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The Social INdividual’s Decisions: how are they shaped by group affiliation during collective decisions?

Project description

Understanding the impact of multi-group affiliation

One of the most immanent human needs is to be accepted by others, to be part of a group, society or circle. However, mechanisms of participation in groups can influence human cognitive processes, such as decision making. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the EU-funded SIND project supports the research that aims to explain specific cognitive processes driven by group-membership leading people to collective decision making. The project will test how being part of a group can influence one’s processing of information, responsibility or political or gender attitudes. Questionnaires and experiments will be conducted online on a sample of the European population to study and understand the behaviours that lead to phenomena such as the rise of populism or inward-looking policies.

Objective

“…we are—and always were—ready to pay any price to be accepted by society.” Hannah Arendt. Belonging to a group helps maintain a shared social identity. Individuals can belong to a political party, to a country, to a union of countries etc. How do these multiple group affiliations shape individuals’ decisions within groups? Through an interdisciplinary approach drawing on cognitive science, neuroscience, behavioural economics, social psychology and political science, this project aims to characterize the cognitive mechanisms underlying the influence of group affiliation on collective decision-making. We will investigate how different stages of cognitive processes—from information processing to consequential decisions— are affected by the nature of the collective: multilevel in-groups and outgroup. Previously established experimental paradigms in individual behaviour will be applied to group decision making to test the predictions that 1) group affiliation disrupts accurate information processing, 2) group affiliation increases alignment and responsibility sharing with group members for cooperative and leadership decisions, and 3) the group affiliation influence on decisions will vary as a function of individuals’ political attitudes and gender. Given the relevance of the proposed research questions to the current political climate in Europe, they will be further explored in the political context: the experiments will be tested online on a European population sample in a dedicated political research centre, in order to help explain individual citizens’ behaviours in our group-based society. The findings of this project will provide insights into the reasons driving an increase of inward-looking policies (Brexit and rise of populist parties in Europe), which represents a threat to the European Research Area that rests on strong collaborations between different European countries and their citizens.

Coordinator

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Net EU contribution
€ 174 806,40
Address
HOFGARTENSTRASSE 8
80539 Munchen
Germany

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Region
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 174 806,40