Educational exposure, visual perspective in mental imagery, and cooperation among the Hadza

Authors: Shelby Weathers*, Duncan Stibbard Hawkes, Endeko Endeko, Ibrahim Mabulla, and Coren Apicella *Corresponding Author When generating a mental image — recalling a memory or imagining a future event — one may visualize the scene in first-person or third-person perspective. Research on perspective in mental imagery has been conducted primarily with undergraduates in Western and East Asian rich, industrialized countries with high levels of media exposure and universal participation in education. However, recent work with rural communities has demonstrated that technological exposure can alter self-perception (Thornborrow, et. al., 2022). This study explores whether the Hadza, a mixed subsistence population in Tanzania who have relatively little exposure to photos, videos, and mirrors, show patterns in perspective when visualizing the past that differ from the current literature, and whether exposure to formal education alongside the accompanying increased exposure to both pictographic and other visual media is related to a change in visual perspective in mental imagery among the Hadza. Previous work on perspective in mental imagery has demonstrated that taking a third-person perspective can increase intentions to engage in cooperative behaviors such as voting (Libby et al., 2007), recycling (Zhang et al., 2021), and interacting with a member of a stigmatized group (Crisp & Husnu, 2011). An additional aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a relationship between the perspective an individually naturally uses in recall and their tendency for cooperative behavior. References Crisp, R. J., & Husnu, S. (2011). Attributional processes underlying imagined contact effects. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 14(2), 275–287. doi.org Libby, L. K., Shaeffer, E. M., Eibach, R. P., & Slemmer, J. A. (2007). Picture Yourself at the Polls: Visual Perspective in Mental Imagery Affects Self-Perception and Behavior. Psychological Science, 18(3), 199–203. doi.org Thornborrow, T., Evans, E. H., Tovee, M. J., & Boothroyd, L. G. (2022). Sociocultural drivers of body image and eating disorder risk in rural Nicaraguan women. Journal of Eating Disorders, 10(1), 1-16. Zhang, J., Zhao, L., & Hu, S. (2021). Visualizing recycling: Promoting recycling through mental simulation. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 174, 105783. doi.org