Elevation predicts domain-specific volunteerism 3 months later

Elevation, the feeling of moral uplift when viewing the virtuous action of another, has been shown to be a distinct moral emotion [Algoe, S.B., & Haidt, J. (2009). Witnessing excellence in action: The ‘other-praising’ emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 105–127]. Prosocial behaviors have been theorized to be one of the behavioral effects of elevation, but this behavioral connection has not been strongly established. This study followed college students in a naturalistic setting known to induce elevation, a spring break service trip. Self-reports of elevation during service trip were collected from participants at the conclusion of the trip. At 1 week and 3 months later, participants reported on trip-related and general volunteerism. Self-reports of elevation during the trip predicted trip-specific volunteerism at 1 week and 3 months, but did not relate to general volunteerism at either time. This predictive connection was maintained even when pre-trip volunteerism, trait empathy, and the dispositions of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness were controlled for. These results suggest that the experience of elevation motivated participants to volunteer in the domain in which they felt elevation. This finding supports the hypothesis that prosocial responses are a behavioral effect of elevation, but further refines this hypothesis by suggesting that the prosocial response occurs in a domain linked to the context in which elevation was experienced.     

Four experiments on the relational dynamics and prosocial consequences of gratitude

Abstract

Four experiments utilized experimental inductions of gratitude and behavioral measures of prosociality to explore the effects of 4 variables on gratitude and grateful prosocial outcomes: benefactor similarity (Study 1), intention (Study 2), future benefits (Study 3), and anonymity (Study 4). We consistently found that the receipt of a favor increased prosocial behavior, and this effect was mediated by gratitude. Benefactor similarity did not meaningfully influence either prosocial behavior or gratitude. Although benefactor intention did meaningfully affect gratitude, the effect was too small to influence the mediational effect of gratitude on prosocial behavior. Neither anonymity nor the possibility of future procurement decreased the role of gratitude in distribution; instead, both of these variables may have enhanced the role of gratitude. These data support gratitude as an important component of prosocial behavior and suggest that gratitude may contain an altruistic component, consistent with its relational function.     

Prospective Associations Between Prosocial Behavior and Social Dominance in Early Childhood: Are Sharers the Best Leaders?

A short-term longitudinal study during early childhood (N = 96; M = 42.80; SD = 7.57) investigated the concurrent and prospective association between prosocial behavior and social dominance. Time-intensive school-based focal child sampling with continuous recording observations of prosocial behavior to peers were conducted and teacher-reports of social dominance were collected. The study documents significant prospective links between prosocial behavior to peers and increases in social dominance over time. Social dominance was not associated with changes in prosocial behavior. The findings extend past empirical work in early childhood and future directions are discussed.     

Mothers' Management of Adolescent Peer Relationships: Associations With Aggressive,Prosocial, and Playful Behavior

The authors examined the relation between adolescents' reports of mothers' management of peer relationships and adolescents' reports of their own aggressive, prosocial, and playful behaviors. The sample comprised 92 adolescents (M age = 15.41 years, SD = 1.81 years) enrolled in a residential summer camp. Higher levels of consulting were related to lower levels of adolescents' relational aggression, physical aggression, playful teasing, and rough-and-tumble play. Higher levels of consulting were related to higher levels of prosocial behavior. Higher levels of guiding were related to higher levels of adolescents' relational aggression and social inclusion. Higher levels of granting access to peers were related to higher levels of adolescents' prosocial behavior and social inclusion. Moderate levels of granting access to peers were related higher levels of playful teasing.     

When and why is helping others good for well‐being? The role of belief in reciprocity and conformity to society's expectations

This research investigates the relation between informal help and subjective well‐being and its underlying mechanisms using a cross‐national perspective. We focus on two potential mechanisms derived from the self‐determination theory and conformity to the social norms literature. From the standpoint of self‐determination theory, helping others is good for well‐being if it is intrinsically motivated, rather than driven by the expectation of reciprocity. On the other hand, from the perspective of the conformity literature, helping others is associated with a higher well‐being when it is linked to the benefits of social conformity, such as social approval. We tested these hypotheses using the data from a total of 23 countries. The results provided support for both mechanisms. First, we found that the lower individuals' beliefs in reciprocity are, the stronger is the positive effect of self‐reported helping behavior on their well‐being. Second, helping behavior was more strongly related to life satisfaction in countries where providing help represents a strong social norm (measured with two different cultural indicators). We conclude that both individual‐ and culture‐level mechanisms account for the relation between prosocial behavior and well‐being. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

善心点亮创造力:内部动机和亲社会动机对创造力的影响

研究者普遍认为,个体的内部动机促进创造力,但这种观点受到了越来越多的挑战与质疑。最新的动机性信息加工理论认为,亲社会动机能使个体不仅关注新颖性,而且重视实用性,从而提高创造力。本研究采用2×2组间设计,操纵内部动机和亲社会动机,将被试随机分配到其中一种条件下完成一项创造任务。方差分析结果发现,内部动机和亲社会动机对创造力的影响存在交互作用,只有当亲社会动机高时,内部动机才显著提高创造力;内部动机和亲社会动机均高时,个体创造力最高。本研究证明了亲社会动机在创造过程中的重要性,为创造力研究提供了新的视角。     

比较母亲和老师对幼儿亲社会行为的评价：一致性和预测性

采用儿童移情和亲社会反应量表,由母亲（n=86）和老师（n=8）分别对86名3-5岁儿童进行评价,并记录实验情境中儿童的亲社会反应,考察母评和师评间的一致性,以及两种评价对儿童亲社会反应的预测性。结果发现：（1）母评得分高于师评,两种评价只在男孩中存在中等程度正相关;（2）只有师评能预测男孩的亲社会反应,两种评价对女孩的亲社会反应都有预测作用。结果提示评价者间的差异反映了不同评价者在儿童亲社会行为关注点上的特点。     

美德是幸福的前提吗？

幸福研究方兴未艾,但当今研究着重于幸福的心理描述性层面,而通常忽视了幸福概念中的规范性或者评价性层面。在孔子和亚里士多德等哲学家眼中,美德是幸福的前提。心理学实证研究发现,实践美德行为,如志愿、捐助等活动能够使人获得幸福。同时,研究也发现,人们倾向于认为具有美德的人会更加幸福。虽然实证研究能够说明美德与幸福具有关系,但是在美德与幸福的因果联系确定上,以及美德对于幸福来说是否是工具性的问题上,还需要更多的研究。     

捐献骨髓的态度及对白血病人的移情反应的研究

本研究采用AB两种问卷测查在职员工和大学生对骨髓捐献的态度以及对白血病患者的情感反应,AB卷的差异主要在于：B卷中增加了骨髓移植和骨髓捐献的一些基本知识。研究结果显示,捐献骨髓的意向在AB卷、男女性、在校学生和在职员工等几个方面均无显著差异;但在捐献检测费意向上,A卷和B卷、男性和女性之间存在显著差异,从捐献骨髓和捐献检测费的各种原因中可以了解到骨髓捐献中遇到的一些问题。此外,人们在不同故事情境中所唤起的移情反应的程度是不同的,研究结果显示,对幼儿和青少年主人公,人们的情感反应的程度更高些。     

儿童社会适应的社会信息加工模型及其特殊应用

亲社会儿童具有独特的社会信息加工特点:友善的归因倾向,关系性目标定向,对亲社会行为反应做积极评价等。应用SIP范式对儿童亲社会行为进行研究,不仅有助于研究者更清楚地揭示社会认知与亲社会行为之间的关系,理解儿童社会性发展的机制,而且还对儿童的行为矫正和训练具有积极意义。但是,SIP模型应用于亲社会行为研究时在理论模型及方法工具上还存在一定的局限。