Dataset Information

Do images of 'watching eyes' induce behaviour that is more pro-social or more normative? A field experiment on littering.

ABSTRACT: Displaying images of eyes causes people to behave more pro-socially in a variety of contexts. However, it is unclear whether eyes work by making people universally more pro-social, or by making them more likely to conform to local norms. If the latter, images of eyes could sometimes make people less pro-social if pro-social behaviour is not the local norm. To separate these hypotheses we conducted a field experiment in which we explored whether manipulating a local descriptive norm altered the eyes effect. We recorded litter dropping decisions on a university campus in a 2 x 2 design, comparing situations with and without litter already on the ground (a manipulation of the local descriptive norm) and with and without large signs displaying images of watching eyes. We additionally recorded the number of potential human observers in the vicinity at the time of each littering decision. We observed a norm effect: the presence of litter on the ground increased littering, replicating previous findings. We also found that images of watching eyes reduced littering, although contrary to previous findings this was only when there were larger numbers of people around. With regard to our central aim, we found no evidence that litter on the ground interacted non-additively with images of eyes to induce increased littering behaviour. Our data therefore support the hypothesis that images of eyes induce more pro-social behaviour, independent of local norms. This finding has positive implications for the application of eye images in combating anti-social behaviour.

SUBMITTER: Bateson M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3855385 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Do images of 'watching eyes' induce behaviour that is more pro-social or more normative? A field experiment on littering.

Bateson Melissa M Callow Luke L Holmes Jessica R JR Redmond Roche Maximilian L ML Nettle Daniel D

PloS one 20131205 12

Displaying images of eyes causes people to behave more pro-socially in a variety of contexts. However, it is unclear whether eyes work by making people universally more pro-social, or by making them more likely to conform to local norms. If the latter, images of eyes could sometimes make people less pro-social if pro-social behaviour is not the local norm. To separate these hypotheses we conducted a field experiment in which we explored whether manipulating a local descriptive norm altered the e ...[more]

PMID: 24339990

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Project description:BackgroundInfection with Leishmania parasites causes mainly cutaneous lesions at the site of the sand fly bite. Inflammatory metastatic forms have been reported with Leishmania species such as L. braziliensis, guyanensis and aethiopica. Little is known about the factors underlying such exacerbated clinical presentations. Leishmania RNA virus (LRV) is mainly found within South American Leishmania braziliensis and guyanensis. In a mouse model of L. guyanensis infection, its presence is responsible for an hyper-inflammatory response driven by the recognition of the viral dsRNA genome by the host Toll-like Receptor 3 leading to an exacerbation of the disease. In one instance, LRV was reported outside of South America, namely in the L. major ASKH strain from Turkmenistan, suggesting that LRV appeared before the divergence of Leishmania subgenera. LRV presence inside Leishmania parasites could be one of the factors implicated in disease severity, providing rationale for LRV screening in L. aethiopica.Methodology/principal findingsA new LRV member was identified in four L. aethiopica strains (LRV-Lae). Three LRV-Lae genomes were sequenced and compared to L. guyanensis LRV1 and L. major LRV2. LRV-Lae more closely resembled LRV2. Despite their similar genomic organization, a notable difference was observed in the region where the capsid protein and viral polymerase open reading frames overlap, with a unique -1 situation in LRV-Lae. In vitro infection of murine macrophages showed that LRV-Lae induced a TLR3-dependent inflammatory response as previously observed for LRV1.Conclusions/significanceIn this study, we report the presence of an immunogenic dsRNA virus in L. aethiopica human isolates. This is the first observation of LRV in Africa, and together with the unique description of LRV2 in Turkmenistan, it confirmed that LRV was present before the divergence of the L. (Leishmania) and (Viannia) subgenera. The potential implication of LRV-Lae on disease severity due to L. aethiopica infections is discussed.

Dataset Information

Do images of 'watching eyes' induce behaviour that is more pro-social or more normative? A field experiment on littering.

Publications

Do images of 'watching eyes' induce behaviour that is more pro-social or more normative? A field experiment on littering.

Similar Datasets

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