Mimicry and prosocial behavior

Abstract— Recent studies have shown that mimicry occurs unintentionally and even among strangers. In the present studies, we investigated the consequences of this automatic phenomenon in order to learn more about the adaptive function it serves. In three studies, we consistently found that mimicry increases prosocial behavior. Participants who had been mimicked were more helpful and generous toward other people than were nonmimicked participants. These beneficial consequences of mimicry were not restricted to behavior directed toward the mimicker, but included behavior directed toward people not directly involved in the mimicry situation. These results suggest that the effects of mimicry are not simply due to increased liking for the mimicker, but are due to increased prosocial orientation in general.     

Film-facilitated arousal and prosocial behavior

The present investigation sought to test the applicability of the excitation transfer model (P. Tannenbaum & D. Zillmann. In L. Berkowitz, Ed., Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 8, New York: Academic Press 1975) to prosocial behavior. This model predicts that for individuals predisposed to act prosocially, arousal transferred from an unrelated source will facilitate such behavior. Two studies were conducted in which male college students, treated in either a positive or neutral manner and shown an arousing erotic or nonarousing control film, ostensibly rewarded and punished a confederate for performance on a memory task. Contrary to predictions, the first experiment found the arousing film increased reward regardless of treatment. In the second experiment, where the neutral treatment was given a more negative tone, the predicted interaction was found. Specifically, subjects treated in a positive manner and shown an arousing film were significantly more rewarding than were similarly treated subjects shown the nonarousing film. While type of film had no effect on neutral subjects' reward behavior, the arousing film did increase their punitive behavior. These results, coupled with physiological and self-report data, strongly support the excitation transfer model.     

Testing contesting theory: Conceptual metaphors and prosocial behavior

ObjectivesThis investigation was conducted to determine whether contesting orientations add predictive utility for prosocial behavior, both in and out of sports, beyond other variables related to the component processes of moral action.DesignCross-sectional.MethodsIntercollegiate US athletes (n = 2380; 56.4% male), from both individual and team sports, completed measures of contesting orientation, three moral variables (moral attentiveness, moral identity, integrity), three sport-specific variables (athletic identity, goal orientation, and fear of failure), and three outcome variables (sportspersonship, academic honesty, and prosocial helping). Data was analyzed using both correlational and regression analyses.ResultsRegression analyses demonstrated that contesting orientations were the best predictors of sportspersonship, but were insignificant predictors of nonsport forms of prosocial behavior.ConclusionsConsistent with contesting theory, contesting orientation are salient and potent predictors of sportspersonship, but do not predict behavior outside of contest situations.     

Ostracism and prosocial behavior: A social dilemma perspective

Prior research has yielded mixed findings regarding the relation of ostracism to prosocial behavior, with studies indicating ostracism leads people to become less prosocial, more prosocial, or that prosocial behavior is unaffected by workplace ostracism. By conceptualizing prosocial behavior at work as a social dilemma, we hypothesized that whether or not individuals reduce prosocial behaviors following ostracism can be understood by how individuals manage the conflict between the immediate temptation to treat others poorly and the long-term benefits of not giving into such temptations. Across three studies – a scenario (Study 1), experimental (Study 2), and field study on employed adults (Study 3) – we find support for the hypothesis that individuals who are less (versus more) oriented towards future outcomes engage in less prosocial behaviors with others who have ostracized them during prior interactions. We discuss both the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.     

Earliest childhood memories: four theoretical perspectives

Four separate lines of thought relevant to a theory of early memories (EMs) have appeared in the literature--Freud's, Adler's, an ego psychology view and one adapted from memory theory, Each view was presented in turn and discussed in terms of its implications for assessment and treatment. It was pointed out that none of these four theories addresses several issues relevant to the individual who plans to do research with EMs.     

Highlighting relatedness promotes prosocial motives and behavior

According to self-determination theory, people have three basic psychological needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Of these, the authors reasoned that relatedness need satisfaction is particularly important for promoting prosocial behavior because of the increased sense of connectedness to others that this engenders. In Experiment 1, the authors manipulated relatedness, autonomy, competence, or gave participants a neutral task, and found that highlighting relatedness led to higher interest in volunteering and intentions to volunteer relative to the other conditions. Experiment 2 found that writing about relatedness experiences promoted feelings of connectedness to others, which in turn predicted greater prosocial intentions. Experiment 3 found that relatedness manipulation participants donated significantly more money to charity than did participants given a neutral task. The results suggest that highlighting relatedness increases engagement in prosocial activities and are discussed in relation to the conflict and compatibility between individual and social outcomes.     

Gratitude and prosocial behavior: helping when it costs you

The ability of the emotion gratitude to shape costly prosocial behavior was examined in three studies employing interpersonal emotion inductions and requests for assistance. Study 1 demonstrated that gratitude increases efforts to assist a benefactor even when such efforts are costly (i.e., hedonically negative), and that this increase differs from the effects of a general positive affective state. Additionally, mediational analyses revealed that gratitude, as opposed to simple awareness of reciprocity norms, drove helping behavior. Furthering the theory that gratitude mediates prosocial behavior, Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 and demonstrated gratitude's ability to function as an incidental emotion by showing it can increase assistance provided to strangers. Study 3 revealed that this incidental effect dissipates if one is made aware of the true cause of the emotional state. Implications of these findings for the role of gratitude in building relationships are discussed.     

When prosocial behavior becomes altruistic: An attributional analysis

Guided by Jones and Davis’ (1965) theory of correspondent inferences, an experiment was conducted to explore the conditions under which prosocial behavior is attributed to altruism. Some 14 vignettes were constructed to vary aspects of five general dimensions believed to underlie perceptions of altruistic behavior: Benefits or costs to the actor or the actor’s close kin; benefits to the recipient of help; behavior extending beyond usual helping roles and norms; intentionality of helping; and planful versus spontaneous helping. A total of 164 respondents evaluated the actor and his or her behavior on scales measuring altruism and praiseworthiness. As hypothesized, the first four dimensions consistently predicted judgments of altruism, while the fifth did not. Strengths and shortcomings of the vignette approach are discussed, as are directions for subsequent research.     

Sociomoral reflection and prosocial and antisocial behavior: two Italian studies

Two Italian studies on the development of moral judgment based on the 1992 Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form of Gibbs, Basinger, and Fuller were performed. In Study 1, 49 male and female adolescent volunteers involved in prosocial activities and a control group of 60 nonvolunteers completed the form. In Study 2, 60 male drug abusers in a drug-rehabilitation community were compared with a matched group of 60 nondrug abusers. Analysis showed that involvement in prosocial activities was associated with higher stages of moral judgment and Type B responses, while drug abuse was associated with lower stages of moral judgment and more Type A responses. The moral type scores were less closely associated with behavioral outcomes than the moral stage scores, perhaps reflecting the interplay between universal sociocognitive processes and specific real-life situations.     

The reality of recovered memories: corroborating continuous and discontinuous memories of childhood sexual abuse

Although controversy surrounds the relative authenticity of discontinuous versus continuous memories of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), little is known about whether such memories differ in their likelihood of corroborative evidence. Individuals reporting CSA memories were interviewed, and two independent raters attempted to find corroborative information for the allegations. Continuous CSA memories and discontinuous memories that were unexpectedly recalled outside therapy were more likely to be corroborated than anticipated discontinuous memories recovered in therapy. Evidence that suggestion during therapy possibly mediates these differences comes from the additional finding that individuals who recalled the memories outside therapy were markedly more surprised at the existence of their memories than were individuals who initially recalled the memories in therapy. These results indicate that discontinuous CSA memories spontaneously retrieved outside of therapy may be accurate, while implicating expectations arising from suggestions during therapy in producing false CSA memories.     

Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial thoughts, affect, and behavior

Previous research has shown that exposure to violent media increased aggression-related affect and thoughts, physiological arousal, and aggressive behavior as well as decreased prosocial tendencies. The present research examined the hypothesis that exposure to prosocial media promotes prosocial outcomes. Three studies revealed that listening to songs with prosocial (relative to neutral) lyrics increased the accessibility of prosocial thoughts, led to more interpersonal empathy, and fostered helping behavior. These results provide first evidence for the predictive validity of the General Learning Model [Buckley, K. E., & Anderson, C. A. (2006). A theoretical model of the effects and consequences of playing video games. In P. Vorderer, & J. Bryant, (Eds.), Playing video games: Motives responses and consequences (pp. 363-378). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates] for the effects of media with prosocial content on prosocial thought, feeling, and behavior.     

Antisocial and prosocial behavior among contemporary Robin Hoods

Sensation-seeking and related personality traits have been linked to both dedliquency and helping behavior. This suggests that certain stimulus-need characteristics are capable of producing both antisocial and prosocial behavior in the same individual. Forty-nine eigth-grade students in a midwest parochial school completed the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) and a Deliquency Self-report Form. They were placed into either a low- or a high-stimulus condition, tested for a anxiety and sensation-seeking states and a given request to volunteer.As predicted, Deliquency scores were significantly related to the incidencee of volunteering. Volunteers and delinquents, especially drug users, had significantly higher SSS scores than nonvolunteers and nondelinquents. The high-stimulus condition also had a significantly higher proportion of volunteers. Other relationships were found between N and Anxiety, and E and SSS scores,. Results are discussed in terms of interaction of personality characteristics with stimulus conditions, the ‘Robin Hood Syndrome’ and treatment implications.     

Visualized prosocial behavior and emotion in late life

Correlational research suggests that among older adults prosociality relates to positive emotions; yet causality remains unclear. We conducted an experiment to investigate whether visualizing a prosocial action would experience enhanced positive and lower negative emotion, and whether this would be particularly true for those with certain altruistic personality traits. Participants aged sixty and above were primed with a prosocial (helping a needy stranger), social (going out with friends), or neutral (walking down the street) induction. Results indicated that positive affect was highest among those who visualized a prosocial interaction, and that this effect was strongest among those higher in social responsibility. In contrast, less altruistically oriented participants reported higher negative affect in the prosocial condition. Thus, while prosociality promoted positive affect particularly among the socially responsible, it led to increased negative affect among those lower in altruistic orientation. Results suggest that individual differences influence older adults’ responses to exposure to prosocial involvement.     

Empathy: Conceptualization,measurement, and relation to prosocial behavior

Empathy, sympathy, and related vicarious emotional responses are important concepts in developmental, social, and clinical psychology. The purpose of this paper is to examine conceptual and methodological issues concerning the assessment of vicarious emotional responding and to present data from a series of multimethod studies on the assessment of empathy-related reactions and their association with prosocial behavior. The findings presented are consistent with several conclusions: (a) In some contexts, physiological, facial, and self-report indexes can be useful markers of vicarious emotional responses, (b) other-oriented sympathetic responding is positively related to prosocial behavior (particularly altruism) whereas personal distress reactions sometimes are associated with low levels of helping, and (c) physiological arousal is higher for personal distress than sympathetic reactions.This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (BNS8807784) to the first two authors and a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (K04 HD00717) to Nancy Eisenberg. A version of this paper was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in New Orleans, February 1990.     

Experiential purchases and prosocial spending promote happiness by enhancing social relationships

Recent research on consumption and subjective well-being has revealed that experiential purchases and prosocial spending promote happiness by enhancing the purchasers’ social relationships. This study (N = 1523) explored whether undergraduate students’ consumption behaviors during summer break would be associated with their post-break happiness, and whether the consumption–happiness relationship would be mediated by a positive influence on their social relationships. The results showed that both experiential purchases and prosocial spending during summer break were associated with greater post-break happiness, but only when these purchases had a positive influence on the purchasers’ social relationships. These effects remained significant after controlling for respondents’ personality traits, financial standing, and sex. Moreover, both experiential purchases and prosocial spending were more likely to have a positive influence on social relationships than luxury purchases. These results are congruent with the recent exposition that experiential purchases and prosocial spending promote happiness by enhancing the purchasers’ social relationships.     

Adolescents' aggressive and prosocial behavior: associations with jealousy and social anxiety

The authors examined how relational aggression, physical aggression, and proactive prosocial behavior were associated with jealousy and social anxiety in a diverse sample of 60 middle school students. After the authors controlled for gender and race, jealousy predicted relational aggression and proactive prosocial behavior, but it did not predict physical aggression. Additionally, social anxiety predicted proactive prosocial behavior. Adolescents who were more jealous in their peer relationships also tended to engage in relational aggression and proactive prosocial behavior, and adolescents who were more socially anxious also tended to be proactively prosocial. The authors discuss the implications of these findings and suggest directions for future research.     

Recollection rejection: how children edit their false memories.

A new methodology is presented for studying children's ability to suppress memory reports of false-but-gist-consistent events, one that measures children's use of a specific editing operation (recollection rejection) that suppresses false reports by accessing verbatim traces of true events. Children make memory reports under 2 instructional conditions, verbatim and gist, and the data are analyzed with fuzzy-trace theory's conjoint-recognition model. Application of the new methodology in studies of children's false memory for narrative events revealed that (a) false-memory editing increases dramatically between early and middle childhood, (b) even young children spontaneously edit their false memories, (c) measures of children's false-memory editing react appropriately to experimental manipulations, and (d) developmental reductions in the incidence of false-memory reports are primarily due to developmental improvements in verbatim memory ability (rather than to decreases in the formation of false memories). Implications for child forensic interviewing are discussed.     

Sex role flexibility and prosocial behavior among preschool children

The relationship between sex role flexibility and prosocial behavior among preschool children was investigated. Subjects included 16 boys and 18 girls, ranging in age from 36 to 60 months, from intact families of the upper middle class. A nonhierarchical multiple regression analysis was undertaken to determine the contributions of the predictor variables of sex, age, IQ, and sex role flexibility, as well as their interactions with prosocial behavior (criterion variable). Results indicated that while the overall regression model was not significant, the variable of Sex × Sex Role Flexibility did contribute significantly to the model. Inspection of the correlation coefficients associated with this variable revealed that while sex role flexibility and prosocial behavior among boys were significantly and positively related, among girls no significant relationship was found.     

Greater emotional empathy and prosocial behavior in late life

Emotional empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed in older, middle-aged, and young adults. Participants watched two films depicting individuals in need, one uplifting and the other distressing. Physiological responses were monitored during the films, and participants rated their levels of emotional empathy following each film. As a measure of prosocial behavior, participants were given an additional payment they could contribute to charities supporting the individuals in the films. Age-related linear increases were found for both emotional empathy (self-reported empathic concern and cardiac and electrodermal responding) and prosocial behavior (size of contribution) across both films and in self-reported personal distress to the distressing film. Empathic concern and cardiac reactivity to both films, along with personal distress to the distressing film only, were associated with greater prosocial behavior. Empathic concern partially mediated the age-related differences in prosocial behavior. Results are discussed in terms of our understanding both of adult development and of the nature of these vital aspects of human emotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).