What I do and What I think they Would Do: Social Axioms and Behaviour

Abstract

The social axioms system uniquely predicted a large variety of behaviours and preferences. It is suggested that (a) the assistance social axioms provide in predicting the behaviour of others, and (b) the self‐characteristics embedded in the axioms account for this unique prediction ability. Three studies, each pertaining to a different axiom, tested the prediction power of the social axiom regarding two types of behaviours: One that is directly impacted by how others are expected to behave, and another that is more self‐directed. Results consistently revealed a unique contribution of the social axioms over personal characteristics in prediction of behaviours directed by how others are expected to behave, whereas behaviours that are more self‐directed were largely explained by relevant personal characteristics. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Do people’s world views matter? The why and how.

“…Their relative importance and underlying mechanisms depend on the type of world views and self-views in relation to criterion variables. In Kurman's (2011) studies, social axioms were more predictive of behaviors that were logically affected by how others are expected to behave, whereas personal characteristics were more predictive of self-directed behavior. In the present research, mediation effects of self-views are found to vary depending on the specific social axiom.…”

“…World views and self-views are mutually dependent (Kurman, 2011). As Anaïs Nin (1961) put it, "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."…”

Responding to news about a natural disaster: The interplay of group identification and social cynicism in perceived prototypicality

“…Even when cynical people face information and evidence that disconfirm their cynical beliefs, such as selfless acts, they still attribute these acts to self-interest (Critcher & Dunning, 2011). In an intergroup context, individuals with high social cynicism allocated more resources to ingroup rather than outgroup members (Kurman, 2011) suggesting that cynical beliefs is related to ingroup favoritism. Given their general mistrust of others, cynical people are more prone to negative perceptions of other human beings.…”

“…Of these, social cynicism is particularly relevant to intergroup contexts, as it refers to a negative view of human nature and lack of trust in general others, social institutions, and authority figures (Leung et al, 2002). In an interpersonal context, cynical beliefs bias individuals' assessment of others' motivation (Kruger & Gilovich, 1999) and are associated with lower interpersonal trust (Kurman, 2011;Singelis, Hubbard, Her, & An, 2003). Even when cynical people face information and evidence that disconfirm their cynical beliefs, such as selfless acts, they still attribute these acts to self-interest (Critcher & Dunning, 2011).…”

“…Cynical beliefs presume that people's judgment is motivationally biased in a self-serving way, overestimating others' allocations of responsibility (assuming others would take more credit) for desirable outcomes but underestimating others' allocations of responsibility (assuming others would take less blame) for undesirable outcomes, and these estimates distort the actual assessment of others (Kruger & Gilovich, 1999). As a result, cynicism breeds lower levels of interpersonal trust and higher levels of ingroup favoritism (Kurman, 2011;Singelis et al, 2003). However, this mistrust might only be applied to group members with whom cynical people do not identify.…”