Joël Berger
Biographic Data
| ID | 3597137 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joël Berger |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joël |
| FAMILY NAME | Berger |
| SIGNATURE | BERGER J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bern |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8148-1093 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1987 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Constructive competition
Winner-take-all tournaments may have the advantage of raising the motivation to do one’s best, but also the disadvantage of jeopardizing cooperation. Such tournaments can be costly in terms of loss of cooperation, and we ask: Are there conditions under which they don’t have these negative effects? Can competition be calibrated to be compatible with subsequent cooperation? There is one theory that deals with this question: the theory of constructi…
Does improved upward social mobility foster frustration and conflict? A large-scale online experiment testing Boudon's model
The rise of populism has reignited scholarly interest in the paradox of societal advancement leading to frustration and social tension. Globalization and digitalization have increased social opportunities for parts of the population, but a substantial portion of society feels disadvantaged, resulting in discontent. This study, rooted in Boudon's model of relative deprivation, examines the mechanisms that fuel this frustration. We conducted an onl…
Social capital is associated with cooperation and indirect norm enforcement in the field
Social capital, comprising networks, generalized trust, and cooperation norms, is often considered a key factor in promoting prosperity and cooperation. Informal norm enforcement also drives cooperation. While early theories of social capital and norm enforcement propose that networks encourage sanctions, strong reciprocity theory argues that sanctioning non-cooperation is a universal preference. In the lab, people uphold cooperation through sanc…
Experiments in the Sociology of Education – Promises and Experiences
Sciendo provides publishing services and solutions to academic and professional organizations and individual authors. We publish journals, books, conference proceedings and a variety of other publications
Pre-existing fairness concerns restrict the cultural evolution and generalization of inequitable norms in children
Listening to Bats
While relatively little is known about bats across much of Africa, globally, many bat populations are in decline due to human activities. Successful bat conservation efforts, therefore, depend on both ecological studies and research on human-bat relationships. To address these knowledge gaps about African bats and their interactions with humans, we used semi-structured interviews of pastoralists in northwestern Namibia to assess local experiences…
Tipping pro-environmental norm diffusion at scale
Rapid and comprehensive social change is required to mitigate pressing environmental issues such as climate change. Social tipping interventions have been proposed as a policy tool for creating this kind of change. Social tipping means that a small minority committed to a target behaviour can create a self-reinforcing dynamic, which establishes the target behaviour as a social norm. The possibility of achieving the large-scale diffusion of pro-en…
How to prevent leadership hubris? Comparing competitive selections, lotteries, and their combination
Islamophobia or Threat to Secularization? Lost Letter Experiments on the Discrimination Against Muslims in an Urban Area of Switzerland
Two explanations for discrimination against Muslims in Switzerland are threat to secularization and xenophobia. We conducted lost letter experiments and find that distinctively religious Muslim groups are indeed discriminated against, although not to a larger degree than Christian sects. Moreover, discrimination against Muslims decreases when there is no reference to religiousness. In sum, the discrimination against Muslims seems mainly to be a r…
Signaling Theory Evolving
Signaling theory is concerned with situations of strategic interdependence in which one actor (the sender) aims at persuading another actor (the receiver) of a fact the receiver does not know or is uncertain about. The unobserved fact can be a quality of the sender the receiver would like to know and act upon. Signaling theory has been used to explain individuals’ investments in higher education, advertisement, cultural consumption, aggressive be…
Muskox Health Ecology Symposium 2016
Norm enforcement in the city revisited
In laboratory experiments, people are willing to sanction norms at a cost-a behavioral tendency called altruistic punishment. However, the degree to which these findings can be generalized to real-world interactions is still debated. Only a small number of field experiments have been conducted, and initial results suggest that punishment is less frequent outside of the lab. This study replicates one of the first field experiments on altruistic pu…
Late School Tracking, Less Class Bias in Educational Decision-Making? The Uncertainty Reduction Mechanism and Its Experimental Testing
A long-standing hypothesis in the sociology of education is that the timing of ability tracking impacts the inequality of educational opportunity. While earlier studies mainly focused on how early tracking impacts the primary effect of social origin (systematic performance differences due to social background), the impact of early tracking on the secondary effect of social origin (class-specific educational decision-making) has been neglected. Re…
The Sanctioning Dilemma
Numerous laboratory experiments have established peer-sanctioning as an important driver of norm compliance and cooperation in human groups. However, systematic evidence of peer-sanctioning occurring in the field is still rare. Here we present results from a quasi-experimental field study investigating the enforcement of the silence norm in the train. We let a confederate play music on his/her mobile phone in an open-plan train car and measure th…
Eye spots do not increase altruism in children
Human–Carnivore Interactions
Types, causes, and intensity of human–carnivore interactions are related to historical context, management policy, and human perception. We used four rural communities in the American West with varying histories and management policies to assess the complexities of human–carnivore interactions and to determine factors influencing individual willingness to coexist with carnivores. By analyzing focus group and interview data from 49 community membe…
The Logic of Relative Frustration
An improvement in the availability of opportunities for actors in a social system (e.g. a society or a firm) can coincide with a growing rate of frustrated individuals. For instance, uprisings have repeatedly been preceded by forms of political liberalization that have provided greater opportunities (the so-called Tocqueville paradox). In organizations, satisfaction with regard to promotion opportunities can be negatively associated with objectiv…
Status and Ecological Effects of the World’s Largest Carnivores
Preserving Predators Large-bodied animals play essential roles in ecosystem structuring and stability through both indirect and direct trophic effects. In recent times, humans have disrupted this trophic structure through both habitat destruction and active extirpation of large predators, resulting in large declines in numbers and vast contractions in their geographic ranges. Ripple et al. ( 10.1126/science.1241484 ; see the Perspective by Robert…
Revisiting Leopold
The US National Park System is significantly different -in scope, number of units, size and complexitythan in the 1960s when the Leopold Report.Scientific understanding of natural and cultural resources has expanded dramatically.Developments since the 1960s include increasing biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, land use change, groundwater depletion, invasive species, rapid and sometimes unplanned development, growing air, noise, and light …
Large Carnivores and the Conservation of Biodiversity
Hunting by Carnivores and Humans
Restoring Functionality in Yellowstone with Recovering Carnivores
Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth
Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these animals may be humankind’s most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory a…
Geschlechtsspezifische Bildungsungleichheiten in Europa
Wenngleich die Bildungsexpansion in Europa nicht zu einem radikalen Abbau schichtspezifischer Bildungsungleichheiten geführt hat, ist doch ein Ergebnis der Entwicklungen der letzten Jahrzehnte unzweifelhaft: Frauen gehören zu den Gewinnerinnen der Bildungsexpansion, denn ihre Bildungsbeteiligung und ihr Bildungsniveau haben stetig zugenommen (Hadjar und Becker 2009; Hecken 2006). Wurde früher das „katholische Arbeiter mädchen vom Lande“ (Dahrendo…
Altruistische Reziprozität
SozW Soziale Welt , Seite 165 - 184
The Sanctioning Dilemma
Numerous laboratory experiments have established peer-sanctioning as an important driver of norm compliance and cooperation in human groups. However, systematic evidence of peer-sanctioning occurring in the field is still rare. Here we present results from a quasi-experimental field study investigating the enforcement of the silence norm in the train. We let a confederate play music on his/her mobile phone in an open-plan train car and measure th…
Wild Horses of the Great Basin
Journal Article Wild Horses of the Great Basin: Social Competition and Population Size Get access Wild Horses of the Great Basin: Social Competition and Population Size. By Berger Joel. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. xxi + 326 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, bibliography, notes, index. $25.00.) E. Bruce Godfrey E. Bruce Godfrey Utah State University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Western Hi…
Norm enforcement in the city revisited
In laboratory experiments, people are willing to sanction norms at a cost-a behavioral tendency called altruistic punishment. However, the degree to which these findings can be generalized to real-world interactions is still debated. Only a small number of field experiments have been conducted, and initial results suggest that punishment is less frequent outside of the lab. This study replicates one of the first field experiments on altruistic pu…
Altruistische Reziprozität
SozW Soziale Welt , Seite 165 - 184
The Logic of Relative Frustration
An improvement in the availability of opportunities for actors in a social system (e.g. a society or a firm) can coincide with a growing rate of frustrated individuals. For instance, uprisings have repeatedly been preceded by forms of political liberalization that have provided greater opportunities (the so-called Tocqueville paradox). In organizations, satisfaction with regard to promotion opportunities can be negatively associated with objectiv…
Does improved upward social mobility foster frustration and conflict? A large-scale online experiment testing Boudon's model
The rise of populism has reignited scholarly interest in the paradox of societal advancement leading to frustration and social tension. Globalization and digitalization have increased social opportunities for parts of the population, but a substantial portion of society feels disadvantaged, resulting in discontent. This study, rooted in Boudon's model of relative deprivation, examines the mechanisms that fuel this frustration. We conducted an onl…
Tipping pro-environmental norm diffusion at scale
Rapid and comprehensive social change is required to mitigate pressing environmental issues such as climate change. Social tipping interventions have been proposed as a policy tool for creating this kind of change. Social tipping means that a small minority committed to a target behaviour can create a self-reinforcing dynamic, which establishes the target behaviour as a social norm. The possibility of achieving the large-scale diffusion of pro-en…
Wild Horses of the Great Basin
Journal Article Wild Horses of the Great Basin: Social Competition and Population Size Get access Wild Horses of the Great Basin: Social Competition and Population Size. By Berger Joel. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986. xxi + 326 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, bibliography, notes, index. $25.00.) E. Bruce Godfrey E. Bruce Godfrey Utah State University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Western Hi…
Zum Gedenken an Rabbiner Immanuel Löw (1854–1944)
Im Jahre 2004 gedachte man der Deportierung und Ermordung der Juden in Ungarn. Der damals 90jährige Immanuel Löw war bloß einer der unzähligen, gelehrten Rabbiner und Märtyrer der 600000 ungarisch-jüdischen Opfer
Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth
Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these animals may be humankind’s most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory a…
Geschlechtsspezifische Bildungsungleichheiten in Europa
Wenngleich die Bildungsexpansion in Europa nicht zu einem radikalen Abbau schichtspezifischer Bildungsungleichheiten geführt hat, ist doch ein Ergebnis der Entwicklungen der letzten Jahrzehnte unzweifelhaft: Frauen gehören zu den Gewinnerinnen der Bildungsexpansion, denn ihre Bildungsbeteiligung und ihr Bildungsniveau haben stetig zugenommen (Hadjar und Becker 2009; Hecken 2006). Wurde früher das „katholische Arbeiter mädchen vom Lande“ (Dahrendo…
Altruistische Reziprozität
SozW Soziale Welt , Seite 165 - 184
Large Carnivores and the Conservation of Biodiversity
Hunting by Carnivores and Humans
Restoring Functionality in Yellowstone with Recovering Carnivores
Status and Ecological Effects of the World’s Largest Carnivores
Preserving Predators Large-bodied animals play essential roles in ecosystem structuring and stability through both indirect and direct trophic effects. In recent times, humans have disrupted this trophic structure through both habitat destruction and active extirpation of large predators, resulting in large declines in numbers and vast contractions in their geographic ranges. Ripple et al. ( 10.1126/science.1241484 ; see the Perspective by Robert…
Revisiting Leopold
The US National Park System is significantly different -in scope, number of units, size and complexitythan in the 1960s when the Leopold Report.Scientific understanding of natural and cultural resources has expanded dramatically.Developments since the 1960s include increasing biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, land use change, groundwater depletion, invasive species, rapid and sometimes unplanned development, growing air, noise, and light …
Eye spots do not increase altruism in children
Human–Carnivore Interactions
Types, causes, and intensity of human–carnivore interactions are related to historical context, management policy, and human perception. We used four rural communities in the American West with varying histories and management policies to assess the complexities of human–carnivore interactions and to determine factors influencing individual willingness to coexist with carnivores. By analyzing focus group and interview data from 49 community membe…
The Logic of Relative Frustration
An improvement in the availability of opportunities for actors in a social system (e.g. a society or a firm) can coincide with a growing rate of frustrated individuals. For instance, uprisings have repeatedly been preceded by forms of political liberalization that have provided greater opportunities (the so-called Tocqueville paradox). In organizations, satisfaction with regard to promotion opportunities can be negatively associated with objectiv…
Norm enforcement in the city revisited
In laboratory experiments, people are willing to sanction norms at a cost-a behavioral tendency called altruistic punishment. However, the degree to which these findings can be generalized to real-world interactions is still debated. Only a small number of field experiments have been conducted, and initial results suggest that punishment is less frequent outside of the lab. This study replicates one of the first field experiments on altruistic pu…
Late School Tracking, Less Class Bias in Educational Decision-Making? The Uncertainty Reduction Mechanism and Its Experimental Testing
A long-standing hypothesis in the sociology of education is that the timing of ability tracking impacts the inequality of educational opportunity. While earlier studies mainly focused on how early tracking impacts the primary effect of social origin (systematic performance differences due to social background), the impact of early tracking on the secondary effect of social origin (class-specific educational decision-making) has been neglected. Re…
The Sanctioning Dilemma
Numerous laboratory experiments have established peer-sanctioning as an important driver of norm compliance and cooperation in human groups. However, systematic evidence of peer-sanctioning occurring in the field is still rare. Here we present results from a quasi-experimental field study investigating the enforcement of the silence norm in the train. We let a confederate play music on his/her mobile phone in an open-plan train car and measure th…
Signaling Theory Evolving
Signaling theory is concerned with situations of strategic interdependence in which one actor (the sender) aims at persuading another actor (the receiver) of a fact the receiver does not know or is uncertain about. The unobserved fact can be a quality of the sender the receiver would like to know and act upon. Signaling theory has been used to explain individuals’ investments in higher education, advertisement, cultural consumption, aggressive be…
Muskox Health Ecology Symposium 2016
Islamophobia or Threat to Secularization? Lost Letter Experiments on the Discrimination Against Muslims in an Urban Area of Switzerland
Two explanations for discrimination against Muslims in Switzerland are threat to secularization and xenophobia. We conducted lost letter experiments and find that distinctively religious Muslim groups are indeed discriminated against, although not to a larger degree than Christian sects. Moreover, discrimination against Muslims decreases when there is no reference to religiousness. In sum, the discrimination against Muslims seems mainly to be a r…
How to prevent leadership hubris? Comparing competitive selections, lotteries, and their combination
Listening to Bats
While relatively little is known about bats across much of Africa, globally, many bat populations are in decline due to human activities. Successful bat conservation efforts, therefore, depend on both ecological studies and research on human-bat relationships. To address these knowledge gaps about African bats and their interactions with humans, we used semi-structured interviews of pastoralists in northwestern Namibia to assess local experiences…
Tipping pro-environmental norm diffusion at scale
Rapid and comprehensive social change is required to mitigate pressing environmental issues such as climate change. Social tipping interventions have been proposed as a policy tool for creating this kind of change. Social tipping means that a small minority committed to a target behaviour can create a self-reinforcing dynamic, which establishes the target behaviour as a social norm. The possibility of achieving the large-scale diffusion of pro-en…
Experiments in the Sociology of Education – Promises and Experiences
Sciendo provides publishing services and solutions to academic and professional organizations and individual authors. We publish journals, books, conference proceedings and a variety of other publications
Pre-existing fairness concerns restrict the cultural evolution and generalization of inequitable norms in children
Does improved upward social mobility foster frustration and conflict? A large-scale online experiment testing Boudon's model
The rise of populism has reignited scholarly interest in the paradox of societal advancement leading to frustration and social tension. Globalization and digitalization have increased social opportunities for parts of the population, but a substantial portion of society feels disadvantaged, resulting in discontent. This study, rooted in Boudon's model of relative deprivation, examines the mechanisms that fuel this frustration. We conducted an onl…
Psychology (14 works) · Political science (13 works) · Social Psychology (11 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Economics (8 works) · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Geography (5 works) · Microeconomics (5 works)