No interest in being cynical: Conflicting versus corresponding interests track variability in the link between personal control and cynicism

• Main Author: CHOY, Bryan Kwok Cheng
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: Cynicism; personal control; conflicting and corresponding interests; vulnerability to exploitation; Personality and Social Contexts; Social Psychology and Interaction
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/509; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/etd_coll/article/1507/viewcontent/GPPS_AY2022_PhD_Bryan_Choy_Kwok_Cheng.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Recent literature indicates that a lack of personal control negatively predicts (social) cynicism, a negative view of others as self-interested and exploitative (Stavrova & Ehlebracht, 2018a, 2019). Despite the ostensibly robust nature of this relationship, I propose that the strength of the link between personal control and cynicism could be more variable than extant findings have suggested. In particular, I argue that variability in the controlcynicism link may be tracked (i.e., moderated) by the extent to which actors in a situation have corresponding or conflicting interests, with the effect of control on cynicism being attenuated when actors are perceived to have corresponding (vs. conflicting) interests. Furthermore, I reason that perceptions of vulnerability to exploitation should mediate the effect of control (and interests) on cynicism. Overall, the present research hypothesized a moderated mediation model linking personal control, interests, vulnerability, and cynicism. Four studies were conducted: three experiments that employed economic games (Study 1) and vignettes (Study 2 and 3), and one large-scale, cross-cultural correlational study (Study 4). Findings were broadly consistent with the theoretical model: the link between control and cynicism was mediated by perceptions of vulnerability and was attenuated in situations with corresponding (vs. conflicting) interests. The implications and limitations of the current research are discussed. Overall, the findings suggest that shaping people’s perceptions of interests in a situation can be one useful way to help stem the cynicism that arises from a lack of personal control.