Lehrstuhl für Sozial- und Wirtschaftspsychologie | SWP

Keynote: Fundamental dimensions of social judgment: agency and communion in context 

Psychology is full of two-fold conceptualizations of both process (dual process models) and content (Big Two; here called agency and communion). I will give an overview of dual content conceptualizations in social and personality psychology and will show that these can be traced back to ontological as well as functional considerations.
I will then discuss the meaning of the fundamental dimensions for the two basic perspectives in social interaction, namely the actor versus the observer perspective. I will show that the communion dimension is primary in both perspectives, whereas the agency dimension is more important in the actor versus the observer perspective. I will also address the seeming contradiction that agency is more important but endorsed less than communion in the actor perspective.
Finally, I will talk about theorizing in social psychology and how cumulative knowledge may be achieved by integrating small-range theories into broader ones.

[More about Prof. Dr. Andrea Abele-Brehm...]

Keynote: Using Implementation Intentions as a Tool for Overcoming Unhealthy Eating Habits

[More about Ass. Prof. Dr. Marieke Adriaanse...]

Keynote: How playing video games affects social outcomes

Media exposure, such as playing video games, is almost omnipresent in our daily life. Recent representative national surveys suggest that about 97% of American teens play video games, with the average amount of playing time being around 13 hr per week. Given these numbers, there has been growing interest in the consequences of video game play. Most researchers so far have stressed negative effects of video game exposure. However, depending on the content and context of the video game, positive effects are also conceivable. In this talk I will give an overview of the effects of violent, prosocial, and cooperative video games. As will be shown, playing violent video games is related to increased aggression and decreased prosocial outcomes. In contrast, playing prosocial or cooperative video games is associated with increased helping behavior and cooperation and decreased aggression. Data will be presented that documents these phenomena but also addresses the underlying psychological processes.

[More about Prof. Dr. Tobias Greitemeyer...]

Keynote: The consistency principle in interpersonal communication: Consequences of preference confirmation and disconfirmation in collective decision making

Interpersonal cognitive consistency is a driving force in group behavior. In my talk, I will propose a new model of interpersonal cognitive consistency in collective decision-making (Mojzisch, Kerschreiter, Faulmüller, Vogelgesang, & Schulz-Hardt, 2014). Building on ideas from the mutual enhancement model (Wittenbaum, Hubbell, & Zuckerman, 1999), I will argue that group members evaluate one another more positively when they mention information confirming each other's preferences instead of information disconfirming these preferences. Furthermore, I will argue that this effect is mediated by perceived information quality: Group members evaluate one another more positively when they mention information confirming each other's preferences because they perceive this information to be more important and accurate than information disconfirming each other's preferences. Finally, I will hypothesize that group members who communicate information confirming each other's preferences receive positive feedback for doing so, which, in turn, leads group members to mention even more of this information. The results of three studies with pseudo and face-to-face interacting dyads provide converging support for this new model.

[More about Prof. Dr. Andreas Mojzisch...]