthermore, changes to the persistence of scouts induced opposite effects from changes to the persistence of recruits on the collective foraging of the colony. The proportion of scouts that resulted in the most resources collected by the colony decreased as the persistence of recruits increased. However, this optimal proportion of scouts increased as the persistence of scouts increased. Thus, behavioural persistence and task participation can interact to impact a colony's collective behaviour in orthogonal directions. Our work provides new insights and generates new hypotheses into how variations in behaviour at both the individual and colony levels jointly impact the trade-off between exploring for new resources and exploiting familiar ones.

scholarly journals Reflective Practices to Study Group Dynamics: Implement Empowerment and Understand the Functioning of Groups

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Rania ◽  
Ilaria Coppola ◽  
Laura Pinna
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Reflective Practices ◽  
Group Context ◽  
Group Experiences ◽  
Relevant Group ◽  
Training Activities ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Group Empowerment ◽  
Online Group ◽  
Group Skills

Introduction: Individual and group reflection practices are qualitative methods useful in a group context to develop group skills and more awareness of the dynamics that take place within the group to which one belongs.Aim: The aim of this work is to highlight how individual reflective practices and group reflections contribute to the development of group skills. More specifically, the effectiveness of relevant group dynamics is investigated, with the aim of creating a space for reflection, and activation for individual and group empowerment.Participants: The participants were 130 university students (86% female), resided in northwestern Italy, and had a mean age of 27.5 years (SD = 7.52). They were randomly divided into 23 groups (ranged from four to nine members).Method: The participants engaged in several online training activities and at the end of every activity they completed individual reflection practice in which they presented both positive and negative aspects related to the group experiences. Then they participated in online group reflections that allowed them to reflect on the group dynamics, particular attention given to factors such as climate, participation and roles played by each participant in a variety of training activities. This study analyzes 130 individual reflective practices and 23 group reflections. The data collected through individual reflective practices and the transcripts of the group reflections were analyzed using grounded theory. Two independent judges analyzed and categorized the data and then identified the main common categories that emerged by the support of Nvivo software.Results: From the analysis of the content, it is determined that the participants, based on the construction of the individual and group reflections, paid greater attention to the dynamics that occurred within the group during the various activities in which they participated, thus allowing them to be more aware of the various factors that affected the importance attributed to the different roles, the climate, and their active participation.Conclusion: Combined, these factors allowed participants to strengthen their relationships with each other and enhance the cohesion of the group.

scholarly journals Major Evolutionary Transitions in Social Insects, the Importance of Worker Sterility and Life History Trade-Offs

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Bernadou ◽  
Boris H. Kramer ◽  
Judith Korb
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Worker Sterility

The evolution of eusociality in social insects, such as termites, ants, and some bees and wasps, has been regarded as a major evolutionary transition (MET). Yet, there is some debate whether all species qualify. Here, we argue that worker sterility is a decisive criterion to determine whether species have passed a MET (= superorganisms), or not. When workers are sterile, reproductive interests align among group members as individual fitness is transferred to the colony level. Division of labour among cooperating units is a major driver that favours the evolution of METs across all biological scales. Many METs are characterised by a differentiation into reproductive versus maintenance functions. In social insects, the queen specialises on reproduction while workers take over maintenance functions such as food provisioning. Such division of labour allows specialisation and it reshapes life history trade-offs among cooperating units. For instance, individuals within colonies of social insects can overcome the omnipresent fecundity/longevity trade-off, which limits reproductive success in organisms, when increased fecundity shortens lifespan. Social insect queens (particularly in superorganismal species) can reach adult lifespans of several decades and are among the most fecund terrestrial animals. The resulting enormous reproductive output may contribute to explain why some genera of social insects became so successful. Indeed, superorganismal ant lineages have more species than those that have not passed a MET. We conclude that the release from life history constraints at the individual level is a important, yet understudied, factor across METs to explain their evolutionary success.

scholarly journals The analysis of individual Visegrad group members’ agrarian export sensitivity in relation to selected macroeconomic aggregations

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-342
Author(s):  
Miroslav Svatoš ◽  
Luboš Smutka
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Trade ◽  
Added Value ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Grocery Industry ◽  
Agricultural Exports ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Visegrad Group

This paper analyzes the development of agricultural trade of the countries of the Visegrad Group with emphasis on development of the value of agricultural exports of the individual countries. The subject matter of the analysis is the sensitivity of the commodity structure of agricultural exports of individual countries and the identification of aggregations that are the least and the most sensitive to changes to the external and internal economic environment. From the conducted research, agricultural trade in the V4 countries was found to have developed very dynamically from 1993 to 2008, while the commodity structure of exports has constantly narrowed as the degree of specialization of the individual countries has increased (this applies especially to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary). From the results of analysis of sensitivity to changes of selected variables relating to the development of the value of agricultural exports of the individual V4 countries, it appears that the aggregations that react most sensitively to changes are those that are the subject of re-exports, followed by the aggregations that are characterized by a high degree of added value. In general it can be said that products of agricultural primary production exhibit less sensitivity in comparison with grocery industry products. This is confirmed by the general trend arising from the very nature of consumer behaviour.

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