Communicated Emotion and Reciprocity Disappointment versus Anger

1. Communicated Emotion and ReciprocityDisappointment versus Anger Wubben, M.J.J., De Cremer, D., and Van Dijk, E. (2009). How emotion communication guides reciprocity: Establishing cooperation through disappointment and anger. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(4), 987-990. Summary by Karina Muro, Whitney Justice and Elise Sisson

2. Video • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bRjnUqzseU&feature=related

3. Introduction • Emotions are critical in establishing and maintaining cooperation. • Anger may force cooperation by announcing retaliation, but can also backfire, yielding mutual defection • Disappointment addresses defection without communicating retaliation • Hypothesis: Reciprocal actions will more successfully establish cooperation when one responds to defection with disappointment instead of anger.

4. Participants • 97 Undergrads (22% male) • Average age = 20 yrs • Participated for $5.00 or course credit • Randomly assigned to disappointment, anger, or no-emotion condition • Method • Participants started with 10 coins at beginning of every trial • Told that they and their “partner” had to simultaneously decide how many coins to donate to the other • Coins kept were worth less than coins donated • Told that they or their “partner” could send emotion messages every three rounds • Afterwards, completed a questionnaire about behavioral impression of their “partner”

5. Results • Cooperation increased faster when disappointment as opposed to anger or no emotion was communicated. • People perceived their partner more positively when disappointment was communicated as opposed to anger • Disappointed partners were perceived as more forgiving than retaliatory • Angry partners were perceived as more retaliatory Fig. 1. Number of donated coins after each trial

6. Conclusion • Anger thus risks escalation, whereas disappointment emphasizes the possibility of obtaining better outcomes • Disappointment emphasizes potential forgiveness • More likely to establish mutually beneficial relationship • Anger evoked anger • Participants also had a more negative impression of partner

7. Critical Review Main Points • Communicated disappointment elicited cooperation faster than anger or no emotion • Disappointment was perceived in a more positive light than anger or no emotion Objections • 80 % Particpants = 20 year old Females • Disappointment may not always elicit cooperation faster than anger

8. Test Questions • 1. In the study by M.J.J. Wubben et al. (2009), angry partners were perceived as more _________. a. Positive b. Retaliatory c. Emotionless d. Cooperative • 2. Disappointed partners were perceived as more ________. a. Forgiving b. Negative c. Angry d. Emotionless • 3. _________ is likely a behavioral adaptation because it promotes cooperation by having cooperators retaliate against defectors. a. Emotion b. Mutual defection c. Reciprocity d. Antagonism • T/F: Disappointment is always more effective in inducing cooperation. • T/F: Communicated anger can evoke cooperation • T/F: Unconditional cooperators are vulnerable to exploitation by defectors.