Ilusion of control and selction of behavior: the role of social and cultural variables

• Grant number: 11/22216-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Experimental Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Frota Lobato Benvenuti
• Grantee: Marcelo Frota Lobato Benvenuti
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Under certain conditions, people may overestimate the likelihood that their actions are effective in producing changes in the environment, a phenomenon known as illusion of control. This project explores the possibility that the basis for illusion of control is the coincidence between responses and environmental changes and that these coincidences can be facilitated by social and cultural variables. Adult participants will work on a task when they can, with a mouse, click in colored rectangle presented in the center of a computer monitor. When the rectangle is at certain color, points are given regardless of the behavior of participants on average every 8 seconds (VT 8 s); with the rectangle with another color, points are not presented (extinction). At the end of each session, participants should estimate the degree of control they feel they have on the production of points. This basic situation will be used to evaluate the role of social and cultural variables on the question of illusion of control. In the first subproject, participants work individually on the task, without contact with other participants. In the second, we will assess the role of imitation, when an experimenter confederate works alongside the participant and remains responding in situation when points are displayed regardless of the behavior. In the third subproject, three participants will work individually on basic task. At the end of each session, they have to agree on the degree of control they had in the task. Extra points are given if the participants agree that the experimental task involved control over the presentation of the points. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LOBATO BENVENUTI, MARCELO FROTA; NOGARA DE TOLEDO, THAIS FERRO; VELASCO, SAULO MISSIAGGIA; DUARTE, FLAVIA MENESES. Behavior and illusions: a model to study superstition in a participant replacement experiment. PSICOLOGIA-REFLEXAO E CRITICA, v. 31, JUL 3 2018. (11/22216-0, 08/57705-8)

LOBATO BENVENUTI, MARCELO FROTA; NOGARA DE TOLEDO, THAIS FERRO; VELASCO, SAULO MISSIAGGIA; DUARTE, FLAVIA MENESES. Behavior and illusions: a model to study superstition in a participant replacement experiment. PSICOLOGIA-REFLEXAO E CRITICA, v. 31, p. 9-pg., 2018-07-03. (08/57705-8, 11/22216-0)

LOBATO BENVENUTI, MARCELO FROTA; NOGARA DE TOLEDO, THAIS FERRO; GOMES SIMOES, REINALDO AUGUSTO; BIZARRO, LISIANE. Comparing illusion of control and superstitious behavior: Rate of responding influences judgment of control in a free-operant procedure. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION, v. 64, p. 27-33, NOV 2018. (08/57705-8, 11/22216-0)

NATÁLIA SANTOS MARQUES; MARCELO FROTA LOBATO BENVENUTI. O Estudo da Superstição nas Ciências do Comportamento: Debatendo Procedimentos Experimentais e Concepções Teóricas. Trends in Psychology, v. 25, n. 3, p. 1397-1409, 2017-09-00. (08/57705-8, 11/22216-0)