Ingroup loyalty and inter-group competition are important aspects of behavior in humans and other social species. This study investigates the influence of ingroup/outgroup affiliation on compliance with small requests from strangers as well as conceptions of group loyalty as unilateral within a set of competitors. The study context is a prominent rivalry between two American football teams at flagship public universities in neighboring states, with settings in the home territory of one university and a metropolitan area where loyalties are divided between the two teams. The observational component of the study (N = 513) demonstrated that pedestrians in the home city of one team were more likely to participate in a survey when the soliciting confederate was wearing apparel from the home university than when wearing apparel from the rival university. In the area where team loyalties were evenly divided, there was no difference in survey participation by university apparel condition and participation rates were higher overall. The survey component (N = 158) revealed that participants’ loyalties to these rival teams were inversely related, and few participants expressed a high degree of loyalty to both teams. On the other hand, a larger proportion of participants than expected believed that someone could support both teams in a rivalry. The most popular reason given for dual affiliation was having family members who attended each school, consistent with previous results indicating that kinship may be more important than group loyalty. Other responses indicated both appropriate and inappropriate reasons for mixed loyalty. These results were inconsistent with the participants’ own expressions of team loyalty, which supported the notion of team loyalty as unilateral within a set of rivals.
This manuscript discusses coalitional behavior from an ethological perspective and tests a hypothesis regarding displays of group allegiance using observational methods. Tinbergen’s Four Questions (T4Q; Tinbergen, 1963) is a powerful explanatory framework for building a comprehensive understanding of behavior in humans and other species. Following T4Q, coalitional behavior is examined regarding evolutionary adaptiveness, phylogenetic history, proximate causation, and developmental ontogeny. Team sports are an intuitive domain for the illustration of patterns and principles in coalitional behavior. Athletic team loyalty is often communicated non-verbally though the display of apparel and paraphilia featuring university or team names and logos. Previous research documented increases in apparel displays after winning games. Toledo, Ohio is on the Michigan-Ohio border and was originally considered within Michigan Territory. The area contains a mixture of Ohio State University (OSU) and University of Michigan (UM) football fans and merchandise featuring each school is widely available. An observational study in the Fall 2013 collegiate football season found a ratio of approximately 3:2 for individuals displaying OSU and UM branded items. The hiring of Jim Harbaugh as Michigan’s new head coach in 2015 was expected to generate an increase in displays of UM branded items. Observations in the 2015 and 2016 seasons found equivalent rates of display for UM and OSU branded items, and a significant increase in displays of UM branded items from 2013.
Mobile cell phones are integral to social fabric of the contemporary United States and other technologically advanced societies. There is considerable research on the psychology and behavior of cell phone use, though most of the scientific literature is based on survey studies and experience sampling applications. Cell phone use while driving increases the risk of automobile accidents. Survey responses regarding controversial and illegal behaviors are often biased by socially-desirable responding. Precise data on population usage patterns are typically proprietary. Naturalistic observations may provide unique information that complements findings from self-report survey methods and address research questions outside the proper scope of surveys and topics on which socially-desirably responding may occur. We examined cell phone use among drivers (N = 2538) in a Midwestern USA college town. In the study setting, texting while driving is illegal, whereas both hands-free (e.g., Bluetooth-enabled) and phone-in-hand calls are permitted. However, drivers cited for traffic violations may also be charged with careless driving due to cell phone use. Overall, 23% of drivers were observed using their phones; 9% were talking with their phones in hand, 9% were texting, and 6.4% of those with no passengers in the car were observed talking (likely on a hands-free, or Bluetooth, call). Older drivers were less likely to be texting. Drivers were less likely to be using their phones when they had passengers and when it was raining. We demonstrate the value of observational studies for understanding technology use; our results complement those of self-report survey research.
Cellphones are an integral part of life for many adults in technologically advanced societies. There is extensive research and literature on cellphones and social technology, with most studies conducted through self-report surveys, experience sampling, and system log data. Although self-report survey methods are useful for examining how individuals perceive and feel about cellphone related issues, self-reported cellphone usage behavior is only moderately correlated with objective system log data. Naturalistic observations complement findings from self-report survey methods and may be the best method of objectively assessing both the patterns of and influences on cellphone use in real-world social contexts. Observers documented cellphone use among individuals (N = 4079) in seven public areas within or immediately surrounding a large public university campus in the Midwestern USA. Observers recorded whether or not individuals were using their cellphones, as well as individual’s sex, approximate age (undergraduate or older), group size, if the individual was engaged in live conversation with companions, and the prevailing weather conditions. Those engaged in live conversation were less likely to be using their cellphones than those who were not conversing with companions. Younger adults (those appearing to be in the typical undergraduate age range) were more likely to be using their cellphones than those who appeared older. Women were more likely to be using their cellphones than men. Phone use was higher in warmer weather than on colder days. Overall, this study demonstrates the value of observational studies for understanding technology use in social contexts.
Sports are an excellent venue for demonstrating evolutionary principles to audiences not familiar with academic research. Team sports and sports fandom feature dynamics of in-group loyalty and intergroup competition, influenced by our evolved coalitional psychology. We predicted that reactions to expressions signaling mutual team/group allegiance would vary as a function of the territorial context. Reactions should become more prevalent, positive, and enthusiastic as one moves from the home territory to a contested area, and from a contested area to a rival’s territory during active rival engagement. We also predicted that men would be more responsive than women based on sex differences in evolved coalitional psychology. The research team visited public places immediately prior to 2016–2017 collegiate football and basketball games. A male research confederate wore a sweatshirt displaying the logo of one of the competing university teams and vocalized the team’s most popular slogan when he saw a fan displaying similar logos. Observers followed 5 m behind, recording reactions (N = 597) and response positivity/enthusiasm. Reaction tone was most positive in the rival territory, least positive in the home territory, and intermediate in the periphery and contested territory. Rates of “no reaction” were lowest in the rival territory but were highest in the periphery. Men had higher reaction rates and more positive and enthusiastic reaction tones than women. Reactions generally followed predictions based on expected signal value. This project provides evidence that coalitional psychology influences dynamics related to university sports team rivalries and that context matters for expressions of alliance.
Konrad Lorenz (1943) proposed that pedomorphic characteristics (Kindchenschema) in infants and parental caregiving responses to these characteristics co-evolved in species with parental care. Previous research on Kindchenschema has generally utilized human infants and computer-generated or manipulated images of human infants as stimuli. A recent study provided the first evidence that humans perceived non-mammalian infants requiring parental care as more attractive and more dependent on parents and expressed greater caregiving intentions for them compared to non-mammalian infants not requiring parental care (Kruger, 2015; Kruger and Miller, 2016). The current study is the first to demonstrate that ratings of attractiveness and dependency mediated both the relationship of species parental dependency with caregiving intentions and the relationship between class (avian vs. reptilian) and caregiving intentions. Individual differences in perceptions of attractiveness and dependency also predicted caregiving intentions. Thus, we provide a new form of empirical evidence consistent with Lorenz' (1943) proposal for the convergent co-evolution of Kindchenschema and caregiving reactions.
Sports team rivalries involve expressions of evolved psychology related to in-group loyalty and inter-group competition. ESPN ranked the University of Michigan–Ohio State University football rivalry as the greatest North American sports rivalry. Toledo, Ohio is geographically closer to Ann Arbor, MI (UM), than to Columbus, OH (OSU) and conventional wisdom holds that team loyalty is divided among local residents. Previous observational research of thousands of individuals in Toledo indicated that no one simultaneously wore apparel from the two competing teams. Inspired by these observations, a second study examined reactions to displays of mixed loyalty vs. consistent loyalty. When a research confederate wore clothing featuring both UM and OSU, he elicited more attention and reactions than when wearing equivalent outfits featuring just one of the universities. The current study examines factors explaining individual differences in attention to displays of allegiance to rival groups, whether consistent or mixed. We made several predictions for explaining variation in reaction rates based on evolved coalitional psychology. We predicted that men, young adults in the typical undergraduate age range (18-25), and those wearing university merchandise themselves will have higher reaction rates to the confederate than women, individuals in other age groups, and individuals not wearing university merchandise respectively. These hypotheses were generally supported by our observations (n = 1292). Controlling for experimental condition, reaction rates were higher overall for men, young adults, and those wearing university merchandise themselves. The highest reaction rates were by young adult men wearing university merchandise, to the mixed condition.
Ethologist Konrad Lorenz (1943) proposed the co-evolution of certain care eliciting characteristics, named Kindchenschema (baby schema), in altricial infants and caregiving responses to these characteristics in parents. Pedomorphic facial characteristics in human infants and adults cue social approach and elicit helping. Lorenz (1943) proposed that Kindchenschema features important for eliciting caregiving are similar across species. This is the first experiment to demonstrate that non-mammalian species dependent on parental care elicit greater Kindchenschema-related perceptions and motivations than infant species in the same class that are not dependent on parental care. Our results complement findings from studies using images of human infants and computer generated/manipulated images as stimuli.
Ethologists proposed the coevolution of pedomorphic characteristics in infants and caregiving responses to these features in parents. Human infants higher in pedomorphic characteristics are more likely to receive baby talk from adults and elicit stronger motivations for caretaking. Neotenous facial characteristics in human adults cue social approach and elicit helping. This study demonstrates generally strong differences in reactions to infants from non-mammalian species requiring parental care (semiprecocial) and superprecocial species within the same class. People perceive semiprecocial infants as more neotenous (cute, immature, and helpless), had greater desires to hold or pet them, thought they would have a greater appreciation of being held or pet, thought they would be less likely to survive on their own, and anticipated being more likely to adopt them compared to superprecocial infants. Both avian and reptilian infants elicited these patterns. There was a moderate degree of sex differences in ratings, women saw the infants as more neotenous and were more willing to adopt them than men.
In-group loyalty and inter-group competition are important aspects of behavior in humans and other social species. Patterns of in-group loyalty and inter-group competition are expressed in the modern context of American college football, including territorial aspects. ESPN ranked the Michigan-Ohio State NCAA Division 1 football rivalry as the greatest North American sports rivalry. 'The Game,' as many fans know it, is held at the end of the regular Big Ten Conference season. Toledo is a mid-sized city in Ohio, with its northern limits at the Ohio-Michigan border. Although in Ohio, Toledo is geographically closer to Ann Arbor, MI (home of the University of Michigan), than to Columbus, OH (home of the Ohio State University). Conventional wisdom holds that team loyalties are divided among local residents, sometimes even within the same household. Merchandise featuring each school is widely available in the Toledo area and stores typically display Ohio State and Michigan items adjacently. We used an ethological approach to assess the level of allegiance for each school among Toledo residents during the 2013 American college football season. Despite the closer geographic proximity to the University of Michigan, there were more displays of allegiance to the in-state university, Ohio State University.
Eye contact is associated with multiple human social functions. These include social dominance displays or contests and signaling interest in potential romantic partners, functions more prominent for men and women respectively. People may actively avoid situations that could create a dynamic of initiating social attention without further communication. We observed seating patterns in a university cafeteria during off-peak hours. We predicted that individuals arriving alone would avoid sitting facing others and that women would be relatively less likely to sit facing a male stranger than vice versa. Only 14% of individuals arriving alone sat directly facing another individual not at the same table, however we did not have an adequate number of cases to reliably test the second hypothesis. We believe that evolved mechanisms regulating social interactions explain this pattern; the goals of avoiding social confict and unwanted sexual attention continue to be important in modern environments.
Cell phone use is increasingly prominent in public settings and may shape face-to-face social interactions. We used an ethological approach to examine cell phone use in public dyadic interactions, recording detailed behavior sequences. Naturalistic observations in university dining halls and nearby commercial dining facilities indicated that one individual's cell phone use is a frequent precursor to the companion's cell phone use. Cell phones create an alternative outlet for one's attention and may both promote and interfere with live social interaction. These results have important implications for the role of information technology in modern social interactions.