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Gan T, Zhang Y, Zhang L, Gu R. Neural sensitivity to helping outcome predicts helping decision in real life. Neuropsychologia 2022; 173:108291. [PMID: 35690115 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Prosocial helping behavior is a highly valued social practice across societies, but the willingness to help others varies among persons. In our opinion, that willingness should be associated with the sensitivity to helping outcome at the individual level - that is, increasing as a function of positive outcome sensitivity but decreasing as a function of negative outcome sensitivity. To examine this possibility, we asked participants to make helping decisions in a series of hypothetical scenarios, which provided outcome feedback (positive/negative) of those decisions. Event-related potential (ERP) response to helping outcome was recorded, such that the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300 were supposed to reflect the sensitivity to negative outcome and positive outcome, respectively. After the formal task, participants were asked if they would like to donate money to a charity. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that compared to those who were not willing to donate, the participants who donated money (22 of 41 individuals) showed a smaller FRN but a larger P300. Among these participants, the amount of donation was negatively correlated with FRN response to negative outcome, but positively correlated with P300 response to positive outcome. These findings support the importance of helping outcome sensitivity to prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian Gan
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China; Research Institute on Aging, School of Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lisha Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Abstract
A group of 60 volunteers in a Big Brothers-Big Sisters agency were divided into two smaller groups of those who had successfully completed the preestablished program ( n = 25) and those who did not meet their commitment to that program ( n = 35). Significant differences were found on five personality factors of the 16 PF Questionnaire, with successful volunteers showing higher scores on intelligence and on trust, lower on social inhibition, while higher on imagination and on self-assurance than unsuccessful volunteers. Demographic data also yielded significant differences for age and education, with successful volunteers tending to be older and more highly educated.
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Abstract
Although prior work has examined secret keeping, no prior work has examined who gets told secrets. Five studies find compassion and assertiveness predict having secrets confided in oneself (as determined by both self- and peer reports), whereas enthusiasm and politeness were associated with having fewer secrets confided. These results bolster suggestions that interpersonal aspects of personality (which can fit a circumplex structure) are driven by distinct causal forces. While both related to agreeableness, compassion (empathy and desire to help) predicts being confided in more, whereas politeness (concern with social norms and social rules) predicts being confided in less. Likewise, while both related to extraversion, assertiveness (having the agency and drive to help) predicts being confided in more, whereas enthusiasm (positive sociality) predicts being confided in less.
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Personality Traits in College Students and Caregiving for a Relative with a Chronic Health Condition. J Aging Res 2016; 2016:3650927. [PMID: 27699069 PMCID: PMC5028868 DOI: 10.1155/2016/3650927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Revised: 05/27/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate among college students the relationship between personality traits and willingness to care for a relative with a chronic health condition. 329 undergraduate students completed an online questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regressions found that after controlling for demographics personality traits explained 10% of the variance in willingness to provide emotional care, 7% in instrumental care, and 7% in nursing care. Within these models, greater empathy was uniquely associated with willingness to provide emotional, instrumental, and nursing care for a family member in the future. Similarly, participants with high agreeableness were more willing to provide emotional care, and participant older age was a unique predictor of instrumental care. The results can help shape research on interventions that incorporate perspective taking, motivational interviewing, and training in life skills as a means of boosting college students' willingness to provide care for a relative with a chronic health condition.
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Allen NJ, Rushton JP. Personality Characteristics of Community Mental Health Volunteers: a Review. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/089976408301200106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Clary EG, Orenstein L. The Amount and Effectiveness of Help: The Relationship of Motives and Abilities to Helping Behavior. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/0146167291171009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A prospective study examined the influence of helpers' motives and abilities on the amount and effectiveness of a long-term altruistic activity. Crisis-counseling volunteers completed measures of altruistic motivation and perspective taking (a task-relevant ability), and their participation was followed: Volunteers either fulfilled their 9-month service commitment, terminated their participation (of their own volition) early, or were screened out because of inability to perform the work. Two predictions were tested and supported: (a) altruistic motives were related to the amount of help, early-terminating volunteers exhibiting less altruistic motivation than screened or completed service volunteers; and (b) volunteers' skills and abilities were related to the effectiveness of help, screened volunteers reporting less perspective-taking ability than early-terminating and completed-service volunteers. These findings suggest the need to consider the effectiveness of help, and helpers' task-relevant skills, in analyses of helping behavior.
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When does self-reported prosocial motivation predict helping? The moderating role of implicit prosocial motivation. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-014-9411-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Sneed RS, Cohen S. A prospective study of volunteerism and hypertension risk in older adults. Psychol Aging 2014; 28:578-86. [PMID: 23795768 DOI: 10.1037/a0032718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of the current study was to determine whether volunteerism is prospectively associated with hypertension risk among older adults. Participants provided data during the 2006 and 2010 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal panel survey using a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling older adults (age > 50 years). Volunteerism and blood pressure were measured at baseline and again 4 years later. Analyses excluded individuals hypertensive at baseline and controlled for age, race, sex, education, baseline systolic/diastolic blood pressure, and major chronic illnesses. Those who had volunteered at least 200 hr in the 12 months prior to baseline were less likely to develop hypertension (OR = 0.60; 95% CI [0.40, 0.90]) than nonvolunteers. There was no association between volunteerism and hypertension risk at lower levels of volunteer participation. Volunteering at least 200 hr was also associated with greater increases in psychological well-being (B = 0.99, β = .05, p = .006) and physical activity (B = 0.21, β = .05, p = .04) compared with nonvolunteers; however, these factors did not explain the association of volunteerism with hypertension risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodlescia S Sneed
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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Lodi-Smith J, Roberts BW. Social investment and personality: a meta-analysis of the relationship of personality traits to investment in work, family, religion, and volunteerism. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2008; 11:68-86. [PMID: 18453456 DOI: 10.1177/1088868306294590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Investing in normative, age-graded social roles has broad implications for both the individual and society. The current meta-analysis examines the way in which personality traits relate to four such investments -- work, family, religion, and volunteerism. The present study uses meta-analytic techniques (K = 94) to identify the cross-sectional patterns of relationships between social investment in these four roles and the personality trait domains of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. Results show that the extent of investment in social roles across these domains is positively related to agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and low psychoticism. These findings are more robust when individuals are psychologically committed to rather than simply demographically associated with the investment role.
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Young People and Volunteerism: A Model of Sustained Volunteerism During the Transition to Adulthood. JOURNAL OF ADULT DEVELOPMENT 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/s10804-007-9033-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Carlo G, Okun MA, Knight GP, de Guzman MRT. The interplay of traits and motives on volunteering: agreeableness, extraversion and prosocial value motivation. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2005. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2004.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 240] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Abstract
This study examined the effects of personality traits and motivation to volunteer on well-being as 107 older participants went through an intervention to increase volunteering. Three groups of volunteers, current, new, and former volunteers, participated. Participants were assessed four times on standardized measures of personality, health, motivation, and well-being: before and after a wait period, after volunteering, and at one year follow-up. There were no differences between pre, post and follow-up well-being. Regression analysis indicated that health, personality traits and motivation predicted well-being at pre-intervention. In contrast, after the intervention, regression analysis indicated that the interaction of higher neuroticism and greater motivation scores predicted lower well-being compared to other volunteers. One year follow-up results indicated that personality traits and health predicted well-being and that higher initial motivation predicted drop-outs while those continuing to volunteer increased their motivation scores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dolores Pushkar
- Centre for Research in Human Development, Psychology Department, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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