Showing papers on "Prosocial behavior published in 2014"

The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy.

Abstract: Compassion focused therapy (CFT) is rooted in an evolutionary, functional analysis of basic social motivational systems (e.g., to live in groups, form hierarchies and ranks, seek out sexual, partners help and share with alliances, and care for kin) and different functional emotional systems (e.g., to respond to threats, seek out resources, and for states of contentment/safeness). In addition, about 2 million years ago, (pre-)humans began to evolve a range of cognitive competencies for reasoning, reflection, anticipating, imagining, mentalizing, and creating a socially contextualized sense of self. These new competencies can cause major difficulties in the organization of (older) motivation and emotional systems. CFT suggests that our evolved brain is therefore potentially problematic because of its basic 'design,' being easily triggered into destructive behaviours and mental health problems (called 'tricky brain'). However, mammals and especially humans have also evolved motives and emotions for affiliative, caring and altruistic behaviour that can organize our brain in such a way as to significantly offset our destructive potentials. CFT therefore highlights the importance of developing people's capacity to (mindfully) access, tolerate, and direct affiliative motives and emotions, for themselves and others, and cultivate inner compassion as a way for organizing our human 'tricky brain' in prosocial and mentally healthy ways.

Dehumanization and infrahumanization.

Abstract: We review early and recent psychological theories of dehumanization and survey the burgeoning empirical literature, focusing on six fundamental questions. First, we examine how people are dehumanized, exploring the range of ways in which perceptions of lesser humanness have been conceptualized and demonstrated. Second, we review who is dehumanized, examining the social targets that have been shown to be denied humanness and commonalities among them. Third, we investigate who dehumanizes, notably the personality, ideological, and other individual differences that increase the propensity to see others as less than human. Fourth, we explore when people dehumanize, focusing on transient situational and motivational factors that promote dehumanizing perceptions. Fifth, we examine the consequences of dehumanization, emphasizing its implications for prosocial and antisocial behavior and for moral judgment. Finally, we ask what can be done to reduce dehumanization. We conclude with a discussion of limitations of current scholarship and directions for future research.

Video Games Do Affect Social Outcomes A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effects of Violent and Prosocial Video Game Play

Abstract: Whether video game play affects social behavior is a topic of debate. Many argue that aggression and helping are affected by video game play, whereas this stance is disputed by others. The present research provides a meta-analytical test of the idea that depending on their content, video games do affect social outcomes. Data from 98 independent studies with 36,965 participants revealed that for both violent video games and prosocial video games, there was a significant association with social outcomes. Whereas violent video games increase aggression and aggression-related variables and decrease prosocial outcomes, prosocial video games have the opposite effects. These effects were reliable across experimental, correlational, and longitudinal studies, indicating that video game exposure causally affects social outcomes and that there are both short- and long-term effects.

Empathy: a motivated account.

Abstract: Empathy features a tension between automaticity and context dependency. On the one hand, people often take on each other's internal states reflexively and outside of awareness. On the other hand, empathy shifts with characteristics of empathizers and situations. These 2 characteristics of empathy can be reconciled by acknowledging the key role of motivation in driving people to avoid or approach engagement with others' emotions. In particular, at least 3 phenomena-suffering, material costs, and interference with competition-motivate people to avoid empathy, and at least 3 phenomena-positive affect, affiliation, and social desirability-motivate them to approach empathy. Would-be empathizers carry out these motives through regulatory strategies including situation selection, attentional modulation, and appraisal, which alter the course of empathic episodes. Interdisciplinary evidence highlights the motivated nature of empathy, and a motivated model holds wide-ranging implications for basic theory, models of psychiatric illness, and intervention efforts to maximize empathy.

Interpersonal synchrony increases prosocial behavior in infants.

Abstract: Adults who move together to a shared musical beat synchronously as opposed to asynchronously are subsequently more likely to display prosocial behaviors toward each other. The development of musical behaviors during infancy has been described previously, but the social implications of such behaviors in infancy have been little studied. In Experiment 1, each of 48 14-month-old infants was held by an assistant and gently bounced to music while facing the experimenter, who bounced either in-synchrony or out-of-synchrony with the way the infant was bounced. The infants were then placed in a situation in which they had the opportunity to help the experimenter by handing objects to her that she had ‘accidently’ dropped. We found that 14-month-old infants were more likely to engage in altruistic behavior and help the experimenter after having been bounced to music in synchrony with her, compared to infants who were bounced to music asynchronously with her. The results of Experiment 2, using anti-phase bouncing, suggest that this is due to the contingency of the synchronous movements as opposed to movement symmetry. These findings support the hypothesis that interpersonal motor synchrony might be one key component of musical engagement that encourages social bonds among group members, and suggest that this motor synchrony to music may promote the very early development of altruistic behavior.

Boring but important: A self-transcendent purpose for learning fosters academic self-regulation.

Abstract: Many important learning tasks feel uninteresting and tedious to learners. This research proposed that promoting a prosocial, self-transcendent purpose could improve academic self-regulation on such tasks. This proposal was supported in 4 studies with over 2,000 adolescents and young adults. Study 1 documented a correlation between a self-transcendent purpose for learning and self-reported trait measures of academic self-regulation. Those with more of a purpose for learning also persisted longer on a boring task rather than giving in to a tempting alternative and, many months later, were less likely to drop out of college. Study 2 addressed causality. It showed that a brief, one-time psychological intervention promoting a self-transcendent purpose for learning could improve high school science and math grade point average (GPA) over several months. Studies 3 and 4 were short-term experiments that explored possible mechanisms. They showed that the self-transcendent purpose manipulation could increase deeper learning behavior on tedious test review materials (Study 3), and sustain self-regulation over the course of an increasingly boring task (Study 4). More self-oriented motives for learning--such as the desire to have an interesting or enjoyable career--did not, on their own, consistently produce these benefits (Studies 1 and 4).

The ultra-social animal.

Abstract: In evolutionary perspective, what is most remarkable about human sociality is its many and diverse forms of cooperation. Here, I provide an overview of some recent research, mostly from our laboratory, comparing human children with their nearest living relatives, the great apes, in various tests of collaboration, prosocial behavior, conformity, and group-mindedness (e.g., following and enforcing social norms). This is done in the context of a hypothetical evolutionary scenario comprising two ordered steps: a first step in which early humans began collaborating with others in unique ways in their everyday foraging and a second step in which modern humans began forming cultural groups. Humans' unique forms of sociality help to explain their unique forms of cognition and morality. © 2014. The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Nature of Slacktivism: How the Social Observability of an Initial Act of Token Support Affects Subsequent Prosocial Action

Abstract: Prior research offers competing predictions regarding whether an initial token display of support for a cause (such as wearing a ribbon, signing a petition, or joining a Facebook group) subsequently leads to increased and otherwise more meaningful contributions to the cause. The present research proposes a conceptual framework elucidating two primary motivations that underlie subsequent helping behavior: a desire to present a positive image to others and a desire to be consistent with one’s own values. Importantly, the socially observable nature (public vs. private) of initial token support is identified as a key moderator that influences when and why token support does or does not lead to meaningful support for the cause. Consumers exhibit greater helping on a subsequent, more meaningful task after providing an initial private (vs. public) display of token support for a cause. Finally, the authors demonstrate how value alignment and connection to the cause moderate the observed effects.

Civil War and Social Cohesion: Lab‐in‐the‐Field Evidence from Nepal

Abstract: We study effects of wartime violence on social cohesion in the context of Nepal's 10-year civil war. We begin with the observation that violence increased levels of collective action like voting and community organization�a finding consistent with other recent studies of postconflict societies. We use lab-in-the-field techniques to tease apart such effects. Our causal-identification strategy exploits communities' exogenous isolation from the unpredictable path of insurgency combined with matching. We find that violence-affected communities exhibit higher levels of prosocial motivation, measured by altruistic giving, public good contributions, investment in trust-based transactions, and willingness to reciprocate trust-based investments. We find evidence to support two social transformation mechanisms: (1) a purging mechanism by which less social persons disproportionately flee communities plagued by war and (2) a collective coping mechanism by which individuals who have few options to flee band together to cope with threats.

Prosocial Spending and Happiness Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off

Abstract: Although a great deal of research has shown that people with more money are somewhat happier than are people with less money, our research demonstrates that how people spend their money also matters for their happiness. In particular, both correlational and experimental studies have shown that people who spend money on others report more happiness. The benefits of such prosocial spending emerge among adults around the world, and the warm glow of giving can be detected even in toddlers. These benefits are most likely to emerge when giving satisfies one or more core human needs (relatedness, competence, and autonomy). The rewards of prosocial spending are observable in both the brain and the body and can potentially be harnessed by organizations and governments.

The neural components of empathy: Predicting daily prosocial behavior

Abstract: Previous neuroimaging studies on empathy have not clearly identified neural systems that support the three components of empathy: affective congruence, perspective-taking, and prosocial motivation. These limitations stem from a focus on a single emotion per study, minimal variation in amount of social context provided, and lack of prosocial motivation assessment. In the current investigation, 32 participants completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging session assessing empathic responses to individuals experiencing painful, anxious, and happy events that varied in valence and amount of social context provided. They also completed a 14-day experience sampling survey that assessed real-world helping behaviors. The results demonstrate that empathy for positive and negative emotions selectively activates regions associated with positive and negative affect, respectively. In addition, the mirror system was more active during empathy for context-independent events (pain), whereas the mentalizing system was more active during empathy for context-dependent events (anxiety, happiness). Finally, the septal area, previously linked to prosocial motivation, was the only region that was commonly activated across empathy for pain, anxiety, and happiness. Septal activity during each of these empathic experiences was predictive of daily helping. These findings suggest that empathy has multiple input pathways, produces affect-congruent activations, and results in septally mediated prosocial motivation.

A study of social participation and knowledge sharing in the teachers' online professional community of practice

Abstract: To facilitate professional development of teachers in the online context, the online community of practice (CoPs) has become an important platform in which individuals with similar interests or common goals get together to share their resources, develop working strategies, solve problems, and improve individual as well as organizational performance. In this study, we have collected self-reported knowledge-sharing behaviors from 321 members of the largest online professional CoP of teachers in Taiwan. The results show that closer connections among online CoP members can lead to greater recognition of and altruism towards others. Moreover, performance expectation and self-efficacy belief play essential roles in knowledge-sharing participation. Thus, the development of social relationships among online teacher members helps them obtain potential resources and reliable support through their social network. Also, teachers' membership in the online professional CoP fosters a prosocial attitude that heightens their willingness to share useful resources and solve other members' problems, both emotionally and instrumentally. Consequently, knowledge-sharing behaviors, in terms of knowledge giving and knowing receiving, are significantly predicted by prosocial commitment and performance expectation respectively. The implications to both research and practice are provided in this paper. The strength of ties and prosocial commitment help obtain resources and support in the online professional CoP.Self-efficacy reflects a mediating effect on knowledge sharing through prosocial commitment and performance expectation.Knowledge sharing as a form of social participation is predicted by prosocial commitment and performance expectation.

MDMA enhances emotional empathy and prosocial behavior

Abstract: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') releases serotonin and norepinephrine. MDMA is reported to produce empathogenic and prosocial feelings. It is unknown whether MDMA in fact alters empathic concern and prosocial behavior. We investigated the acute effects of MDMA using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET), dynamic Face Emotion Recognition Task (FERT) and Social Value Orientation (SVO) test. We also assessed effects of MDMA on plasma levels of hormones involved in social behavior using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, random-order, cross-over design in 32 healthy volunteers (16 women). MDMA enhanced explicit and implicit emotional empathy in the MET and increased prosocial behavior in the SVO test in men. MDMA did not alter cognitive empathy in the MET but impaired the identification of negative emotions, including fearful, angry and sad faces, in the FERT, particularly in women. MDMA increased plasma levels of cortisol and prolactin, which are markers of serotonergic and noradrenergic activity, and of oxytocin, which has been associated with prosocial behavior. In summary, MDMA sex-specifically altered the recognition of emotions, emotional empathy and prosociality. These effects likely enhance sociability when MDMA is used recreationally and may be useful when MDMA is administered in conjunction with psychotherapy in patients with social dysfunction or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Harm to others outweighs harm to self in moral decision making

Abstract: Concern for the suffering of others is central to moral decision making. How humans evaluate others’ suffering, relative to their own suffering, is unknown. We investigated this question by inviting subjects to trade off profits for themselves against pain experienced either by themselves or an anonymous other person. Subjects made choices between different amounts of money and different numbers of painful electric shocks. We independently varied the recipient of the shocks (self vs. other) and whether the choice involved paying to decrease pain or profiting by increasing pain. We built computational models to quantify the relative values subjects ascribed to pain for themselves and others in this setting. In two studies we show that most people valued others’ pain more than their own pain. This was evident in a willingness to pay more to reduce others’ pain than their own and a requirement for more compensation to increase others’ pain relative to their own. This ‟hyperaltruistic” valuation of others’ pain was linked to slower responding when making decisions that affected others, consistent with an engagement of deliberative processes in moral decision making. Subclinical psychopathic traits correlated negatively with aversion to pain for both self and others, in line with reports of aversive processing deficits in psychopathy. Our results provide evidence for a circumstance in which people care more for others than themselves. Determining the precise boundaries of this surprisingly prosocial disposition has implications for understanding human moral decision making and its disturbance in antisocial behavior.

Friends or Foes: Is Empathy Necessary for Moral Behavior?

Abstract: In the past decade, a flurry of empirical and theoretical research on morality and empathy has taken place, and interest and usage in the media and the public arena have increased. At times, in both popular culture and academia, morality and empathy are used interchangeably, and quite often the latter is considered to play a foundational role for the former. In this article, we argue that although there is a relationship between morality and empathy, it is not as straightforward as apparent at first glance. Moreover, it is critical to distinguish among the different facets of empathy (emotional sharing, empathic concern, and perspective taking), as each uniquely influences moral cognition and predicts differential outcomes in moral behavior. Empirical evidence and theories from evolutionary biology as well as developmental, behavioral, and affective and social neuroscience are comprehensively integrated in support of this argument. The wealth of findings illustrates a complex and equivocal relationship between morality and empathy. The key to understanding such relations is to be more precise on the concepts being used and, perhaps, abandoning the muddy concept of empathy.

A construct divided: prosocial behavior as helping, sharing, and comforting subtypes.

Abstract: The development and maintenance of prosocial, other-oriented behaviors has been of considerable recent interest. Though it is clear that prosocial behaviors emerge early and play a uniquely important role in the social lives of humans, there is less consensus regarding the mechanisms that underlie and maintain these fundamental acts. The goal of this paper is to clarify inconsistencies in our understanding of the early emergence and development of prosocial behavior by proposing a taxonomy of prosocial behavior anchored in the social-cognitive constraints that underlie the ability to act on behalf of others. I will argue that within the general domain of prosocial behavior, other-oriented actions can be categorized into three distinct types (helping, sharing, and comforting) that reflect responses to three distinct negative states (instrumental need, unmet material desire, and emotional distress). In support of this proposal, I will demonstrate that the three varieties of prosocial behavior show unique ages of onset, uncorrelated patterns of production, and distinct patterns of individual differences. Importantly, by differentiating specific varieties of prosocial behavior within the general category, we can begin to explain inconsistencies in the past literature and provide a framework for directing future research into the ontogenetic origins of these essential social behaviors.

The Sociocultural Appraisals, Values, and Emotions (SAVE) Framework of Prosociality: Core Processes from Gene to Meme

Abstract: The study of prosocial behavior—altruism, cooperation, trust, and the related moral emotions—has matured enough to produce general scholarly consensus that prosociality is widespread, intuitive, and rooted deeply within our biological makeup. Several evolutionary frameworks model the conditions under which prosocial behavior is evolutionarily viable, yet no unifying treatment exists of the psychological decision-making processes that result in prosociality. Here, we provide such a perspective in the form of the sociocultural appraisals, values, and emotions (SAVE) framework of prosociality. We review evidence for the components of our framework at four levels of analysis: intrapsychic, dyadic, group, and cultural. Within these levels, we consider how phenomena such as altruistic punishment, prosocial contagion, self–other similarity, and numerous others give rise to prosocial behavior. We then extend our reasoning to chart the biological underpinnings of prosociality and apply our framework to understand ...

How Preschoolers' Social–Emotional Learning Predicts Their Early School Success: Developing Theory-Promoting, Competency-Based Assessments

Abstract: Starting on positive trajectories at school entry is important for children’s later academic success. Using partial least squares, we sought to specify interrelations among all theory-based components of social–emotional learning (SEL), and their ability to predict later classroom adjustment and academic readiness in a modelling context. Consequently, self-regulation, emotion knowledge, social problem solving, and social–emotional behaviour were assessed via direct assessment and observation for 101 preschoolers; teachers provided information on classroom adjustment through kindergarten and academic readiness in kindergarten. Our final outer (measurement) model showed robust latent variables for SEL components. Regarding the inner (structural) model, latent variables showed expected predictive relations among SEL components, and with later classroom adjustment and academic readiness: preschoolers’ executive control predicted aspects of their social cognition (i.e., emotion knowledge and social problem solving) and emotionally negative/aggressive behaviour, and emotion knowledge predicted their emotionally regulated/prosocial behaviour. Further, most SEL components directly and/or indirectly predicted teachers’ evaluations of later classroom adjustment and kindergarten academic readiness. Our findings extend our understanding of SEL during preschool, suggesting that early assessment and monitoring is possible using these instruments, and potentially aiding the development of programmes to maximize children’ sS EL in the service of early school success. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Emergence of Prosocial Behavior: Why Do Infants and Toddlers Help, Comfort, and Share?

Abstract: The early development of prosocial behavior has become a major topic in developmental psychology. Although findings on the early presence of prosocial tendencies in infants and toddlers have received much attention and the examination of their subsequent developmental pathways has fostered ample research, little is known about the mechanisms and motives that bring about the first emergence of these prosocial actions. In this article, I introduce and review theoretical approaches, then evaluate them in light of recent findings. I conclude that the forms of early prosocial behavior are related to different social-cognitive mechanisms and underpinned by various motives.

Cultural differences and geography as determinants of online prosocial lending

Abstract: In this paper, we analyze patterns of transaction between individuals using data drawn from Kiva.org, a global online crowdfunding platform that facilitates prosocial, peer-to-peer lending. Our analysis, which employs an aggregate dataset of country-to-country lending volumes based on more than three million individual lending transactions that took place between 2005 and 2010, considers the dual roles of geographic distance and cultural differences on lenders' decisions about which borrowers to support. While cultural differences have seen extensive study in the Information Systems literature as sources of friction in extended interactions, here, we argue and demonstrate their role in individuals' selection of a transaction partner. We present evidence that lenders do prefer culturally similar and geographically proximate borrowers. An analysis of the marginal effects indicates that an increase of one standard deviation in the cultural differences between lender and borrower countries is associated with 30 fewer lending actions, while an increase of one standard deviation in physical distance is associated with 0.23 fewer lending actions. We also identify a substitution effect between cultural differences and physical distance, such that a 50 percent increase in physical distance is associated with an approximate 30 percent decline in the effect of cultural differences. Considering approaches to overcoming the observed cultural effect, we offer some empirical evidence of the potential of IT-based trust mechanisms, focusing on Kiva's reputation rating system for microfinance intermediaries. We discuss the implications of our findings for prosocial lending, online crowdfunding, and electronic markets more broadly.

To Act or Not to Act, That Is the Question? Barriers and Facilitators of Bystander Intervention

Abstract: A promising line of inquiry in sexual violence prevention involves training potential bystanders to intervene in situations where there is risk for violence. Theories of bystander intervention often discuss barriers to helping behavior, but there has been little empirical inquiry into this question. We will present findings of a study of both barriers and facilitators of helping behavior in the context of sexual violence among first-semester college students. Two hundred and forty-two first year college students completed surveys during their first year of college. Measures included assessment of bystander behavior, perceived barriers to helping, as well as a variety of other variables identified in the literature as key correlates of helping. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to (a) describe barriers and facilitators of helping, (b) examine the relationship between barriers and self-reports of helping, and (c) model individual differences in helping behavior. In quantitative analyses, barriers, as assessed in this study, were better predictors of helping behavior directed at strangers than helping of friends. Results suggested that open-ended responses about the facilitators and barriers to helping for sexual violence map well onto social-psychological models of bystander behavior, and that greater prosocial tendencies, an intrapersonal variable, increase actual helping behavior. A more specific understanding of what promotes and hinders helping can be used to enhance prevention education efforts focused on increasing helpful bystander actions.

Accepting Inequality Deters Responsibility: How Power Distance Decreases Charitable Behavior

Abstract: Could power distance, which is the extent that inequality is expected and accepted, explain why some countries and consumers are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior, including donations of both money and time? This research proposes that higher power distance results in weaker perceptions of responsibility to aid others, which decreases charitable behavior Both correlational and causal evidence is provided in a series of five studies that examine country-level power distance as well as individual and temporarily salient power distance belief Consistent with the mediating role of perceived responsibility, results reveal that uncontrollable needs and communal relationship norms are boundary conditions that overcome the negative effect of power distance on charitable behavior These results explain differences in charitable giving across cultures and provide implications for nonprofit organizations soliciting donations

Long-Term Relations Among Prosocial-Media Use, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior

Abstract: Despite recent growth of research on the effects of prosocial media, processes underlying these effects are not well understood Two studies explored theoretically relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of prosocial media on helping Study 1 examined associations among prosocial- and violent-media use, empathy, and helping in samples from seven countries Prosocial-media use was positively associated with helping This effect was mediated by empathy and was similar across cultures Study 2 explored longitudinal relations among prosocial-video-game use, violent-video-game use, empathy, and helping in a large sample of Singaporean children and adolescents measured three times across 2 years Path analyses showed significant longitudinal effects of prosocial- and violent-video-game use on prosocial behavior through empathy Latent-growth-curve modeling for the 2-year period revealed that change in video-game use significantly affected change in helping, and that this relationship was mediated by change in empathy

The influence of empathic concern on prosocial behavior in children

Abstract: This research explored the influence of empathic distress on prosocial behaviour in a resource allocation task with children. Children were randomly assigned to one of two conditions before engaging in a sticker sharing task; watching either a video of a girl upset that her dog had gone missing (emotion induction condition), or a video of the same girl preparing for a yard sale (control condition). In study one, 5-6 year old children in the emotion induction condition rated the emotional state of both the protagonist and the self more negatively, and also exhibited more prosocial behaviour; sharing more in advantageous inequity trials, and less often withholding a benefit in disadvantageous inequity trials, than the control group. Prosocial behaviour was significantly correlated with ratings of the emotional state of the protagonist but not with own emotional state, suggesting that empathic concern rather than personal distress was the primary influence on prosocial behaviour. In study two, 3-year-olds were tested on advantageous inequity trials alone, and like the 5 and 6-year-olds, showed more prosocial behaviour in the emotion induction condition than the control.

A Web-Based Sexual Violence Bystander Intervention for Male College Students: Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract: Background: Bystander intervention approaches offer promise for reducing rates of sexual violence on college campuses. Most interventions are in-person small-group formats, which limit their reach and reduce their overall public health impact. Objective: This study evaluated the efficacy of RealConsent, a Web-based bystander approach to sexual violence prevention, in enhancing prosocial intervening behaviors and preventing sexual violence perpetration. Methods: A random probability sample of 743 male undergraduate students (aged 18 to 24 years) attending a large, urban university located in the southeastern United States was recruited online and randomized to either RealConsent (n=376) or a Web-based general health promotion program (n=367). Participants were surveyed online at baseline, postintervention, and 6-months postintervention. RealConsent was delivered via a password-protected Web portal that contained six 30-minute media-based and interactive modules covering knowledge of informed consent, communication skills regarding sex, the role of alcohol and male socialization in sexual violence, empathy for rape victims, and bystander education. Primary outcomes were self-reported prosocial intervening behaviors and sexual violence perpetration. Secondary outcomes were theoretical mediators (eg, knowledge, attitudes). Results: At 6-month follow-up RealConsent participants intervened more often ( P =.04) and engaged in less sexual violence perpetration ( P =.04) compared to controls. In addition, RealConsent participants reported greater legal knowledge of sexual assault ( P P P P P P =.01), greater intentions to intervene ( P =.04), less hyper-gender ideology ( P P =.03), more positive outcome expectancies for intervening ( P P <.001). Conclusions: Our results support the efficacy of RealConsent. Due to its Web-based format, RealConsent has potential for broad-based dissemination thereby increasing its overall public health impact on sexual violence. Clinical Trial: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01903876; http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01903876 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6S1PXxWKt). [J Med Internet Res 2014;16(9):e203]

Making a Difference in the Teamwork: Linking Team Prosocial Motivation to Team Processes and Effectiveness

Abstract: Although the importance of team motivation has been increasingly emphasized, few studies have focused on prosocial motivation. Integrating theories on team effectiveness with prosocial motivation, we propose a theoretical model that links team prosocial motivation to team effectiveness as mediated by team processes. Team process is captured through the task-driven process of team cooperation and the affect-based team viability, and team effectiveness is operationalized as team performance, team organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and team voluntary turnover. The model is tested in Study 1, a field study with three-source data collected from 310 members of 67 work teams over four time periods, and Study 2, a laboratory experiment with 124 four-person teams in which team prosocial motivation is manipulated. In Studies 1 and 2, we find support for indirect effects of team prosocial motivation on team performance and team OCB through the mediating role of team cooperation. Team voluntary turnover is indirectly affected by team prosocial motivation through team viability. Furthermore, in both studies the indirect effects of team prosocial motivation on team performance and team OCB through team cooperation and on team voluntary turnover through team viability are stronger when the nature of the teams’ work requires greater task interdependence.

Emotion regulation moderates the association between empathy and prosocial behavior.

Abstract: Theory and evidence suggest that empathy is an important motivating factor for prosocial behaviour and that emotion regulation, i.e. the capacity to exert control over an emotional response, may moderate the degree to which empathy is associated with prosocial behaviour. However, studies to date have not simultaneously explored the associations between different empathic processes and prosocial behaviour, nor whether different types of emotion regulation strategies (e.g. cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) moderate associations between empathy and prosocial behaviour. One hundred–and-ten healthy adults completed questionnaire measures of empathy, emotion regulation and prosocial tendencies. In this sample, both affective and cognitive empathy predicted self-reported prosocial tendencies. In addition, cognitive reappraisal moderated the association between affective empathy and prosocial tendencies. Specifically, there was a significant positive association between empathy and prosocial tendencies for individuals with a low or average tendency to reappraise but not for those with a high tendency to reappraise. Our findings suggest that, in general, empathy is positively associated with prosocial behaviour. However, this association is not significant for individuals with a high tendency for cognitive reappraisal.

Personality and prosocial behavior: linking basic traits and social value orientations.

Abstract: Concerning the dispositional determinants of prosocial behavior and cooperation, work based on the classic 5 personality factors, and especially Agreeableness, has turned out somewhat inconsistent. A clearer picture has emerged from consideration of the HEXACO model of personality--though supported entirely by hypothetical behavior as criterion, so far. Thus, in 2 studies and a reanalysis, we investigated "actual behavior" in the form of individually and socially consequential distribution decisions. As expected, HEXACO Honesty-Humility consistently predicted prosocial behavior, including a theory-consistent pattern on the facet level. Importantly, this pattern might explain why five-factor Agreeableness has only sometimes been found to account for prosocial behavior. Indeed, further results indicate that five-factor Agreeableness comprises some aspects that are predictive of prosocial behavior--aspects well covered by HEXACO Honesty-Humility--but also others that play no role for this criterion. As such, the links between five-factor Agreeableness and prosocial behavior are well-covered by HEXACO Honesty-Humility, but not vice versa. Taken together, these findings hint that especially HEXACO Honesty-Humility (and certain aspects of five-factor Agreeableness) account for prosocial behavior--thus explaining previous inconsistencies and providing a more nuanced understanding of the links between basic personality and prosocial or cooperative behavior.