This thesis consists of three empirical chapters that investigate elements of human social behavior, adherence to and violations of social norms, and the computational and neurological... Show moreThis thesis consists of three empirical chapters that investigate elements of human social behavior, adherence to and violations of social norms, and the computational and neurological underpinnings thereof. I focus on three behavioral paradigms in particular – the attacker-defender contest, the trust game, and the ultimatum game – which model asymmetrical conflicts, generosity and reciprocity, and norms of fairness, respectively. Ultimately, each chapter acts as a building block contributing a different perspective to the study of human sociality. Using economic games, computational models based on the principle of utility, and model-based neuroimaging, my research contributes to the scientific endeavor working to crack the “elaborate and secret code that is written nowhere, known by none, and understood by all” (Sapir, 1927, p.137) Show less
This dissertation examines the relations between two ethnic groups in Kosovo who have lived segregated since the Kosovo War (1998-1999), Kosovar Albanians and Kosovar Serbs. The main research... Show moreThis dissertation examines the relations between two ethnic groups in Kosovo who have lived segregated since the Kosovo War (1998-1999), Kosovar Albanians and Kosovar Serbs. The main research question I examined is how contact between the segregated Kosovar Albanian majority and Kosovar Serb minority can be stimulated. Across five studies, I investigated the role of social identity complexity and inclusiveness, as well as distinctiveness threat in the willingness of Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo to interact. Overall, the findings reveal that the generation of Kosovars who grew up after the war have a very limited intention to invest in a peaceful and inclusive society. Using a social identity approach, I outline several social psychological barriers that play a role here, ranging from negative interethnic relations and reluctance to form relationships with Kosovars belonging to other ethnic groups, to difficulties in integrating one’s ethnic identity (Albanian or Serbian) into a new national Kosovar identity that is still in development since the country gained independence in 2008. The dissertation also discusses the importance and the prospects of fostering more inclusive social identities among Kosovar Albanians and Kosovar Serbs to live together in peace as they develop the new nation of Kosovo. Show less
This thesis investigated the extent to which types of civil service appointments shape the attitudes and behaviour of civil servants in neo-patrimonial settings, with a focus on the Ghanaian... Show moreThis thesis investigated the extent to which types of civil service appointments shape the attitudes and behaviour of civil servants in neo-patrimonial settings, with a focus on the Ghanaian experience. Despite the theoretical view in public administration literature about the consequences of the type of a civil servants’ appointment on his/her attitude and behaviour, the empirical data is marginal in emerging democracies such as Ghana. Regarding the attitudes and behaviour of concern, the study focused on the level of bureaucrats’ autonomy, loyalty and responsiveness. To investigate this phenomenon, the study adopted a mixed-method approach to understand why civil servants, despite their apolitical cloak, demonstrate varied attitudes and behaviour in contravention with their professionalism and, in particular, determine how their type of appointment influenced such attitudes and behaviour. The findings confirmed the study’s hypothesis that the type of a bureaucrats’ appointment into the bureaucracy indeed influenced his/her attitudes and behaviour. However, further analysis of this finding impugned mainstream discourses regarding the expected impact of types of appointment. For example, the study found that regardless of how merit-based the process of appointing a bureaucrat is, his/her autonomy is limited in Ghana. Secondly, whilst the general theoretical predictions concerning patronage and hybrid appointments’ impact on loyalty and responsiveness were confirmed respectively, the findings also suggest that such loyalties and responsiveness are not absolute, due to regulatory mechanisms and competing interests. Furthermore, this study’s findings support the class of scholars who call into question the orthodox view in bureaucratic politics that patronage is damaging because this study finds otherwise. It therefore adds to discussions on the need to move beyond the monistic conception of patronage as negative to encompass its beneficial outcomes. The study also proposes legal-constitutional and policy reforms that go beyond the merit-principle to embrace patronage and hybrid considerations where necessary. Show less
More and more anti-establishment parties succeed in elections at the expense of their established competitors in contemporary European democracies. However, a large proportion of these parties fall... Show moreMore and more anti-establishment parties succeed in elections at the expense of their established competitors in contemporary European democracies. However, a large proportion of these parties fall apart and disappear as quickly as they appear. What is the relationship between the way these parties organize and their electoral performance? This dissertation proposes a framework to explain the role of organizational features such as local party branches, party membership and party elites in this process. It argues that these features facilitate party stability, cohesion and legitimacy and, as a consequence, parties do better at elections. A single case study explores these relationships in the case of the Czech party ANO, and is then complemented by a comparative analysis of three other anti-establishment parties. The dissertation argues that party organization matters for the electoral success of anti-establishment parties. The control of local branches´ autonomy, restrictions on party membership and professional links between party elites help new anti-establishment parties to present themselves as cohesive and legitimate entities. In the case of ANO, this effect is further strengthened by the infiltration of its party organization by the structures of the business-firm owned by the party leader. Show less
Self-regulation refers to the ability to deliberately control one’s affect and behavior to meet certain standards such as customs, norms and social expectations, and to pursue long-term goals (Kopp... Show moreSelf-regulation refers to the ability to deliberately control one’s affect and behavior to meet certain standards such as customs, norms and social expectations, and to pursue long-term goals (Kopp, 1982). Problems with self-regulation can result in significant personal as well as social problems such as substance addiction (e.g., drugs, alcohol and cigarettes), health problems (e.g., obesity and eating disorders), violence and crime (e.g., Baumeister et al., 2015; Hirschi, 2004; Johnson et al., 2012). Self-regulation emerges in early infancy and increases dramatically in later infancy and toddlerhood. This process has been described as the development from external regulation depending on caregivers to independent self-regulation (Calkins, 2002). During this transition, both infant factors (e.g., infant attention) and social factors (e.g., parental behaviors) contribute to the development of self-regulation (e.g., Bernier et al., 2010; Miyake et al., 2000). As mother-infant and father-infant relationships provide different experiences for infants, the parental impact on self-regulation may also differ between mothers and fathers (e.g., Braungart‐Rieker et al., 1998; Feldman et al., 2003). Yet, most parenting and infant research has focused on mothers, whereas fathers – and other family members with a caregiving role – are rarely investigated. Moreover, empirical studies of parenting and infant development have largely been restricted to North America and Western Europe (e.g., Bornstein, 2015; Tomlinson et al., 2014). As some evidence shows that the association between parental behaviors and the process of infant development is dependent on country and the associated cultural context (e.g., Deater- Deckard et al., 2011; Landford et al., 2016), it is also important to carry out research in non-Western countries to understand the generalizability of theories built in Western contexts and primarily rooted in Western tradition to non-Western populations. China—a non-Western country—has the world’s largest population, with traditions of multigenerational co-residence (including grandparents). However, few empirical studies have focused on grandparenting, parenting and child development. The current dissertation longitudinally investigated the parental role in infant self-regulation during the first two years of life in the Netherlands and China, and also specifically focused on the role of grandparents in China. Show less
Reading comprehension is a multifaceted skillset important to acquire in order to participate in modern society; to learn at school, for work related communication, for social digitized... Show moreReading comprehension is a multifaceted skillset important to acquire in order to participate in modern society; to learn at school, for work related communication, for social digitized interactions, and to keep up to date with news. Important developmental change in this skillset occurs between the ages of 9 and 12, when elementary school children go from learning to read to reading to learn. In this phase educators start expecting the children to use their reading comprehension skillset to gather knowledge about many different topics. This knowledge helps children in understanding their current surroundings as well as prepares them for future possibilities of employment. However, children are of course not alone on their journey to become proficient readers. A great deal of research and educational resources are mobilized to help them on their way. With this doctoral dissertation I aim to enlarge the scientific knowledge of reading comprehension and aid educational practitioners who ground their pedagogical work in scientific literature. This gathering of four empirical papers presents research from a cognitive scientific perspective on three elements that are important to understand reading comprehension in children: the reader, the text, and the task. Show less
This dissertation examines the development and implementation of alternative currencies in North-West Europe. Although often analysed as grassroots alternatives to global financial practice,... Show moreThis dissertation examines the development and implementation of alternative currencies in North-West Europe. Although often analysed as grassroots alternatives to global financial practice, alternative currencies are, by and large, professionally designed and managed by specialised enterprises. I found that these enterprises engage in intense interactions with established public institutions and businesses, as well as with financial legislation and regulatory bodies. Even though they are privately issued, such currencies are subsidised, purchased, and implemented by local governments and civic institutions. The institutionalisation of alternative currencies thus concerns processes whereby their establishment becomes embedded in formalised practices, procedures, and regimes of regulation. I argue that this is a common feature of alternative economic practice that is consistently disregarded or overlooked, both in activist literature, and in the anthropology of money. This dissertation addresses the question of what this institutionalisation implies for our understandings of (alternative) economies. In doing so, I aim to draw attention to the tight institutional network that connects the multiplicity of agents constituting and structuring economies. There are more than two sides—heads (the state) or tails (the market) to a coin. This dissertation turns to the space in-between—to the edge of the coin—for its inspiration. Show less
Ample research has shown that more household chaos is related to lower parenting quality, but it is yet unknown whether this is a causal relation. This dissertation focuses on two research... Show moreAmple research has shown that more household chaos is related to lower parenting quality, but it is yet unknown whether this is a causal relation. This dissertation focuses on two research questions. The first is whether household chaos has a causal effect on parenting. The second is whether the effect of household chaos on parenting is stronger for parents with certain characteristics, such as high sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS), low self-regulation, and more impulsivity. Two experimental studies were conducted in which household chaos was manipulated. The results show that household chaos affects both positive and negative parenting, but only in demanding parenting situations. Moderation by impulsivity was not found and moderation by SPS and by self-regulation was inconsistent. Regarding SPS, this may exacerbate the effect of household chaos on parenting in case of extreme differences between or high levels of household chaos. Regarding self-regulation, parents with low self-regulation may not have enough self-regulation capacities to simultaneously lower their levels of household chaos and refrain from harsh discipline. These results form a promising vantagepoint for further research, which could eventually lead to prevention and intervention programs to improve parenting by reducing household chaos. Show less
Facial expressions play a fundamental role in social interactions, as demonstrated by our spontaneous inclination to mimic emotional expressions of others. In this thesis, I take a broad... Show moreFacial expressions play a fundamental role in social interactions, as demonstrated by our spontaneous inclination to mimic emotional expressions of others. In this thesis, I take a broad perspective and show that people mimic each other on many more levels than previously thought. Special attention is given to autonomic mimicry (synchrony in heart rate, skin conductance and pupil diameter), which is an underexplored area of research. In the first empirical chapter, I show that pupil mimicry activates social brain regions and when the pupils of interacting partners synchronously dilate, trust is promoted. In the subsequent real-life experiment, I demonstrate that synchrony in heart rate and skin conductance boost attraction between people on a date. In the remaining chapters, I manipulate mimicry with optical illusion and brain stimulation to provide evidence that autonomic and facial mimicry are controlled by distinct neurological pathways. Together, these findings implicate that the tendency to automatically mimic and physiologically align with others can result in emotional contagion – the tendency to ‘catch’ another person’s emotion, which in return encourages trust and affiliation. In sum, this research takes a fundamental step towards the understanding of the neurobehavioral pathways through which mimicry influence (pro)social behaviors. Show less
This dissertation reports about the construction and validation of the Apperception Test God Representations. First, results of a meta-analysis demonstrated that for adherents of monotheistic... Show moreThis dissertation reports about the construction and validation of the Apperception Test God Representations. First, results of a meta-analysis demonstrated that for adherents of monotheistic religions, their perceived and experienced relationship with the personal god they believe in, was associated with well-being and distress. Also, as was expected based on object-relations and attachment theory, God representations were associated with views of self and others and with neuroticism/optimism. However, these results were mostly based on self-report measures of God representations, which are thought to be susceptible to social desirability and doctrine effects. Many scholars believe that God representations are for an important part implicit. Because well-validated implicit God representation measures did not exist, this thesis project examined the validity of a newly developed measure. In a group of 74 Christian patients with personality disorders and a group of 71 Christian nonpatients, associations of implicitly measured God representations with implicitly and explicitly measured distress and object-relational and explicitly measured personality functioning were compared with associations of explicitly measured God representations with these variables. For patients, associations between changes in God representations and changes in distress and explicit object-relational functioning after psychotherapy were examined. Results predominantly corroborated the construct validity of the ATGR. Show less
The research presented in this dissertation was aimed at investigating the consequences of reward-oriented motivation (i.e., an inclination to strongly focus the entrepreneurship on pursuing... Show moreThe research presented in this dissertation was aimed at investigating the consequences of reward-oriented motivation (i.e., an inclination to strongly focus the entrepreneurship on pursuing rewards) and security-oriented motivation (i.e., an inclination to strongly focus the entrepreneurship on ensuring one’s survival and security) for business growth motivation among small-business owners. In addition, the research was aimed to examine the process through which reward-oriented motivation and security-oriented motivation relate to business growth motivation among small-business owners. The findings generally showed that relative to security-oriented motivation, reward-oriented motivation is positively predictive of business growth motivation among small business owners in a consistent manner. Furthermore, time perspective in the context of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial-self-esteem, and perceived competence were found to be important variables in explaining the relationship between reward and security-oriented motivation and business growth motivation among small business owners. The findings in this dissertation highlight the importance of taking into account small business owners' motivation of engagement in entrepreneurship in efforts to assist small business owners to grow their businesses. Show less
The idea that perception is a direct reflection of the outer world has been challenged by the notion that information is integrated at all levels of processing, including perceptual levels. Affect... Show moreThe idea that perception is a direct reflection of the outer world has been challenged by the notion that information is integrated at all levels of processing, including perceptual levels. Affect has been suggested to be a powerful source of information. This thesis explored affective influences on auditory perception and processing and what such influences may imply about penetrability of perception. The presented studies found that listeners in a sad mood more frequently judged ambiguous pitch changes as going downwards than in a happy mood. Furthermore, auditory sensitivity in noise was related to the affective reactivity of the listener, but its relation with mood remained inconclusive and should be further explored. Finally, this thesis demonstrated that evaluative conditioning changed affective quality of sounds without changing low-level stimulus features, which future studies into auditory processing of affective sounds can utilize. Together the findings suggest that aspects of auditory perception are subject to affective influence. This is consistent with the notion that perceptual and non-perceptual information is integrated, allowing listeners to form percepts from often noisy, incomplete, or ambiguous auditory input. The findings provide a basis and stimulation to further investigate where in the brain and through which mechanisms this integration occurs. Show less
Through producing and sharing food, the Mentawaians construct personhood, generate social values, and reproduce social institutions rather than merely producing material substances. This... Show moreThrough producing and sharing food, the Mentawaians construct personhood, generate social values, and reproduce social institutions rather than merely producing material substances. This dissertation is an in-depth anthropological study that focuses on a contemporary Mentawai Community in the southeast of the island of Siberut (West Sumatra, Indonesia), teasing out the local notions of foodways, kinship, autonomy, and equality/egalitarianism. It analyses altogether the importance of food’s materiality and the logic underlying foodrelated-activities (gardening, gathering, exchanging, feeding, cooking, distributing, eating, and sharing). Intrigued by the claim of ‘being hungry’ (malaje) in a land of food abundance, the dissertationadds a distinct case to discuss the dialectical production of social values and sheds new light onto the conventional anthropological themes of food, hunger, and the culture of relatedness in an egalitarian society. Show less
Research on precursors of empathy, and on the association between empathy and aggression in early childhood is scarce and contradictory. It is likely that these contradictory results can be... Show moreResearch on precursors of empathy, and on the association between empathy and aggression in early childhood is scarce and contradictory. It is likely that these contradictory results can be explained by taking into account other factors that are related to empathy and aggression. Therefore, our main aim was to study early manifestations of empathy as a predictor of aggression during the first years of life, while taking into account the role of precursors of empathy and possible moderators of the association between empathy and aggression. Early manifestations of empathy could be predicted from emotional responses in infancy, as infants who were more emotionally reactive themselves were also more sensitive to emotions of others during toddlerhood. In addition, impaired empathy already was a risk factor of aggression from the age of 20 months. High levels of aggression were associated with low levels of affective empathy, but not cognitive empathy. The negative association between empathy and aggression was stronger for girls, children with high levels of inhibition, and children with low levels of social attention. It is important to take these factors into account in further research and intervention programs that target empathy and its association with aggression in early childhood. Show less
Placebo and nocebo effects are positive or negative treatment effects respectively, unrelated to the treatment mechanism, which are induced by patients’ expectations. Placebo and nocebo effects are... Show morePlacebo and nocebo effects are positive or negative treatment effects respectively, unrelated to the treatment mechanism, which are induced by patients’ expectations. Placebo and nocebo effects are known to play a role in treatment effects for various symptoms and conditions, especially in the field of pain. The aim of the current disseration was to increase understanding of placebo and nocebo effects on itch.The results of the studies presented in this thesis further underline that placebo and nocebo effects play a role in itch perception. We found that itch is highly susceptible to suggestions and placebo and nocebo effects can be induced on itch by verbal suggestion and conditioning. Most notably, our findings show for the first time that particularly the combination of conditioning with verbal suggestion is most promising for inducing both placebo and nocebo effects on itch, which is in accordance with placebo research on pain. Moreover, a new and promising finding is that counterconditioning has shown to reverse nocebo effects on itch. Future research may build upon the findings of this thesis to further enlarge our knowledge on placebo and nocebo effects on itch and how to maximize or minimize them, respectively, also in a clinical setting, to eventually optimize available interventions for patients suffering from chronic itch. Show less
In a social environment composed mostly of people with typical hearing, deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) children experience social interactions differently from their typically hearing (TH) peers,... Show moreIn a social environment composed mostly of people with typical hearing, deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) children experience social interactions differently from their typically hearing (TH) peers, which could guide them towards different patterns for processing other people’s emotions. This thesis aimed to unravel whether hearing status affects how children encode, interpret, and react to others’ emotions in a social context, and whether their responses are associated with psychosocial functioning, using a variety of measures that included eye tracking, pupillometry, behavioral tasks, parent reports, and longitudinal follow-up. DHH children’s skills for perceiving others’ basic emotions were on par with their TH peers. Improved emotional functioning was associated with improved psychosocial functioning to a similar degree in DHH and TH children alike. Yet, DHH children still faced difficulties when they had to process an emotion with adequate knowledge about social rules and causes of emotions. Moreover, DHH children used a visual cue-based encoding strategy to compensate for ambiguous or unavailable information in social situations, and recruited more cognitive resources to process unfamiliar emotional expressions. The findings underscore the need to look into possible qualitative differences between typical and atypical development. These individual differences reflect compensatory strategies to support daily living, or signal a need for support in a certain domain. Show less
Human cooperation is an astonishing phenomenon, as only humans exhibit such immense scale, complexity, and frequency in working together with other people. In this dissertation, I investigate how... Show moreHuman cooperation is an astonishing phenomenon, as only humans exhibit such immense scale, complexity, and frequency in working together with other people. In this dissertation, I investigate how nonverbal communication between two individuals affects cooperative success as well as methodological challenges when examining this topic in laboratory settings. To answer these questions, the dissertation comprises four chapters presenting two theoretical and two methodological studies. In the first two chapters, I demonstrate the beneficial effect of face-to-face interactions on cooperation. I subsequently show that physiological synchrony emerges during social interactions and is positively associated with cooperative success. This finding suggests that physiological synchrony might be an underlying mechanism for the beneficial effect of face contact on cooperation. In the methodological studies, I place the tasks typically used to measure cooperation into the broader context of prosocial behavior. Furthermore, I address the statistical challenges inherent to measuring synchrony between interaction partners. The cardinal point of this dissertation is that interpersonal processes that we are not aware of play a fundamental role in how we behave towards other people. Addressing methodological challenges that come along with studying dyadic interactions will greatly advance our understanding of social phenomena that make us human so unique. Show less
The present thesis describes 11 studies that investigate: (1) What people construe as nepotism, (2) the consequences of perceived nepotism in organizational and political contexts, and (3) why... Show moreThe present thesis describes 11 studies that investigate: (1) What people construe as nepotism, (2) the consequences of perceived nepotism in organizational and political contexts, and (3) why nepotism remains common practice, despite the negative connotations attached to it. I provide answers to these questions using a ‘procedural fairness perspective’ of nepotism as an alternative to the more common ‘meritocracy perspective’ of nepotism. The eleven studies revealed several important points. First, people view nepotism as the hiring, promotion, or favorable treatment of family members, regardless of competence. Second, people view nepotism as more unfair than cronyism. Third, perceived nepotism can be deleterious in business organizations and the political arena. In business organizations, nepotism may lead to a negative organizational climate. In politics, nepotism can increase cynicism and decrease people’s willingness to be politically active. Fourth, people use known traits or qualifications of benefactors to infer the traits or qualifications of beneficiaries, and this may result in support for nepotism, particularly among people who believe in the merit of nepotism. Show less
This dissertation aimed to contribute to the quality of foster care addressing three main objectives: The first objective was to investigate if existing parenting interventions are effective in... Show moreThis dissertation aimed to contribute to the quality of foster care addressing three main objectives: The first objective was to investigate if existing parenting interventions are effective in supporting/improving parenting and child outcomes in foster care using a meta-analytic approach. The second objective was to study the effectiveness of an adapted version of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) for foster care, i.e., VIPP-FC. The implementation of VIPP-SD in different types of families and in childcare settings was first reviewed, with special attention to VIPP-FC. Subsequently, the study protocol of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the effectiveness of VIPP-FC was described. In addition, the results of this RCT regarding the effectiveness of VIPP-FC on parenting behavior and attitudes were presented. The third objective was to examine correlates of indiscriminate friendliness (IF) displayed by foster children. To answer this question, the relations of attachment security, parental sensitivity, and child inhibitory control with IF were examined using data collected during the pretest of the VIPP-FC RCT. Results are described and discussed in different chapters, and implications for clinical practice and recommendations for future research are additionally provided. Show less
The main objective of this dissertation was to provide insight into the dynamic testing principles. Our studies focused on the additional effects of dynamic testing beyond those of (repeated)... Show moreThe main objective of this dissertation was to provide insight into the dynamic testing principles. Our studies focused on the additional effects of dynamic testing beyond those of (repeated) static testing on an inductive reasoning task assessed on a tablet, for both normally developing children and children with a developmental language disorder. The focus of this dissertation includes the possible factors involved in the progression of the children’s series completion abilities, the relationship between dynamic test results and school achievement, children’s need for instruction and the practical value of the dynamic test results for teachers. Show less
