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Structural and proscessual determinants of Prosocial behaviors
Guido Alessandri
University of Rome “La Sapienza”
July 4, 2013
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Prosocial behavior refers to individual tendency to undertake voluntary actions aimed at benefiting
others, such as sharing, donating, caring, comforting, and helping
(Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998; Penner, Dovidio, Piliavin, & Schroeder, 2005)
BENEFITS FOR THE TARGETS OF PROSOCIAL ACTIONS
BENEFITS FOT THE BENEFACTORS
PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR - DEFINITION
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Early prosocial behavior contributes to accomplishments in social and academic domains and in warding off depression and transgressive behavior in children and adolescents (Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, & Regalia, 2001; Bandura, Pastorelli, Barbaranelli, & Caprara, 1999; Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, Bandura, & Zimbardo, 2000).
In adulthood prosocial behavior foster self-enhancement, self-acceptance and successful psychosocial adaptation, as it promotes one’s own integration in the community, positive mood, staying healthy, and life satisfaction (Caprara & Steca, 2005; Keyes, 1999; Oman, Thoresen, & McMahon, 1999; Piliavin, 2003; Van Willigen, 2000; Young & Glasgow, 1998).
PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR – BENEFITS ALONG THE LIFE COURSE
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• Rearing practices • Social norms
• Biology• Moral development • Emotional and social competence • Personal values
PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR – ORIGINS
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TWO MAJOR DIRECTIONS OF RESEARCH
√ The dispositional approach √ The social cognitive approach
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The study of patterns of affect, cognition and behavior that result in stable behavioral tendencies and
allow to distinguish people one from another.
THE DISPOSITIONAL APPROACH
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Big Five model:
a simple, comprehensive, system to describe and to classify main individual differences at the level of habitual
behaviors.
EXTRAVERSION /ENERGYFRIENDLINESS/AGREEABLENESS
CONSCIENTIOUSNESSNEUROTICISM/EMOTIONAL
INSTABILITYMENTAL OPENNESS
(McCrae & Costa, 1996; , Goldberg, 1993; John, 1990)
THE DISPOSITIONAL APPROACH
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BIG FIVE PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR ENERGY .28*** AGREEABLENESS .55*** CONSCIENTIOUSNESS .25** EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY .02 MENTAL OPENNESS .27***
Correlations Between Big Five And Prosocial Behavior
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Pros and Cons Traits account for major individual
differences in stable patterns of affect, cognition and action
Yet, one can’t fully account for personality functioning without
addressing, along with structures, the processes that allow personality to function as a self-referent and self-
regulatory system
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The big five model leaves out evaluative terms, and broadly
speaking, leaves out all values relateddimensions (i.e., there is
no place in the big five model for things like “spirituality”)
Values are general beliefs about priorities in life and what is
desirable.
Values provide the reference system that sets and guides
personal concerns and standards that people adopt to select
activities and to evaluate their behaviors
VALUES
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POWER: “He likes to be in charge and tell others what to do. He wants people to do what he says”.
ACHIEVEMENT: “Being very successful is important to him. He likes to stand out and to impress other people”.
HEDOMISM: “He really wants to enjoy life. Having a good time is very important to him”.
STIMULATION: “He looks for adventures and likes to take risks. He wants to have an exciting life”.
SELF-DIRECTION: “He thinks it’s important to be interested in things. He is curios and tries to understand everything”.
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UNIVERSALISM: “He thinks it is important that every person in the world should be treated equally. He wants justice for everybody, even for people he doesn’t know”.
BENEVOLENCE: “He always wants to help the people who are close to him. It’s very important to him to care for the people he knows and likes”.
TRADITION: “He thinks it is important to do things the way he learned from her family. He wants to follow their customs and traditions”.
CONFORMITY: “He believes that people should do what they’re told. He thinks people should follow rules at all times, even when no one is watching”.
SECURITY: “The safety of his country is very important to him. He wants his country to be safe from its enemies”.
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SCHWARTZ ‘S VALUES SYSTEM (1992)
SELF-TRASCENDENCE OPENNESSTO CHANGE Self- Universalism Direction
Stimulation Benevolence Hedonism Conformity Tradition Achievement Security
PowerSELF-ENHANCEMENT CONSERVATION
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VALUES PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
OPENNES TO CHANGE .16*** CONSERVATION .11*** SELF-TRASCENDENCE .53*** SELF-ENHANCEMENT .02
Correlations between Values and Prosocial Behavior
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People are active agents socially situated, who contribute to the
nature and the quality of their own life by shaping appropriate course of action in accordance with goals and
personal standards
HUMAN AGENCY
THE SOCIAL COGNITIVE APPROACH
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SELF-REFLECTIVENESS
FORETHOUGHT
SELF-REACTIVENESS
INTENTIONALITYIt is a major feature of human agency that
corresponds to the propensity to prioritize goals and to accord behaviors to one’s priorities
INTENTIONALITY
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SELF-REFLECTIVENESS
People evaluate their motivation,values, the meaning of their life pursuits and the effectiveness of their actions.
SELF-REACTIVENESS
People do things that give them self-satisfaction and a sense of pride and self-worth, and refrain from behaving in ways that give
rise to self-dissatisfaction,self-devaluation and self-censure
FORETHOUGHT
People set goals for themselves and anticipate the likely consequences of prospective actions
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Self-efficacy Beliefs
Values
PROSOCIAL AGENCY
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People undertake activities and persevere in the face of difficulties only if they believe they are able
to produce desired results
SELF - EFFICACY BELIEFS
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Influence motivation determining:Objectives
Efforts
Perseverance in the face of difficulties
Reactions in face of failures
SELF - EFFICACY BELIEFS
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A CONCEPTUAL MODEL
Prosocial behavior
ValuesTraits Self-efficacy beliefs
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RESEARCH FINDINGS
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I am pleased to help my classmates/colleagues in their activities I share the things that I have with my friends I try to help others I am available for volunteer activities to help those who are in
need I am emphatic with those who are in need I help immediately those who are in need I do what I can to help others avoid getting into trouble I intensely feel what others feel I am willing to make my knowledge and abilities available to
others I try to console those who are sad I easily lend money or other things I easily put myself in the shoes of those who are in discomfort I try to be close to and take care of those who are in need I easily share with friends any good opportunity that comes to
me I spend time with those friends who feel lonely I to me immediately sense my friends’ discomfort even when it
is not directly communicated Caprara G.V., Steca, P., Zelli, A., & Capanna, C., (2005). A new scale for
measuring adults’prosocialness. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 21, 77-89.
Alpha=.93; Interinformant agreement (self-others)=.50
The scale of Prosocial Behavior
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AFFECTIVE REGULATORY AND SOCIAL, EMPATHIC SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS: beliefs to be able to manage affects, relations with others and to be empathetic with others’ feelings
SELF-TRASCENDENCE: values emphasizing acceptance of others and concern for their wellness
AGREEABLENESS: dispositions to be cooperative and collaborative with others
MAJOR DETERMINANTS OF PROSOCIAL AGENCY
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Alessandri, Caprara, Eisenberg, & Steca (2009). Reciprocal relations among self-efficacy beliefs and prosociality across time. Journal of Personality, 77, 1229-1259
STUDY 1 – Processual determinants of Prosociality
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.47 (.50)
ProsocialBehavior
Self Efficacy Negative
AffectSelf Efficacy
Negative Affect
Self Efficacy Positive
Affect
EmpathicSelf Efficacy
Self Efficacy Negative
Affect
Self Efficacy Positive
Affect
EmpathicSelf Efficacy
Self Efficacy Positive
Affect
EmpathicSelf Efficacy
.40 (.40)
.56 (.64)
.22 (.24)
.40 (.39)
.25 (.27).27 (.26)
.25 (.26)
.47 (.47)
.23 (.21)
.50 (.49)
.31 (.29)
.20 (.19)
.15 (.18)
.20 (.16)
.12 (.12)
.25 (.19)
.63
(.50)
.53
(.69)
.61
(.66)
.42
(.44)
.43
(.52)
.55
(.56)
.08
(.11)
.21
(.21)
.34
(.37)
.20
(.24)
.17
(.12)
.13
(.22)
.38
(.46) .2
9 (.2
8)
.25
(.25)
.32
(.40)
.25
(.32)
.15
(.16)
.11 (.12)
ProsocialBehavior Prosocial
Behavior
(age 17) (age 19) (age 20)
First path coefficients are for boys, coefficients in parentheses are for girls. All paths are significant ( p<.05)
Determinants of prosocial behavior during the transition to adulthood
χ2 (94) = 115.34, p <.07, CFI = .991, TLI = .988, RMSEA = .031 (.00 - .049)
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STUDY 2 – Structural (i.e., trait agreaableness) and Processual deteminats of Prosociality
Caprara, Alessandri, Panerai, & Eisenberg, (2010). The contribution of agreaableness and self-esfficacy beliefs to prosociaity. European Journal of Personality, 55, 36-55
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T1Prosociality
T1Agreeableness
T2Agreeableness
R2=.20 (.31)
T2Empathic
Self-efficacyR2=.24 (.11)
T2Prosociality
R2=.21 (.21)
T1Empathic
Self-efficacy
.25 (.29)
.17 (.10)
.16 (.23)
.44 (.56)
.44 (.26)
.12 (.17)
.42
(.33)
.57
(.36)
.30
(.15)
.34
(.16)
.18
(.22)
.38
(.43)
χ2 (gdl=12,N=377) = 17.32, p <.14, CFI = .99, TLI =.978 RMSEA = .049 (00 - .097)
Agreeableness, empathic self-efficacy and prosocial behavior
from age 17 to age 19
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STUDY 3 – Testing the full model
Caprara, Alessandri, & Eisenberg, (In press). Prosociality: The contribution of traits, values and self-efficacy beliefs. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2011.
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ProsocialityT1
ProsocialityT2
R2=.58 (.57)
SelfTranscendence
T2R2=.48 (.43)
AgreeablenessT2
R2=.71(.65)
EmpathicSelf-efficacy
T1
SelfTranscendence
T1
AgreeablenessT1
EmpathicSelf-efficacy
T2R2=.33 (.36)
.58
(.54)
.84 (.80)
.44 (.47)
.19 (.20)
.55 (.51)
.20 (.19)
.15 (.17)
.65 (.63)
.60 (.44).68
(.64)
.64
(.61)
.55
(.58)
.69
(.67)
.33 (.27)
.73 (.67)
.23 (.11).44 (.47)
Peer Self.47 (.46) .95 (.91)
.52 (.45)
.24 (2
1)
.07(.07)
.16 (.15)
χ2(45) = 51.86, p =.20, CFI = 1.00, TLI =.99, RMSEA =.030 (.00 -.061)
Agreeableness, self-trascendecnce empathic self-efficacy and prosocial behavior
from age 21 to age 26
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CONCLUSIONS
Findings may guide interventions aimed at promoting behavioral tendencies that over the entire course of life, while benefiting others, may carry other’s recognition and be conducive to self-actualization and successful adaptation