Negative Reciprocity Research Articles

Social Status and Charitable Giving in Pakistan: The Role of Gratitude, Reciprocity Beliefs, and Behaviors.

This examination explores the impact of economic wellbeing on altruistic giving by people. We proposed a theoretical framework thereby slightly modifying model, asserting that social status and Charitable Giving are complemented by gratitude and Reciprocity Behaviors, both positive and negative. These behaviors are in turn got affected by Reciprocity Beliefs. Hence these three psychological instruments, i.e., positive and negative correspondence conviction as well as appreciation estimation, are proposed to clarify the relationship between economic wellbeing and charitable giving. Three aspects of reciprocity: positive reciprocity, negative reciprocity, and beliefs in reciprocity were adopted from. Data was collected from 217 respondents residing in Pakistan through a close end questionnaire and was analyzed using Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural equation modeling. Members were approached to review the nature of their cash giving as it typically happens crosswise over various kinds of gifts. They likewise revealed their financial status, level of reciprocity conviction, and level of appreciation. Results demonstrated that economic well-being significantly anticipates charitable giving by people. As anticipated, high-status members gave more cash when they held a more grounded confidence in reciprocity while the result showed no significant relationship between gratitude and charitable giving.

A game-theoretic model of reciprocity and trust that incorporates personality traits

We propose a game-theoretic model of reciprocity and trust that incorporates personality traits. In the model, positive and negative reciprocity are “reciprocal preferences:” parameters of heterogeneous utility functions that take into account the material welfare of others (positively if they have been kind, negatively if they have been hostile). Trust, on the other hand, is an individual bias that distorts probabilistic beliefs about the trustworthiness of others. Unlike typical game-theoretic models, our model provides an explanation for the heterogeneity of preferences and probabilistic beliefs: a person’s personality traits determine both the parameters of his utility function and the magnitude of his beleif bias. We tested the model experimentally. Subjects completed a psychometric questionnaire that measures three personality traits: positive reciprocity, negative reciprocity, and trust. Subsequently, they played a sequential prisoner’s dilemma with random re-matching and payoffs changing from round to round. From the subjects’ psychometric scores and game behaviors we inferred the relationship between reciprocal preferences, belief biases, and personality. The results confirmed the hypotheses of the model.

Couples' affect dynamics: Associations with trait hostility and physical intimate partner violence.

Whether men's and women's reciprocation of their intimate partners' negative and positive affect during conflictual topic discussions accounted for the association between their trait hostility and perpetration of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) was examined within a dyadic model, using concurrent measurement. The work builds on that of Dr. Tom Dishion regarding hostile and coercive interactions in key relationships on risk outcomes and the importance of moment-by-moment influences in social interactions. Using dynamic development systems theory and a community sample of at-risk men (N = 156) and their female partners, the hypothesis that quicker negative and slower positive affect reactivity would account for physical IPV perpetration beyond trait hostility was tested. Results suggest that, for women, quicker negative affect reactivity partially explains the hostility IPV association, whereas for men, trait hostility of both partners best explained their perpetration of physical IPV. No support was found for positive affect reactivity as a protective relationship process for IPV involvement. Findings are in line with other studies indicating men were less likely to engage in negative reciprocity relative to women. Furthermore, findings highlight how both partners' individual characteristics, communication patterns, and emotion regulation processes germane to the romantic relationship impact the likelihood of experiencing physical IPV.

Responsabilidad social corporativa como forma de control político en proyectos mineros e hidroeléctricos de la Sierra Norte de Puebla

El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar las relaciones corporación-comunidad que llevaron al proceso de resistencia, que desde 2011 experimenta la Sierra Norte de Puebla debido al proyecto minero Ixtaca, en el municipio de Ixtacamaxtitlán, y al hidroeléctrico Puebla I, en el de San Felipe Tepatlán, que al principio contaron con la aceptación local. Mediante metodologías cualitativas, como la etnografía, la investigación documental y la reconstrucción cronológica de los conflictos, se encontró a opositores que no estaban articulados en los ámbitos local ni regional. Esto resulta de la práctica de la responsabilidad social corporativa, que invisibiliza relaciones de reciprocidad negativa y captura políticamente a las comunidades. Así, aunque la investigación se limita a una fase inicial, aporta evidencia empírica de los mecanismos locales de acumulación por desposesión, que caracterizan al neoextractivismo.

“Do unto others what you want … ”: Reciprocity and childcare in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana

This exploratory study aimed to assess reciprocity qualities in childcare and likely influences on child health outcomes. Informants were 83 child caregivers from the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana. Of these, 56 individual maternal (n = 28) and non-maternal child caregivers (n = 28) completed in-depth individual interviews. Another 23 participated completed focus group discussions, while four key informants shared their expert views on the subject-matter. All the participants responded to open-ended questions on positive and negative reciprocity in childcare. Thematic analysis of the data revealed dyads of positive reciprocal maternal and household non-maternal supports for child well-being. Conversely, negative reciprocal relational outcomes between maternal and non-maternal caregivers were detrimental to children, placing them at risk for various forms of maltreatment. Future studies should consider the conditions in which positive reciprocity is likely to thrive with a view to promoting sustainable child caregiving in Ghanaian societies.

People prefer coordinated punishment in cooperative interactions.

Human groups can often maintain high levels of cooperation despite the threat of exploitation by individuals who reap the benefits of cooperation without contributing to its costs1-4. Prominent theoretical models suggest that cooperation is particularly likely to thrive if people join forces to curb free riding and punish their non-contributing peers in a coordinated fashion5. However, it is unclear whether and, if so, how people actually condition their punishment of peers on punishment behaviour by others. Here we provide direct evidence that many people prefer coordinated punishment. With two large-scale decision-making experiments (total n = 4,320), we create minimal and controlled conditions to examine preferences for conditional punishment and cleanly identify how the punishment decisions of individuals are impacted by the punishment behaviour by others. We find that the most frequent preference is to punish a peer only if another (third) individual does so as well. Coordinated punishment is particularly common among participants who shy away from initiating punishment. With an additional experiment we further show that preferences for conditional punishment are unrelated to well-studied preferences for conditional cooperation. Our results highlight the importance of conditional preferences in both positive and negative reciprocity, and they provide strong empirical support for theories that explain cooperation based on coordinated punishment.

An eye for an eye? A meta-analysis of negative reciprocity in organizations.

Most models of negative workplace behaviors (NWB) are individual in nature, focusing on individual attitudes (e.g., satisfaction) and general workplace perceptions (e.g., procedural justice) that motivate NWB. Less commonly considered are explorations of relationally based negative workplace behaviors-how NWB from Party A is related to reciprocation of NWB from Party B. Based on 2 competing conceptualizations in the literature, that behavior is reciprocated "in-kind" in an eye for an eye exchange or that behavior tends to escalate or spiral over time, we develop a framework for negative reciprocity that considers NWB in terms of severity, activity, and target. This framework addresses (a) whether Party A's NWB is associated with behavior of a similar or greater level (i.e., activity and severity) from Party B; and (b) whether Party B's reciprocating behavior is directed back at Party A (i.e., direct) or transferred onto others (i.e., displaced). We meta-analytically test these relationships with 246 independent samples (N = 96,930) and find strongest support for relationships indicating that NWB from Party A is largely returned in-kind, followed closely by relationships indicative of escalation. We also found that as the frequency of Party A's NWB increases, so too does the frequency of reciprocity behavior of equal levels. Surprisingly, differences related to the target of the behavior as well as differences based on whether the data were cross-sectional or longitudinal were generally negligible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The knowledge hiding link: a moderated mediation model of how abusive supervision affects employee creativity

ABSTRACTDrawing on social exchange and displaced aggression theories, this study investigates the mediating role of knowledge hiding in the relationship between employees’ exposure to abusive supervision and their creative performance, as well as the invigorating role of their negative reciprocity beliefs in this process. We collected time-lagged data from employees in a sample of Pakistani organizations and found that an important reason abusive supervision decreases employees’ creativity is that employees reciprocate through self-serving knowledge-hiding behaviour. This mechanism, in turn, is more prominent among employees who score high on negative reciprocity beliefs. This study reveals a key factor, i.e., knowledge hiding, by which abusive supervision hinders employees’ creativity, but our findings indicate that this process is more likely to escalate when employees have negative reciprocity beliefs, which cause them to be more vulnerable to experiencing negative social exchanges.

Rent extraction and prosocial behavior

We present controlled experimental evidence on how rent extraction by an administrator affects giving to non-profit associations. Holding the price of giving constant, we compare contributions between two conditions: a rent extraction condition, in which an administrator can expropriate a part of the contributions and a control condition without rent extraction. We find that rent extraction strongly reduces average contributions. Studying the channels through which this effect operates, we demonstrate that rent extraction has situational spillovers, suggesting that it undermines the contributors’ general preference for giving. In contrast, we do not find evidence for negative reciprocity towards the administrator.

Inter-relationship between abusive supervision, distributive justice, intention to leave and workplace deviance: An affective process view

Aim: The aim of the study is to develop a theoretical model to depict the relationship between abusive supervision, distributive justice, intention to leave and workplace deviance and the affective processes involved in them. Methodology: A literature review of the relevant variables was done. Results: The literature review indicated that though strong interrelationships exist both between the variables being studied and the affective processes involved but as yet no theoretical model exists. Conclusion: The study was successful in creating a theoretical model to show the inter relation between abusive supervision, distributive justice, intention to leave and workplace deviance and the role of subordinate’s negative reciprocity belief, power distance perception and feeling of loss of control over circumstances. Keywords: Abusive supervision, Distributive justice, Intention to leave, Workplace deviance, Negative reciprocity, Power distance, Reactance.

Paying Back People Who Harmed Us but Not People Who Helped Us: Direct Negative Reciprocity Precedes Direct Positive Reciprocity in Early Development

The principle of direct reciprocity, or paying back specific individuals, is assumed to be a critical component of everyday social exchange and a key mechanism for the evolution of cooperation. Young children know the norm of reciprocity, but it is unclear whether they follow the norm for both positive and negative direct reciprocity or whether reciprocity is initially generalized. Across five experiments (N = 330), we showed that children between 4 and 8 years of age engaged in negative direct reciprocity but generalized positive reciprocity, despite recalling benefactors. Children did not endorse the norm of positive direct reciprocity as applying to them until about 7 years of age (Study 4), but a short social-norm training enhanced this behavior in younger children (Study 5). Results suggest that negative direct reciprocity develops early, whereas positive reciprocity becomes targeted to other specific individuals only as children learn and adopt social norms.

When and Why People Evaluate Negative Reciprocity as More Fair Than Positive Reciprocity.

If you are kind to me, I am likely to reciprocate and doing so feels fair. Many theories of social exchange assume that such reciprocity and fairness are well aligned with one another. We argue that this correspondence between reciprocity and fairness is restricted to interpersonal dyads and does not govern more complex multilateral interactions. When multiple people are involved, reciprocity leads to partiality, which may be seen as unfair by outsiders. We report seven studies, conducted with people from the United States, in which participants were asked to evaluate situations involving resource distribution in contexts such as economic games, government, and the workplace. Specifically, we find that equal resource distribution in multilateral interactions is seen as more fair than engaging in reciprocity. We also find that negative reciprocity is seen as more fair than positive reciprocity in these multilateral situations because positive reciprocity is perceived as based in favoritism. We rule out alternative explanations and demonstrate that there are contexts where favoritism is not viewed as unfair. These findings are important for theories of fairness and reciprocity as they demonstrate the central role of perceived partiality in the evaluation of multi-party resource allocation.

Negotiating reciprocal relationships: Practices of engaged scholarship in project studies

Engaged scholarship is frequently being advocated to bridge the knowledge gap between academic scholars and project practitioners. Through the methodology of engaged scholarship academics establish a reciprocal relationship with the project community while adhering to the standards of quality scholarship. Notwithstanding its growing popularity, in project studies we do not learn much about the practices involved in engaged scholarship, neither is the concept theoretically well developed. We argue that, to further the project studies debate, methodological reflection on the reciprocal relationship between academics and practitioners is needed. For this purpose, we provide an analytical framework containing four elements; goals, negotiation practices, reciprocity typology and outcomes of project studies. We then use this framework to analyze three engaged project studies. The paper contributes to project studies with an enhanced concept of engaged scholarship containing three types of reciprocity; generalized, balanced and negative reciprocity. Furthermore, we found that a reciprocal relationship is negotiated and changes over time. We identified four mechanisms that negatively impact the academic and practical outcomes of engaged scholarship studies.

Escalation of negative social exchange: Reflexive punishment or deliberative deterrence?

Negative escalation of social exchange exacts significant costs on both individuals and society. Instead of in-kind reciprocity—an eye for an eye—negative reciprocity may escalate, taking two eyes for an eye. We tested two competing mechanisms for negative escalation using a modified dictator game that reliably produces escalating reciprocity to others' negative actions but not to positive actions. According to one mechanism, escalation is strategic: a deliberate attempt to deter future harm. According to another mechanism, escalation is reflexive: an impulsive act of retribution without consideration of future consequences. In seven experiments, we find clear evidence consistent with a reflexive mechanism. Encouraging deliberation reduced negative escalation in one-shot interactions as well as in repeated interactions. Focusing on future consequences decreased escalation whereas disabling deliberation increased escalation. Finally, the explicit goal to punish another's negative behavior increased escalation while the goal of deterring future transgressions did not. These experiments suggest that escalation is a reflexive form of punishment rather than a deliberate act of strategic deterrence. Encouraging, enabling, or training deliberative processes may effectively reduce costly escalation in everyday life.

Tit for Tat? The Consequence of Private Information Misuse in Debt Collection

We examine the consequences of an intrusive debt-collection tactic that targets delinquent borrowers’ social circles. Our identification strategy relies on the fact that some of the delinquent loans are not worked on due to collection agents’ excessive workload. We show that this tactic backfires and increases the borrowers’ default rate by 5.9 to 14.3 percentage points. Male borrowers and borrowers with better credit respond more strongly. Moreover, the effect is concentrated in the period when this collection practice was emerging and likely unexpected. These findings are consistent with the negative reciprocity interpretation: angered borrowers retaliate by defaulting on their loans.

Why Do Business Losses Cause Conflict?

Evidence suggests that contractual conflicts, defined for the purpose of the present article simply as a decrease in the level of cooperativeness of the parties, are more prone to occur when one or both parties to a contract have suffered a significant loss. While this tendency can be explained in various ways within conventional contract theory (without behavioral assumptions), it is argued that behavioral theories involving motivated reasoning and reciprocity deepen our understanding of it. In short, social psychological experiments suggest that losses are likely to trigger motivated, self‐serving perceptions and beliefs, which in turn are likely to induce both negative reciprocity and counter‐productive acts aimed at bolstering self-image. To strengthen this claim that motivated reasoning and reciprocity are important for understanding contractual conflict as arising in the wake of a loss, the article also summarizes some of the experimental evidence that points to the existence of motivated reasoning and to its role in explaining conflict.

Asymmetric reference-dependent reciprocity, downward wage rigidity, and the employment contract

We develop a model of asymmetric reciprocity and optimal wage setting based on contractual incompleteness, fairness, and reference dependence and loss aversion in the evaluation of wages by workers. The model establishes a positive wage-effort relationship capturing a worker’s ‘asymmetric reference-dependent reciprocity’, in which loss aversion implies negative reciprocity is stronger than positive reciprocity. Our theory provides an explanation for the observed asymmetry and dynamics of workers’ reciprocity and establishes a micro-foundation for downward wage rigidity, the implications of which shed new light on a forward-looking firm’s optimal wage setting and hiring decisions.

How exploitation launched human cooperation

Cooperation plays a crucial role in primate social life. However, the evolution of large-scale human cooperation from the cognitive fundamentals found in other primates remains an evolutionary puzzle. Most theoretical work focuses on positive reciprocity (helping) or coordinated punishment by assuming well-defined social roles or institutions (e.g., punishment pools), sophisticated cognitive abilities for navigating these, and sufficiently harmonious communities to allow for mutual aid. Here we explore the evolutionary and developmental origins of these assumed preconditions by showing how negative indirect reciprocity (NIR)—tolerated exploitation of those with bad reputations—can suppress misbehavior to foster harmonious communities, favor the cognitive abilities often assumed by other models, and support costly adherence to norms (including contributing to public goods). With minimal cognitive prerequisites, NIR sustains cooperation when exploitation is inefficient (victims suffer greatly; exploiters gain little), which is more plausible earlier in human evolutionary history than the efficient helping found in many models. Moreover, as auxiliary opportunities to improve one’s reputation become more frequent, the communal benefits provided in equilibrium grow, although NIR becomes harder to maintain. This analysis suggests that NIR could have fostered prosociality across a broader spectrum of primate societies and set the stage for the evolution of more complex forms of positive cooperation. The evolutionary origins of human cooperation and prosociality remain an evolutionary puzzle. Theoretical models exploring the dynamics which shaped our ancestors’ interactions stimulate empirical investigations by anthropologists, primatologists, psychologists, archeologists and others, whose results in turn refine and direct theoretical inquiry. Common experience has focused this scholarly synergy on positive cooperation (cooperating by helping) and largely neglected the distinct and important challenge of negative cooperation (cooperating by not exploiting). Our contribution puts negative cooperation back in the spotlight. We outline what makes negative cooperation, especially negative indirect reciprocity, different and potentially more potent than positive cooperation, and present a simple model of how it emerges, shapes interactions, and can form a dynamic foundation that catalyzes more sophisticated forms of cooperation.

An Eye for an Eye – The Role of Reciprocity in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

This paper adds a cultural-psychological, norm-based component to the study of intractable conflicts by examining the norm of reciprocity within and between Israelis and Arab-Palestinians. Balancing receiving and taking, reciprocity refers to an individuals' in-kind or immaterial response to friendly (positive reciprocity) or hostile acts (negative reciprocity) with no material gains expected by the actor. This study is based on the assumptions of the social identity theory, whereby people tend to classify themselves and others into social categories and groups that determine the way how they interact with each other based on their perceived group status. Following a unique multi-method approach combining online experiments with surveys of Israeli and Palestinian citizens for a period of one year, results show high levels of positive reciprocity in both societies: yet this reciprocity is limited to members of the in-group, while the out-group is discriminated or punished by non-cooperation. It illustrates once again how deeply anchored the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is. Still, the study also reveals that positive reciprocity can function as a supportive normative norm fostering the success of intergroup contact. Combined with high levels of trust this can increase communication and cooperation which is highly desirable in peace-making processes.

La reciprocidad olvidada: reciprocidad negativa, moralidad y reproducción social

Este artículo propone el concepto de «reciprocidad negativa» como un aspecto necesario y substantivo del concepto general de reciprocidad. La referencia a un orden moral es el aspecto central que diferencia la reciprocidad del intercambio. La reciprocidad se basa en una moralidad compartida en su forma positiva y en la quiebra, transformación o suspensión del orden moral en su forma negativa. Afirmamos que el concepto de reciprocidad es útil sólo si se concibe simultáneamente en su faceta positiva y en su faceta negativa, tal y como ambas se articulan en los procesos históricos. Basamos nuestra reflexión en la descripción etnográfica de las relaciones presentes entre los internos en el campo de concentración de Auschwitz. Sin embargo, una perspectiva comparativa muestra que la «reciprocidad negativa» omnipresente en Auschwitz es un caso extremo de una categoría de interacción humana más amplia y en ningún modo excepcional.