Self-Reported Voluntary Blame-Taking: Kinship Before Friendship and No Effect of Incentives

Frontiers in Psychology

Jens Puschke¹  Teresa Schneider²  Melanie Sauerland³  Harald Merckelbach³  J. Christopher Cohrs⁴ 

[1] Department of Law, Institute of Criminal Sciences, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany;Department of Law, Institute of Criminal Sciences, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany;Section of Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany;Section of Forensic Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands;Section of Forensic Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands;Section of Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany;

关键词: close relationship;    Kinship Premium;    prosocial behavior;    Social Exchange Theory;    voluntary false confessions;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.621960

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Inspired by theories of prosocial behavior, we tested the effect of relationship status and incentives on intended voluntary blame-taking in two experiments (Experiment 2 was pre-registered). Participants (NE1 = 211 and NE2 = 232) imagined a close family member, a close friend, or an acquaintance and read a scenario that described this person committing a minor traffic offense. The person offered either a monetary, social, or no incentive for taking the blame. Participants indicated their willingness to take the blame and reasons for and against blame-taking. Overall, a sizable proportion of participants indicated to be willing to take the blame (E1: 57.8%; E2: 34.9%). Blame-taking rates were higher for family members than close friends or acquaintances in both experiments, as expected. Unexpectedly, there was no difference between a close friend and an acquaintance in Experiment 2. Social incentives did not have an effect on voluntary blame-taking in either experiment. Neither did we find an interaction between relationship status and incentives. The results highlight the importance of kin relationships in the context of voluntary blame-taking.

【 授权许可】

CC BY