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.     

Strengthened to forgive workplace transgressions: priming new money increases interpersonal forgiveness

We propose that a focus on new money increases forgiveness of others. Three studies provided consistent support for our hypothesis. Working adults recalled an interpersonal offense by a colleague and were subsequently induced to think of either new or used banknotes. Thinking of new (vs. used) banknotes led to weaker destructive tendencies toward the offender (Study 1), more pro‐relationship thinking (Study 2), and higher forgiveness (Study 3). This effect was mediated by feelings of vitality (Study 3), indicating a strength‐based mechanism. We discuss implications for research on money, forgiveness, self‐regulation, and organizational behavior.     

Residential mobility reduces ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour

People sometimes prioritize helping ingroup members over outgroup members, but sometimes they do not. The current research investigated whether residential mobility, a socioecological factor, would reduce ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour. In three studies, we found evidence supporting the causal role of residential mobility in reducing ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour. First, we found that participants in the residentially stable condition had stronger intentions to help ingroups than outgroups whereas this tendency was eliminated in the residentially mobile condition (Study 1). We replicated these findings by examining participants' money allocation in a dictator game and their actual helping behaviour in an additional request (Study 2). Furthermore, we explored the underlying mechanisms of the effect of residential mobility on ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour (Study 3). We found that the differentiation component of individual identity (i.e., distinctiveness and uniqueness from other people) explained the relation between individuals' moving history and ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour (Study 3), in which frequent moves increased differentiation, which in turn reduced ingroup favouritism in prosocial behaviour. Taken together, these studies indicate that residential mobility is powerful in shaping people's behaviour toward ingroups and outgroups, which advances the understanding of intergroup processes from a socioecological approach.     

When time is money: The effect of hourly payment on the evaluation of time

Empirical research shows decisions about time are often made differently than decisions about money, belying the oft-quoted maxim that “time is money”. However, there are organizational practices such as payment on the basis of time that can make the equivalence of time and money salient and are associated with an economic evaluation of time. Study 1 showed that people paid by the hour applied mental accounting rules to time that are typically only applied to money. Using data from a nationally representative survey, Study 2 documented that people paid by the hour weighed economic returns more strongly in making tradeoffs between time and money. Study 3 showed that participants’ prior exposure to hourly payment was associated with a greater willingness to trade more time for money and that participants randomly assigned to calculate their hourly wage rate expressed greater willingness to trade more time for money. The interaction of prior experience with whether or not participants calculated an hourly wage in predicting participants’ willingness to trade more time for money was fully mediated by the salience of economic criteria in participants’ decision-making.     

More than fantasy: Prosocial daydreams relate to prosocial dispositions and behaviour

The current studies examined the relationship between the penchant to daydream about helping others and prosocial traits and behaviour. We reasoned that fantasising about prosocial acts should be positively associated with a more prosocial disposition and real behaviour. Across both studies, the findings suggest that people who exhibit prosocial characteristics (e.g., empathic concern, fantasy/fictional empathy, moral reasoning) are more likely to fantasise about prosocial behaviour, and these characteristics are reliably associated with increased helping behaviours. From Study 1, the correlational results showed that people higher in agreeableness exhibited a stronger tendency to engage in prosocial fantasising, and empathy, in part, mediated the relationship. The experimental results from Study 2 conceptually support those from Study 1; when prompted to fantasise about prosocial behaviour, those higher in agreeableness and openness to experience engaged in more helping behaviour, whereas in a control condition, no helping differences emerged. Finding that empathic concern was most consistently related to daydreaming is consistent with the theory in that people are more intrinsically motivated to promote other's welfare at a personal cost when they feel empathy. Engaging in prosocial fantasising may increase empathy, which in turn, may enhance one's prosocial disposition and increase one's helping behaviour.     

Chinese adolescents with higher social dominance orientation are less prosocial and less happy: A value‐environment fit analysis

This study aims to investigate the relationship between social dominance orientation (SDO) and subjective well‐being among Chinese adolescents (N = 4246), and to examine the mediating role of prosocial behaviour in this relationship. The structural equation model's results showed that SDO was negatively associated with prosocial behaviour and subjective well‐being, that prosocial behaviour was positively associated with subjective well‐being, and also that (low) prosocial behaviour partially mediated the negative relationship between SDO and subjective well‐being. Multi‐group analyses showed that the mediation model was generally similar between boys and girls, but that the negative relationship between SDO and prosocial behaviour was somewhat stronger among girls than boys. This study sheds light on how SDO is associated with positive outcomes among Chinese adolescents and highlights the mediating role of prosocial behaviour as an underlying mechanism between SDO and subjective well‐being. Future studies are needed to further discover the role of culture values in the association between SDO and subjective well‐being.     

工作场所排斥后的应对:期望和效价的作用*

基于期望-效价理论探讨了期望(关系修复可能性)和效价(关系重要性)对工作场所排斥后应对行为的影响。研究1采取回忆范式证实了遭遇工作场所排斥后个体将以积极、消极或不作为行为进行应对,而期望和效价对应对行为有显著预测作用;研究2在研究1基础上,通过情境问卷对期望和效价进行操纵,进一步验证了期望、效价与应对行为之间的因果关系,即关系修复可能性越大、关系越重要,个体越倾向以积极而非消极行为进行应对。     

Meaning in life accounts for the association between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms: The moderating role of self-compassion

ABSTRACT

According to the temporal need–threat model, ostracism results in three stages of responses. Research on the responses to ostracism has predominantly focused on the first two stages, and the literature needs further empirical evidence on responses to long-term ostracism. We conducted two studies to better understand the association between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms. Study 1 found a positive association between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms. More importantly, Study 1 found the threatened sense of meaning in life partially mediates the relationship. Study 2 further found that self-compassion, a positive and healthy trait, weakens the relationship between long-term ostracism and depressive symptoms. More specifically, self-compassion moderates the relationship between the threatened sense of meaning in life and depressive symptoms. Our findings not only further our understanding about the negative consequences of long-term ostracism but also suggest a possible way to mitigate depressive symptoms associated with long-term ostracism.     

No match for money: Even in intimate relationships and collectivistic cultures,reminders of money weaken sociomoral responses

The present research tested two competing hypotheses: (1) as money cues activate an exchange orientation to social relations, money cues harm prosocial responses in communal and collectivistic settings; (2) as money can be used to help close others, money cues increase helping in communal or collectivistic settings. In a culture, characterized by strong helping norms, money cues reduced the quality of help given (Experiment 1), and lowered perceived moral obligation to help (Experiment 2). In communal relationships, money reminders decreased willingness to help romantic partners (Experiment 3). This effect was attenuated among people high on communal strength, although money cues made them upset with help requests (Experiment 4). Thus, the harmful effects of money on prosocial responses appear robust.     

Materialism Moderates the Effect of Accounting for Time on Prosocial Behaviors

Accounting for time is defined as putting a price on time. Researchers have demonstrated that accounting for time reduces the time individuals spend on others; however, its association with monetary donations has not been examined. We hypothesized that accounting for time will activate a utility mindset that would affect one’s allocation of time and money. In Study 1, the mediating effect of utility mindsets on the relationship between accounting for time and prosocial behavior was examined. In Study 2, we examined the effect of accounting for time on time spent helping and donating money, and the moderating role of material values on the relationship between accounting for time and prosocial behavior. Results showed that accounting for time activated a mindset of utility maximization that, in turn, reduced participants’ prosocial behavior; moreover, materialism moderated the effect of accounting for time on prosocial behavior.     

恶意报复还是认同驱动?新员工的角色社会化程度对其职场排斥行为的作用机制

以往关于职场排斥形成机制的研究, 主要是基于冲突-报复的视角, 验证了人际冲突对职场排斥具有稳定的预测作用, 而这个解释逻辑很可能对新员工并不适用。本文基于角色认同理论, 考察新员工的角色社会化程度对其职场排斥行为的作用机制。通过对多阶段收集的249对新员工上下级匹配问卷分析发现, 在控制了经典的冲突报复机制之后, 角色认同机制能够解释新员工的职场排斥行为。具体来说, 结果显示：(1)新员工的角色社会化程度负向影响其职场排斥行为; (2)工作疏离感在新员工的角色社会化程度与职场排斥行为之间起中介作用; (3)发展性反馈在新员工的角色社会化程度与工作疏离感的关系中起调节作用; 进一步, (4)发展性反馈调节了工作疏离感对角色社会化程度-职场排斥行为关系的中介作用。本研究结果不仅从理论上拓展了职场排斥行为的研究视角, 为以后的进一步研究提供新的理论框架, 而且从角色认同的视角为组织管理新员工的职场排斥行为提供新思路。     

Doing good,doing harm,being well and burning out: The interactions of perceived prosocial and antisocial impact in service work

Service employees often perceive their actions as harming and benefiting others, and these perceptions have significant consequences for their own well‐being. We conducted two studies to test the hypothesis that perceptions of benefiting others attenuate the detrimental effects of perceptions of harming others on the well‐being of service employees. In Study 1, a survey of 377 transportation service employees and 99 secretaries, perceived prosocial impact moderated the negative association between perceived antisocial impact and job satisfaction, such that the association decreased as perceived prosocial impact increased. In Study 2, a survey of 79 school teachers, perceived prosocial impact moderated the association between perceived antisocial impact and burnout, and this moderated relationship was mediated by moral justification; the results held after controlling for common antecedents of burnout. The results suggest that perceptions of benefiting others may protect service employees against the decreased job satisfaction and increased burnout typically associated with perceptions of harming others. Implications for research on burnout, job satisfaction, positive organizational scholarship and job design are discussed.     

How Abusive Supervisors Influence Employees’ Voice and Silence: The Effects of Interactional Justice and Organizational Attribution

In this research we investigated the influence of abusive supervision on employees’ prosocial voice and silence, as well as clarified the roles of interactional justice (as a mediator) and organizational attribution (as a moderator). Moreover, we examined a mediated moderating model stipulating that interactional justice mediated the moderating effect of organizational attribution on the focal relationship. A scenario experiment was employed in Study 1, and after analyzing data from 196 employees, we found that abusive supervision influenced employees’ prosocial voice and silence via interactional justice. In Study 2, data were collected from 379 employees in two waves separated by 1 week. The results not only replicated the findings of Study 1 but also indicated that organizational attribution buffered the abusive supervision-voice and silence relationship, and that interactional justice mediated this moderating effect.     

Why mood affects help giving,but not moral courage: Comparing two types of prosocial behaviour

A long tradition in the help giving literature assumes that mood states determine the level of prosocial behaviour shown by individuals. Most research in this area has been conducted in the context of low cost prosocial behaviour, whereas research has been neglected in which participants were confronted with situations involving potential severe and dangerous negative consequences (i.e., high cost situations) with the help‐giver risking his moral integrity and social disapproval (i.e., moral courage). To address this gap in the literature, the present studies investigate differential effects of positive and negative compared with neutral mood states on help giving versus moral courage. Study 1 shows that in situations requiring low cost helping, participants were more likely to help in positive and negative moods than those in a neutral mood, whereas in situations requiring moral courage (high cost), participants were comparably likely to help in each of the three mood conditions. In Study 2, we find that salience of moral norms mediates the interaction between type of prosocial behaviour and mood. Finally, Study 3 investigates whether the apparent discrepancy between help giving and moral courage as established by the differential impact of mood states can be determined still differently. It reveals that justice sensibility, civil disobedience, resistance to group pressure, moral mandates, and anger lead to moral courage, but not to help giving. Differences between these two types of prosocial behaviour are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When destiny hurts: Implicit theories of relationships moderate aggressive responses to ostracism

The current research investigates the role of implicit theories of relationships in modulating aggressive responses to ostracism. Three studies tested whether destiny beliefs (that potential relationships are either fundamentally compatible or not) predispose people to behave aggressively in the wake of ostracism. In Study 1, individual differences in destiny beliefs moderated the relationship between ostracism and aggressive affect. Two additional studies showed that manipulated destiny beliefs (vs. growth beliefs) caused ostracized participants to blast a provocateur with aversive noise (Study 2) and to give a destructive job candidate evaluation to a stranger (Study 3). These results highlight the significance of implicit theories in understanding risk factors for ostracism-related aggression.     

Individual-based relative deprivation (IRD) decreases prosocial behaviors

Five studies investigated the relationship between individual-based relative deprivation (IRD) and prosocial behaviors. Study 1 found that income satisfaction, a concept closely related to IRD, was negatively associated with prosocial values across cultures. Study 2 found a negative association between IRD and prosocial aspirations among a sample of Chinese university students. Study 3 revealed a negative association between IRD and volunteer behaviors. In Studies 4 and 5, we found that laboratory-induced IRD decreased undergraduate students’ prosocial values and behaviors. Moreover, Study 5 also found that the tendency to prioritize self-interest over others’ mediated the effect of IRD on prosocial behaviors. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

When inclusion costs and ostracism pays, ostracism still hurts

Recent research indicates that ostracism is painful even in the face of mitigating circumstances. However, in all previous experiments, there have been no costs to inclusion or benefits for ostracism. If being included meant losing money and being ostracized meant retaining money, would individuals still be distressed when ostracized? In 2 studies, the authors attempted to "load the dice" against inclusion in favor of ostracism. Participants played a variant of Cyberball called euroyberball (pronounced Euroball), in which ostracism and inclusion were crossed with whether the participants earned or lost money for each ball toss they received. In 2 experiments, the authors found that even when being ostracized meant retaining more money than the other players, it was painful. In Study 2, the authors also introduced conditions in which participants were overincluded. In these conditions, participants were sensitive to financial incentives. However, even then participants felt worse when given no positive attention than when given punitive attention.     

Prosocial Attitudes toward Money from Terror Management Perspective: Death Transcendence through Spirituality

Based on Terror Management Theory (TMT), we suggest that spirituality and prosocial attitudes toward money have a similar defensive function in resisting existential anxiety. In mortality salient (MS) situations, both spirituality and prosocial money attitudes afford symbolic immortality by self-transcendent connections. In four studies, we found that activating death awareness weakened people’s subjective love of money (Study 1) and predicted increased spending willingness on prosocial rather than proself goals (Studies 2, 3, and 4). More importantly, MS effects on money attitudes were smaller when people’s trait spirituality was high (vs. low; Studies 1, 2, 3) and when people were primed to experience spirituality (vs. happiness control condition; Study 4). For low spirituality people, the association between MS and prosocial spending also depended on the capacity of money spending to contribute positively to one’s feelings of self-worth (Study 3). Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.     

Moral self and moral emotion expectancies as predictors of anti- and prosocial behaviour in adolescence: A case for mediation?

Previous research has linked (im)moral behaviour with both moral emotion expectancies and the self-importance of moral values, indicating that these two factors influence moral decision making and action. Disentangling the relationship between moral emotion expectancies and self-importance of moral values as predictors of adolescents' anti- and prosocial behaviour was the primary goal of this research. Two hundred five participants (mean age = 14.83 years) completed a semi-structured interview assessing moral emotion expectancies in hypothetical situations and a written questionnaire measuring self-reported prosocial and antisocial behaviour and the self-importance of moral values. Moral emotion expectancies were found to mediate the relationship between the self-importance of moral values and self-reported levels of antisocial behaviour. When predicting levels of prosocial engagement, however, scores of moral value self-importance were the primary variable associated with prosocial behaviour whereas moral emotion expectancies were not involved in this relationship. In addition, a moderating effect of age was found when predicting antisocial behaviour by moral emotion expectancies. Overall, the study confirms and significantly extends previous research on the relationship between adolescents' moral self, moral emotion expectancies and anti- versus prosocial behaviour.     

How does workplace ostracism hurt employee creativity? Thriving at work as a mediator and organization-based self-esteem as a moderator

Drawing on the socially embedded model of thriving and conservation of resources theory, we explore the negative effect of workplace ostracism on employee thriving. We model organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a moderator and extend our examination to the downstream implications of thriving for employee creativity. Using a scenario-based experiment (Study 1) with 387 working adults, we find that workplace ostracism is more likely to prevent workers with higher levels of OBSE from thriving at work. This finding is verified in Study 2, in which we use multiwave, multisource data collected from 207 employees and their supervisors to test the proposed model. The results further show that for employees with higher levels of OBSE, thriving at work is more likely to mediate the relationship between workplace ostracism and employee creativity. These findings provide important practical implications for fostering employee thriving and promoting creativity in the workplace by managing workplace ostracism.