Objective
Social reality is comprised of numerous social constructs such as institutions, practices, and norms. These constructs are mind-dependent (e.g. paper money is valuable because people believe it is). Research suggests that when people misconstrue social constructs to be mind-independent facts (e.g. viewing inequality as a fact of nature), they are less likely to question their legitimacy. Thus, the attribution of mind-independence to social constructs, or reification, plays a critical role in governing human behavior. Despite the importance of this process, we currently do not have a general scientific theory that explains reification across its varied instantiations (e.g. the reification of nations, economic systems, mental ailments). In the proposed project I aim to develop and test a domain-general, information-processing theory of reification.
My pilot data suggest that there is both between-individual and within-individual gradation in the extent to which constructs are reified. I argue that in both cases, reification may be a consequence of (i) de-mentalizing (i.e. adopting a mindset and a discourse that does not consider mental states); (ii) the mere passage of time and increased experience with the construct; (iii) abstraction of knowledge (in which the process of generating facts omits information concerning the human origins of constructs, giving rise to erroneous inferences of naturalness). These three processes may be causally related (i.e. with increased experience, constructs are abstracted, leading to de-mentalizing); however, they also represent three stand-alone hypotheses which will be assessed across five work-packagesusing neuroimaging, natural language processing methods, longitudinal big-data analyses, and behavioral paradigms from experimental economics and memory research.
A better understanding of reification may help us devise interventions to de-reify maladaptive states of affairs, thereby addressing some of society's greatest ills.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-STG
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69978 Tel Aviv
Israel
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