Fitness interdependence as indexed by shared fate: Factor structure and validity of a new measure.

Abstract

Assessing interdependence between the self and specific others has a rich history in psychological science. Here, we report a novel scale that measures Shared Fate. Studies 1 and 2 (N 1 = 198, N 2 = 216) show that the Shared Fate Scale has two factors assessing perceived shared fate and emotional shared fate with a target, has good reliability (Cronbach's a = .81 to .91; McDonald's v = .89 to .96), and predicts participants' willingness to help interdependent others. Studies 3 and 4 (N 3 = 695, N 4 = 629) indicate that the Shared Fate Scale has good discriminant, convergent, concurrent, and predictive validity as well as test-retest reliability across a 14-day period. Taken together, our results suggest that the Shared Fate Scale is a useful instrument for work on cooperation, interdependence, and social behavior. However, there are still many open questions about the cognitive architecture underlying perceptions of shared fate and how shared fate interacts with genetic relatedness and other sources of fitness interdependence.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect cooperation and interdependence?

“…Helping during pandemics might be different from helping during other crises because of the risk of infection. Previous research shows that perceived interdependence predicts greater cooperation (Ayers et al, 2022). During pandemics, however, cooperation can increase COOPERATION IN THE PANDEMIC 36 infection risk.…”

“…Because of this yoking of fitness outcomes, helping can be evolutionarily viable even when individuals are not genetic relatives or likely to pay each other back. When people perceive that their outcomes are positively intertwined, they are more likely to help one another during times of need (Ayers et al 2022;Barclay 2020;Brown & Brown 2006;Hackman et al 2015). Here, we used the Shared Fate scale to measure interdependence with neighbors and all of humanity.…”

“…Here, we used the Shared Fate scale to measure interdependence with neighbors and all of humanity. Shared Fate has been shown to predict people's willingness to help others in times of need above measures of genetic relatedness and mutualism (Ayers et al 2022). In a pandemic, shared fate takes on additional significance, because if others are infected, this affects one's likelihood of becoming infected.…”

“…To measure attitudes and motivations toward cooperation at a global level, we asked participants to rate their agreement with the statement: Helping a person who is not a citizen of your own country when they are in need is the right thing to do (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree). These items were modified from (Ayers et al, 2022) for the purposes of the current study.…”

“…To measure perceived interdependence, participants answered two items per target (i.e., neighborhood and humanity) from the Shared Fate scale (Ayers et al, 2022) each corresponding to one of its two factors: emotional and perceived shared fate. Our measures of interdependence within communities included Emotional Shared Fate with one's neighborhood:…”