The added value of perceived values: Partner's perceived values predict own behaviour in interdependent interactions

Abstract

Personal values have been widely recognized as important determinants of individuals’ behaviour. But can behaviour be shaped by the values one attributes to others? Focusing on interdependent interactions, this research integrates literature on personal values and the role of expectations in social dilemmas to investigate the overlooked effect of value perceptions on people's choices. In Study 1, players in a prisoner's dilemma (a game capturing cooperation vs. competition) who were informed that their partner prioritized self-transcendence values tended to cooperate more than players informed that the partner prioritized self-enhancement values. In Study 2, players in the same game who assumed their partner was higher in self-transcendence values and lower in self-enhancement values were more likely to opt for the cooperative choice. In Study 3, players in a chicken game (a game capturing risk-taking vs. risk-avoidance) who assumed their partner was higher in conservation values and lower in openness-to-change values were more likely to opt for the riskier choice in the game. Study 4 indicated that the effect of perceived values on behaviour is mediated by assumptions regarding the partner's choice. Perceived values of the other side predicted behaviour beyond the perceiver's own values. We discuss the relationships between own and perceived values and our contributions to the values literature and conflict research.