Revisiting situational strength: Do strong situations restrict variance in behaviors?

Abstract

The idea that strong situations restrict variance in behaviors has been treated as a maxim in psychology. Prior work has, however, offered inconclusive support for this proposition. We aimed to overcome the limitations of prior research to conclusively test the restricted variance hypothesis derived from the situational strength framework. Specifically, we conducted a preregistered meta-analysis (k = 301, N = 25,670) in the context of cooperative behavior observed within the standard social dilemma paradigm. We found that strong, compared with weak, situations (theorized and validated via perception ratings) indeed restricted variance in behaviors. Moreover, ratings on perceived situational strength of specific experimental conditions (k = 138, n_studies = 41) further supported the hypothesis that higher levels of perceived situational strength were associated with less variance in behavior. Our findings have important theoretical implications for understanding the situational forces shaping social behavior and for advancing research on person-situation interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).