Perception Of No Free Will On Cheating And Lying - 2447 Words

The influence of perception of no free will on cheating and lying in collectivist and individualist cultures Kelly Muldoon Tutorial: Wednesday (1) 9am Trends in Personality and Social Psychology PSYC30022 Due date: Friday 26th September, 2014 8am Word count: 1725 (not including references) The notion of people having a free will, or the ability to consciously determine ones own actions, to regulate oneself, have control of ones mind, make choices and live ones life through unrestricted personal prerogative, is generally accepted by people as a given (Gray, Gray Wegner, 2007; Pronin, Kugler, 2010). People may feel as if they are in control, but many different studies have questioned one’s ability to muster†¦show more content†¦Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) studies have shown that people’s brains exhibit activity up to seven seconds prior to a conscious decision being made to act, implying that the forces causing the action are entirely unconscious (Soon, Brass, Heinz Haynes, 2008; Lisbet, B. 1985). It is asserted that, at the most, people act as interpreters, who provide post factum rationale for whatever it was the brain had them think, feel or do (Gazzanigna, 2011). When people comprehend their own lack of free will, they are more likely to be violent, lie, cheat and steal (Baumeister, Masicampo DeWall, 2009; Vohs Schooler, 2008) as well as exhibit greater prejudice (Zhao, Liu, Zhang, Shi, Huang, 2014). Further, preconscious motor processes exhibit changes, with readiness potentials reduced in people induced with a disbelief in free will (Rigoni, Kà ¼hn, Sartori, Brass, 2011). Conversely, when people are told ‘but you are free’ (Gueguen Pascual, 2000), they are significantly more likely to give donations and comply with other requests of them, submitting even more, when the term is said twice (Gueguen, et. al., 2013). However, when this same technique is used amongst different cultures, it was found that the collectivist cultures of Russia and China did not respond in the same way as the individualist cultures of France and Romania (Pascual, et al., 2012). It