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3-dimensional agent representations increase generosity in a naturalistic setting

This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.
This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.

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Abstract

Decisions made in everyday situations are carried out in complex environments rich in socially salient cues that influence the individual's decisions. A wide range of experimental work coming from social psychology and behavioral economics shows that, contrary to the standard economic model, people do not always act as deliberative, rational actors. Various studies have investigated the effects of both material cues and complex environmental settings on behavioral choices. One particularly common and salient aspect of the environment involves cues related to intentional agents, whether they be our conspecifics, non-human species or supernatural beings. A number of studies have found that exposing participants to cues of agency increase prosocial or cooperative behavior. In two separate studies, we investigated the role dimensionality plays in priming inferences of agency. In contrast to previous studies utilizing 2-dimensional images, 3-dimensional representations share morphological elements with real life agents which may enhance the salience of the cues. Higher activation of agency detection, in turn, ought to trigger stronger reputational concerns and thus further amplify prosocial behavior.