Abstract
How do helpers react if their offers of help have been rejected by needy others, the help has been accepted but not used, or the needy others seek help elsewhere? A model was advanced to capture how spurned helpers react (Rosen, Mickler, & Spiers, 1986). One avenue taken to assess the validity of the model is to assess if caregiving professionals react to spurning of their help in ways consistent with the propositions of the model. Accordingly, we have been examining spurning of help by peers among schoolteachers, having explored such experiences in kindergarten and secondary school teachers. The present study extended our work to primary school teachers to test the propositions of the model through examining (a) how teachers’ self-images of competence and caring influenced their reactions and (b) whether spurned teachers reacted self-defensively. 732 primary school teachers in the city of Shenzhen (China) responded to three waves of questionnaires measuring the variables under study. The results showed that the teachers experienced a moderate level of spurning, and coped by derogating the personal attributes of rejecting peers, with those having more positive self-images coping more intensely, thus supporting the validity of the propositions of the model.
Highlights
We have been assessing the validity of the propositions of the model through examining how spurned schoolteachers react to spurning of their help by peers and factors that influence their reactions, having examined those of secondary school teachers (Cheuk, Wong, & Rosen, 2002) and kindergarten teachers (Cheuk, Wong, & Rosen, 2011). Continuing this line of enquiry, the present study extended our work to the category of primary school teachers to examine, as posited by the model, whether spurned teachers would react self-defensively and whether their self-images of competence and caring influenced their reactions to being spurned
We have examined the experiences with spurning of help by peers among kindergarten and secondary school teachers (Cheuk et al, 2002, 2011) but not among primary school teachers
Given the data we have regarding extent of spurning of help by peers experienced by Guangzhou secondary school teacher, we chose primary school teachers in the city of Shenzhen (China) as primary schools in Shenzhen are broadly similar to secondary schools in Guangzhou in scale of operation, type of work teachers do, and collectivistic orientation of their teachers (Lai, 2015; Ministry of Education, People’s Republic of China, 2014; Van de Vliert, Yang, Wang, & Ren, 2013; Wang & Chen, 2010)
Summary
The first objective was to assess the extent of occurrence of spurning of help by peers among primary school teachers in a Chinese city. Given the data we have regarding extent of spurning of help by peers experienced by Guangzhou secondary school teacher, we chose primary school teachers in the city of Shenzhen (China) as primary schools in Shenzhen are broadly similar to secondary schools in Guangzhou in scale of operation, type of work teachers do, and collectivistic orientation of their teachers (Lai, 2015; Ministry of Education, People’s Republic of China, 2014; Van de Vliert, Yang, Wang, & Ren, 2013; Wang & Chen, 2010). In the light of the above similarities, we hypothesized that primary school teachers in Shenzhen would experience a moderate level of spurning as did their Guangzhou secondary school counterparts
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
