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- March 2021
- Article
Opting-in to Prosocial Incentives
By: Daniel Schwartz, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Alex Imas and Ayelet Gneezy
The design of effective incentive schemes that are both successful in motivating employees and keeping down costs is of critical importance. Research has demonstrated that prosocial incentives, where individuals’ effort benefits a charitable organization, can sometimes... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Prosocial Behavior; Behavioral Economics; Field Experiments; Recycling; Prosocial Motivation; Decision Making; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior
Schwartz, Daniel, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Alex Imas, and Ayelet Gneezy. "Opting-in to Prosocial Incentives." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 163 (March 2021): 132–141.
- March 24, 2020
- Article
Delayed Negative Effects of Prosocial Spending on Happiness
By: Armin Falk and Thomas Graeber
Does prosocial behavior promote happiness? We test this longstanding hypothesis in a behavioral experiment that extends the scope of previous research. In our Saving a Life paradigm, every participant either saved one human life in expectation by triggering a targeted... View Details
Falk, Armin, and Thomas Graeber. "Delayed Negative Effects of Prosocial Spending on Happiness." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 12 (March 24, 2020): 6463–6468.
- 2019
- Chapter
Happiness and Prosocial Behavior: An Evaluation of the Evidence
By: Lara B. Aknin, Ashley V. Whillans, Michael I. Norton and Elizabeth W. Dunn
Humans are an extremely prosocial species. Compared to most primates, humans provide more assistance to family, friends, and strangers, even when costly. Why do people devote their resources to helping others? In this chapter, we examine whether engaging in prosocial... View Details
Aknin, Lara B., Ashley V. Whillans, Michael I. Norton, and Elizabeth W. Dunn. "Happiness and Prosocial Behavior: An Evaluation of the Evidence." Chap. 4 in World Happiness Report, edited by John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, and Jeffrey D. Sachs, 67–86. New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 2019.
- 2013
- Article
Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal
By: Lara B. Aknin, Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Justine Burns, Robert Biswas-Diener, Imelda Kemeza, Paul Nyende, Claire Ashton-James and Michael I. Norton
This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: Human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). In Study 1, survey data from 136 countries were examined... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Psychological Universal; Prosocial Behavior; Well-being; Happiness; Spending; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Canada; Uganda; South Africa; India
Aknin, Lara B., Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Justine Burns, Robert Biswas-Diener, Imelda Kemeza, Paul Nyende, Claire Ashton-James, and Michael I. Norton. "Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 104, no. 4 (April 2013): 635–652.
- December 2022
- Article
Kindness in Short Supply: Evidence for Inadequate Prosocial Input
By: Jennifer E. Abel, Preeti Vani, Nicole Abi-Esber, Hayley Blunden and Juliana Schroeder
In everyday life, people often have opportunities to improve others’ lives, whether offering well-intentioned advice or complimenting someone on a job well done. These are opportunities to provide “prosocial input” (information intended to benefit others), including... View Details
Abel, Jennifer E., Preeti Vani, Nicole Abi-Esber, Hayley Blunden, and Juliana Schroeder. "Kindness in Short Supply: Evidence for Inadequate Prosocial Input." Art. 101458. Current Opinion in Psychology 48 (December 2022).
- Article
Moral Traps: When Self-serving Attributions Backfire in Prosocial Behavior
By: Stephanie C. Lin, Julian Zlatev and Dale T. Miller
Two assumptions guide the current research. First, people's desire to see themselves as moral disposes them to make attributions that enhance or protect their moral self-image: When approached with a prosocial request, people are inclined to attribute their own... View Details
Keywords: Morality; Attributions; Decision Making; Prosocial Behavior; Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Perception
Lin, Stephanie C., Julian Zlatev, and Dale T. Miller. "Moral Traps: When Self-serving Attributions Backfire in Prosocial Behavior." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 70 (May 2017): 198–203.
- February 2020
- Article
Being 'Good' or 'Good Enough': Prosocial Risk and the Structure of Moral Self-regard
By: Julian Zlatev, Daniella M. Kupor, Kristin Laurin and Dale T. Miller
The motivation to feel moral powerfully guides people’s prosocial behavior. We propose that people’s efforts to preserve their moral self-regard conform to a moral threshold model. This model predicts that people are primarily concerned with whether their... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Moral Sensibility; Decision Making; Risk and Uncertainty; Behavior; Perception
Zlatev, Julian, Daniella M. Kupor, Kristin Laurin, and Dale T. Miller. "Being 'Good' or 'Good Enough': Prosocial Risk and the Structure of Moral Self-regard." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 118, no. 2 (February 2020): 242–253.
- 2014
- Article
Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off
By: Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin and Michael I. Norton
While a great deal of research has shown that people with more money are somewhat happier
than people with less money, our research demonstrates that how people spend their money also matters for their happiness. In particular, both correlational and... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Well-being; Happiness; Money; Spending; Welfare; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
Dunn, Elizabeth W., Lara B. Aknin, and Michael I. Norton. "Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off." Current Directions in Psychological Science 23, no. 1 (February 2014): 41–47.
- May 2018
- Article
Incentives for Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Reputations
By: Christine L. Exley
Do monetary incentives encourage volunteering? Or, do they introduce concerns about appearing greedy and crowd out the motivation to volunteer? Since the importance of such image concerns is normally unobserved, the answer is theoretically unclear, and corresponding... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Image Motivation; Volunteer; Prosocial Behavior; Altruism; Gender; Reputations; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Perception; Reputation
Exley, Christine L. "Incentives for Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Reputations." Management Science 64, no. 5 (May 2018): 2460–2471.
- Article
Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion: Evidence for a Positive Feedback Loop between Prosocial Spending and Happiness
By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton
We examine whether a positive feedback loop exists between spending money on others (i.e. prosocial spending) and happiness. Participants recalled a previous purchase made for either themselves or someone else and then reported their happiness. Afterward, participants... View Details
Aknin, Lara B., Elizabeth W. Dunn, and Michael I. Norton. "Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion: Evidence for a Positive Feedback Loop between Prosocial Spending and Happiness." Journal of Happiness Studies 13, no. 2 (April 2012): 347–355.
- Article
Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness
By: Melanie Rudd, Jennifer Aaker and Michael I. Norton
Across six field and laboratory experiments, participants assigned a more concretely-framed prosocial goal (e.g., making someone smile or increasing recycling) felt happier and reported creating greater personal happiness after performing a goal-directed act of... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Goal Framing; Affective Forecasting; Goals and Objectives; Happiness; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
Rudd, Melanie, Jennifer Aaker, and Michael I. Norton. "Getting the Most Out of Giving: Concretely Framing a Prosocial Goal Maximizes Happiness." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 54 (September 2014): 11–24.
- January 10, 2022
- Article
The Link Between Income, Income Inequality, and Prosocial Behavior Around the World: A Multiverse Approach
By: Lucia Macchia and Ashley V. Whillans
The questions of whether high-income individuals are more prosocial than low-income individuals and whether income inequality moderates this effect have received extensive attention. We shed new light on this topic by analyzing a large-scale dataset with a... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Income Inequality; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Income
Macchia, Lucia, and Ashley V. Whillans. "The Link Between Income, Income Inequality, and Prosocial Behavior Around the World: A Multiverse Approach." Social Psychology (January 10, 2022): 375–386.
- February 2021
- Article
I Own, So I Help Out: How Psychological Ownership Increases Prosocial Behavior
By: Ata Jami, Maryam Kouchaki and Francesca Gino
This article explores the consequences of psychological ownership going beyond the specific relationship with the possession to guide behavior in unrelated situations. Across seven studies, we find that psychological ownership leads to a boost in self-esteem, which... View Details
Keywords: Psychological Ownership; Prosocial Behavior; Altruism; Self-Esteem; Materialism; Behavior; Attitudes
Jami, Ata, Maryam Kouchaki, and Francesca Gino. "I Own, So I Help Out: How Psychological Ownership Increases Prosocial Behavior." Journal of Consumer Research 47, no. 5 (February 2021): 698–715.
- Article
The Performer's Reactions to Procedural Injustice: When Prosocial Identity Reduces Prosocial Behavior
By: Adam M. Grant, Andrew Molinsky, Joshua D. Margolis, Melissa Kamin and William Schiano
Considerable research has examined how procedural injustice affects victims and witnesses of unfavorable outcomes, with little attention to the “performers” who deliver these outcomes. Drawing on dissonance theory, we hypothesized that performers' reactions to... View Details
Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Judgments; Fairness; Outcome or Result; Behavior; Identity; Power and Influence
Grant, Adam M., Andrew Molinsky, Joshua D. Margolis, Melissa Kamin, and William Schiano. "The Performer's Reactions to Procedural Injustice: When Prosocial Identity Reduces Prosocial Behavior." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 39, no. 2 (February 2009): 319–349.
- April 2013
- Article
Making a Difference Matters: Impact Unlocks the Emotional Benefits of Prosocial Spending
By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Ashley V. Whillans, Adam M. Grant and Michael I. Norton
When does giving lead to happiness? Here, we present two studies demonstrating that the
emotional benefits of spending money on others (prosocial spending) are unleashed when
givers are aware of their positive impact. In Study 1, an experiment using real... View Details
Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Prosocial Impact; Subjective Well Being; Donations; Happiness; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving
Aknin, Lara B., Elizabeth W. Dunn, Ashley V. Whillans, Adam M. Grant, and Michael I. Norton. "Making a Difference Matters: Impact Unlocks the Emotional Benefits of Prosocial Spending." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 88 (April 2013): 90–95.
- February 2020
- Article
Why Prosocial Referral Incentives Work: The Interplay of Reputational Benefits and Action Costs
By: Rachel Gershon, Cynthia Cryder and Leslie K. John
While selfish incentives typically outperform prosocial incentives, in the context of customer referral rewards, prosocial incentives can be more effective. Companies frequently offer “selfish” (i.e., sender-benefiting) referral incentives, offering customers financial... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Prosocial Behavior; Judgment And Decision-making; Referral Rewards; Motivation and Incentives; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making
Gershon, Rachel, Cynthia Cryder, and Leslie K. John. "Why Prosocial Referral Incentives Work: The Interplay of Reputational Benefits and Action Costs." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 57, no. 1 (February 2020): 156–172.
- 2021
- Article
Don't Get It or Don't Spread It: Comparing Self-interested versus Prosocial Motivations for COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors
By: Jillian J. Jordan, Erez Yoeli and David Rand
COVID-19 prevention behaviors may be seen as self-interested or prosocial. Using American samples from MTurk and Prolific (total n = 6,850), we investigated which framing is more effective—and motivation is stronger—for fostering prevention behavior intentions. We... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19; Prevention; Prosocial Motivation; Health Pandemics; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives
Jordan, Jillian J., Erez Yoeli, and David Rand. "Don't Get It or Don't Spread It: Comparing Self-interested versus Prosocial Motivations for COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors." Art. 20222. Scientific Reports 11 (2021).
- Article
Selfishly Benevolent or Benevolently Selfish? When Self-interest Undermines versus Promotes Prosocial Behavior
By: Julian Zlatev and Dale T. Miller
Existing research shows that appeals to self-interest sometimes increase and sometimes decrease prosocial behavior. We propose that this inconsistency is in part due to the framings of these appeals. Different framings generate different salient reference points,... View Details
Keywords: Altruism; Charitable Giving; Framing; Prosocial Behavior; Reference Points; Self-interest; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Framework; Behavior
Zlatev, Julian, and Dale T. Miller. "Selfishly Benevolent or Benevolently Selfish? When Self-interest Undermines versus Promotes Prosocial Behavior." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 137 (November 2016): 112–122.
- Article
Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance
By: Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Michael I. Norton and Jordi Quoidbach
In three field studies, we explore the impact of providing employees and teammates with prosocial bonuses, a novel type of bonus spent on others rather than on oneself. In Experiment 1, we show that prosocial bonuses in the form of donations to charity lead to happier... View Details
Keywords: Satisfaction; Groups and Teams; Performance; Compensation and Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Banking Industry; Sports Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Canada; Belgium; Australia
Anik, Lalin, Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Michael I. Norton, and Jordi Quoidbach. "Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance." PLoS ONE 8, no. 9 (September 2013): 1–8.
- 2013
- Working Paper
Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance
By: Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Jordi Quoidbach
In two field studies, we explore the impact of providing employees and teammates with prosocial bonuses, a novel type of bonus spent on others rather than on oneself. In Experiment 1, we show that prosocial bonuses in the form of donations to charity lead to happier... View Details
Keywords: Satisfaction; Groups and Teams; Performance; Compensation and Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Banking Industry; Sports Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Canada; Belgium; Australia
Anik, Lalin, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn, and Jordi Quoidbach. "Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-095, May 2013.