CAREER: The Folk Theory of Behavior: Implications for Social Perception and Interaction

人们作为社会存在所面临的基本问题之一就是理解彼此的行为。这项研究项目调查人们是如何解决这个问题的。这种方法是为了理解人们的“民间行为理论”，它指的是人们描述、解释和影响人类行为的概念框架。通过研究这一“民间理论”，人们有望更好地理解交流、互动和社会关系中的内在规律。该理论模型依赖于两个命题：(1)人们区分故意和无意行为；(2)人们用纯粹的原因(例如，在人的内部，在情景中)来解释无意行为，而故意行为是用原因(例如，信念、欲望)来解释的。这些命题的初步证据已经导致了民间解释的综合模式。该模型产生了大量的启示，并在当前的研究项目中进行了测试，分为四个问题：(1)人们如何判断意向性？(2)人们关注哪些行为？(3)人们如何评价行为？以及(4)人们如何解释行为？为了回答这些问题，研究采用了多种方法，包括问卷调查、交互式视听计算机演示、对现有文本(如小说、日记)的详细编码以及对二元互动的观察。这项研究计划的目的是确定人们民间行为理论的关键组成部分，并检查它们对社会认知和社会互动的实质性影响。相关教育活动的目的是提高学生和公众对社会认知和互动现象以及管理这些现象的原则的认识。

One of the basic problems that people face as social beings is to make sense of each other's behavior. This research project investigates how people solve this problem. The approach is to understand people's `folk theory of behavior,` which refers to the conceptual framework within which people describe, explain, and influence human behavior. By studying this `folk theory,` it is expected that regularities inherent in communication, interaction, and social relationships will be better understood. The theoretical model relies on two propositions:(1) that people distinguish between intentional and unintentional behavior, and (2) that people explain unintentional behavior by mere causes (e.g., inside the person, in the situation), whereas intentional behavior is explained with reasons (e.g., beliefs, desires). Initial evidence for these propositions has led to an integrative model of folk explanations. This model generates numerous implications that are tested in the present research program, grouped under four questions:(1) How do people judge intentionality? (2) Which behaviors do people attend to? (3) How do people evaluate behavior? and (4) How do people explain behavior? To answer these questions the research employs multiple methods, including questionnaires, interactive audio-visual computer presentations, detailed coding of existing texts (e.g., novels, diaries), and observations of dyadic interaction. The aim of this research program is to identify key components of people's folk theory of behavior and to examine their substantial implications for social perception and social interaction. The aim of the associated educational activities is to increase awareness, among students and the public, of social perception and interaction phenomena and of the principles that govern them.