It's not as bad as others think: how the differential perspectives of targets and observers affect the perceived negativity of the situation and subsequent cooperative responses

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Title It's not as bad as others think: how the differential perspectives of targets and observers affect the perceived negativity of the situation and subsequent cooperative responses
Publication Type dissertation
School or College David Eccles School of Business
Department Entrepreneurship & Strategy
Author Rees, Mckenzie Rae
Date 2015-05
Description Previous research has demonstrated that targets who are directly affected by the outcomes of a situation focus on more detail in a situation than observers who see or overhear a situation but are not directly affected by the outcomes. However, behavioral responses of targets and observers suggest that their perceptions vary in other important ways. This research proposes and finds that individuals' perceptions of the valence, that is the positivity or negativity, of a situation is affected by their role as a target or an observer. Specifically, observers have more negative perceptions than targets do. Such perceptions affect targets' and observers' cooperative behavior with initiators of a situation. To achieve cooperative behavior among observers, positive perceptions can be fostered through observers taking the perspective of the target, as targets often have more positive perceptions of the situation than do observers. Across five studies using different contexts, including bargaining games, organizational interactions, and feedback in a ballet course, some evidence is found to support the propositions. A discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the empirical findings, as well as suggestions for future work, concludes the research.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Cooperation; Observer; Perception; Third-party
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Mckenzie Rae Rees 2015
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 27,017 bytes
Identifier etd3/id/3840
ARK ark:/87278/s6t18c0w
Setname ir_etd
ID 197391
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6t18c0w
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