The responsibility of setting a bad example: Models are blamed for their imitators’ behaviour

IF 2.8 2区 心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL European Journal of Social Psychology Pub Date : 2024-08-23 DOI:10.1002/ejsp.3101
Peter Kardos, Bernhard Leidner, Brian Lickel
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Abstract

Imitating each other is a central element of human nature and everyday life. Modelling – setting an example to others – and imitation – when the modelled behaviour is copied – are just as fundamental to learning as to maintaining and transmitting culture. Yet, the moral connotations of modelling and imitation are not well understood. Building on and extending the theoretical framework of vicarious responsibility, we investigate the imitated model's responsibility and the psychological processes underlying blame attribution to the model for their imitators’ behaviour. We argue that people understand that imitating a wrongdoing renders it potentially more consequential and that people account for these additional consequences in their appraisals of the original, modelled wrongdoing. Moreover, we hypothesized that models would be blamed for their imitators’ harmful behaviour to the extent that the observers copied the model's action. Five studies (Ntotal = 945) utilizing various contexts from animal mistreatment to online bullying, three of them preregistered, provide consistent support for our hypotheses and show that models are blamed for their imitators’ behaviour, that is, for setting a bad example for others. Extending present theories of vicarious responsibility, we demonstrate that shared group membership is not always a necessary requirement for vicarious blame attributions.
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树立坏榜样的责任:模仿者的行为归咎于模特
相互模仿是人类本性和日常生活的核心要素。模范--为他人树立榜样--和模仿--当模范行为被复制时--对于学习和维护及传播文化同样重要。然而,人们对模范和模仿的道德内涵并不十分了解。在替代责任理论框架的基础上并加以扩展,我们研究了被模仿者的责任以及模仿者的行为归咎于模仿者的心理过程。我们认为,人们知道模仿一种错误行为可能会使其后果更加严重,而且人们在评价原始的、被模仿的错误行为时会考虑到这些额外的后果。此外,我们还假设,如果观察者模仿了榜样的行为,榜样就会因模仿者的有害行为而受到指责。五项研究(总计 = 945)采用了从虐待动物到网络欺凌等不同的情境,其中三项是预先登记的,这些研究一致支持了我们的假设,并表明模型会因模仿者的行为而受到指责,即为他人树立了坏榜样。通过扩展现有的替代责任理论,我们证明了共同的群体成员身份并不总是替代责任归因的必要条件。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
6.10
自引率
7.70%
发文量
84
期刊介绍: Topics covered include, among others, intergroup relations, group processes, social cognition, attitudes, social influence and persuasion, self and identity, verbal and nonverbal communication, language and thought, affect and emotion, embodied and situated cognition and individual differences of social-psychological relevance. Together with original research articles, the European Journal of Social Psychology"s innovative and inclusive style is reflected in the variety of articles published: Research Article: Original articles that provide a significant contribution to the understanding of social phenomena, up to a maximum of 12,000 words in length.
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