Daily self-nudging towards physical activity: implications for vigour, creativity, and prosocial work behavior

This study aimed to investigate prosocial behaviour-those behaviours that benefit others or enhance relationships with others-as a mediator of the associations between green space quality and child health-related outcomes (physical activity, mental health, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL)). This study involved data from 4983 children with 10-year follow-up (2004-2014) retrieved from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Green space quality (the exposure), prosocial behaviour (the candidate mediator), and child health-related outcomes were assessed biennially based on caregiver reports. Causal mediation analysis was used, with four mediation models developed for each outcome. Mediation by prosocial behaviour appeared in the late childhood mediation model with higher mediation proportions reported compared to models of earlier and middle childhood. Prosocial behaviour had moderate mediation consistency for the association between green space quality and physical activity enjoyment, but no mediation was evident for other physical activity variables. Prosocial behaviour had low mediation consistency for child mental health (internalising and externalising subscales). Similarly, low mediation consistency of prosocial behaviour was also evident for all HRQOL variables, such as physical, emotional, social, school functioning, psychosocial health, and total quality of life (QOL). Prosocial behaviour partially mediated the association between green space quality and child health-related outcomes (physical activity enjoyment, mental health, and HRQOL). Improving the quality of neighbourhood green space that supports the development of prosocial behaviour may result in better child health-related outcomes. Other physical activity variables might not specifically relate to social interactions, and therefore, no mediation by prosocial behaviour was apparent.

How to fuel employees’ prosocial behavior in the hotel service encounter

Research has not adequately addressed a possible mutual co-regulatory influence of prosocial and aggressive behaviors in adolescents' daily lives. This study explored bidirectional within-person associations between prosocial and aggressive behaviors in the daily school lives of early adolescents. The sample included 242 sixth-graders [Mage = 11.96 (SD = 0.18), 50% girls] and their teachers. Adolescents reported on daily prosocial behavior and reactive and proactive aggression for ten consecutive days. Teachers and adolescents reported on adolescents' overall prosocial behaviors. Across-day prosocial behaviors increased after days when adolescents exhibited more reactive aggression but not among self-reported low-prosocial adolescents. Increased prosocial behaviors did not mitigate aggression the next day. The findings suggest prosocial behaviors are a plausible compensatory strategy after daily aggressive reactions.

To explore the relationship between the sense of meaning of life and subjective well-being in college students' physical exercise and pro-social behavior. A scale was used to measure 626 college students, and SPSS27.0 and Process4.1 were used for statistical analysis. Results (1) college students' physical exercise, sense of meaning in life, subjective well-being and pro-social behavior were positively correlated. (2) Physical exercise significantly and positively predicted college students' pro-social behavior (β = 0.284, p < 0.001); the effect value of the indirect effect path 1 was 0.0028 (physical exercise → sense of meaning in life → pro-social behavior), which accounted for 31.11% of the total effect; the effect value of the indirect effect path 2 was 0.0007 (physical exercise → sense of meaning in life → pro-social behavior). The effect value of indirect effect path 1 is 0.0028 (physical exercise → sense of meaning in life → subjective well-being → pro-social behavior) which accounts for 31.11% of the total effect; the effect value of indirect effect path 2 is 0.0007 (physical exercise → subjective well-being → pro-social behavior) which accounts for 7.78% of the total effect; and the effect value of indirect effect path 3 is 0.0013 (physical exercise → sense of meaning in life → subjective well-being → pro-social behavior) which accounts for 14.44% of the total effect. Therefore, physical exercise has a direct effect on the pro-social behavior of college students, and can also indirectly affect pro-social behavior through the sense of meaning of life and subjective well-being.

A needs-supportive intervention to help PE teachers enhance students' prosocial behavior and diminish antisocial behavior

PurposeThis study examined the relationship between physical exercise (PE) and prosocial behavior (PSB) and constructed a chain mediation model through the mediating effect of physical education learning motivation (PELM) and emotional intelligence (EI).MethodsThrough the stratified random sampling, 1053 students (average age = 14 years, SD = 0.96 years) that complied with the requirements were surveyed from Henan Province in China. PE, EI, PELM, and PSB were assessed using standard scales. For data analysis, Pearson’s correlation analysis, structural equation model test, and bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method were carried out in turn.Results(1) There was a significant positive correlation between PE and PSB (r = 0.137), and the direct path between PE and PSB was significant (β = 0.09, t = 4.73, p < 0.01); (2) PE can positively predict EI (β= 0.08, t = 5.27, p < 0.01) and PELM (β= 0.04, t = 2.07, p < 0.05), EI can significantly and positively PSB (β= 0.67, t = 22.12, p < 0.01), PELM can significantly and positively predict PSB (β= 0.05, t =2.20, p<0.05); (3) EI and physical learning motivation play a significant intermediary role between PE and PSB. The mediating effect consists of three indirect effects: PE → EI → PSB (the mediating effect value is 0.055), PE → PELM → PSB (the mediating effect value is 0.002), PE → EI → PELM → PSB (the mediating effect value is 0.002); (4) The chain mediation effect is significant in girls, but not in boys.Conclusion(1) PE can positively predict PSB. (2) EI and PELM had significant mediating effects between PE and PSB, including single mediating effects of EI and PELM and chain mediating effects of EI-PELM; (3) There are gender differences in the chain mediation effect.

To investigate the role of physical self-esteem and subjective well-being in the influence of physical activity on prosocial behavior among Chinese university students. A survey was conducted among 580 college students using Physical Activity Rating Scale, College Student Physical Self-esteem Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Prosocial Tendencies Measure. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 26.0 to test for chain mediating effects and conduct Bootstrap analysis, leading to the research conclusions. (1) Physical activity was significantly positively correlated with physical self-esteem, subjective well-being, prosocial behavior, and the six dimensions of prosocial behavior. (2) The mediating effects included three pathways: “Physical Activity → Physical Self-Esteem → Prosocial Behavior” (effect size = 0.161, 95% CI [0.097, 0.227]); “Physical Activity → Subjective Well-Being → Prosocial Behavior” (effect size = 0.069, 95% CI [0.034, 0.114]); and “Physical Activity → Physical Self-Esteem → Subjective Well-Being → Prosocial Behavior” (effect size = 0.024, 95% CI [0.007, 0.049]). These three pathways accounted for 20.28%, 40.65%, and 3.02% of the total effect, respectively. (3) Physical activity had a direct positive impact on prosocial behavior among college students (effect size = 0.54, 95% CI [0.433, 0.657], accounting for 68.01% of the total effect), and also influenced prosocial behavior through the mediating roles of physical self-esteem and subjective well-being in a chain. Physical activity has a positive predictive effect on prosocial behavior among college students, with mechanisms including the direct effect of physical exercise, the positive mediating role of physical self-esteem, the positive mediating role of subjective well-being, and the combined chain mediating effect of both.

The purpose of the present study was to examine relations between adolescents' social cognitions regarding parenting practices and adolescents' prosocial behavioral tendencies. A mediation model was tested whereby the degree to which adolescents perceived their parents as responding appropriately to their prosocial and antisocial behaviors was hypothesized to predict adolescents' tendencies toward prosocial behavior indirectly by way of adolescents' prosocial values. Adolescents (N = 140; M age = 16.76 years, SD = .80; 64% girls; 91% European Americans) completed measures of prosocial values and of the appropriateness with which they expected their parents to react to their prosocial and antisocial behaviors. In addition, teachers and parents rated the adolescents' tendencies for prosocial behaviors. A structural equation model test showed that the degree to which adolescents expected their parents to respond appropriately to their prosocial behaviors was related positively to their prosocial values, which in turn was positively associated with their tendencies to engage in prosocial behaviors (as reported by parents and teachers). The findings provide evidence for the central role of adolescents' evaluations and expectancies of parental behaviors and of the role of values in predicting prosocial tendencies. Discussion focuses on the implications for moral socialization theories and on the practical implications of these findings in understanding adolescents' prosocial development.

Grounded in Basic Psychological Need Theory, we examined the direct effects of the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs at school (i.e., satisfaction of autonomy needs at school, satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, and satisfaction of competence needs at school) on prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior as well as the mediation effects of school satisfaction on the relations between the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs at school and prosocial behavior as well as antisocial behavior. We employed a sample of 801 Chinese children (429 males; Mage = 9.47) in a three-wave longitudinal study, with each wave occurring 6 months apart. Direct and indirect effects were estimated by Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicated that: (1) Satisfaction of relatedness needs at school and competence needs at school, but not satisfaction of autonomy needs at school, displayed direct effects on prosocial behavior. Also, satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, but not satisfaction of autonomy needs at school or competence needs at school, displayed direct effects on antisocial behavior. (2) Both satisfaction of relatedness needs at school and competence needs at school displayed indirect effects on prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior via school satisfaction as a mediator. However, satisfaction of autonomy needs at school failed to have indirect effects on prosocial behavior or antisocial behavior via school satisfaction. These findings suggest differential predictors of children’s prosocial and antisocial behavior, supporting the separability of the two constructs. The findings also suggest developmental differences in need satisfaction, with the satisfaction of autonomy needs playing a relatively less important role in school-age children. We also discussed limitations and practical applications of the study.

Objective: This study aims to investigate whether physical activity can promote students’ prosocial behavior by analyzing the relationship between sports participation and the prosocial behavior of junior high school students. Methods: Based on the 2014–2015 China education panel survey (CEPS), the relationship between regular athletic sports and prosocial behavior was evaluated among eighth-grade students by ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation and propensity score matching (PSM) and the relationship between OLS and PSM was evaluated by Rosenbaum’s bounds test for a robustness test; the observations were analyzed for heterogeneity to identify those who benefit more from sports. Results: The OLS results showed that sporting behavior increased prosocial behavior scores by 4%, and the PSM results showed that regular physical exercise increased students’ prosocial behavior tendencies by over 0.2 standard deviations from the mean prosocial behavior score (standardized). According to the Rosenbaum’s bounds test, the estimates were robust and reliable, and the results of the heterogeneity analysis showed that with males and students whose fathers had more than 9 years of education, the students showed more significant improvements in prosocial behavior. Conclusion: Physical activity has a significant positive effect on students’ prosocial behavior, and gender and the father’s education are significantly related to prosocial behavior.

This study investigates the complex relationships between parental attitudes, teacher attitudes, and self-control and their associations with prosocial and antisocial behaviour among adolescents in Bali, Indonesia. The research utilises a correlational research design with structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis to examine the relationships among variables comprehensively. A sample of 260 high school students aged 14 to 16 in Bali, Indonesia, was selected using a multi-stage cluster random sampling technique with 104 male and 156 female. The standard deviation of age is 0.49. Data were collected using adapted instruments to measure prosocial behaviour, antisocial behaviour, parents’ attitudes, teachers’ attitudes, and self-control. The study found positive correlations between parental attitudes, teacher attitudes, self-control, and prosocial behaviour and negative correlations with antisocial behaviour. The SEM analysis produced a predictive model for adolescent prosocial and antisocial behaviour, demonstrating strong compatibility with the model. The results indicated that parents’ attitudes, teachers’ attitudes, and self-control contributed significantly to prosocial behaviour among adolescents. However, while teachers’ attitudes and self-control were significantly related to antisocial behaviour, no significant relationship was found between parents’ attitudes and antisocial behaviour. The findings provide valuable insights into the role of parent-child relationships and highlight the potential for fostering positive behavioural outcomes. The study’s contribution lies in its focus on multiple dimensions of relationships and its exploration of the impact of parental difficulties. Ultimately, this research deepens the understanding of prosocial and antisocial behaviour and its underlying mechanisms, shedding new light on the field of prosocial.

This study examined the behavioral, personality, and communicative predictors of acceptance and popularity in 608 early adolescents. Data were collected with sociometric methods and ratings in 30 sixth-grade classrooms. Hierarchical regressions were run to predict acceptance and popularity from prosocial, antisocial, and withdrawn behavior, agreeableness and extraversion, and pragmatic communicative skills. Low levels of antisocial behavior positively predicted peer acceptance. Popularity depended on a more complex profile of predictors. Prosocial and antisocial behavior contributed positively to popularity, whereas withdrawn behavior contributed negatively. Extraversion and pragmatic skills also played a role in the prediction of popularity. Extraversion moderated the associations of prosocial and antisocial behavior with popularity. Popularity was highest when high levels of prosocial or antisocial behavior were combined with high levels of extraversion. Pragmatic skills moderated the association of prosocial behavior with popularity. Popularity was highest when prosocial behavior and pragmatic skills were high.

Abstract. Prosocial behavior is intended to benefit others rather than oneself and is positively linked to personality traits such as Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility, and usually negatively to the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). However, a significant proportion of the research in this area is conducted solely on self-report measures of prosocial behavior. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between prosociality and the basic (i.e., HEXACO) and dark personality traits, comparing their contribution in predicting both self-reported prosociality and prosocial behavior. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that the Dark Triad traits explain prosociality and prosocial behavior above and beyond the HEXACO traits, emphasizing the importance of the Dark Triad in the personality space.

Moral disengagement is a psychological process in which people use different cognitive strategies to justify their potentially problematic actions and to reduce feelings of shame and guilt. Athletes with high level of moral disengagement in sport may show more antisocial behavior and less prosocial behavior than other athletes. To date, most research investigating prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport has focused on behaviors directed at opponents. However, recent studies have also investigated prosocial and antisocial behavior within sport teams. Since the majority of past studies have been conducted in western countries, we know little about moral disengagement of Chinese athletes. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable measure of sport moral disengagement and to examine the relationship between sport moral disengagement and prosocial and antisocial behavior among Chinese athletes. Study 1 sought to develop a sport-specific measure of moral disengagement for Chinese athletes. Forty-eight items were developed based on content analysis of interviews with athletes and mass media reports of transgressions of athletes. Two hundred and fifty-four Chinese athletes were asked to rate their agreement with each item, and their responses were used exploratory factor analyses(EFA). Results showed that 20 items loaded on five factors:(1) conduct reconstrual,(2) advantageous comparison,(3) euphemistic labeling,(4) dehumanization, and(5) non-responsibility. After this, another 283 Chinese athletes filled in the questionnaire. The confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) indicated that the 5-factor solution was stable and the internal reliability of each of the factors was acceptable. Study 2 tested the relationship between moral disengagement in sport and prosocial and antisocial behavior towards teammates and opponents. Three hundred and six Chinese athletes responded to the 20-items moral disengagement questionnaire developed in Study 1 and the Chinese version of prosocial and antisocial behavior in sports scale(PABSS). Results from multivariate analysis of variance(MANOVA) and hierarchical regression analysis(HRA) showed that gender, type of sport, and competition level can predict antisocial behavior towards teammates and opponent(R2 = 0.11, F(3, 302)=12.88, p 0.01; R2 = 0.29, F(3, 302)=41.31, p 0.01) better than prosocial behavior towards teammates and opponents(R2 = 0.05, F(3, 302)=5.37, p 0.01; R2 = 0.06, F(3, 302)=6.23, p 0.01). Type of sport was the strongest predictor which negatively predicted antisocial behavior towards teammates and opponents(β =-0.29, t =-5.32, p 0.01; β =-0.49, t =-9.94, p 0.01). After controlling for gender, type of sport, and competition level, non-responsibility was the strongest predictor which can significantly and negatively predict prosocial behavior towards teammates and opponents(β =-0.31, t =-5.81, p 0.01; β =-0.28, t =-5.27, p 0.01); euphemistic labeling was the strongest predictor to positively predict antisocial behavior towards teammates(β = 0.23, t = 4.16, p 0.01); conduct reconstrual was the strongest predictor which could significantly and positively predict antisocial behavior towards opponents(β = 0.25, t = 5.33, p 0.01). The present study contributes to research into moral disengagement in sports by developing a valid measurement instrument for moral disengagement in Chinese athletes, and by analyzing the relationship between sport moral disengagement and prosocial and antisocial behavior towards teammates and opponents in Chinese athletes.

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between physical activity and prosocial behavior in college students, and to examine whether self-perception and gender may play mediating and moderating roles, respectively, in that relationship.MethodsThe International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long form, Prosocial Tendencies Measure, and Self-perception Scale were used to survey 647 college students in Yangzhou, China. Internal consistency testing, one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) across physical activity levels, exploratory factor analysis, correlation testing, mediation effect testing (independent variable, physical activity; mediating variable, self-perception; dependent variable, prosocial behavior), bootstrap testing and moderated mediation testing were conducted.ResultsPhysical activity level was not found to be a direct predictor prosocial behavior in college students. Self-perception was found to play a mediating role between physical activity and prosocial behavior.ConclusionPhysical activity is not directly predictive college students’ prosocial behavior tendencies, but it is indirectly predictive through self-perception. This study explores the relationship between the three variables and the path of the relationship, deepening the research related to the relationship between physical activity and prosocial behavior, providing ideas for fostering prosocial behavior in Chinese universities, as well as providing a theoretical basis for possible future empirical research.