Evidence from two experiments indicates that task-related communication promotes cooperation in mixed-motive situations by activating interpersonal norms related to fairness and trust. In Experiment 1, task-related communication increased cooperation between individuals in a three-choice prisoner’s dilemma game (PDG-Alt) but task-unrelated communication did not. In Experiment 2, cooperation was increased both by sending a task-related message to one’s counterpart and receiving a cooperative task-related message from one’s counterpart. Mediation analyses revealed that task-related communication increased cooperation by activating fairness and trust norms (Experiments 1 and 2). Specifically, whereas sending (relative to receiving) a task-related message increased cooperation by activating fairness norms, receiving (relative to sending) a task-related message increased cooperation by activating trust norms (Experiment 2).

An experiment tested whether groups lie more than individuals. Groups lied more than individuals when deception was guaranteed to maximize economic outcomes, but lied relatively less than individuals when honesty could be used strategically. These results suggest that groups are more strategic than individuals in that they will adopt whatever course of action best serves their economic interest.

 In Study 1, participants completed five extant shame and guilt proneness inventories based on different theoretical conceptions of the difference between shame and guilt. Factor analyses revealed that despite very different theoretical distinctions, the shame proneness subscales loaded on one factor, and the guilt proneness subscales loaded on one factor. In Study 2, we altered scale items so that hypothetical transgressions were committed in either public or private, and likelihood response options were either typical of a “shame-prone response” (negative self-evaluation; avoidance behavior) or a “guilt-prone response” (negative behavior-evaluation; approach behavior). Our findings indicate that shame and guilt proneness can be measured both by responses to transgressions (e.g., negative self-evaluation and avoidance responses vs. negative behavior-evaluation and approach responses) and the situational context in which the transgression occurs (e.g., public vs. private). We provide recommendations regarding optimal measurement of shame and guilt proneness.

Basic social psychological research has suggested several interventions to reduce intergroup conflict. Most of these interventions, however, have been indirect and impractical to implement outside laboratory settings. Although past research has demonstrated that indirect manipulations of the consideration of future consequences reduce intergroup competition, no study of interindividual–intergroup discontinuity has tested this assumption with a direct manipulation. The present study found that when participants (individuals and members of groups) interacting in an iterated prisoner’s dilemma game (PDG) were asked to predict how their opponent’s choice on a second trial would be affected by their own choice on an initial trial, intergroup competition was reduced while interindividual competition remained low regardless of the manipulation. On a practical level, implications of this study provide a simple and easily implemented solution to reducing intergroup conflict in non-laboratory situations.

This research examined differences in the way heterosexual men and women feel about gay men and lesbians who either confirm or disconfirm prevailing stereotypes. Fifty-three heterosexual college men and women read descriptions about 2 fictitious homosexual students at their university, both of whom were either male or female. One of the students was portrayed as being more stereotypically masculine, whereas the other was portrayed as more stereotypically feminine. Participants rated the targets on a variety of dimensions, including liking. Male participants liked the masculine gay man more than the feminine gay man, whereas female participants showed similar degrees of liking for both men. Both male and female participants reported greater liking for the feminine lesbian than the masculine lesbian. Implications for understanding attitudes toward stereotypical versus counterstereotypical gay men and lesbians are discussed.

This study extends the theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991) to the domain of homeownership. We used a four-year longitudinal dataset of 919 low-and-moderate income (LMI) renters to explore factors associated with greater homeownership intentions and actual home purchases. Our findings provide strong support for the TPB. Favorable attitudes and subjective norms and greater perceptions of control were all associated with greater homeownership intentions. Homeownership intentions, in turn, predicted home purchases during the following year. The analysis included relevant demographic and economic variables, and the significance of income and geographic location suggests a distinction between respondents’ perceived versus actual control. Our use of a longitudinal panel dataset represents an important advance over much of the prior TPB literature, which tends to use cross-sectional designs and focus on short-term goals. We discuss implications for behavioral prediction using the TPB as well as implications for housing policy.

This article discusses four potential ways to reduce conflict between groups: consideration of future consequences, independent leadership, outgroup empathy, and coordination. We review relevant empirical findings for each method and discuss how each can be used to promote intergroup cooperation.

An observational, cross-cultural study and an experimental study assessed behaviors indicative of a moral code that condones, and even values, hostility toward outgroups. The cross-cultural study, which used data from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (Murdock & White, 1969), found that for preindustrial societies, as loyalty to the ingroup increased the tendency to value outgroup violence more than ingroup violence increased, as did the tendencies to engage in more external than internal warfare, and enjoy war. The experimental study found that relative to guilt-prone group members who were instructed to remain objective, guilt-prone group members who were instructed to be empathic with their ingroup were more competitive in an intergroup interaction. The findings from these studies suggest that group morality is associated with intergroup conflict.

In this research we introduce the Guilt and Shame Proneness scale (GASP). The GASP contains two guilt-proneness subscales (negative behavior-evaluations; repair behaviors) that assess responses to private transgressions and two shame-proneness subscales (negative self-evaluations; withdrawal behaviors) that assess responses to public transgressions. People with higher scores on the guilt subscales scored higher on inventories related to ethical behavior, whereas people with higher scores on the shame subscales reported more neuroticism and personal distress, and less self-esteem and self-compassion. The obtained construct validity suggests that the GASP will further the understanding of moral emotions and ethical behavior.

Groups are different from the sum of their parts. Three decades of research comparing interindividual and intergroup behavior has revealed that interactions between groups are more competitive and less cooperative than interactions between individuals in mixed-motive situations. This finding has been labeled the interindividual-intergroup discontinuity effect because there is a discontinuity, or disconnect, between how individuals behave in one-on-one interactions relative to how groups behave in group-on-group interactions. In this chapter, we review the literature on the discontinuity effect and discuss its implications for intergroup interactions in organizations. Specifically, we discuss (a) when interactions between groups can create competition; (b) why interactions between groups are often more competitive than interactions between individuals; and (c) ways to reduce intergroup competition. We review empirical evidence relevant to each of these questions and point out implications for group facilitators, leaders, and members seeking to promote positive relations between groups. This chapter offers useful tools for individuals who must work in or with groups because it details when and why interactions between groups are competitive and how competition can be replaced with cooperation—a crucial goal for group interactions in organizational settings.