Showing papers on "Prosocial behavior published in 2007"

Relational Job Design and the Motivation to Make a Prosocial Difference

Abstract: This article illustrates how work contexts motivate employees to care about making a positive difference in other people's lives. I introduce a model of relational job design to describe how jobs spark the motivation to make a prosocial difference, and how this motivation affects employees' actions and identities. Whereas existing research focuses on individual differences and the task structures of jobs, I illuminate how the relational architecture of jobs shapes the motivation to make a prosocial difference.

Social exclusion decreases prosocial behavior.

Abstract: In 7 experiments, the authors manipulated social exclusion by telling people that they would end up alone later in life or that other participants had rejected them. Social exclusion caused a substantial reduction in prosocial behavior. Socially excluded people donated less money to a student fund, were unwilling to volunteer for further lab experiments, were less helpful after a mishap, and cooperated less in a mixed-motive game with another student. The results did not vary by cost to the self or by recipient of the help, and results remained significant when the experimenter was unaware of condition. The effect was mediated by feelings of empathy for another person but was not mediated by mood, state self-esteem, belongingness, trust, control, or self-awareness. The implication is that rejection temporarily interferes with emotional responses, thereby impairing the capacity for empathic understanding of others, and as a result, any inclination to help or cooperate with them is undermined.

God Is Watching You Priming God Concepts Increases Prosocial Behavior in an Anonymous Economic Game

Abstract: We present two studies aimed at resolving experimentally whether religion increases prosocial behavior in the anonymous dictator game. Subjects allocated more money to anonymous strangers when God concepts were implicitly activated than when neutral or no concepts were activated. This effect was at least as large as that obtained when concepts associated with secular moral institutions were primed. A trait measure of self-reported religiosity did not seem to be associated with prosocial behavior. We discuss different possible mechanisms that may underlie this effect, focusing on the hypotheses that the religious prime had an ideomotor effect on generosity or that it activated a felt presence of supernatural watchers. We then discuss implications for theories positing religion as a facilitator of the emergence of early large-scale societies of cooperators.

Why Does Affect Matter in Organizations

Abstract: Executive Overview Interest in and research about affect in organizations have expanded dramatically in recent years. This article reviews what we know about affect in organizations, focusing on how employees' moods, emotions, and dispositional affect influence critical organizational outcomes such as job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, prosocial behavior, teamwork, negotiation, and leadership. This review highlights pervasive and consistent effects, showing the importance of affect in shaping a wide variety of organizational behaviors, the knowledge of which is critical for researchers, managers, and employees.

Volunteers: A Social Profile

Abstract: Preface Acknowledgments Part 1. An Introduction to Volunteering 1. The Importance of Studying Volunteering 2. What Is Volunteering? Part 2. Subjective Dispositions 3. Personality 4. Motives 5. Values, Norms, and Attitudes Part 3. Individual Resources 6. Socio-Economic Resources 7. Time and Health 8. Gender 9. Race Part 4. The Social Context of Volunteering 10. The Life Course: The Early Stages 11. The Life Course: The Later Stages 12. Social Resources 13. Volunteer Recruitment 14. Schools and Congregations 15. Community, Neighborhood, City, and Region 16. Cross-National Differences 17. Trends in Volunteering Part 5. The Organization of Volunteer Work 18. Volunteer Tasks 19. The Volunteer Role Part 6. The Consequences of Volunteering 20. Citizenship and Prosocial Behavior 21. Occupation, Income, and Health 22. Conclusion Appendix Notes References Index

Boosting Attachment Security to Promote Mental Health, Prosocial Values, and Inter-Group Tolerance

Abstract: In this article, we conceptualize the sense of attachment security as an inner resource and present theory and research on the broaden and build cycle of attachment security generated by the actual or symbolic encounter with external or internalized loving and caring relationship partners. We also propose that the body of research stimulated by attachment theory offers productive hints about interventions that might increase positive experiences and prosocial behavior by bolstering a person's sense of security. On this basis, we review recent experimental studies showing how interventions designed to increase attachment security have beneficial effects on mental health, prosocial behavior, and intergroup relations, and discuss unaddressed issues concerning the mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of these interventions, the temporal course of these effects, and their interaction with countervailing forces.

Agreeableness, empathy, and helping: a person x situation perspective.

Abstract: This research program explored links among prosocial motives, empathy, and helping behavior. Preliminary work found significant relations among components of self-reported empathy and personality (N = 223). In Study 1, the authors examined the generality of prosocial behavior across situations and group memberships of victims (N = 622). In Study 2, empathic focus and the victim's outgroup status were experimentally manipulated (N = 87). Study 3 (N = 245) replicated and extended Study 2 by collecting measures of prosocial emotions before helping. In Study 4 (N = 244), empathic focus and cost of helping as predictors of helping behavior were experimentally manipulated. Overall, prosocial motivation is linked to (a) Agreeableness as a dimension of personality, (b) proximal prosocial cognition and motives, and (c) helping behavior across a range of situations and victims. In persons low in prosocial motivation, when costs of helping are high, efforts to induce empathy situationally can undermine prosocial behavior.

Is volunteering rewarding in itself

Abstract: Volunteering constitutes one of the most important pro-social activities. Following Aristotle, helping others is the way to higher individual wellbeing. This view contrasts with the selfish utility maximizer, who avoids helping others. The two rival views are studied empirically. We find robust evidence that volunteers are more satisfied with their life than non-volunteers. The issue of causality is studied from the basis of the collapse of East Germany and its infrastructure of volunteering. People who lost their opportunities for volunteering are compared with people who experienced no change in their volunteer status.

Does empathy predict adolescents’ bullying and defending behavior?.

Abstract: Through structural equation modeling, this study tested a path of relations in which different levels of empathic responsiveness were posited to be differently associated to bullying and defending behavior. Three hundred and eighteen Italian adolescents (142 girls and 176 boys; mean age = 13.2 years) completed the Davis's Interpersonal Reactivity Index [Davis, 1983] for empathy and the Participant role scales [Salmivalli et al., 1996] for bullying and defending behavior. The results revealed that the model fitted the data adequately, but only in the case of boys. As hypothesized, low levels of empathic responsiveness were associated to students' involvement in bullying others. In contrast, empathy was positively associated with actively helping victimized schoolmates. However, the estimates algorithm did not reach convergence with girls' data. The current findings confirm and extend the literature on the relation between empathy, prosociality and aggressive behavior. Educational implications are also discussed. Aggr. Behav. 33:467–476, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Maternal and Paternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Maladjustment: The Mediating Role of Parental Behavior

Abstract: This study examined parental behaviors as mediators in links between depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers and child adjustment problems. Participants were 4,184 parents and 6,048 10- to 15-year-olds enrolled in the 1998 and 2000 cycles of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Mothers and fathers self-reported symptoms of depression at Times 1 and 2 and their children assessed parental nurturance, rejection, and monitoring and self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems and prosocial behavior at Time 2. Hierarchical linear modeling showed evidence of mediation involving all three domains of parental behavior. Findings supported the hypothesis that the quality of the child's rearing environment is one mechanism that carries risk to children of depressed parents. Interventions for parents whose symptoms of depression interfere with parenting responsibilities could help reduce the risk of some childhood disorders.

Response to Intervention: Examining Classroom Behavior Support in Second Grade:

Abstract: This article reports on 2 studies investigating a response-to-intervention (RTI) approach to behavior support in 2 second-grade classrooms. The results suggest that a slightly more intensive but efficient targeted intervention (“check in and check out”) was effective in supporting the social behavior success of 4 students whose problem behaviors were unresponsive to general classroom management practices. For 4 other students whose problem behaviors continued to be unresponsive to the “check-in and check-out” intervention, more individualized and function-based interventions were indicated and proved to be effective. The results from this research suggest that RTI logic can be applied to the social behavior support of students who present interfering problem behaviors in the classroom. Implications and recommendations for research and practice are discussed.

Language, social behavior, and the quality of friendships in adolescents with and without a history of Specific Language Impairment

Abstract: Language is drawn on extensively in friendships but has received scant attention in the developmental literature. This study compared friendship quality in 16-year-old adolescents with and without specific language impairment (SLI), testing the extent it is predicted by individual differences in social behaviors and language ability. Participants were 120 adolescents with SLI and 118 typically developing (TD) adolescents. After considering the effects of nonverbal IQ and prosocial and difficult behavior, language measures were found to be associated with friendship quality. The TD participants enjoyed normal friendships, whereas the participants with SLI were more likely to exhibit poorer quality (although 60% experienced good quality of friendships). Longitudinal analyses identified early language difficulties as predictive of poorer friendship quality in adolescence.

Ethnic identity and acculturation in Hispanic early adolescents: Mediated relationships to academic grades, prosocial behaviors, and externalizing symptoms.

Abstract: This study examined acculturative stress and self-esteem as mediators of the association of ethnic identity and acculturation with psychosocial outcomes The study sample consisted of 347 Hispanic adolescents in a "new" immigrant-receiving community in the Midwest The authors expected acculturation to influence psychosocial adjustment through acculturative stress and ethnic identity to influence psychosocial adjustment through self-esteem Results indicated that relationships of ethnic identity to academic grades and to externalizing symptoms were mediated by self-esteem and that both US and Hispanic acculturation orientations were directly associated with prosocial behavior The relationships of US cultural orientation to academic grades and to behavior problems were mediated through acculturative stress and self-esteem Implications of these findings for the study of Hispanics in more monocultural receiving communities are discussed

Empirically Based School Interventions Targeted at Academic and Mental Health Functioning.

Abstract: This review examines empirically based studies of school-based mental health interventions. The review identified 64 out of more than 2,000 articles published between 1990 and 2006 that met methodologically rigorous criteria for inclusion. Of these 64 articles,only 24 examined both mental health and educational outcomes.The majority of school-based mental health intervention studies failed to include even rudimentary measures of school-related outcomes. Analysis of the 24 studies yielded several key findings:The types of mental health outcomes most frequently assessed included self-, peer-, teacher-, or parent-reported measures of social competence, aggression, or problem behaviors. Academic scores and school attendance were the types of educational outcomes most frequently assessed.The majority of interventions focused on elementary students, had a preventive focus, and targeted prosocial, aggressive, and antisocial behaviors. Only 15 of the 24 studies demonstrated a positive impact on both educational a...

The Role of Nonprofits in Disaster Response: An Expanded Model of Cross-Sector Collaboration

Abstract: In this study, nonprofit involvement in cross-sector collaborative efforts for post-Katrina and Rita relief, recovery, and rebuilding are examined. Using Bryson, Crosby, and Stone’s model as a framework, the collaborative and intermediary roles played by nonprofits in three affected areas, New Orleans, southwest Louisiana, and central Texas, are analyzed. Extensions of the model are introduced to include aspects of organizational capacity and individual and prosocial behaviors resultant of cross-sector collaboration during extreme events. Implications of the findings for nonprofit practice and policy as well as future research in emergency management are discussed.

Nonconscious influences of religion on prosociality: A priming study

Abstract: Past literature on the automaticity of social behavior indicates that priming a concept automatically activates related behavioral schemas. In the two present studies we examined the impact of religion on prosociality. In the first study, we tested the impact of subliminal priming of religious concepts on prosocial behavior intentions. We found a main effect of this priming, moderated by valence: prosocial behavior tendencies were stronger when positive religious words had previously been subliminally primed. In the second study, we examined the accessibility of prosocial concepts, after the supraliminal activation of religion. Indeed, we found that not only were religion-related attributes more accessible when primed, but positive religious primes were also able to activate prosocial concepts. While previous research has shown the religion-prosociality link at the explicit level and in terms of the role of individual religiousness, these results indicate that religious concepts by themselves can nonconsciously activate prosocial behavioral schemas

Corporate greening through prosocial extrarole behaviours – a conceptual framework for employee motivation

Abstract: Scholars in environmental management have called for better grounding of research on corporate greening within established organizational theories. We propose a conceptual framework (including suggestions for operationalizing it) that embeds empirical research within behavioural intent models and the concept of value-creating prosocial behaviours. We argue that conceiving of corporate greening as a prosocial behaviour in this manner provides an improved understanding of the dominant factors that motivate employees to engage in ecoinitiatives. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Encyclopedia of social psychology

Abstract: Not long ago, social psychology was a small field consisting of creative, energetic researchers bent on trying to study a few vexing problems in normal adult human behaviour with rigorous scientific methods. In a few short decades, the field has blossomed into a major intellectual force, with thousands of researchers worldwide exploring a stunningly diverse set of fascinating phenomena with an impressive arsenal of research methods and ever-more carefully honed theories. The Encyclopedia of Social Psychology is the first resource to present state-of-the-art research and ready-to-use facts from this fascinating field. These two volumes include more than 600 entries chosen by a diverse team of experts to comprise an exhaustive list of the most important concepts. The Encyclopedia is written for students who may be encountering concepts such as social loafing, deindividuation, base rate fallacy, ego depletion and self-handicapping for the first time and want a simple, clear, jargon-free explanation of what they mean. Key Themes " Action Control " Antisocial Behaviors " Attitude " Culture " Emotions " Evolution " Groups " Health " History " Influence " Interpersonal Relationships " Judgment and Decision Making " Methods " Personality " Prejudice " Problem Behaviors " Prosocial Behaviors " Self " Social Cognition " Subdisciplines

The Consequences of Living in High-Rise Buildings

Abstract: A full account of architectural science must include empirical findings about the social and psychological influences that buildings have on their occupants. Tall residential buildings can have a myriad of such effects. This review summarizes the results of research on the influences of high-rise buildings on residents' experiences of the building, satisfaction, preferences, social behavior, crime and fear of crime, children, mental health and suicide. Most conclusions are tempered by moderating factors, including residential socioeconomic status, neighborhood quality, parenting, gender, stage of life, indoor density, and the ability to choose a housing form. However, moderators aside, the literature suggests that high-rises are less satisfactory than other housing forms for most people, that they are not optimal for children, that social relations are more impersonal and helping behavior is less than in other housing forms, that crime and fear of crime are greater, and that they may independentl...

Sense of community, civic engagement and social well-being in Italian adolescents

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between sense of community, civic engagement and social well-being in a sample of Italian adolescents. Participants were 14–19 year-old high school students (N = 566) from two demographically distinct cities. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing sense of community, social well-being (Keyes, 1998), involvement in structured group activities (group membership) and civic engagement. Results showed that involvement in formal groups is associated with increased civic involvement and increased sense of community. Sense of community predicts social well-being and explains some of the association between civic engagement and social well-being. Findings suggest that, to increase social well-being, it is important to provide adolescents with more opportunities to experience a sense of belonging to the peers' group and promote prosocial behaviours in the community context. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Accurate identification of fear facial expressions predicts prosocial behavior.

Abstract: The fear facial expression is a distress cue that is associated with the provision of help and prosocial behavior. Prior psychiatric studies have found deficits in the recognition of this expression by individuals with antisocial tendencies. However, no prior study has shown accuracy for recognition of fear to predict actual prosocial or antisocial behavior in an experimental setting. In 3 studies, the authors tested the prediction that individuals who recognize fear more accurately will behave more prosocially. In Study 1, participants who identified fear more accurately also donated more money and time to a victim in a classic altruism paradigm. In Studies 2 and 3, participants' ability to identify the fear expression predicted prosocial behavior in a novel task designed to control for confounding variables. In Study 3, accuracy for recognizing fear proved a better predictor of prosocial behavior than gender, mood, or scores on an empathy scale.

The Cambridge Handbook of Violent Behavior and Aggression

Abstract: conduct disorder, aggression and hyperactivity, represents a major factors lead to antisocial and violent behavior more strongly, and sometimes only, T. Vazsonyi, ed. , & I. D. Waldman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of violent behavior. The authors are grateful to Michael Lamb, Rolf Loeber, John Archer, and Aaron Sell for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this chapter, and to members. While the granulation of violence and aggression is useful, for the purposes here, violence is Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in The Cambridge handbook of violent behaviour and aggression.

Redrawing the boundaries of OCB? An empirical examination of compulsory extra-role behavior in the workplace

Abstract: Contemporary literature on Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) has primarily focused on the positive connotations of the “good soldier syndrome.” Most of the studies published in recent decades about OCB have pointed to the benefits and advantages of voluntary helping behaviors, pro-social behavior, and extra-role behavior. In contrast with this view we suggest a different look at OCB by focusing on the exploitative and abusive tendency of supervisors and managements to impose so-called “voluntary” or “extra-role” activities via compulsory mechanisms in the workplace. Mostly, we are interested in empirically testing the relationship between such behaviors and employees’ performance. We follow the approach suggested by Vigoda-Gadot (Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 2006) to argue that such behaviors are a substantial deviation from the original meaning of OCB and thus should be recognized and analyzed separately. Our arguments are based on an exploratory study conducted in 13 Israeli schools. Of the 206 teachers who participated in the study, a substantial majority of 75% reported feeling strong pressure to engage in what we usually define as OCB, but should actually be defined as Compulsory Citizenship Behavior (CCB). The findings are discussed in light of present knowledge about OCB, and the implications question the normally positive image of this behavior.

The allure of a mean friend: Relationship quality and processes of aggressive adolescents with prosocial skills

Abstract: Recent theory on social dominance suggests that aggressive individuals should be socially successful if they also display prosocial behavior. The combination of coercive and prosocial strategies of resource control (i.e., bistrategic control) is thought to facilitate hierarchy ascension. Adolescents (N = 929, grades 7–10) were queried about the quality of their friendships and their friends' behavior towards them. The friendships of the aggressive bistrategic controllers (derived by peer nomination) were rated among the highest on intimacy, fun, and conflict. Additionally, bistrategic friendships had high levels of overt and relational aggression. Thus, bistrategic friendships yield high benefits but also costs. This study attempts to illuminate the peer regard - aggression paradox via an evolutionary approach to human status hierarchies.

Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Self‐Processes and Contextual Cues

Abstract: Peer- and teacher-reported prosocial behavior of 339 6th-grade (11-12 years) and 8th-grade (13-14 years) students was examined in relation to prosocial goals, self-processes (reasons for behavior, empathy, perspective taking, depressive affect, perceived competence), and contextual cues (expectations of peers and teachers). Goal pursuit significantly predicted prosocial behavior, and goal pursuit provided a pathway by which reasons for behavior were related to behavior. Reasons reflected external, other-focused, self-focused, and internal justifications for behavior; each reason was related to a unique set of self-processes and contextual cues. Associations between prosocial outcomes and sex and race (Caucasian and African American) were mediated in part by self-processes and contextual cues. The implications of studying prosocial behavior from a motivational perspective are discussed.

Trajectories and predictors of indirect aggression: results from a nationally representative longitudinal study of Canadian children aged 2-10.

Abstract: The purposes of this study were to model the development of indirect aggression among a nationally representative sample of 1,401 Canadian children aged 4 at T2, 6 at T3, 8 at T4 and 10 at T5, and to examine predictors of trajectory group membership from T1 (age 2) child, familial, and parenting variables. Using a semi-parametric group-based modeling approach, two distinct trajectories were identified: “increasing users” comprising of 35% of the sample and “stable low users” comprising of 65% of the sample. Using logistic regression analyses to distinguish these two groups, we found that for girls, more frequent, increasing use of indirect aggression was associated with prior prosocial and physically aggressive behavior, low SES and low parental social support at age 2. For boys, increasing use of indirect aggression was associated with prior parenting issues at age 2—inconsistency and less positive parent–child interactions. Although this study provides unique information regarding the early development of indirect aggression and its predictors, more longitudinal research is needed to fully understand its development. Aggr. Behav. 33:314–326, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Peer group status as a moderator of group influence on children's deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior.

Abstract: Group status was examined as a moderator of peer group socialization of deviant, aggressive, and prosocial behavior. In the fall and 3 months later, preadolescents and early adolescents provided self-reported scores for deviant behavior and group membership, and peer nominations for overt and relational aggression, prosocial behavior, and social preference. Using the social cognitive map, 116 groups were identified involving 526 children (282 girls; M age = 12.05). Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that high group centrality (visibility) magnified group socialization of relational aggression, deviant behavior, and prosocial behavior, and low group acceptance magnified socialization of deviant behavior. Results suggest group influence on behavior is not uniform but depends on group status, especially group visibility within the larger peer context.

From Games to Giving : Social Value Orientation Predicts Donations to Noble Causes

Abstract: The central purpose of the present research is to examine the ability of social value orientation (i.e., prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientation), as measured with methods rooted in game theory (i.e., decomposed games), to predict real-life prosocial behavior. Consistent with hypotheses, results revealed that individual differences in social value orientation are predictive of various donations. Relative to individualists and competitors, prosocials reported to engage in a greater number of donations, especially donations to organizations aimed at helping the poor and the ill. Results are discussed in terms of theory and methodology regarding the individual differences in social value orientation, as well as in terms of societal implications for enhancing donations to noble causes.