Events Calendar

Game Theory and Human Behavior seminar

Speaker: Robb Willer, UC Berkeley

Talk Title: Groups Reward Individual Sacrifice: The Status Solution to the Collective Action Problem

Abstract: One of the social sciences' classic puzzles is how
groups motivate their members to set aside self-interest and
contribute to collective action. This lecture presents a solution
to the problem based on status as a selective incentive motivating
contribution. Contributors to collective action signal their
group-oriented motivation and consequently earn diverse benefits
from group members - in particular, higher status - and these
rewards encourage greater giving to the group in the future. In
Study 1, high contributors to collective action were granted
higher status, exercised more interpersonal influence, were
cooperated with more, and received gifts of greater value. Studies
2 and 3 replicated these findings while discounting alternative
explanations. All three studies showed that giving to the group
mattered because it signaled the individual's motivation to help
the group. Study 4 found that participants who received status for
their contributions subsequently contributed more and viewed the
group more positively. These results demonstrate how the
allocation of respect to contributors shapes group productivity
and solidarity, offering a solution to the collective action problem.


Biography: Robb Willer is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and (by
courtesy) Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
His teaching and research focus on the bases of social order. http://willer.berkeley.edu/
One line of his research investigates the factors driving the
emergence of collective action, social norms, group solidarity,
altruistic behavior, and status hierarchies. In other research, he
explores the social psychology of political attitudes, especially
the role of fear, prejudice, and gender identity in contemporary
U.S. politics. Willer's research involves multiple empirical and
theoretical methods, including laboratory and field experiments,
surveys, direct observation, physiological measurement,
agent-based modeling, and social network analysis. He has
published in such journals as American Sociological Review,
American Journal of Sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science,
Social Psychology Quarterly, Proceedings of the Royal Society B:
Biological Sciences, and Social Networks. His work has received
awards from the American Sociological Association's Mathematical
Sociology, Rationality and Society, and Peace, War, and Social
Conflict sections. Professor Willer's research has received
widespread media coverage including CNN, NBC Nightly News, The
Today Show, MSNBC, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post,
Chicago Tribune, Science, Nature, Time, Scientific American,
Slate, Psychology Today, and National Public Radio.

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Eric Mankin