Concepts of human nature - why they matter in ethical decisions

00:07:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9DnIoyDEek

Sintesi

TLDRThis video explores how our assumptions about human nature—whether people are egoistic or altruistic, emotional or rational, autonomous or heteronomous, nature- or culture-driven—affect decision-making processes. Models of human nature, such as economic man, humanistic man, social model, and imperfect man, each characterized by these dimensions, illustrate different approaches to understanding behavior. Policymakers and managers can utilize these assumptions to effectively influence and guide individuals or groups, emphasizing aspects such as economic incentives, emotional appeals, cultural education, and group dynamics.

Punti di forza

  • 🤔 Assumptions about human nature greatly influence decision-making processes.
  • 🧩 People tend to be viewed on a spectrum from egoistic to altruistic.
  • 😍 Emotions often take precedence over rationality in perceptions of others.
  • 🔄 Autonomy vs. heteronomy influences how policies and norms are shaped.
  • 🌱 Culture vs. nature debates shape our strategies in management and policy.
  • 💡 Models like economic man and humanistic man guide organizational behavior.
  • 👥 Social models focus on collective processes over individual actions.
  • 🧠 Imperfect man theory aligns with psychoanalytic views of human nature.
  • 📚 Cultural beliefs promote educational investments to modify behavior.
  • ⚙️ Policymakers can craft strategies by understanding human nature assumptions.

Linea temporale

  • 00:00:00 - 00:07:31

    The video explores how assumptions about human nature can influence decision-making. It uses the example of perceiving people as either egoistic or altruistic, affecting trust and communication choices. The first dimension of human nature discussed is this egoistic vs. altruistic outlook. The second dimension considers whether people are seen as emotional versus rational, impacting strategies in marketing and policymaking. The third dimension is autonomy vs. heteronomy, affecting how norms and policies are shaped. The fourth dimension contrasts nature versus culture in character shaping, influencing hiring and management strategies. The video describes four concepts of human nature based on these dimensions: Homo Economicus, the humanistic model, the social model, and the imperfect man model. Each model characterizes people differently, affecting management and policy applications. The assumptions about human nature shape behavior and inform various management models.

Mappa mentale

Video Domande e Risposte

  • What is the impact of viewing people as egoistic?

    Viewing people as egoistic leads to less trust and communication with others.

  • How does the perception of altruism affect behavior?

    Assuming altruism leads to more communication, doing favors, and organizing actions to help others.

  • What are the dimensions of human nature discussed?

    The dimensions include egoistic vs. altruistic, emotional vs. rational, autonomous vs. heteronomous, and nature vs. culture influences.

  • What does the economic man concept signify?

    Economic man is seen as egoistic, shaped by nature, autonomous, and rational, focusing on optimizing means to reach goals.

  • How is humanistic man characterized?

    Humanistic man assumes autonomy, rationality oriented on goals aligned with humanistic values, and is altruistic, influenced by culture.

  • What defines the social model in human nature?

    The social model assumes people are emotionally and culturally influenced, heteronomous, focusing on group processes over individuals.

  • Who is the imperfect man according to the discussed model?

    The imperfect man is seen as egoistic, shaped by nature, heteronomous, and emotional, associated with Freudian psychoanalysis.

  • How do policy makers benefit from these human nature assumptions?

    They can tailor decisions and influence behaviors by understanding people's perceived characteristics, using these assumptions.

  • What role does culture play in shaping human nature?

    Belief in cultural influence encourages investment in education and company culture to positively shape behaviors.

  • How are nature and culture distinguished in character formation?

    Nature relates to inherent traits, while culture involves learned behaviors and influences from social environments.

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Sottotitoli
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Scorrimento automatico:
  • 00:00:10
    In this video I will explain to you how the concept of human nature – i.e. general assumptions
  • 00:00:18
    about other people which we make, can impact our decisions.
  • 00:00:24
    Imagine that you assume that people are egoistic, so you probably don’t really trust people,
  • 00:00:32
    and are less tempted to communicate with them.
  • 00:00:35
    On the contrary, if you assume that the person is altruistic, you will be more likely to
  • 00:00:44
    communicate, do favors for people, and try to organize some actions to help other people.
  • 00:00:52
    This example brings us to the first dimension of this concept of human nature which is presented
  • 00:01:00
    on the diagram.
  • 00:01:01
    So, there are people who think that people are generally more egoistic than altruistic,
  • 00:01:09
    and people who think the opposite.
  • 00:01:12
    The next dimension tells us that there are people who assume that others are more emotional
  • 00:01:19
    than rational.
  • 00:01:21
    If you assume this, it is easy to see that when selling a product, you will accent the
  • 00:01:28
    emotional rather than the rational aspect of a product (no wonder that some advertisers
  • 00:01:35
    pose half naked women on cars, instead of accentuating the car’s price, efficiency
  • 00:01:41
    etc).
  • 00:01:42
    As a policy maker in times of the Coronavirus, you will not only accentuate the profitability
  • 00:01:50
    of a particular solution (staying home and avoiding paying a fine), but try to show,
  • 00:01:57
    by presenting nurses or doctors or old people dying, the harm you may cause by not obeying
  • 00:02:05
    the health guidelines.
  • 00:02:06
    So, the third very important dimension is, whether a person is autonomous or heteronomous.
  • 00:02:15
    What does it mean?
  • 00:02:17
    In the differentiation introduced by Piaget, I described the differences between autonomous
  • 00:02:25
    morality and heteronomous morality.
  • 00:02:28
    Now, if you assume that people behave heteronomously, oriented more towards an existing norm, than
  • 00:02:36
    one’s own judgement, you would as a policymaker try to change the circumstances and existing
  • 00:02:45
    norms in the groups, communities, and societies.
  • 00:02:49
    The next dimension refers to the assumption as to whether a person’s character is shaped
  • 00:02:56
    by nature or by culture.
  • 00:02:59
    If you believe in the role of the culture, you will as policymaker, for instance, invest
  • 00:03:05
    in education, and other social initiatives which may lead to changes in the behavior
  • 00:03:12
    of certain groups.
  • 00:03:14
    As a manager, you will invest in developing a culture of the company, which may lead to
  • 00:03:21
    positive changes in the behavior of other persons.
  • 00:03:25
    Or on the contrary, when you believe in the role of nature, you will just search for ideal
  • 00:03:32
    people for the position through a selection process.
  • 00:03:36
    The combinations of all these dimensions results in 4 concepts of human nature.
  • 00:03:45
    Each concept is characterized by one of the poles of these four dimensions.
  • 00:03:53
    So, economic man known in economics as homo economicus corresponds with our belief that
  • 00:04:02
    people are egoistic, made so by nature, autonomous, and rational.
  • 00:04:09
    In the homo oeconomicus concept, we assume that it is instrumental rationality, what
  • 00:04:17
    means that a person optimizes the means to reach a given goal, rather than valuing goals
  • 00:04:25
    if they correspond with some general norms or values.
  • 00:04:31
    Another model is a humanistic one, which has its background in Maslow’s (1908-1970) theory
  • 00:04:37
    of human motivation.
  • 00:04:39
    You probably know such a model in management: it’s McGregor’s Y model , which is opposed
  • 00:04:48
    to the X-model – economic man.
  • 00:04:51
    Here we assume autonomy, and rationality, but the latter is one oriented on goals, which
  • 00:04:59
    correspond with some general humanistic values not just optimality.
  • 00:05:06
    Furthermore, we assume here, that people are altruistic, so eager to share their knowledge
  • 00:05:14
    and ideas with others, and are made so by the culture – so they can be motivated for
  • 00:05:22
    excellence by a supportive and creative environment (culture).
  • 00:05:29
    A social model assumes that people are not only shaped by the culture but are heteronomous
  • 00:05:38
    as well, so it makes more sense according to such an assumption to focus on processes
  • 00:05:45
    in the group rather than on individuals.
  • 00:05:48
    We assume that people are emotional too, so by designing rules, we would probably consider
  • 00:05:56
    the emotional channel (discussed before).
  • 00:05:59
    In assuming social altruism, let us think about designing relations on the basis of
  • 00:06:05
    reciprocity, paying attention to the fairness aspects.
  • 00:06:10
    It is a model found in management relatively often and is described by E. Schein 1970 (Organizational
  • 00:06:17
    psychology).
  • 00:06:18
    So, last but not least, we have the imperfect man.
  • 00:06:23
    This model does not find many applications in management or policy, but rather in psychiatry
  • 00:06:30
    or psychotherapy – as it is a model shaped by Sigmund Freud in psychoanalysis.
  • 00:06:37
    He assumed that the person is shaped by nature, is egoistic, is heteronomous and emotional.
  • 00:06:45
    Summarizing, there are four dimensions which we usually use when thinking about human nature.
  • 00:06:55
    As a result, we get 8 adjectives describing persons, which build 4 types of human nature,
  • 00:07:04
    each type being characterized by 4 adjectives (one from each dimension).
  • 00:07:11
    The assumptions we have about other people have an impact on our behavior and are used
  • 00:07:19
    in various management models.
Tag
  • human nature
  • decision making
  • egoism
  • altruism
  • emotional vs rational
  • autonomous vs heteronomous
  • nature vs culture
  • economic man
  • humanistic model
  • social model