Contagious Attention

Social influence refers to the way in whichindividuals affect one another, and is one of thefundamental issues that social psychology addresses.Intuitively, we feel the effect of the presence ofothers in countless ways in our daily lives. We mayget nervous when we get up to speak in front of acrowd, or walk more quickly when we hear someonebehind us in a dark parking lot. Experimentalresearch has revealed a great deal of support forthe influence of others on a person's emotions,thoughts, and behavior. This set of studies exploresa specific type of influence people have on oneanother: the influence on attention. Specifically,we test the notion that people may shift theirattention according to the attention of the peoplearound them. Furthermore, I demonstrate theconsequences of this effect as it relates to theprocess of self-regulation involving an inhibitionof a tempting stimulus.

Autorentext

Dikla Shmueli, PhD: University at Albany, Postdoctoral Work: University of California, San Francisco. Primary area of interest: self-regulation, specifically how individuals balance more than one act which necessitates self- control. Additionally the role of positive emotions in increasing self-control strength.

Klappentext
Social influence refers to the way in which individuals affect one another, and is one of the fundamental issues that social psychology addresses. Intuitively, we feel the effect of the presence of others in countless ways in our daily lives. We may get nervous when we get up to speak in front of a crowd, or walk more quickly when we hear someone behind us in a dark parking lot. Experimental research has revealed a great deal of support for the influence of others on a person's emotions, thoughts, and behavior. This set of studies explores a specific type of influence people have on one another: the influence on attention. Specifically, we test the notion that people may shift their attention according to the attention of the people around them. Furthermore, I demonstrate the consequences of this effect as it relates to the process of self-regulation involving an inhibition of a tempting stimulus.