Emotional, motivational and attitudinal consequences of autonomous prosocial behaviour Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • AbstractWhen do prosocial actors experience positive versus negative psychological outcomes from helping others? In four studies and an internal metaanalysis, we tested the hypothesis that autonomy shapes the psychological consequences of helping others. In Study 1, prosocial behaviour was associated with a robust pattern of negative wellbeing outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress) for individuals low but not high in autonomy. In Studies 24, relative to reflecting on a neutral interpersonal experience, reflecting on an autonomous helping experience increased sadness and happiness, strengthened intentions to help in the future and raised support for social welfare. By contrast, reflecting on a controlled helping experience increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions, but did not affect attitudes or behavioural intentions. Collectively, the findings indicate that autonomy (or lack thereof) shapes the emotional, motivational and attitudinal consequences of helping behaviour.

published proceedings

  • EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

altmetric score

  • 3.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Kelley, N. J., Weinstein, N., Smith, E. E., Davis, W. E., Christy, A. G., Sedikides, C., & Schlegel, R. J.

citation count

  • 0

publication date

  • April 2023

publisher