Using shared experiences to recruit committed human intelligence sources: Exploring the shared attention mechanism and the role of social connection

• Objectives: This work will examine the possibility of using shared experiences to recruit human intelligence (HUMINT) sources. We based the research on two competing hypotheses. (a) Shared experiences amplify interpersonal affiliation, which increases the extent to which sources value an intelligence arrangement (the shared-attention hypothesis; viz., Shteynberg, 2015). (b) The social connection opportunity shared experiences afford, rather increases such valuation (the social-connection hypothesis; viz., Jolly, Tamir, Burum, & Mitchell, 2019). Methods: Participants will assume the role of a potential source. Next, we will manipulate shared experience via a meeting’s setting. Half of the participants will undergo a shared experience that facilitates interpersonal affiliation with a handler, and the other half will not. During the meeting, the handler will use one of two approaches to propose an arrangement whereby the source might supply intelligence. The approaches differ in terms of the level of social connection. One condition affords a social connection opportunity (i.e., emphasized social-connection). The other constrains the possibility of a social connection in the arrangement (i.e., deemphasized social-connection). Hypotheses: The shared-attention hypothesis generated the following prediction. Sources in the shared experience (vs. no sharing) condition will value the intelligence arrangement higher, irrespective of the handler’s approach. Conversely, the social-connection hypothesis predicts the following result. The effect of the shared experience combined with an emphasized social connection will be stronger than the effect of the no sharing condition combined with deemphasizing a social connection.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

intelligence gathering

shared attention

social connection

source recruitment

Intelligence gathering

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)