Victim Sensitivity in Complex Social Interactions: An Interactive-Process Approach

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The present project examines the influence of victim sensitivity, a self-related concern for justice, on trust and cooperation in complex social interactions. Past research has demonstrated that victim sensitivity is a crucial predictor of uncooperativeness in situations that require some degree of trust, but are marked by low or no interaction between the respective individuals. The present project goes beyond already existing research by focusing on the interactive and dynamic social processes in repeated (iterated) interactions. These effects and processes will be studied in the context of collaborative tasks and negotiations. The goal of the present project is to study the effects of victim sensitivity as a personality trait on trust and cooperation in iterated social interactions and to investigate the cognitive and behavioural processes that underlie the respective effects. The studies designed to investigate these processes will help gain a better understanding regarding the concrete behaviours that are shown by victim-sensitive individuals in such interactions. Concretely, it will be examined whether self-fulfilling prophecies regarding one's interaction partner's intentions as well as avoidance behaviour mediate the effect of victim sensitivity on mutual trust and mutual cooperation. The insights we expect from the current project will substantially enrich the literature on the influence of individual differences variables on social interactions in general, and on the influence of victim sensitivity on cooperation in particular. In addition, the paradigms and findings designed to study the role of non-verbal behaviours in negotiations are highly relevant for research on the development of interpersonal trust in teams.