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Article
When Helping Helps: Autonomous Motivation for Prosocial Behavior and Its Influence on Well-Being for the Helper and Recipient
Abstract
Self-determination theory posits that the degree to which a prosocial act is volitional or autonomous predicts its effect on well-being and that psychological need satisfaction mediates this relation. Four studies tested the impact of autonomous and controlled motivation for helping others on well-being and explored effects on other outcomes of helping for both helpers and recipients. Study 1 used a diary method to assess daily relations between prosocial behaviors and helper well-being and tested mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction. Study 2 examined the effect of choice on motivation and consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping using an experimental design. Study 3 examined the consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping for both helpers and recipients in a dyadic task. Finally, Study 4 manipulated motivation to predict helper and recipient outcomes. Findings support the idea that autonomous motivation for helping yields benefits for both helper and recipient through greater need satisfaction. Limitations and implications are discussed.
... To address this critical issue, we integrate the servant leadership model and the demands-resources model (Demerouti et al., 2001), with the primary objective to propose a dual-path model delineating the psychological processes underlying the energizing and draining effects of this constructive yet demanding leadership approach on leaders. Servant leaders' proclivity for engaging in voluntary prosocial behaviors is aligned with their innate values (Eva et al., 2019), which satisfies leaders' psychological needs (Hui et al., 2020;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). However, servant leadership has a broader stakeholder focus (Greenleaf, 1970;Liden et al., 2014). ...
... Servant leaders exercise discretion in serving others, and their serving behaviors reflect "the natural feeling that one wants to serve" (Greenleaf, 1970, p. 13), thereby satisfying their need for autonomy (Gagné, 2003;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Servant leaders care about followers' career development; provide individualized support and mentorship; encourage followers to identify and solve work problems; and apply their knowledge of the organization and tasks to support and assist followers and other stakeholders (Liden et al., 2014). ...
... This, coupled with the provision of task-related knowledge, assists followers in effectively conducting team tasks and meeting team goals, thus enabling leaders to guide their teams to achieve high performance. Empirical evidence supports the beneficial effects of need satisfaction on improving well-being, reducing strain, and enhancing performance (De Gieter et al., 2018;Van den Broeck et al., 2016;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). ...
Drawing on demands–resources theory, we develop and test a dual-path model to unpack the energizing and draining mechanisms, captured by leader need satisfaction and role conflict, through which servant leadership affects leader psychological strain and job performance.We further identify leader–leader exchange (LLX) as a critical resource moderator that can strengthen the energizing benefit and buffer against the draining cost of servant leadership behaviors. Using five-wave, multisource field data from 474 team leaders, 3,712 followers, and 97 superior leaders, we find support for the energizing benefit, in that servant leadership satisfied leader psychological needs, which subsequently reduced leader psychological strain. This energizing benefit was stronger when LLX was higher. In parallel, servant leaders experienced role conflict, which subsequently increased their psychological strain and deteriorated their job performance when LLX was lower. Overall, our research contributes to a fine-grained understanding of the double-edged effects of servant leadership on leaders and sheds light on how and when leaders can benefit from practicing servant leadership.
... Subjective well-being Experience and frequency of positive emotions and overall life satisfaction Vitality Having positive energy, resolve, and zest for life Autonomy: Autonomy was described as an "ability to act in ways that meet one's choices" [17]. It is a feeling or sense of independence [18], volition [19], and being in command [20] of one's personal choices and behaviors [19], school [21], prosocial activities [22], and religious/spiritual world-view [23]. At its core is the independent, self-generated, self-directed decision-making [24][25][26][27][28] and regulation of one's actions [29] that originate from one's self [22,30] and gives one a perception of being in command to choose [31,32]. ...
... It is a feeling or sense of independence [18], volition [19], and being in command [20] of one's personal choices and behaviors [19], school [21], prosocial activities [22], and religious/spiritual world-view [23]. At its core is the independent, self-generated, self-directed decision-making [24][25][26][27][28] and regulation of one's actions [29] that originate from one's self [22,30] and gives one a perception of being in command to choose [31,32]. ...
... Motivation: Motivation is defined as possessing autonomous and self-determined reasons to pursue actions that have instrumental value, importance, or benefits attached to them [13] in the form of personal conquests [22,42,78]. It also relates to orientation towards prosocial activities that give happiness and satisfaction through concern for the welfare of others [60,79]. ...
Background:
Research on youth positive mental health (PMH) lacks comprehensiveness. We reviewed literature to (i) identify and understand concepts related to youth PMH and (ii) to summarize their definitions under broad conceptual themes.
Method:
We conducted a systematic review using PRISMA methodology. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO database (ID:CRD42020203712). Pubmed, Embase, PsycINFO, and OpenGrey databases were searched for publications that examined, assessed, explained, or defined PMH concepts in youth populations. Methods included searching, independent screening and review using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria, extraction, coding, and iterative thematic syntheses of literature.
Results:
Of 3427 unique records identified, 105 articles from 26 countries met review criteria. Qualitative analysis resulted in 22 broad themes of youth PMH. These included interpersonal relationships (interpersonal competence, school connectedness, etc.), positive emotions (feel and create pleasant emotions, gratitude, etc.), self-efficacy (strengths, human agency, etc.), life satisfaction (global assessment of one's life), and personal growth (goal achievement, life aspirations, etc.). Five novel concepts related to youth PMH were identified.
Conclusions:
Our review summarized and operationalized multiple concepts of youth PMH for applications in research, evaluation, and public health improvement.
... Regardless of what motivates interpersonal helping, it is still an ongoing scholarly debate concerning the bright and dark side of interpersonal helping. On the one hand, helping others may allow one to experience improved job performance (Hu & Liden, 2011), fulfill basic psychological needs (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010), develop a sense of efficacy (Tang & Ibrahim, 1998), and boost self-perception (Somech & Drach-Zahavy, 2000). On the other hand, helping others can interfere with one's in-role responsibilities and, therefore, trigger role overload, job stress, and work-related strain (Bolino & Turnley, 2005;Somech & Drach-Zahavy, 2013). ...
... One possible explanation for the lack of scholarly attention may be the implicit assumption made by previous research that the extent of help provided is always equivalent to the extent of help received. In this study, we challenge this assumption because the recipient's experience in a helping relationship might not be equivalent to that of the helper (Chou & Chang, 2017;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). For instance, the helper generally experiences positive outcomes when giving help (Duan et al., 2019;Lin et al., 2020;Van Dyne & LePine, 1998).). ...
... For instance, interpersonal helping often generates other positive outcomes at the organizational level such as performance quality and quantity (e.g., Podsakoff et al., 1997), organizational innovation (e.g., Pearce & Ensley 2004), and customer loyalty (e.g., Barroso Castro et al., 2004). Furthermore, interpersonal helping can result in various positive consequences experienced by the helper such as increased managerial performance ratings (e.g., Rosopa et al., 2013), improved individual well-being (e.g., Weinstein & Ryan 2010), boosted satisfaction at work (e.g., Chou & Pearson 2012), and an enhanced self-perception (Somech & Drach-Zahavy, 2000). ...
Since its inception, interpersonal helping has been conceptualized predominantly from the helper’s perspective. Additionally, scales used to measure the extent of interpersonal helping provided have been developed, allowing scholars to assess the consequences of helping others. In this study, we synergize extant literature and conceptualize receipt of help as receipt of suitable help that the recipient depends on to improve task performance. Moreover, we perform exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using different sets of samples and establish a three-factor, 14-item scale for measuring the extent of help received. Furthermore, we test the nomological validity of the receipt of help scale. Evidence illustrates that the three-factor, 14-item scale demonstrates an adequate level of reliability and nomological validity.
... In this conceptual paper, we contribute to knowledge on consumer citizenship by attempting to conceptualize the motivation for engaging in consumer citizenship behavior outside the consumption domain, using the Self-determination Theory (SDT) as a theoretical lens. This is a suitable theoretical lens as it has been successfully used in previous research for explaining civic (Wray-Lake et al., 2017) and prosocial behaviour (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010), which are both closely aligned with consumer citizenship. Moreover, SDT is a theory that foregrounds "human autonomy" (Moller et al., 2006, p. 104) in explicating motivation. ...
... SDT is a theoretical approach that has been applied in understanding motivation in the domains of civic behavior (Wray-Lake et al., 2017) and prosocial behavior (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010), and the volunteering activity of individuals has been identified as a sub domain of both these areas of study. Hence, it provides an apt theoretical perspective for conceptualizing consumers' CCOCD behaviors through voluntary participation in movements such as PGS. ...
... Such behaviors are unlikely to result from pressure to participate, and therefore, essentially encompass a form of autonomous behavior. Further, in other domains of citizenship behavior (unrelated to consumption), it has been identified that controlled motivation undermines prosocial behavior such as volunteering and that a high degree of autonomy results in a higher level of helpful behaviors (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Therefore, we present our first proposition as, P1: Consumers are (primarily) autonomously motivated to engage in citizenship behavior outside the consumption domain ...
Consumer citizenship has attracted significant attention from researchers over time. Recent discussions in this domain indicate that some of the citizenship behaviors that consumers engage in have spilled over to non-consumption arenas as well (i.e., outside the spheres of choice, purchase and use, and behaviors closely related to them). Such behaviors are evident in consumer involvement in organized movements related to an organic farming and consumption, such as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). Though consumer citizenship has been studied from many perspectives, theorizing what motivates consumers to engage in such behavior has received scant attention. Such theorization is particularly important in the context of consumer citizenship behavior outside the domain of consumption because such behaviors require relatively greater effort and commitment compared to citizenship behaviors executed within consumption. Guided by concepts of the Self-Determination Theory and current literature on consumer citizenship, this paper presents three propositions on how consumers may be motivated to engage in citizenship behaviors outside the domain of consumption, such as volunteering to act as evaluators in PGS.
Keywords: Consumer citizenship, Self-determination theory, Autonomous motivation, Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Basic psychological needs.
... The general satisfaction and frustration of psychological needs in SDT is further qualified by providers' motives for helping in specific contexts. SDT conceptualizes helping motivation along a self-determined continuum from highly autonomous to highly controlled reasons for helping (Kim, Carver, Deci, & Kasser, 2008;Kindt et al., 2015;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). ...
... Past research has shown that autonomous motivation to help is associated with greater psychological benefits for both providers and recipients across various relational contexts, from support in close relationships (Blais, Sabourin, Boucher, & Vallerand, 1990;Deci, La Guardia, Moller, Scheiner, & Ryan, 2006;Hadden, Rodriguez, Knee, & Porter, 2015;Knee, Patrick, Vietor, Nanayakkara, & Neighbors, 2002;La Guardia & Patrick, 2008;Patrick, Knee, Canevello, & Lonsbary, 2007) to prosocial behaviours toward strangers (Gagné, 2003;Hui & Kogan, 2018;Nelson et al., 2015;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). There have also been clinical applications of helping motivation and need satisfaction among caregivers of individuals with cancer (Kim et al., 2008) and chronic pain (Kindt et al., 2015). ...
... We assessed participants' motivation to help depressed targets with an adapted version (Kindt et al., 2015) of the Motivation to Help Scale (MTHS; Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Compared to the original MTHS, the adapted version of the MTHS demonstrated stronger psychometric properties and consisted of additional subscales to reflect the dimensional nature of motivation in SDT (Kindt et al., 2015). ...
Depression occurs within an interpersonal context. Research has shown that depressed individuals perceive significant others as rejecting and unsupportive; however, the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of significant others are often underexamined. Guided by interpersonal theory and self-determination theory, this thesis examined the associations between significant others' basic psychological needs, helping motivations, and interpersonal behaviours toward depressed individuals in an undergraduate sample (Study 1) and a community sample (Study 2). Need satisfaction and autonomous motivation to help were generally associated with more dominant and loving support (i.e., directive and nurturing) whereas need frustration and controlled motivation to help predicted less helpful forms of support (i.e., critical and avoidant). Autonomous motivation to help further interacted with basic psychological needs to predict supportive behaviours. When autonomous motivation to help was low, frustrated providers were more critical and avoidant toward depressed individuals. Significant others who were generally satisfied with their needs, on the other hand, provided more directiveness and nurturance despite lacking autonomous motivation to help. The moderated findings differed for North American and non-North American participants in Study 2. These studies highlighted the interpersonal and motivational aspects of support provided to depressed individuals from the perspective of significant others.
... Helping behaviors, like any other intentional behavior, can vary on a continuum of volition or self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As such, while some helping acts might be more voluntary or autonomously motivated, others might be more pressured or controlled (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). When helping is predominantly driven by autonomous motivation, helpers feel greater freedom and volition because they experience the behavior as personally meaningful or as congruent with their true self, reflecting their personal values and goals (Gagné & Deci, 2005). ...
... Additionally, they impact how helpers experience a given helping episode. Prior research has shown consistent evidence that prosocial acts have more positive consequences for helpers' well-being (i.e., greater subjective well-being, vitality, and selfesteem) when driven by autonomous reasons than when driven by controlled reasons (Nelson et al., 2015;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Findings from these studies have shown that autonomous prosocial acts lead to greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs, which in turn leads to greater well-being. ...
... More importantly, we argue that the positive effects of the quality of gratitude expressions depend on the underlying motives of a helping behavior. As high autonomous motivation to help reflects an intrinsic desire to help others and has a more internal perceived causality (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010), its effects on subsequent helping behavior would be less affected by external rewards. That is, because engaging in acts that are in accordance with one's true self and expressing one's personal goals and values is rewarding in itself, helpers with high autonomous motivation will be willing to engage in subsequent helping, regardless of the quality of the gratitude expressed by beneficiaries in the previous helping episode. ...
Moral identity has been considered an important predictor of prosocial behavior. This article extends prior research by investigating how and when moral identity predicts helping behavior. Specifically, we examine the mediating effect of episodic autonomous motivation on the relationship between moral identity and future helping intentions. We also test the moderating effect of an important contextual factor in helping episodes: the quality of the gratitude expression received by helpers. In two studies using autobiographical recall tasks with different samples (Study 1: N = 134, college students; Study 2: N = 192, adult workers), we found convergent evidence that helpers with high moral identity experience higher autonomous motivation in a helping episode, which in turn increases their willingness to help the same beneficiary in the future. We further found support for the interactive effects between autonomous motivation and gratitude quality on future helping intentions. High-quality gratitude expressions are particularly important in predicting subsequent helping for helpers with low episodic autonomous motivation. In this case, high-quality gratitude expressions can compensate for the lack of intrinsic motivation in a helping episode and increase future help provision.
... Selfdetermination theory (SDT) states that there are two types of motivation: autonomous motivation, which means that individuals behave with a full sense of choice and volition, and controlled motivation, which indicates that individuals engage in activities under pressure or to claim control (Deci, Koestner, and Ryan, 1999). Previous research on the application of SDT shows that autonomous motivation results in optimal employee performance, such as effort, performance, and persistence, while controlled motivation results in suboptimal outcomes (Deci and Ryan, 2008;Weinstein and Ryan, 2010). Although the relationship between autonomous motivation and employee outcomes is well-established in domestic literature, very few studies have examined the effect of autonomous motivation on SIEs' work outcomes (Chen and Shaffer, 2017). ...
... SIEs who are autonomously motivated have more resources and energy to achieve optimal performance (Chen and Shaffer, 2017). Employees who are driven by autonomous motivation generate more creative ideas and are more likely to engage in innovative work behavior (Weinstein and Ryan, 2010). Subsequently, SIEs who have controlled motivation might feel that they do not have enough resources (Chen and Shaffer, 2017). ...
Purpose
Drawing upon the cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) model and self-determination theory, this study investigated the influence of CCA (work, interactional, and general adjustment) and motivation (autonomous and controlled) on the innovative work behavior of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs).
Design/methodology/approach
Multi-source data were collected from 213 SIEs and their supervisors working in the United Arab Emirates to provide an understanding of the role of SIEs' CCA and motivation and their innovative work behavior.
Findings
Findings indicated that work, interactional, and general adjustment are positively related to innovative work behavior. Autonomous motivation positively predicts innovative work behavior, while controlled motivation does not. Additionally, autonomous motivation moderated the effects of work adjustment and interactional adjustment on SIEs' innovative work behavior, whereas controlled motivation moderates the effect of general adjustment on SIEs' innovative work behavior.
Originality/value
SIEs are regarded as talents that have the skills and valuable knowledge gained from their international experience and can be utilized in organizations to perform innovative work behaviors. However, SIEs face adjustment challenges that may hinder their ability to be innovative. Despite their potential as innovation drivers in organizations, there are few studies on the factors that affect SIEs' innovative behavior. This study contributes to the literature by examining the effects of adjustment and motivation on SIEs' innovative work behavior.
... Applying insights from Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000)-a general and widely accepted theory of optimal human flourishing and motivation-researchers have found that prosocial spending is most likely to lead to happiness when giving is, (a) autonomous (i.e. freely chosen, not forced; Weinstein & Ryan, 2010), (b) facilitates social connection and affiliation (i.e. builds or strengthens social relationships; Aknin et al., 2012;Titova & Sheldon, 2021), and (c) allows givers to feel like they have made a difference (i.e. ...
... With this possibility, the present findings converge with past experimental research demonstrating the importance of volition and impact for reaping emotional rewards from prosocial action. As noted above, previous research has shown that people randomly assigned to give in ways that are freely chosen or have a clear positive impact on others report higher levels of happiness afterward than people randomly assigned to give in ways that are pre-determined or have unclear benefits for others (e.g., Aknin et al., 2013;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Similarly, these findings align with previous recollection experiments in which participants report greater happiness after recalling a prosocial act that was freely chosen or clearly helped others then when recalling a prosocial act that was required or ineffective . ...
People frequently spend money on others and research shows that such prosocial spending often promotes the benefactor’s happiness, even sometimes when reflecting upon past prosocial purchases. But on whom and what do people generally spend their money? And what features of prosocial spending memories are associated with greater post-recall happiness? In a pre-registered examination, human coders and a text analysis software coded over 2,500 prosocial spending recollections for information regarding the target, content, and presence of five theoretically motivated dimensions: affiliation, volition, impact, authenticity, and level of detail. Exploratory analyses revealed that people often recalled buying gifts or food and typically spent money on significant others, friends, or children. Consistent with the pre-registered hypotheses, higher levels of volition and impact were associated with greater post-recall happiness (rs: .05 – .07), controlling for pre-recall happiness. However, in contrast to the pre-registered hypotheses, affiliation, authenticity, and level of detail did not predict greater happiness. These findings illuminate some key characteristics of prosocial purchases and the most rewarding features of people’s prosocial spending recollections.
... SDT is a theory on human motivation and personality development. From the perspective of SDT, individuals have a deep-rooted organismic tendency toward self-organization and psychological integration [37,38] and try to maintain self-congruity and internalize new experiences, values, and behaviors to experience great internal harmony and wholeness [39]. ...
... The variable of place meaning was measured based on the constructs of leisure, self-identification, economic dependency, and self-development using 18 items. The scale of resident motivations to participate in PCFLC primarily referred to the Weinstein scale [37], which includes two dimensions, namely autonomous and controlled motivations, and has nine items. The scale of residents' place satisfaction referred to the Ramkissoon scale [68] and has three items. ...
The main challenge for sustainable events is to attract residents to participate and to continue participating. Motivation can be used to explain a place and the intention to revisit a place. The main purpose of this study was to explore residents’ place meanings at Peony Culture Festival Luoyang China (PCFLC) and the impact of residents’ motivation on place meaning and place satisfaction with respect to PCFLC. A sequential mixed-methods approach was adopted. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data. The thematic analysis yielded four themes of residents’ place meanings in PCFLC. Structural equation modeling via the bootstrap approach was used to examine the role of residents’ motivation in place making in PCLFC. The results indicated that residents’ place meanings in PCFLC consisted of self-identification, self-development, economic dependence, and leisure, which enriched the types of place meanings. In addition, place meaning had a mediating role in the relationship between autonomous motivation and place satisfaction and a masking role in the relationship between controlled motivation and place satisfaction from the perspective of the self-determination theory. The paper provides a theoretical perspective to explain the effects of motivation on place making and puts forward a practical proposal for the products and marketing of events.
... Selfdetermination theory (SDT) states that there are two types of motivation: autonomous motivation, which means that individuals behave with a full sense of choice and volition, and controlled motivation, which indicates that individuals engage in activities under pressure or to claim control (Deci, Koestner, and Ryan, 1999). Previous research on the application of SDT shows that autonomous motivation results in optimal employee performance, such as effort, performance, and persistence, while controlled motivation results in suboptimal outcomes (Deci and Ryan, 2008;Weinstein and Ryan, 2010). Although the relationship between autonomous motivation and employee outcomes is well-established in domestic literature, very few studies have examined the effect of autonomous motivation on SIEs' work outcomes (Chen and Shaffer, 2017). ...
... SIEs who are autonomously motivated have more resources and energy to achieve optimal performance (Chen and Shaffer, 2017). Employees who are driven by autonomous motivation generate more creative ideas and are more likely to engage in innovative work behavior (Weinstein and Ryan, 2010). Subsequently, SIEs who have controlled motivation might feel that they do not have enough resources (Chen and Shaffer, 2017). ...
Purpose – Drawing upon the cross-cultural adjustment model and self-determination theory, this study investigated the influence of cross-cultural adjustment (CCA: work, interactional, and general adjustment) and motivation (autonomous and controlled) on the innovative work behavior of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs).
Design/methodology/approach – Multi-source data were collected from 213 SIEs and their supervisors working in the United Arab Emirates to provide an understanding of the role of SIEs’ cross-cultural adjustment and motivation and their innovative work behavior.
Findings – Findings indicated that work, interactional, and general adjustment are positively related to innovative work behavior. Autonomous motivation positively predicts innovative work behavior, while controlled motivation does not. Additionally, autonomous motivation moderated the effects of work adjustment and interactional adjustment on SIEs’ innovative work behavior, whereas controlled motivation moderates the effect of general adjustment on SIEs’ innovative work behavior.
Originality/value – Self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) are regarded as talents that have the skills and valuable knowledge gained from their international experience and can be utilized in organizations to perform innovative work behaviors. However, SIEs face adjustment challenges that may hinder their ability to be innovative. Despite their potential as innovation drivers in organizations, there are few studies on the factors that affect SIEs’ innovative behavior. This study contributes to the literature by examining the effects of adjustment and motivation on SIEs’ innovative work behavior.
... For instance, improvement of meaning in life often leads to an increase in positive affect (Hill & Turiano, 2014;Steger & Frazier, 2005;Wang, He, Yang, & Zhang, 2016) and autonomy (Park & Baumeister, 2016). These may also be a means to increase prosocial behavior because they are related to it (Baumsteiger, 2019;Davis et al., 2018;Nakamura, 2013;Telle & Pfister, 2012;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Such mediation mechanism can be examined in future research. ...
Meaning in life is a summative cognition of valuable goals, life purpose, and relationships among things and people. A central feature of meaning in life is the broad consideration of more than oneself. We extend this logic to suggest that people higher in meaning in life will engage in more prosocial behaviors, compared to others. Further extending this idea, we hypothesized and longitudinally tested the assertion that one of the potentials, yet overlooked and important mechanisms that mediates the association between current meaning in life and prosocial behavior among university students six-months later is psychological capital (PsyCap). A total of 913 Chinese university students (25.6% males; 70.3% females; Mage = 19.63, SDage = 1.04) completed a Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a Prosocial Tendencies Measure (PTM), and a Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PPQ) at three different times. The results showed that the association between T1 meaning in life and T3 prosocial behavior was significant before adding the mediator variables into the model (β = 0.10, p < 0.001). T2 PsyCap significantly mediated the influence of T1 meaning in life on T3 prosocial behavior (indirect effect = 0.10; 95% CI [0.06, 0.14]). We concluded that meaning in life in university students can influence subsequent prosocial behaviors, directly, as well as through PsyCap.
... We thereby expand on existing research, which has demonstrated the importance of empathy in (non-digital) prosocial behavior (Batson et al. 1987;Davis 2015;Loewenstein and Small 2007;Small and Cryder 2016). Moreover, our results lend support to the idea that autonomy is particularly important for prosocial behavior (H3), which is consistent with prior research-for instance, with the results from Weinstein and Ryan (2010), Gagné (2003), and Pavey et al. (2012). We can conclude that participants want not only to feel empathy for a beneficiary, but also to choose and decide freely in favor of a specific beneficiary. ...
Decision support systems are increasingly being adopted by various digital platforms. However, prior research has shown that certain contexts can induce algorithm aversion, leading people to reject their decision support. This paper investigates how and why the context in which users are making decisions (for-profit versus prosocial microlending decisions) affects their degree of algorithm aversion and ultimately their preference for more human-like (versus computer-like) decision support systems. The study proposes that contexts vary in their affordances for self-humanization. Specifically, people perceive prosocial decisions as more relevant to self-humanization than for-profit contexts, and, in consequence, they ascribe more importance to empathy and autonomy while making decisions in prosocial contexts. This increased importance of empathy and autonomy leads to a higher degree of algorithm aversion. At the same time, it also leads to a stronger preference for human-like decision support, which could therefore serve as a remedy for an algorithm aversion induced by the need for self-humanization. The results from an online experiment support the theorizing. The paper discusses both theoretical and design implications, especially for the potential of anthropomorphized conversational agents on platforms for prosocial decision-making.
... Employees perceive that OCBI enables them to indirectly impact how others view them. As a result, employees with status motivation tend to engage in OCBI (e.g., assisting coworkers with heavy workloads or difficult assignments) in order to have a positive influence on their coworkers and even leaders (Flynn et al., 2006;Organ & Ryan, 1995;Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 1997;Settoon & Mossholder, 2002;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). They believe that gaining respect and appreciation from their superiors and colleagues is a direct outcome of such influence (Bolino & Grant, 2016;Bolino et al., 2002;Fisher et al., 1981;Halbesleben & Wheeler, 2015). ...
Despite research having identified two major routes to status: dominance and competence, both routes seem inadequate to capture the “whole picture” of how people get ahead in organizations. Building on social exchange theory and social status literature, we identify two novel paths and their important boundary conditions by which employees with status motivation can achieve status. Specifically, we propose that employees with status motivation obtain status (operationalized as other-perceived status and promotability) by engaging in ingratiation toward their supervisors and organizational citizenship behavior directed toward individuals. In addition, these relationships are weakened in teams where the procedural justice climate is high. Results from four studies conducted in China and the United States, which consist of three experiments (Study 1: N = 240; Study 2: N = 180; Study 4: N = 309) and one field study of 427 employees from 74 teams (Study 3), provide support for most of the propositions we proposed. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
... Thus, it is expected that the basic psychological needs of the individual will not only be met by the therapist/researcher but also an environment of receiving need satisfaction and providing need support will be created in line with their interactions with group members. According to the SDT, not only receiving support, but also giving support is important for human well-being (Deci, La Guardia, Moller, Scheiner, & Ryan, 2006;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). A difficulty of individual support/ intervention studies is the risk of not finding the external environment that will support change or well-being other than the laboratory, clinical, or educational environment. ...
Psychodrama as a group therapy and intervention technique is based on role-plays as a way
of rehearsing life. It has 100 years of history, and it has been widely used in different life
domains and purposes since then. On the other hand, sometimes it has been criticized for
lacking the methodological rigor of modern psychological science. Qualitatively and
quantitatively, including a case study, we aim to show the effectiveness of psychodrama
using a motivational science framework theoretically and empirically. We discuss why
psychodrama is effective from an applied social psychological perspective—that is, to
demonstrate that psychodrama fits well with self-determination theory (SDT), one of the
renowned theories of human motivation, wellbeing, and development. Therefore, this
article theoretically integrates those two streams of discussions in one vein of explanation:
Psychodrama is effective because in many ways it is supportive of basic psychological needs
via play and volitional action, which is necessary for autonomous functioning as depicted by
SDT. We test and elaborate on this argument with a case study of a psychodrama group,
with the three points of measurements taken before and after the group process as well as
2 years later in follow-up. We found expected and unexpected results regarding
autonomous functioning and its associated variables as self-compassion and authenticity
throughout time. We discuss the findings for further advancement of theory and practice of
both psychodrama and SDT as well as its implications for partially supported hypotheses to
guide further evidence-based research attempts in psychodrama.
... In line with previous research, instances of beneficence and prosocial impact were clearly identifiable in students' responses and distinguishable from autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Martela & Tapani, 2018;Martela & Ryan, 2016, 2020. Interdependent themes in the data illustrated the supportive role of beneficence on the three basic needs, lending empirical support to research showing the impact of prosocial behaviors on well-being (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010) and happiness (Aknin et al., 2019). No evidence, however, indicated that beneficence was satisfied as a result of the other three needs, further positioning beneficence as a wellness enhancer rather than a fourth basic psychological need (Martela & Ryan, 2020). ...
Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a cross-cultural, empirical framework for exploring what world (i.e., "foreign") language educators can do to support the satisfaction of their learners' basic psychological needs and, in turn, their autonomous motivation and well-being. Despite this, the identification of approaches to world language pedagogy and curriculum development that are supportive of learners' simultaneous and interdependent-rather than individual and isolated-basic needs satisfaction has been limited. To this end, this study sought to examine the characteristics of postsecondary world language learning environments that were supportive of the balanced, simultaneous satisfactions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as well as beneficence, a candidate need. Participants in the study included thirteen undergraduate world language learners at a large public university in the United States. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed through a qualitative approach involving multiple rounds of deductive coding and two stages of inductive thematic analysis. Results of the analysis identified six themes representing the characteristics of world language learning environments that students perceived to support their autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence. Further, the analysis identified textual evidence for the interdependent satisfaction of students' basic psychological needs via the multidirectional influences of each need on the others. Recommendations for world language teachers and implications for theory and methodology are discussed.
... Prosocial behaviour is behaviour that is intended to benefit others (Eisenberger et al., 2003). It includes helpful interventions, volunteer work and donation in monetary or non-monetary form (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Social exclusion might motivate consumers to act prosocially to restore the threatened need for affiliation and regain acceptance (Lee & Shrum, 2012;Williams, 2007b). ...
While social exclusion in the consumption context has gained significant interest recently, its literature remains fragmented and underexplored due to restricted categorization and limited conceptual lenses. This systematic review attempts to broaden social exclusion literature by including multiple possible aspects of social exclusion, and providing a nuanced approach to identifying changes in the consumption response of excluded individuals. Using the “Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Review” (SPAR‐4‐SLR) (Paul et al., 2021) protocol to assemble, arrange, and assess studies published between 2010 and 2021, we selected 83 studies as the basis of this review. With the objective of providing a synthesized view of the existing literature and presenting possible explanations for inconsistencies, this paper (a) undertakes a systematic review of the existing research in the domain, (b) introduces a conceptual framework, and (c) provides a taxonomy to categorize diverse strands of consumption responses. Identifying gaps, this study also provides directions for future research using the TCCM (Theory, Characteristics, Context, and Methodology) framework (Paul and Rosado‐Serrano, 2019; Paul and Criado, 2020). This study can thus enable marketers, advertisers, and public policymakers to understand the needs of socially excluded individuals, and subsequently make more inclusive decisions.
... In this investigation, we operationalized workplace gratitude and organizational kindness as input variables that can relate to higher levels of relatedness needs satisfaction, positive emotions, and life satisfaction as well as lower levels of negative emotions and COVID-19 anxiety. Our predictions cohere with prior studies demonstrating the mental health benefits of both kindness and gratitude on connectedness, optimism, and life satisfaction (Gherghel et al., 2019;Kerr et al., 2015;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). There is also evidence showing how these psychological resources shield against the detrimental mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (Dennis & Ogden, 2022;Lee et al., 2021;Slavich et al., 2022). ...
This research explored the association of perceptions of gratitude and kindness at work with well-being outcomes, such as relatedness needs satisfaction, life satisfaction, and COVID-19 anxiety among selected Filipino employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that kindness positively predicted relatedness needs satisfaction even after controlling for participants' age, gender, employment status, and length of stay in the organization. Gratitude positively predicted life satisfaction. This research underscores the mental health payoffs associated with fostering gratitude and kindness in organizational contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Through all theories mentioned, several studies has suggest that self-determination theory has been better than other theories as a predictor of behaviour (Moller, Ryan, & Deci, 2006;Hagger & Chatzisarantis, 2009;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010;Leung & Matanda, 2013). This is also proved by Webb, Soutar, Mazzarol, & Saldaris (2013) when the study found that the SDT has greater behavioural impact than other theories. ...
Wasiyyah is a written document on the appointment of the executor to administer and transfer the estate of the testator after his/her death. However, although the wasiyyah's benefit has been widely disseminated through various promotional programs, yet the penetration rate of wasiyyah services in Malaysia remains low. This has resulted in Malaysia having too much-unclaimed property and frozen assets which indirectly impacting the country as assets for economic development cannot be leveraged. Therefore, there are two main objectives of this paper, first, this paper aims to identify factors that influence Muslim consumers motivation in patronizing wasiyyah services, second, to examine the relationship between psychological needs and consumers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Based on the sub-theory of self-determination theory; cognitive evaluation theory (CET) and the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), this paper plans to determine the relationships through survey questionnaire involving Malaysian Muslims who already patronized wasiyyah services. It is hoped that the study findings will provide insights to wasiyyah service providers in Malaysia to better understand the motivations underlying the consumer decisions in patronizing the services.
... With regards to prosocial behaviour, it has been long thought that prosocial behaviours affect the wellbeing of the helper as well as the help recipient. Indeed, previous research did identify positive effects of prosocial behaviour on the wellbeing of the helper (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). ...
Abstract Background Mental health and subjective well‐being are of great interest in both health policy and research. There has been considerable debate regarding whether mental health difficulties and subjective wellbeing are two distinct domains or different ends of a single mental health spectrum. This study investigates if predictors of mental health difficulties and subjective wellbeing are the same or different in a large‐scale community‐based sample in the United Kingdom. Methods 13,500 adolescents in year 7 (aged 11–12) and again in year 8 (aged 12–13) completed surveys on emotional strengths and skills, support networks, mental health difficulties and wellbeing. Socio‐demographic factors were gathered from the National Pupil Database. Mental health difficulties and wellbeing scores were standardized to allow comparisons. Results The correlation between mental health difficulties and subjective wellbeing was −0.48, indicating a moderate overlap between the two domains. Some of the predictors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, problem solving, emotion regulation) in year 7 predicted both mental health difficulties and subjective wellbeing in year 8. However, some of the predictors in year 7 only predicted mental health difficulties (e.g., special education needs, empathy) and some only subjective wellbeing (e.g., prosocial behaviour, peer support) in year 8. Conclusion This study provides further evidence for differences in what predicts adolescents’ mental health difficulties and subjective wellbeing. It highlights the importance of not only focusing on preventing or treating symptoms of mental illness but also focusing on improving children’s wellbeing.
... Work to date indicates that prosocial behaviors produce greater emotional well-being relative to a neutral or no action control condition [13,28,29]. This may be because prosocial acts fulfill basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness [30,31], or possibly a need for morality [32]. Kind acts might also prompt positive thoughts and additional positive behaviors that further enhance well-being [11,33]. ...
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic, the accompanying lockdown measures, and their possible long-term effects have made mental health a pressing public health concern. Acts that focus on benefiting others-known as prosocial behaviors-offer one promising intervention that is both flexible and low cost. However, neither the range of emotional states prosocial acts impact nor the size of those effects is currently clear-both of which directly influence its attractiveness as a treatment option.Objective
To assess the effect of prosocial activity on emotional well-being (happiness, belief that one's life is valuable) and mental health (anxiety, depression).Methods1,234 respondents from the United States and Canada were recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk and randomly assigned (by computer software) to perform prosocial (N = 411), self-focused (N = 423), or neutral (N = 400) behaviors three times a week for three weeks. A follow-up assessment was given two weeks after the intervention. Participants were blind to alternative conditions. Analyses were based on 1052 participants (Nprosocial = 347, Nself = 365, Nneutral = 340).FindingsThose in the prosocial condition did not differ on any outcome from those in the self-focused or neutral acts conditions during the intervention or at follow-up, nor did prosocial effects differ for those who had been negatively affected socially or economically by the pandemic (all p's > 0.05). Exploratory analyses that more tightly controlled for study compliance found that prosocial acts reduced anxiety relative to neutral acts control (β = -0.12 [95% CI: -0.22 to -0.02]) and increased the belief that one's life is valuable (β = 0.11 [95% CI: 0.03 to 0.19]). These effects persisted throughout the intervention and at follow-up.Conclusion
Prosocial acts may provide small, lasting benefits to emotional well-being and mental health. Future work should replicate these results using tighter, pre-registered controls on study compliance.
... Our findings suggest that opportunities to define and set boundaries may be easier for non-kin carers than family carers as the decision to provide care is one of choice. As previous research has suggested, self-motivated helping behaviours are associated with psychological well-being(Weinstein & Ryan, 2010) whilst feeling a lack of choice in taking on the caregiving role is a risk factor for negative health effects(Del-Pino-Casado et al., 2018;Schulz et al., 2012). ...
Non‐kin carers provide vital resources for older people living alone with increasing care needs, especially if they cannot rely on the support of family members. However, this kind of commitment presents numerous challenges throughout the care trajectory and beyond. To explore these aspects in more depth, a qualitative study was designed including a retrospective interpretation of interview data with non‐kin carers (n = 15) and additional in‐depth interviews (n = 8) with people who had cared for an older person living alone with no family nearby. Analyses of the verbatim transcriptions followed coding procedures and were supported by MaxQDA software. Our findings demonstrate that non‐kin carers had to negotiate personal boundaries continuously over the end‐of‐life trajectory to deal with the increasing complexity of care demands and overburdening situations. Following the older person's death, non‐kin carers were involved in funeral arrangements and settled practical or legal matters when no family members were available or had little inclination to contribute. The findings highlight that non‐kin carers make a great effort to safeguard the interests and needs of older people living alone, ensuring their autonomy and dignity towards the end of life and beyond. However, the burdens experienced require future research to better understand the support needs of non‐kin carers providing end‐of‐life care for an older person living alone.
... Through all theories mentioned, several studies has suggest that self-determination theory has been better than other theories as a predictor of behaviour (Moller, Ryan, & Deci, 2006;Hagger & Chatzisarantis, 2009;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010;Leung & Matanda, 2013). This is also proved by Webb, Soutar, Mazzarol, & Saldaris (2013) when the study found that the SDT has greater behavioural impact than other theories. ...
Wasiyyah is a written document on the appointment of the executor to administer and transfer the estate of the testator after his/her death. However, although the wasiyyah's benefit has been widely disseminated through various promotional programs, yet the penetration rate of wasiyyah services in Malaysia remains low. This has resulted in Malaysia having too much-unclaimed property and frozen assets which indirectly impacting the country as assets for economic development cannot be leveraged. Therefore, there are two main objectives of this paper, first, this paper aims to identify factors that influence Muslim consumers motivation in patronizing wasiyyah services, second, to examine the relationship between psychological needs and consumers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Based on the sub-theory of self-determination theory; cognitive evaluation theory (CET) and the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT), this paper plans to determine the relationships through survey questionnaire involving Malaysian Muslims who already patronized wasiyyah services. It is hoped that the study findings will provide insights to wasiyyah service providers in Malaysia to better understand the motivations underlying the consumer decisions in patronizing the services.
... The theory states that individual autonomous motivation is vulnerable to external contextual factors. 16 As one of the important contextual factors at work, the close attention of spiritual leaders to employees' spiritual needs will largely influence the extent to which employees pay attention to and actively seek to satisfy their psychological needs, thus affecting their autonomous motivation, 17 which in turn has an important impact on individual behavior and attitudes. 18 Therefore, this study argues that autonomous motivation better explains the mechanisms underlying the influence of spiritual leadership on employee craftsmanship spirit. ...
Purpose:
Whether in traditional manufacturing or modern intelligent manufacturing, craftsmen have always been the backbone of China's manufacturing industry. Cultivating employee craftsmanship spirit has become one of the top tasks of human resource management in China's manufacturing industry. The question is what kind of leadership style will promote employee craftsmanship spirit and how can it be promoted? To answer this question, based on self-determination theory and social exchange theory, this study focuses on the influence of spiritual leadership on employee craftsmanship spirit, as well as the moderating effect of having a caring ethical climate and the mediating effect of autonomous motivation between spiritual leadership and employee craftsmanship spirit.
Methods:
The leaders and employees of 103 work teams from Chinese manufacturing enterprises were investigated, and 434 paired data points were obtained. Data analysis and hypothesis testing were conducted using data analysis software, such as HLM, SPSS, and AMOS.
Results:
The results reveal that spiritual leadership can significantly positively predict employee craftsmanship spirit. Employee autonomous motivation plays a partial mediating role in the positive correlation between spiritual leadership and craftsmanship spirit. Additionally, caring ethical climate positively moderates the correlation between spiritual leadership and the autonomous motivation of employees. The greater the caring ethical climate of teams is, the stronger the positive correlation between spiritual leadership and the autonomous motivation of employees.
Conclusion:
Leadership plays an important role in the process of employees improving their skills, acquiring the status of craftsmen, and developing craftsmanship beliefs. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand how spiritual leadership style can effectively promote craftsmanship spirit among employees for high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. This study reveals the ways that spiritual leadership influences employee craftsmanship spirit from a new perspective and confirms the mediating effect of autonomous motivation as well as the moderating effect of caring ethical climate. The research conclusions can provide practical solutions for cultivating employee craftsmanship spirit.
... Research on proactive well-doing can therefore draw on theories, models, and methods for studying goal-directed behavior that have been developed in other areas of psychology (Carver & Scheier, 2001;McGregor & Little, 1998;Milyavskaya & Werner, 2018Lieder & Iwama, 2021;Prystawski et al., 2021;Gagné, 2003;Peetz & Milyavskaya, 2021;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). In particular, we already know that people's goals are often organized hierarchically (Carver & Scheier, 2001). ...
People’s intentional pursuit of prosocial goals and values (i.e., well-doing) is critical to the
flourishing of humanity in the long run. Understanding and promoting well-doing is a shared goal across many fields inside and outside of social and personality psychology. Several of these fields are (partially) disconnected from each other and could benefit from more integration of existing knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, and cross-fertilization. To foster the transfer and integration of knowledge across these different fields, we provide a brief overview with pointers to some of the key articles in each field, highlight connections, and introduce an integrative model of the psychological mechanisms of well-doing. We identify some gaps in the current understanding of well-doing, such as the paucity of research on well-doing with large and long-lasting positive consequences. Building on this analysis, we identify opportunities for high-impact research on well-doing in social and personality psychology, such as understanding and promoting the effective pursuit of highly impactful altruistic goals.
... In connection to this, Martela & Ryan (2016 observed that beneficence not only predicts several indicators of well-being but also exerts a mediating effect on the relationship between prosociality and SWB. This leads us to believe that feeling capable of giving and improving other people's lives could be a psychological mechanism that explains why CTO makes us feel good and, therefore, increases our SWB (Martela & Ryan, 2020;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). ...
Research on the link between compassion toward others (CTO) and subjective well-being (SWB) has gained increasing attention in recent years. However, studies about the prospective relationship between these two constructs, as well as its underlying psychological process (i.e., mediators), are limited. For this reason, we conducted long-term three-wave longitudinal research, with six months between waves, among a large and representative sample of Chileans (N = 1477) to analyze the longitudinal relationship between CTO and SWB. First, we hypothesized that CTO longitudinally predicts higher SWB (H1). Second, we theorized that beneficence, a sense of having a prosocial impact on others, would mediate the CTO–SWB link (H2). To test the hypotheses, cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) were conducted. Our hypotheses were supported by the data. The results of Model 1 show that CTO prospectively predicts higher SWB, thus confirming the first hypothesis. Model 2 shows that CTO prospectively predicts higher SWB indirectly through the mediation of beneficence, which supports our second hypothesis. The implications of the findings of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed from an evolutionary perspective.
... Even altruism toward nonhuman animals can provide mutual benefits for both the people and animals involved (for a review, see Dizon et al., 2007). The idea of prescribing altruism comes with caveats-altruistic acts are more likely to have health benefits for givers if they have feelings of autonomy (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010) and social connection (Aknin et al., 2013) and are not overtaxing (Schwartz et al., 2003); likewise, prescribing altruistic acts will have a greater impact on society if people are given information on how to donate time or money to effective organizations. ...
Although many psychologists are interested in making the world a better place through their work, they are often unable to have the impact that they would like. Here, we suggest that both individuals and psychology as a field can better improve human welfare by incorporating ideas from effective altruism, a growing movement whose members aim to do the most good by using science and reason to inform their efforts. In this article, we first briefly introduce effective altruism and review important principles that can be applied to how psychologists approach their work, such as the importance, tractability, and neglectedness framework. We then review how effective altruism can inform individual psychologists’ choices. Finally, we close with a discussion of ideas for how psychology, as a field, can increase its positive impact. By applying insights from effective altruism to psychological science, we aim to integrate a new theoretical framework into psychological science, stimulate new areas of research, start a discussion on how psychology can maximize its impact, and inspire the psychology community to do the most good.
... Firstly, leisuretime physical activity is more likely to be viewed as a selfdirected, enjoyable task compared to physical activity in other domains [13]. According to the self-determination theory, autonomous motivation associated with physical activity is more likely to produce psychological satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), which in turn supports mental health [46]. Participation in physical activity due to enjoyment is associated with autonomous and intrinsic motivation [47]. ...
Background:
Physical activity is associated with depression. However, benefits of physical activity on depression may differ for specific domains of physical activity (i.e., leisure-time, work, and travel). Moreover, the relationship between physical activity and depression could also differ for people in different Body Mass Index (BMI) categories. This study investigated the relationship between domain-specific physical activity and BMI with depression, and the moderation effects of BMI on the relationship between domain physical activity and depression.
Methods:
Complex survey data from the NHANES 2011-2014 was used (N=10,047). Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Participants reported physical activity minutes in each domain using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Demographic characteristics were self-reported. Weight and height were objectively measured and used for calculating BMI. Survey procedures were used to account for complex survey design. As two survey cycles were used, sampling weights were re-calculated and used for analyses. Taylor series linearisation was chosen as a variance estimation method.
Results:
Participants who engaged in ≥150 minutes/week of total moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (adjusted B = 0.83, 95% CI [0.50, 1.16]) and leisure-time MVPA (adjusted B = 0.84, 95% CI [0.57, 1.11]) experienced lower levels of depression compared to those engaging in <150 MVPA minutes/week. Work and travel-related physical activity were not associated with depression. Overweight (adjusted B = -0.40, 95% CI [-0.76, -0.04]) and underweight/normal weight participants (adjusted B = -0.60, 95%CI [-0.96, -0.25]) experienced less depressive symptoms compared to obese participants. BMI did not moderate the relationship between domain-specific physical activity and depression.
Conclusions:
Interventions that focus on leisure-time physical activity appear to be best suited to improve depression, however, this needs to be confirmed in purposefully designed intervention studies. Future studies may also examine ways to improve the effectiveness of work and travel physical activity for reducing depression.
... Prosocial behavior, a central eudaimonic goal, has been reported to contribute significantly to life satisfaction. For example, people engaging in helping others reported higher happiness and positive moods (e.g., Dunn et al., 2008;Lyubomirsky et al., 2005;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010;Williamson & Clark, 1989), as well as enhanced psychological life satisfaction (e.g., Greenfield & Marks, 2004;Penner et al., 2005). The life satisfaction gained from prosocial behavior appears sustainable and relatively immune to adaptation (e.g., O'Brien & Kassirer, 2019). ...
An increasingly large body of research in social psychology has underscored the power of brief
situational interventions in promoting purposeful change. The present research contributes to the
literature on positive psychology interventions (PPIs) by testing a novel volitional intervention that
encourages people to engage in activities ‘outside their comfort zone.’ Participants were randomly
assigned either to a condition that encouraged them to engage in an activity outside of their
comfort zone over the following two weeks or to a control condition that encouraged them to
keep a record of their daily activities. The intervention boosted the life satisfaction of people who
were relatively less happy at baseline, with exploratory analyses tentatively suggesting benefits
strongest among people who went outside their comfort zone by helping others. Discussion
centers on the potential of behavioral ‘stretch’ interventions to promote positive change and well�being among people dissatisfied with their life.
... To test this possibility, we examined the extent to which Buddy Up, a universal, easy-toimplement classroom intervention that facilitated preschoolers' other-gender peer interactions (Hanish et al., 2021), contributed to two central indicators of social competence during early childhood: prosocial and aggressive behaviors (Hay et al., 2021). We focused on these behaviors because they are foundational aspects of children's social repertoires and are directly related to social, emotional, and academic outcomes (Layous et al., 2012;Miller-Johnson et al., 2002;Olson, 1992;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Although there is considerable variability, some young children do engage in other-gender interactions and/or have other-gender friends (Fabes et al., 2003). ...
The gendered nature of children's peer relationships has received little attention as a mechanism of change for students’ social-emotional competencies. To address this gap, we tested the effects of an easy-to-implement universal intervention (Buddy Up) that paired preschoolers with other-gender peers for enjoyable, cooperative, and structured classroom activities. We considered whether the Buddy Up intervention, relative to a control condition, predicted changes in children's aggression and prosocial behavior. Participants were 140 preschoolers (53.6% boys; Mage = 56.49 months; 78% Mexican/Mexican-American) from the Southwestern United States. Following a 2-week pretest period in January (T1), teachers in intervention classrooms implemented the Buddy Up program, which continued until the end of the school year. Post-test data were collected in May (T2). As hypothesized, Buddy Up was associated with increased prosocial behavior and reduced aggression. Testing other-gender friendship participation as a moderator indicated that Buddy Up's effectiveness on prosociality and aggression was not significantly moderated by children's other-gender friendship. We also tested other-gender friendship participation as a mediator and found that Buddy Up increased children's likelihood of having other-gender friends which led to greater prosocial behavior. These findings demonstrated the utility of Buddy Up and the potential for positive outcomes associated with the facilitation of other-gender relationships in early childhood.
... 'Giving to others' is considered a human strength, characterized by being kind and generous to others, being empathic and showing compassion in regards to others, having a sense of social purpose, exhibiting helpful behaviors towards others, and treating them well (Steger et al., 2008). The ability to be of help to others and devote time and resources to advancing universal social values operates as an empowering factor in one's personal identity, sense of meaning in life, sense of coherence, self-discovery and experiencing life fully (Diener et al., 2018;Klein, 2017;Roxas et al., 2019;Seligman, 2002;Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). ...
The study focuses on the subjective well-being (SWB) of school counsellors in Israel and its relationship with environmental and personal resources. School counsellors work within a stressful organizational high-pressure high-touch environment, characterized by crises and involving complex tasks related directly and indirectly to their emotional world. Therefore, counsellors’ SWB is an essential condition for them to fulfil their roles in an optimal manner. The research population comprised 216 school counsellors. The data collection included six questionnaires describing the participants’ SWB and personal and environmental resources. Research findings demonstrated a high level of SWB among participants, self-control being the strongest explaining variable regarding the variance in SWB levels. The study offers both practical implications and theoretical contributions by identifying personal and environmental resources related to counsellors’ SWB essential for the implementation of the counsellors’ role.
... In fact, research in social and personality psychology has established that positive emotions and psychological traits are malleable and can be improved in most contexts [76][77][78]. For instance, many experiences and interventions, such as counting blessings [79][80][81], visualizing one's best possible self [82,83], loving-kindness meditation [84,85], experiencing or witnessing kindness [86,87], engaging in prosocial behavior [88][89][90], and mindfulness practices [91][92][93], have been shown to be effective in increasing positive emotions and psychological traits. Furthermore, research has shown that positive emotions and psychological traits can be cultivated through several important factors, such as increasing trust [94][95][96], increasing social engagement and support [97,98], reducing conflicts and stressors [99][100][101], inducing a sense of meaning [102,103], promoting inclusiveness and diversity [104,105], and, most importantly, increasing exposure to positive experiences and emotions [16,78,106]. ...
With the rapid speed of globalization and technological breakthroughs, current social issues have become more complex than in past decades. As many issues such as pandemics, terrorism, and interracial conflict are realistically unpredictable, the idea of resilience offers an intuitively plausible and attainable strategy to deal with these potential adversities. The current narrative review explores the cultivation of positive emotions and traits as a plausible way to achieve a resilient society. Based on research in the social and industrial organizational psychology literature, we reviewed the role of positive emotions and traits on resilience. Lastly, we highlight important experiences and interventions that have been shown to be effective in cultivating positivity and discuss several potential considerations and boundary conditions.
... Prosocial behavior is an important part of socialization in the adolescent development process, which not only benefits the target of the behavior, but also promotes the positive psychological adaptation of the individual himself (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). Individuals with high prosocial behavior are more likely to exhibit normal social adaptation patterns, including peer acceptance, social self and general self. ...
To investigate the relationship between stress response and depression in vocational medical school students at the initial stage of COVID-19 epidemic, and to explore the mediating role of meaning in life and the moderating role of prosocial behavior. The COVID-19 Stress Response Questionnaire, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Prosocial Behavior Scale and the Depression Scale, were used to investigate 3526 vocational medical school students. The results showed that: (1) The relationship between stress response and depression in vocational medical school students was partially mediated by presence of meaning and search for meaning. Stress response has indirect effect on depression of vocational medical school students through meaning in life. (2) Prosocial behavior moderated the relationship between meaning in life and depression. Specifically, meaning in life has a more significant effect on depression for college students with higher levels of prosocial behavior.
... They are important because prosocial behaviors such as cooperating, sharing, donating, and helping others contribute to social harmony [2] and afford the human race to thrive [3]. Here, we focus on factors that might have affected students' prosocial behavior, because such behaviors have major societal and individual implications [4,5]. ...
Although awe has been shown to increase prosocial behavior, there is limited knowledge about the mechanisms underlying this relationship, and about this relationship during unique periods. To bridge these gaps, this study examined the influence of awe on prosocial behaviors, the mediating role of the presence of meaning in life, and the moderating role of perceived social support. Based on longitudinal surveys from 676 Chinese college students we showed that: (1) awe was positively associated with prosocial behavior; (2) the presence of meaning in life mediated this association, and; (3) these associations were moderated by perceived social support. Specifically, the positive relationship between awe and the presence of meaning in life was only significant for college students with low perceived social support; and the positive relationship between the presence of meaning in life and prosocial behavior was stronger for college students with high perceived social support.
Based on social exchange theory, we develop and test a longitudinal model in which leaders’ expressed humility and team members’ helping behavior reciprocally influence each other over time and ultimately predict subsequent team performance and turnover. Using multi‐source, 3‐wave repeated measures data from 281 work teams, our cross‐lagged panel modeling results supported the hypotheses. We found that leader humility increased subsequent team helping behavior, and team helping behavior also promoted leader humility at a later time. As compared with leader humility, team helping behavior is a more proximal predictor of team performance and reduced team turnover rate. We found that leader humility has indirect effects on team performance and team turnover through the mediating role of team helping behavior. These findings shed new light on how leaders and teams can develop through their respective humble and helping behaviors, and how this reciprocal relationship ultimately enhances team effectiveness and helps reduce turnover of team members.
The aim of the study was to explore and describe the influence of participating in a prosocial community action on privileged adolescents’ sense of awareness. A qualitative descriptive design was incorporated to purposively select 10 female and 6 male racially diverse privileged adolescents between 17 and 18 years who participated in a voluntary house-building project in a semi-rural community. The data were gathered by using focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews, supported by a creative artwork activity. A thematic analysis suggested that the adolescents acquired an awareness on an intrapersonal level, an awareness of the socio-economic divide in their community, an awareness of a social responsibility, and an awareness of their individualistic culture. Prosocial community actions appear to engender positive introspective reflection among adolescent school learners, and an awareness of the circumstances of others of which they otherwise would not have taken notice.
The aim of the research was comparison of self-determination ability and its components in individuals with hearing or visual impairment, and without impairment. The research sample consisted of 116 people (32 people with visual impairment, 21 people with hearing impairment, and 63 people without impairment) from individuals with hearing or visual impairment, and without impairment in the city of Shiraz city. Individuals with hearing impairment and visual impairment were selected through convenience sampling and individuals without impairment were selected through multistage random sampling. To measure the Self-determination, the Self-Determination Questionnaire (Gomez-vella Verdugo, Gil, Corbella, & Wehmeyer) was used. Data were analyzed by using one-way analysis of variance and Scheffe test. The results showed that the self-determination ability of individuals without impairment was significantly higher than individuals with hearing impairment and visual impairment. It is worth noting that there was no significant difference in self-determination ability between individuals with hearing impairment and visual impairment. The results of analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that the self-determination ability of individuals without impairment was significantly higher than individuals with sensory impairment in the subscales of autonomy and psychological empowerment. Also, there was no significant difference in none of the subscales of self-determination between individuals with hearing impairment and individuals with visual impairment. According to research findings, it can be said that training of self-determination abilities is necessary for individuals with hearing impairment and visual impairment.
Many field office leaders contend that authoritarian leadership improves the performance of humanitarian operations. The common narrative is that authoritarian leadership helps aid workers more quickly adapt to changes and thus deliver better job performance (e.g., by improving operations in their field office). However, given that field reports often highlight extant leadership as the source of serious operational failures, could leaders with an authoritarian style be part of the problem? We draw on psychological theorizing on the nature of human motivation to address this question. Specifically, we note that many aid workers primarily join humanitarian operations with the prosocial motive to help beneficiaries. While proactive adaptability is inherent to prosocial motivation, we hypothesize that authoritarian leadership may curtail the relationship by impeding aid workers’ autonomy. We find support for our theorizing in a sample of 299 humanitarian aid workers from the field. Additionally, we conducted 31 expert interviews to contextualize and validate our empirical findings. The paper concludes by discussing the findings’ theoretical and managerial implications for humanitarian operations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
The ability to behave in ways that benefit other individuals’ well-being is among the most celebrated human characteristics crucial for social cohesiveness. Across mammalian species, animals display various forms of prosocial behaviors – comforting, helping, and resource sharing – to support others’ emotions, goals, and/or material needs. In this review, we provide a cross-species view of the behavioral manifestations, proximate and ultimate drives, and neural mechanisms of prosocial behaviors. We summarize key findings from recent studies in humans and rodents that have shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying different processes essential for prosocial interactions, from perception and empathic sharing of others’ states to prosocial decisions and actions.
The field of moral identity research comprises two different views as to when moral identity emerges in the course of development. While some describe moral identity as a developmental achievement of middle childhood, others maintain that it does not emerge before adolescence or early adulthood. The present paper bridges these views by introducing a new theoretical framework for conceptualizing moral identity development. Within this framework, moral identity is conceptualized as a goal, namely the goal to be a moral person. Children, adolescents and adults are all assumed to have this moral identity goal. Yet, its goal characteristics are expected to systematically change with development: from concrete to abstract, from externally to internally motivated, and from prevention- to promotion-oriented. From the age of responsibility to adult maturity, important changes are proposed in how the moral identity goal is represented and how it motivates moral action. By outlining these changes, the paper links early- and late-onset views of moral identity development and identifies avenues for future empirical research.
La intervención del Trabajo Social en Salud Mental tiene como objetivo la recuperación de las personas diagnosticadas con trastorno mental en diferentes ámbitos de su comunidad. Pese a esta directriz, la práctica de muchos/as de los/las profesionales se ha quedado anclada en modelos teóricos biologicistas que evitan reconocer la experiencia del otro y planifican intervenciones acorde con los criterios normativos. Este posicionamiento abandona la meta de la autodeterminación de las personas usuarias y perpetúa espacios aislados de su entorno. Esta dicotomía provoca un dilema ético entre la práctica y el fundamento de la disciplina que las y los trabajadores/as sociales llevan a cabo. En la presente comunicación, se exponen una serie de retos y oportunidades de innovación en el diseño de las intervenciones de Trabajo Social basadas en las teorías críticas, en las que el/la profesional evita una posición de poder, en detrimento de la dependencia asistencial. En relación al método del Trabajo Social se concibe la esfera comunitaria como indispensable para conseguir los cambios planteados. Estas propuestas muestran un claro aumento en la calidad de vida de las personas usuarias de los servicios de salud mental y el cumplimiento del objetivo de la rehabilitación.
In this study, we examined whether adolescents helped others during the COVID-19 pandemic and how stories in the media inspired them in doing so. Using an online daily diary design, 481 younger adolescents ( M = 15.29, SD = 1.76) and 404 older adolescents ( M = 21.48, SD = 1.91) were followed for 2 weeks. Findings from linear mixed effects models demonstrated that feelings of being moved by stories in the media were related to giving emotional support to family and friends, and to helping others, including strangers. Exposure to COVID-19 news and information was found to spark efforts to support and help as well and keeping physical distance in line with the advised protective behaviors against COVID-19. Moreover, helping others was related to increased happiness. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the potential role of the media in connecting people in times of crisis.
When powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the effectiveness of advertising generally improves. However, evidence shows that personalized recommendations in charity advertising may have a dark side. The existing literature about the effects of personalized recommendations in advertising is rooted primarily in outcome utility, including outcome benefits and costs. Nevertheless, consumers tend to sacrifice their own interests without expecting anything in return given that they cannot directly monitor and measure the behavior outcome in charitable consumption; this elicits in them a focus on their autonomy and signal utility in responding to charity advertising. Thus, in our article, we focus on the reasons that personalized recommendations have negative effects in charity advertising based on self-determination theory. Through five studies, the results reveal that consumers display lower donation intentions when they receive charity advertising with (versus without) personalized recommendations due to a decrease in perceived autonomy. In addition, this negative effect can be mitigated by servant communication styles and providing consumers with free choices. These conclusions not only enrich the literature on personalized recommendations in advertising, charity advertising, and AI marketing but also provide some guidance for advertisers to enhance the performance of personalized recommendations in charity advertising.
This study examined how intrinsic motivation and its respective underlying mechanism influence people’s attitude and intentions of organ donation. The findings revealed the importance of meeting people’s customized psychological needs. For the general population, especially non-organ donors, autonomous appeal message will be more effective in promoting their intention of becoming an organ donor. For registered organ donors, competence-based organ donation messages are more effective in increasing their promotion and seeking behavior of organ donation. This study also discovered underlying mechanisms of intrinsic motivation, such as self-integrity, pride, and sympathy. Pairing underlying mechanism with competence-based messages can maximize the message impact.
Performing acts of kindness increases well-being, yet people can be reluctant to ask for help that would enable others’ kindness. We suggest that people may be overly reluctant because of miscalibrated expectations about others’ prosocial motivation, underestimating how positively others will feel when asked for help. A pretest identified that interest in asking for help was correlated with expectations of how helpers would think and feel, but a series of scenarios, recalled experiences, and live interactions among adult participants in the United States (total N = 2,118) indicated that those needing help consistently underestimated others’ willingness to help, underestimated how positively helpers would feel, and overestimated how inconvenienced helpers would feel. These miscalibrated expectations stemmed from underestimating helpers’ prosocial motivation while overestimating compliance motivation. This research highlights a limitation of construing help-seeking through a lens of compliance by scholars and laypeople alike. Undervaluing prosociality could create a misplaced barrier to asking for help when needed.
Objective:
This study tested the effect of personal values (motivation) and sustained attention (cognitive ability) on children's helping behavior.
Method:
Children (N = 162, age range 8-9 years, mean = 8.81, SD =.43) completed value ranking and go/no-go tasks, and their helping behavior was examined.
Results:
Children who valued self-transcendence over self-enhancement helped more than others. Surprisingly, children's lack of sustained attention was associated with more helping among those who valued self-transcendence over self-enhancement or openness-to-change over conservation values. Valuing both self-transcendence and openness-to-change was also associated with more helping.
Conclusions:
Children are more likely to help others if they value self-transcendence and openness to change. Notably, children's tendency to act upon these values may be facilitated (rather than obstructed by) low attention skills.
Concept of "RESCUE PERSONALITY" in organizations
In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
On the basis of self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000) and cultural descriptions drawn from H. C. Triandis (1995), the authors hypothesized that (a) individuals from different cultures internalize different cultural practices; (b) despite these differences, the relative autonomy of individuals' motivation for those practices predicts well-being in all 4 cultures examined; and (c) horizontal practices are more readily internalized than vertical practices across all samples. Five hundred fifty-nine persons from South Korea, Russia, Turkey and the United States participated. Results supported the hypothesized relations between autonomy and well-being across cultures and gender. Results also suggested greater internalization of horizontal relative to vertical practices. Discussion focuses on the distinction between autonomy and individualism and the relative fit of cultural forms with basic psychological needs.
In this chapter, we discuss the conceptual foundations of the functional approach to volunteerism, empirical investigations of the functions served by volunteerism, and linkages between functionalist theorizing in the domain of voluntary helping and in other attitudinal and behavioral domains. These considerations form something of a two way street, with a functional approach contributing to an understanding of volunteerism as a form of sustained pro-social action and with this emerging understanding of the psychology of volunteerism contributing to the articulation of functionalist theorizing itself. Therefore, we will first review theoretical and empirical research on the functional approach to volunteerism. Then, we will explore some of the contributions of the functional approach to volunteerism to an understanding of the functional approach as a general perspective on human attitudes and behavior.
This chapter focuses on one theoretical orientation—the threat to self-esteem model of reactions to aid—with the goal of introducing a conceptual development to it. The chapter discusses the basic postulates of the original Fisher et al. formulation and then examines the implications of it on the models of effective helping and coping. It discusses the way the findings of research on donor recipient similarity support the theoretical postulates. The chapter also describes the applied implications of the research and its place within the context of social psychology. This chapter illustrates that orientation opens the door for a true link between social psychological research and theory on helping and the world of social problems. Knowing recipients' immediate and long-term responses to help are likely to result in an enhanced ability to create helping programs that can truly help the recipient and enable the person to be self-reliant.
In Study 1, participants who read about an extrinsically motivated target expected that task engagement would be less enjoyable and associated with less positive affect and that there would be poorer quality of interpersonal relations, compared with participants reading about an intrinsically motivated target. These effects were reversed when additional information disconfirmed initial perceptions of the target's motivation. In Study 2, participants who were taught a skill by an extrinsically motivated (paid) target reported lower interest in learning and lower task enjoyment than those taught by an intrinsically motivated (volunteer) target, despite receiving identical lessons and learning to the same criterion level. Lower levels of interest, task enjoyment, and positive mood "infected" a second learner when the first participant attempted to teach him or her the same skill. Results support a model linking social perception, expectancy formation, and motivational orientations toward activities.
Criticisms of normative explanations of helping behavior are examined, and an explanation responsive to these criticisms is proposed. This explanation specifies conditions which affect the activation of personal norms and hence their influence on behavior. One hypothesis based on the explanation was tested: the impact of norms on behavior is a function of the tendency to deny or to ascribe responsibility to the self (AR). AR and personal norms toward donating bone marrow to a stranger were measured in a mailed questionnaire. Three months later, 132 women received mailed appeals to join a pool of potential donors from an unrelated source. As predicted, volunteering was a function of the AR × personal norm interaction (p < .0001). Personal norms had no impact on volunteering among those low on AR (deniers), but a substantial impact among those high on AR. Neither intentions to donate, attitudes toward transplants, nor various sociodemographic variables added to the variance in volunteering accounted for by the AR × personal norm interaction.
W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness." A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Personality assessment measure for global self-esteem and components (sources) of self-esteem (e.g., competence, lovability, body appearance).
Experience sampling methodology was used to examine the effects of current and prior problems on negative mood within and across days. Forty male community residents wore signal watches and kept diary records of problem occurrence and mood 8 times a day for 8 consecutive days. Trait negative affectivity (NA), prior mood, and concurrent stress were related to mood during the day. Mood in response to a current problem was worse if the prior time had been problem free than if the prior time had been stressful. High NA Ss were more reactive to concurrent stressors than were low NAs, but the effect was small. NA and current-day stress were the major influences of mood across days. High NAs were more distressed by current-day problems and recovered more slowly from problems of the preceding day. The benefits of conceptualizing the effects of daily stressors on mood in terms of spillover, response assimilation, habituation, and contrast are discussed.
We conducted two studies to examine how a potential helper is affected by having a communal orientation toward a relationship with a potential recipient and by the potential recipient's sadness. We hypothesized that (a) having a communal orientation would increase helping and that (b) people high in communal orientation, but not others, would respond to a potential recipient's sadness by increasing helping. These hypotheses were tested in two studies. In Study 1, individual differences in communal orientation toward relationships were measured by using a new communal orientation scale reported for the first time in this article. In Study 2, manipulations were used to lead subjects to desire either a communal or an exchange relationship with another person. In both studies, subjects were exposed to a sad person or to a person in a neutral mood whom they were given a chance to help. As hypothesized, in both studies communally oriented subjects helped the other significantly more than did others. Also as hypothesized, in both studies communally oriented subjects but not others, increased helping in response to the other person's sadness although this effect reached statistical significance only in the second study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Altruism and helping behavior Why do we help others – when we do? The majority view in psychology (and Western thought) has long been that everything we do for others, no matter how noble, is directed toward the ultimate goal of self-benefit. This view is called universal egoism. A minority view is that even though helping is often motivated by self-benefit, under certain circumstances humans are also capable of altruism – of seeking another person's benefit as an ultimate goal. Social psychologists have entered this egoism-altruism debate, conducting experiments designed to test the competing views. Results of these experiments may surprise you. So may the implications. We humans spend much of our time and energy helping others. We stay up all night to comfort a friend who has just suffered a broken relationship. We send money to rescue famine victims halfway around the world, or to save whales, or to ...
Volunteering is any activity in which time is given freely to benefit another person, group or cause. Volunteering is part of a cluster of helping behaviors, entailing more commitment than spontaneous assistance but narrower in scope than the care provided to family and friends. Although developed somewhat independently, the study of volunteerism and of social activism have much in common. Since data gathering on volunteering from national samples began about a quarter of a century ago, the rate for the United States has been stable or, according to some studies, rising slightly. Theories that explain volunteering by pointing to individual attributes can be grouped into those that emphasize motives or self-understandings on the one hand and those that emphasize rational action and cost-bene tit analysis on the other. Other theories seek to complement this focus on individual level factors by pointing to the role of social resources, specifically social ties and organizational activity, as explanations for volunteering. Support is found for all theories, although many issues remained unresolved. Age, gender and race differences in volunteering can be accounted for, in large part, by pointing to differences in self-understandings, human capital, and social resources. Less attention has been paid to contextual effects on volunteering and, while evidence is mixed, the impact of organizational, community, and regional characteristics on individual decisions to volunteer remains a fruitful held for exploration. Studies of the experience of volunteering have only just begun to plot and explain spells of volunteering over the life course and to examine the causes of volunteer turnover. Examining the premise that volunteering is beneficial for the helper as well as the helped, a number of studies have looked at the impact of volunteering on subjective and objective well-being. Positive effects are found for life-satisfaction, self-esteem, self-rated health, and for educational and occupational achievement, functional ability, and mortality. Studies of youth also suggest that volunteering reduces the Likelihood of engaging in problem behaviors such as school truancy and drug abuse.
Studies in 2 work organizations tested a self-determination theory based model in which employees' autonomous causality orientation and their perceptions of their managers' autonomy support independently predicted satisfaction of the employees' intrinsic needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, which in turn predicted their performance evaluations and psychological adjustment. Path analysis indicated that the self-determination theory model fit the data very well and that alternative models did not provide any advantage.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
Replying to Batson (this issue), who argues that the difference between communal and exchange relationships is less than might be imagined, the authors review the communal/exchange distinction, discuss what it does and does not mean, and address specific issues raised by Batson. They conclude, contrary to claims by Batson, that (a) ingratiation cannot account for all the findings supporting the communal/exchange distinction; (b) if desire for a communal relationship leads to ingratiation, that does not contradict the distinction; (c) if communal norms are followed for other than altruistic reasons, that does not undermine the distinction, (d) the difference between communal and exchange relationships is not limited to the breadth of benefits exchanged; (e) the difference between communal and exchange relationships is not limited to a difference in etiquette; rather, the communal/exchange distinction provides a theoretical explanation for the difference in etiquette.
Brazilian and Canadian students reported on the importance and frequency of cultural practices and values reflecting Triandis’s cultural model of individualistic-collectivistic and horizontal-vertical orientations. They also rated their relative autonomy for these practices and the degree to which parents and teachers supported self-determination theory’s psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. It was predicted that in both samples, despite the mean differences, greater relative autonomy and need support would be associated with greater well-being and cultural identity. It was also expected that vertical cultural orientations would be less well internalized in both Brazilian and Canadian groups. Means and covariance structure analyses verified measurement comparability. Results generally supported the hypotheses. Discussion focuses on the importance of internalization across cultural forms, the differentiation of autonomy from individualism and independence, and the relations between horizontal cultural orientations and psychological needs support.
The research reported here is a test of the applicability of an identity theory model, developed with samples of blood donors, to two other forms of institutional helping: volunteering and charitable donation. The model fits all three forms of helping; perceived expectations, parental modeling, personal norms, past behaviov, and role- identity as a donor are significant predictors of intentions to donate. Role-identity is predicted from perceived expectations, modeling, personal norms, and past behavior. Past behavior is consistently influenced by perceived expectations and modeling. Although the fit of the model is very similar across forms of giving, the past volunteer- ing of time-the most "public" form of donation-appears to be affected more strong- ly by others' expectations than are gifts of blood or money. Past blood donation is affected more strongly by modeling from parents than is volunteering. Feelings of moral obligation have a stronger effect on role-identity as a blood donor than as a donor of time or money.
The hierarchical linear model (HLM) is now commonly accepted as a useful modeling approach for multilevel data resulting from randomized field experiments. When multiple outcomes of interest exist, a multivariate extension of the conventional univariate HLM offers advantages over the usual application of separate HLM analyses for each of the outcomes. In this article, the authors review these advantages, discuss the device that allows the univariate HLM procedure to model multiple outcomes, and present a series of multivariate models that would be useful in addressing typical questions in field experiments. In addition to the multivariate multilevel versions of basic analysis of variance (ANOVA) or analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) designs, the authors present more complex models that allow the testing of moderation and mediation of the treatment effect. The various analyses are illustrated with computer generated data for a hypothetical scenario.
Three studies examined the effects of experimentally induced motivational orientations on the subtly different positive affects of vitality and happiness. We hypothesized, based on self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991; Ryan & Frederick, 1997), that doing well when autonomously motivated would enhance subjective vitality relative to doing well when controlled in one's motivation, but that doing well under the two motivational states would not have differential effects on happiness. Two experiments in which motivation was induced by instructions to participants about task engagement and a third experiment using an attributional methodology yielded the hypothesized pattern of effects. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of differentiating positive outcomes in terms of their underlying motives and of giving increased attention to understanding restorative environments.
We construct an integrated theory of formal and informal volunteer work based on the premises that volunteer work is (1) productive work that requires human capital, (2) collective behavior that requires social capital, and (3) ethically guided work that requires cultural capital. Using education, income, and functional health to measure human capital, number of children in the household and informal social interaction to measure social capital, and religiosity to measure cultural capital, we estimate a model in which formal volunteering and informal helping are reciprocally related but connected in different ways to different forms of capital. Using two-wave data from the Americans' Changing Lives panel study, we find that formal volunteering is positively related to human capital, number of children in the household, informal social interaction, and religiosity. Informal helping, such as helping a neighbor, is primarily determined by gender, age, and health. Estimation of reciprocal effects reveals that formal volunteering has a positive effect on helping, but helping does not affect formal volunteering.
The present study tested the posited structural path of influence through which perceived self-efficacy of affect regulation operates in concert with perceived interpersonal self-efficacy to determine prosocial behavior, which in turn influences satisfaction with life in four age groups. A strong sense of efficacy in the regulation of positive and negative affect was associated with a high perceived efficacy in the management of social relationships and in empathic engagement in others' emotional experiences. Interpersonal self-efficacy directly affected prosocial behavior and entirely mediated the influence of affective self-efficacy on it. As predicted, prosocial behavior directly influenced life satisfaction, showing a higher path of influence for the oldest group as compared to the other ones. The structural model provided a better fit for the data than did alternative models.
Abstract—With the widespread emergence of required community-service programs comes a new opportunity to examine the effects of requirements on future behavioral intentions. To investigate the consequences of such “mandatory volunteerism” programs, we followed students who were required to volunteer in order to graduate from college. Results demonstrated that stronger perceptions of external control eliminated an otherwise positive relation between prior volunteer experience and future intentions to volunteer. A second study experimentally compared mandates and choices to serve and included a premeasured assessment of whether students felt external control was necessary to get them to volunteer. After being required or choosing to serve, students reported their future intentions. Students who initially felt it unlikely that they would freely volunteer had significantly lower intentions after being required to serve than after being given a choice. Those who initially felt more likely to freely volunteer were relatively unaffected by a mandate to serve as compared with a choice. Theoretical and practical implications for understanding the effects of requirements and constraints on intentions and behavior are discussed.
The central focus of this research is on the development and testing of a theoretical framework to understand performance and retention of volunteers. The framework is centered on identity theory and includes both general and specific role identity as well as organizational variables. Data were obtained from two samples of volunteers for the American Cancer Society (ACS). Specific role identity as an ACS volunteer is predicted from general role identity and several factors related to perceived experiences in the organization. Specific role identity explains significant amounts of variance in the number of hours worked for ACS and other organizations as well as intent to remain an ACS volunteer. Results also suggest that volunteers may experience conflicts between the demands of their general and specific role identities. Finally, the effects of ACS role identity on volunteer behavior are compared with those of organizational commitment.
The meaning and operation of negative personal norms-feelings of moral obligation to avoid a particular action-are examined Results show that women with negative personal norms help less in response to an appeal than those with no norms. Individual tendencies to deny responsibility moderate the impact of positive personal norms on altruistic helping, but not the impact of negative norms.
Two experiments were conducted to determine whether an extrinsic incentive would undermine intrinsic, altruistic motivation for helping. In Experiment 1 male undergraduates agreed to help an experimenter code data. Pavment for coding was not mentioned (no-payment), was mentioned prior to agreement to help (paynent-prior), or was mentioned after agreement to help (payment-after). As predicted from Nisbett and Valins' overly sufficient justification hypothesis, subjects in the payment-prior condition rated themselves as less altruistic relative to a comparison other who did not help (a confederate) than did subjects in the no-payment condition. Subjects in the payment-after condition and in the no-request control group responded similarly to those in the no-payment condition. Experiment 2 provided a conceptual replication in a field setting of the payment-prior and no-payment conditions of Experiment 1. Results again indicated that prior payment undermined intrinsic, altruistic motivation for helping.
It is argued that this book (see record 1999-04118-000) contains some interesting overview-type chapters that identify one aspect of self-reports and that provide researchers with findings that either help them to design their questionnaires so that they obtain more veridical self-reports or at least help them to interpret self-report findings accurately. However, some chapters put heavy emphasis on self-report in medical contexts and clinical practice. Researchers who work in other domains of the behavioral and social sciences may be disappointed to find that they book does not contain, among others, chapters on self-reports of stereotypes, attitudes, evaluations, and self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Prosocial motivation is egoistic when the ultimate goal is to increase one's own welfare; it is altruistic when the ultimate goal is to increase another's welfare. The view that all prosocial behavior, regardless how noble in appearance, is motivated by some form of self-benefits may seem cynical. But it is the dominant view in contemporary psychology. Most contemporary psychologists who use the term have no intention of challenging the dominant view that all human behavior, including all prosocial behavior, is motivated by self-serving, egoistic desires. Contemporary pseudoaltruistic views can be classified into three types: altruism as prosocial behavior, not motivation, altruism as prosocial behavior seeking internal rewards, and altruism as prosocial behavior to reduce aversive arousal. If altruistic motivation exists, then one has to make some fundamental changes in the conception of human motivation and indeed of human nature. As yet, the evidence is not sufficiently clear to justify such changes. If the conceptual analysis and research outlined in the chapter have merit, then the threshold of an empirical answer to the question why one care for other will be reached.
Wilson and Musick review some of the research on the supposed benefits of volunteering and describe briefly some of the results of their own work in this area. There is little doubt that there are individual benefits to be derived from doing volunteer work that reach far beyond the volunteer act itself and may linger long after the volunteer role is relinquished.
