scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Author

George E. Newman

Bio: George E. Newman is an academic researcher from Yale University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Object (philosophy) & Product (category theory). The author has an hindex of 34, co-authored 84 publications receiving 4241 citations.


Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A theory of why (and for whom) intuition favors cooperation is presented: cooperation is typically advantageous in everyday life, leading to the formation of generalized cooperative intuitions, which tend to be more cooperative than deliberative responses in one-shot anonymous interactions.
Abstract: Cooperation is central to human societies. Yet relatively little is known about the cognitive underpinnings of cooperative decision-making. Does cooperation require deliberate self-restraint? Or is spontaneous prosociality reined in by calculating self-interest? Here we present a theory of why (and for whom) intuition favors cooperation: cooperation is typically advantageous in everyday life, leading to the formation of generalized cooperative intuitions. Deliberation, by contrast, adjusts behavior towards the optimum for a given situation. Thus, in one-shot anonymous interactions where selfishness is optimal, intuitive responses tend to be more cooperative than deliberative responses. We test this “Social Heuristics Hypothesis” by aggregating across every cooperation experiment using time pressure we conducted over a two-year period (15 studies and 6,910 decisions), as well as performing a novel time pressure experiment. Doing so demonstrates a positive average effect of time pressure on cooperation. We also find substantial variation in this effect, and show that this variation is partly explained by previous experience with one-shot lab experiments.

531 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a theory of why (and for whom) intuition favors cooperation: cooperation is typically advantageous in everyday life, leading to the formation of generalized cooperative intuitions.
Abstract: Cooperation is central to human societies. Yet relatively little is known about the cognitive underpinnings of cooperative decision making. Does cooperation require deliberate self-restraint? Or is spontaneous prosociality reined in by calculating self-interest? Here we present a theory of why (and for whom) intuition favors cooperation: cooperation is typically advantageous in everyday life, leading to the formation of generalized cooperative intuitions. Deliberation, by contrast, adjusts behaviour towards the optimum for a given situation. Thus, in one-shot anonymous interactions where selfishness is optimal, intuitive responses tend to be more cooperative than deliberative responses. We test this ‘social heuristics hypothesis’ by aggregating across every cooperation experiment using time pressure that we conducted over a 2-year period (15 studies and 6,910 decisions), as well as performing a novel time pressure experiment. Doing so demonstrates a positive average effect of time pressure on cooperation. We also find substantial variation in this effect, and show that this variation is partly explained by previous experience with one-shot lab experiments.

471 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examine three potential explanations: mere associations, market demands, and contagion (the belief that these objects contain some remnants of their previous owners) and find that contagion appears to be the critical factor affecting the valuation of celebrity possessions.
Abstract: Why do people purchase objects that were once owned by celebrities, such as film stars or politicians, and also by despised individuals, such as serial killers and notorious dictators? The present studies examine three potential explanations: mere associations, market demands, and contagion (the belief that these objects contain some remnants of their previous owners). Results indicate that while market demands do play a role, contagion appears to be the critical factor affecting the valuation of celebrity possessions. Manipulating the degree of physical contact that a celebrity has with an object dramatically influences consumers’ willingness to purchase it, and individual differences in sensitivity to contagion moderate this effect. Additionally, the valuation of celebrity possessions is principally explained by measures of contagion, and subliminally activating the concept of contagion changes consumers’ willingness to purchase celebrity objects. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings...

206 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Assessment of performance and contagion as key factors underlying the value of original artwork are consistent with the conclusion that the discrepancy in value between original artworks and perfect duplicates derives from people's lay theories about the domain of art, rather than from associations with particular kinds of art or certain cases of forgery.
Abstract: Why are original artworks valued more than identical duplicates? The present studies explore 2 mechanisms underlying the special value of original artwork: the assessment of the art object as a unique creative act (performance) and the degree of physical contact with the original artist (contagion). Across 5 experiments, participants were exposed to hypothetical scenarios in which an original object was duplicated. The type of object varied across experiments (e.g., a painting vs. a piece of furniture) as did the circumstances surrounding the creation of the original object and the duplicate. Overall, the results support assessments of performance and contagion as key factors underlying the value of original artwork, and they are consistent with the conclusion that the discrepancy in value between original artworks and perfect duplicates derives from people's lay theories about the domain of art, rather than from associations with particular kinds of art or certain cases of forgery. In May of 2000, the two major auction houses, Christie's and Sotheby's, released their spring catalogues only to discover that both were selling the same painting, Paul Gaugin's Vase de Fleurs (Lilas). The two paintings were sent to an expert who identified one as the real Gaugin and the other as a forgery. However, both were traced back to the same source, an individual named Ely Sakhai. As was later revealed by an FBI investigation, Sakhai had purchased a number of lesser known paintings by impressionist and postimpressionist artists, such as Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Pierre-August Renoir, and Marc Chagall. He then hired skilled forgers to copy the original paintings and would sell the duplicates with the genuine certificate of authenticity attached. After the duplicate painting had changed hands several times, Sakhai would often have the original painting re-authenticated and would sell it as well. When he was caught, Sakhai was sentenced to 4 years in prison and was ordered to pay a fine of $12.5 million (C. Thomp- son, 2005). Why does the origin of an artwork matter so much? More specifically, why are original artworks valued more than identical duplicates? In this article, we explore the special value that people assign to original artwork as well as the underlying reasons for it. Across five experiments, we found that the value placed on orig- inals is to some extent special to art—the drop in value for a duplicate artwork is more than the drop in value for a duplicate of a nonartistic artifact. This is true even when the original artwork and the original artifact are both one of a kind, their values are equated, and the method of production is identical. Our findings suggest, then, that the discrepancy in value between original art- works and identical duplicates derives from people's lay theories about the domain of art, rather than from associations with partic- ular kinds of art or certain cases of forgery. This article also examines the psychological mechanisms underly- ing the special value of original artworks. We identify two key dimensions that are particularly important to the valuation of original artworks: the assessment of the art object as a unique creative act (performance) and the degree of physical contact with the original artist (contagion). These mechanisms and their proposed role in the valuation of art are discussed in the following sections.

199 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper showed that consumers are less likely to purchase a green product when they perceive that the company intentionally made the product better for the environment compared to when the same environmental benefit occurred as an unintended side effect.
Abstract: Many companies offer products with social benefits that are orthogonal to performance (e.g., green products). The present studies demonstrate that information about a company’s intentions in designing the product plays an import role in consumers’ evaluations. In particular, consumers are less likely to purchase a green product when they perceive that the company intentionally made the product better for the environment compared to when the same environmental benefit occurred as an unintended side effect. This result is explained by consumers’ lay theories about resource allocation: intended (vs. unintended) green enhancements lead consumers to assume that the company diverted resources away from product quality, which in turn drives a reduction in purchase interest. The present studies also identify an important boundary condition based on the type of enhancement and show that the basic intended (vs. unintended) effect generalizes to other types of perceived tradeoffs, such as healthfulness and taste.

194 citations


Cited by
More filters
01 Nov 2008

2,686 citations

Book
01 Jan 1901

2,681 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work argues for the adoption of measures to optimize key elements of the scientific process: methods, reporting and dissemination, reproducibility, evaluation and incentives, in the hope that this will facilitate action toward improving the transparency, reproducible and efficiency of scientific research.
Abstract: Improving the reliability and efficiency of scientific research will increase the credibility of the published scientific literature and accelerate discovery. Here we argue for the adoption of measures to optimize key elements of the scientific process: methods, reporting and dissemination, reproducibility, evaluation and incentives. There is some evidence from both simulations and empirical studies supporting the likely effectiveness of these measures, but their broad adoption by researchers, institutions, funders and journals will require iterative evaluation and improvement. We discuss the goals of these measures, and how they can be implemented, in the hope that this will facilitate action toward improving the transparency, reproducibility and efficiency of scientific research.

1,951 citations

Journal ArticleDOI

1,589 citations