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One is not enough: Group size modulates social gaze-induced object desirability effects
Francesca Capozzi1, Andrew P Bayliss, Marco R Elena
1Center for Cognitive Science, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Torino, Via Po 14, 10123, Turin, Italy.
People like objects more when others look at them, but only if multiple people are looking. Group size influences trust in others' preferences, impacting social learning and conformity.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Affective evaluations are influenced by social cues, such as gaze direction.
- Previous research shows people prefer objects others look at, but the reliability of this cue is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether group size affects conformity to gaze-based preferences.
- To determine if observers trust the preferences of multiple individuals more than a single individual.
Main Methods:
- Modified the gaze-cuing paradigm to include single-face and multiple-faces conditions.
- Measured response times and affective evaluations of objects based on gaze direction.
- Compared effects of gaze-cuing from one vs. several faces.
Main Results:
- Gaze-cuing effects on response time were similar across single-face and multiple-faces conditions.
- Affective evaluations showed a boost only for objects cued by multiple faces.
- Objects cued by a single face did not receive higher affective ratings than objects looked away from.
Conclusions:
- Individuals use group size to assess the generalizability of social preferences conveyed by gaze.
- Multiple faces endorsing a preference increase its perceived trustworthiness and impact on liking.
- Findings highlight the role of social group size in modulating social learning and conformity.
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