Prosocial Norms Research Articles

The difference between ice cream and Nazis: Moral externalization and the evolution of human cooperation.

A range of empirical findings is first used to more precisely characterize our distinctive tendency to objectify or externalize moral demands and obligations, and it is then argued that this salient feature of our moral cognition represents a profound puzzle for evolutionary approaches to human moral psychology that existing proposals do not help resolve. It is then proposed that such externalization facilitated a broader shift to a vastly more cooperative form of social life by establishing and maintaining a connection between the extent to which an agent is herself motivated by a given moral norm and the extent to which she uses conformity to that same norm as a criterion in evaluating candidate partners in social interaction generally. This connection ensures the correlated interaction necessary to protect those prepared to adopt increasingly cooperative, altruistic, and other prosocial norms of interaction from exploitation, especially as such norms were applied in novel ways and/or to novel circumstances and as the rapid establishment of new norms allowed us to reap still greater rewards from hypercooperation. A wide range of empirical findings is then used to support this hypothesis, showing why the status we ascribe to moral demands and considerations exhibits the otherwise puzzling combination of objective and subjective elements that it does, as well as showing how the need to effectively advertise our externalization of particular moral commitments generates features of our social interaction so familiar that they rarely strike us as standing in need of any explanation in the first place.

Religion, Altruism, and Helping Strangers: A Multilevel Analysis of 126 Countries

This article tests how religion relates to helping strangers, an important but rarely studied measure of social solidarity and informal social capital. It uses the Gallup World Poll, a survey with nationally representative samples of 179,961 respondents from 126 countries. It finds that religious people, members of minority religions, and people in religiously diverse countries were more likely to help a stranger. Individuals living in devout countries were more likely to help strangers even if they themselves were not religious. The results suggest that religion plays a particularly important role in promoting the prosocial norms and values that motivate helping strangers.

Consumer or citizen? Prosocial behaviors in markets and non-markets

While much prosocial behavior has traditionally taken place in non-market contexts, such as families, clans, and social associations, it is in increasingly brought into the market context. For example, companies increasingly promote their products and services by engaging in charitable giving and policy makers increasingly push for the implementation of market-driven prosocial initiatives. However, this trend has occurred without being informed by evidence on how the market influences individuals’ engagement in prosocial behavior. Using a public goods game that simulates a market and a non-market context, we analyze prosocial behavior and its psychological underpinnings across these two contexts. First, we find that prosocial behavior occurs at lower levels in markets than non-markets. Second, we find that individuals’ beliefs about prosocial norms are more important for prosocial behavior in markets than non-markets, while the opposite is true for their autonomous motivation towards prosocial behavior. This suggests that decision-makers need to adjust the means to foster prosocial behavior, depending on the institutional context deemed appropriate for specific prosocial behaviors.

The norm-dependent effect of watching eyes on donation

Abstract Although many previous studies have shown that eye-like images promote generosity, the mechanism of this eyes remains unclear. One possible cause is the concern for a good reputation as a generous person, while the other is the concerns for a bad reputation as a norm violator. To elucidate which of these two concerns is the main influencer, the present study conducted a laboratory experiment that investigated whether the watching eyes effect changed depending on social norms. If the concern for a good reputation leads to the effect, prosocial behavior would be more likely in the presence of watching eyes, regardless of the social norms involved. However, if the concern for avoiding a bad reputation as a norm violator leads to the effect, watching eyes promote prosocial behavior only in the existence of prosocial norms. In the original study, participants were asked to make a charitable donation under conditions in which eye-like images either were or were not present. In addition to the eye-like images, we manipulated prosocial norms by informing each participant of either high or low mean donation amounts given by previous participants. We found that watching eyes promoted donations only when a prosocial norm existed. This supports the idea that the watching eyes effect is caused by a concern for avoiding a bad reputation from violating norms. However, in a replication study, we were unable to replicate the original results; watching eyes did not promote generosity regardless of the norm. Taken together, we discussed the moderation effect of norms and the possibility of other moderators.

Investigating the Factors Related to Substance Use in the Iranian High School Students Using the Positive Youth Development Model

Background: Drug abuse is a general health problem that threatens all groups in human societies. While youths are vulnerable to drug interests, the amplification of their powers along with creating all protective factors in their living environment is helpful in confronting this problem. This study has been performed with the aim of determining the factors related to the tendency towards drug abuse based on positive youth development model among high school students of Isfahan. Objective: This study has been performed with the aim of determining the factors related to the tendency towards drug abuse based on positive youth development model among high school students of Isfahan. Methods: This sectional study has been performed with the participation of 252 male and female high school second graders in Isfahan. The sampling method was a multi-stage cluster. The data-gathering tool was a researcher-made questionnaire in three parts whose validity and reliability were confirmed. The gathered data were analyzed by SPSS 18 software, Pearson correlation tests, and Regression analysis. Results: The mean and the standard deviation of the age of the participants were 15.82 ± 0.66. Among the structures of the model of positive youth development, those of social competence, emotional competence, social norms, and self-efficacy were predicted 30.8% of changing the tendency towards drug abuse, and the structure of the attitude toward drugs could predict 35% of behavior changes (R2 = 0.308, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings of this research shed light on the issue that the structures of social competence, emotional competence, prosocial norms, and self-efficacy along with attitude could be effective in decreasing the youths’ tendency to drug abuse, which must be considered in the intervention programs with regard to the importance of the issue in the adolescents’ lives.

The Motivational Foundations of Prosocial Behavior From A Developmental Perspective-Evolutionary Roots and Key Psychological Mechanisms: Introduction to the Special Section.

Prosocial behavior is versatile, multifaceted, and complex. This special section seeks to advance coherent, integrative understanding of prosocial development by addressing this topic through the prism of motivations. This conceptual Introduction presents key ideas that provide a framework for thinking about motivation for prosocial behavior and its development. It outlines the evolutionary roots of prosocial behavior, underscoring the interdependent roles of nature and nurture. This is followed by a discussion of several key psychological mechanisms reflecting different motivations for prosocial action (empathy for a distressed other, concern about another's goal, desire to act in accordance with internalized prosocial norms, and guilt). We discuss the critical components of each motivation and highlight pertinent contributions of the special section articles.

Indirect Effects of Extracurricular Participation on Academic Adjustment Via Perceived Friends' Prosocial Norms.

Students who participate in extracurricular activities in middle school exhibit higher levels of academic motivation and achievement, including graduation from high school. However, the mechanisms responsible for these beneficial effects are poorly understood. Guided by the bioecological models of development, this study tested the indirect effects of participation in grade 8 in school sports or performance arts and clubs on grade 9 academic achievement, academic competence beliefs, and school belonging, via adolescents' perceptions of their friends' prosocial norms. Participants were 495 (45% female) ethnically diverse students (mean age at grade 8=13.9years; SD=.58) who were recruited into a longitudinal study on the basis of below average literacy in grade 1. Using weighted propensity score analyses to control for potential confounders, results of longitudinal SEM found indirect effect of participation in sports, but not of participation in performance arts and clubs, on grade 9 outcomes noted above. Implications of findings for improving educational attainment of at-risk youth are discussed.

The cattle raiders leave us no choice: New transhumance in the Mahafaly Plateau region in Madagascar

This article reports findings from a qualitative case study on the recent development of a pastoral transhumance movement in the Mahafaly Plateau region in Madagascar. Interviews with pastoralists from 26 villages are analyzed within a framework of contemporary new institutional economics to investigate pastoral mobility, as a response to the Madagascar-wide problem of cattle raiders ( dahalo ). The conditions for the new movement are compared to a traditional transhumance movement comprising the same actors but in reverse geographical direction. Contrary to many previous studies from Madagascar, the results reveal that property rights regarding access to ancestral land are not a constraint to pastoral mobility. The new transhumance movement was enabled by pro-social norms of solidarity, guest rights and unconditional hospitality ( fihavanana ) shared by the pastoralists in the region. Additional vital elements are mental models of kinship (raza, longo ) and the formal indigenous institution of trust creation by sincerity oaths ( titike, kine ). However, frequent cattle raids have led to social change and an environment of mistrust; placing social constraints on pastoral mobility. Hospitality and guest rights are increasingly bound to kinship relations, and the pastoralists’ interpretation of kinship has become narrower. These social constraints are far more relevant to the new movement than to the more institutionalized traditional transhumance. The findings illustrate how Madagascar’s cattle raiding problem has influenced the rural society’s social norms and mental models. The study highlights how supportive social norms and fitting shared mental models influence people’s capacity to adapt, especially in sociocultural settings ruled by informal indigenous institutions.

The functional intelligences proposition

Why are some governments more effective managers of resources – people, places and finances – and others less effective? This question is at the center of understanding political and economic development. Yet, established theory that explains how individual cognitive differences and sociological forces mutually explain government effectiveness is lacking. To bridge this knowledge gap we articulate the Functional Intelligences Proposition (FIP): The individual level attributes of general intelligence and social intelligence serve unique information processing functions and have a positive and independent effect on the ability of individuals, acting in concert, to govern resources. To begin to evaluate the FIP, we study the effects of general intelligence, social intelligence and social infrastructure (prosocial norms & trust) on how effectively US states govern. We find that measures of general intelligence (estimated by IQ) and social intelligence (social-cognitive theory of mind – ToM – estimated by agreeableness) have a positive and independent effect on the effectiveness of governance. The FIP provides an interdisciplinary explanation for the effectiveness of governance and, ultimately, development.

Divorcing the puzzles: When group identities foster in-group cooperation.

We argue that general social psychological mechanisms (e.g., common group identity) can account for prosocial behavior and cooperative norms without the need for punishing Big Gods. Moreover, prosocial religions often do not prevent conflict within their religious groups. Hence, we doubt whether Big Gods and prosocial religions are more effective than alternative identities in enhancing high-level cooperation.

Perceived Stigma, Social Identity, and Group Norms as Predictors of Prosocial Giving in a Fandom

People engage in helping behavior for a variety of reasons. Currently unstudied, however, is the role that group stigmatization may play in motivating this helping behavior. Increased perceptions or feelings of stigma have been shown to increase identification with one's group identity through the rejection-identification model. Other research shows that group identification is associated with greater adherence to group norms, specifically, injunctive norms. If a group's norms are prosocial ones, it therefore follows that group stigma should be associated with prosocial behavior. The authors propose and test this model in this article relating to the perceived stigma to prosocial behavior in a rarely-studied, highly-stigmatized fan community with strong prosocial norms: fans of My Little Pony. Serial mediation analysis supports this model. Implications and directions for future research in light of these findings are discussed.

Positive Youth Development and Contraceptive Use Consistency

IntroductionUnderstanding protective factors associated with adolescent contraceptive use can guide strategies to prevent unprotected sex and its consequences. The current study investigated associations between a set of protective factors, specifically indicators of positive youth development, and consistency of contraceptive use. MethodThis cross-sectional study examined relationships between positive youth development indicators and consistency of contraceptive use among sexually active adolescent girls at elevated risk for pregnancy. Multivariate models assessed whether measures of individual attributes, social attachments, and social norms were associated with consistent condom and hormonal contraceptive use. ResultsAdolescents with higher self-esteem and greater family connectedness reported more consistent hormonal contraceptive use. Two factors, stress management skills and perceived peer prosocial norms, were protective for consistent condom use. In contrast, steady partnership status was associated with less consistent condom use. DiscussionFindings suggest that interventions targeting protective factors may influence adolescents' contraceptive use, in addition to promoting their healthy development.

The evolution of power and the divergence of cooperative norms

We consider a model of multilevel selection and the evolution of institutions that distribute power in the form of influence in a group's collective interactions with other groups. In the absence of direct group-level interactions, groups with the most cooperative members will outcompete less cooperative groups, while within any group the least cooperative members will be the most successful. Introducing group-level interactions, however, such as raiding or warfare, changes the selective landscape for groups. Our model suggests that as the global population becomes more integrated and the rate of intergroup conflict increases, selection increasingly favors unequally distributed power structures, where individual influence is weighted by acquired resources. The advantage to less democratic groups rests in their ability to facilitate selection for cooperative strategies – involving cooperation both among themselves and with outsiders – in order to produce the resources necessary to fuel their success in inter-group conflicts, while simultaneously selecting for leaders (and corresponding collective behavior) who are unburdened with those same prosocial norms. The coevolution of cooperative social norms and institutions of power facilitates the emergence of a leadership class of the selfish and has implications for theories of inequality, structures of governance, non-cooperative personality traits, and hierarchy. Our findings suggest an amendment to the well-known doctrine of multilevel selection that “Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups.” In an interconnected world, altruistic groups led by selfish individuals can beat them both.

Do Online Voting Patterns Reflect Evolved Features of Human Cognition? An Exploratory Empirical Investigation.

Online votes or ratings can assist internet users in evaluating the credibility and appeal of the information which they encounter. For example, aggregator websites such as Reddit allow users to up-vote submitted content to make it more prominent, and down-vote content to make it less prominent. Here we argue that decisions over what to up- or down-vote may be guided by evolved features of human cognition. We predict that internet users should be more likely to up-vote content that others have also up-voted (social influence), content that has been submitted by particularly liked or respected users (model-based bias), content that constitutes evolutionarily salient or relevant information (content bias), and content that follows group norms and, in particular, prosocial norms. 489 respondents from the online social voting community Reddit rated the extent to which they felt different traits influenced their voting. Statistical analyses confirmed that norm-following and prosociality, as well as various content biases such as emotional content and originality, were rated as important motivators of voting. Social influence had a smaller effect than expected, while attitudes towards the submitter had little effect. This exploratory empirical investigation suggests that online voting communities can provide an important test-bed for evolutionary theories of human social information use, and that evolved features of human cognition may guide online behaviour just as it guides behaviour in the offline world.

Book Reviews

Jeffrey V. Butler of EIEF and University of Nevada, Las Vegas reviews “Experimenting with Social Norms: Fairness and Punishment in Cross-Cultural Perspective”, by Jean Ensminger and Joseph Henrich. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Seventeen papers, plus thirteen case studies available for download only, explore the historical emergence of prosocial norms and their relationship to economic growth. Papers in the text discuss theoretical foundations─the coevolution of social norms, intrinsic motivation, markets, and the institutions of complex societies; cross-cultural methods, sites, and variables; major empirical results─markets, religion, community size, and the evolution of fairness and punishment; and double-blind dictator games in Africa and the United States─differential experimenter effects. Case studies available for download discuss Hadza behavior in three experimental economic games; the effects of sanctions and third-party enforcers on generosity in Papua New Guinea; an experimental investigation of dictators, ultimatums, and punishment; behavioral experiments in the Yasawa Islands, Fiji; economic game behavior among the Shuar; economic experimental game results from the Sursurunga of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea; Maragoli and Gusii farmers in Kenya─strong collective action and high prosocial punishment; sharing, subsistence, and social norms in Northern Siberia; the influence of property rights and institutions for third-party sanctioning on behavior in three experimental economic games; cooperation and punishment in an economically diverse community in highland Tanzania; social preferences among the people of Sanquianga in Colombia; the effects of birthplace and current context on other-regarding preferences in Accra; and prosociality in rural America─evidence from dictator, ultimatum, public goods, and trust games.” Ensminger is Edie and Lew Wasserman Professor of Social Sciences at the California Institute of Technology. Henrich is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Culture, Cognition, and Coevolution in the Economics and Psychology Departments at the University of British Columbia.

Individual and Social Predictors of Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong.

Based on the human ecological model, this study hypothesized that individual competence in empathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and social influence from parents, peers, and school are the key determinants of prosocial behavior among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. We recruited a sample of high school students who engaged in volunteering activities regularly (N = 580). They completed a self-administrated questionnaire designed to measure prosocial behavior and its hypothesized predictors using a number of standardized instruments. The results of multiple regression show that social influence factors, including peer, school, and parent influence, are strong predictors of helping intention and prosocial behavior, while individual competence factors like empathy and prosocial moral reasoning are not. Male participants had higher empathy scores and helping intention than females, perceived their parents as more helpful, and their schools as more supportive of prosocial behavior. However, the significant predictors of prosocial behavior and helping intention were similar across gender. The findings indicate that social influence is strongly linked to prosocial behavior. This implies that socialization and social support for prosocial norms and behavior can exert a powerful influence on the behavior of young people in a Chinese population.

Student Misbehavior in Hong Kong: The Predictive Role of Positive Youth Development and School Satisfaction

This study examined the predictive influences of positive youth development and school satisfaction on student misbehavior. The respondents were 1652 Grade 7 students (738 boys and 912 girls) recruited from 13 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Data was collected by a set of validated questionnaires. A predictive model was tested and developed by using structural equation modelling. The results showed that positive youth development (characterized by social competence, emotional competence, cognitive competence, behavioral competence, moral competence, recognition for positive behavior, beliefs in the future, and prosocial norms) positively influenced school satisfaction and reduced student misbehavior. School satisfaction significantly mediated the predictive effect of positive youth development on student misbehavior, particularly among girls. Girls reported having significantly higher levels of school satisfaction, moral competence, prosocial norms, and recognition for their positive behavior, while boys reported having significantly more frequent misbehavior. Off-task disruptive behavior was the most frequent misbehavior among students in Hong Kong. These findings contribute to research on positive youth development, quality of school life and student wellbeing, particularly in the Chinese context. Future research and practical implications for fostering students’ psychosocial competence and school satisfaction for preventing misbehavior were discussed.

Positive Youth Development and Participation in an Urban Debate League: Results from Chicago Public Schools, 1997-2007

INTRODUCTIONSubstantial and potentially growing disparities based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) exist in educational attainment. Male students, Black and Latino students, and students living in areas with high rates of poverty are at particularly elevated risk for not completing high school (Swanson, 2004). While 75% of U.S. students overall graduated high school in 2009, only 62% of Black students and 64% of Latino students graduated, versus 81% of White students (National Center for Health Statistics, NCHS, 2012). Healthy People 2020 includes new school-related objectives for adolescent health, aiming to improve high school graduation rates to 84.2% over the next four year period (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2012), reflecting an appreciation for the importance of educational attainment to health over the life course (Winkleby et al., 1992). For example, college graduates can expect to live approximately five years longer than individuals who did not finish high school (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, RWJF, 2011). Greater educational attainment is associated with reduced likelihood of almost every chronic disease, including asthma, heart disease, and cancer (Silles, 2009).The impact of educational attainment is also transgenerational: parental educational attainment has a robust effect on children's likelihood of graduating from high school (Ensminger & Slusarcick, 1992). A constellation of social and contextual factors, including characteristics of the school environment, neighborhood conditions and safety, and concentrated poverty reinforce existing educational disparities (Crowder & South, 2003; Wodtke, Harding, & Elwert, 2011). Disparities in education thus perpetuate cycles of poverty and compound parallel disparities in health and related factors, including violence victimization (Krieger et al., 2005; Williams & Jackson, 2005).Conceptual Framework: Positive Youth DevelopmentPositive Youth Development (PYD) is a framework for understanding the patterns of risk and protective factors in adolescence that promote healthy social, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive (Catalano et al., 2004). Rather than targeting a single behavior, PYD programs aim to impact a cluster of developmental factors including bonding, resilience, social and emotional competence, and prosocial norms (Catalano et al., 2004). These domains impact multiple behavioral outcomes, including those related to academic performance and educational achievement. Improving opportunities for positive development is particularly important for adolescents most at risk for dropping out of high school or becoming engaged in delinquent behavior (Edwards, Mumford, & Serra-Roldan, 2007).Adolescence presents a particularly salient period for altering behavioral trajectories. Adolescence is a period of experimentation with risky behaviors (e.g., experimenting with illicit substance, carrying weapons, tobacco use, sexual behavior) that can become established long-term (Eaton et al., 2010). Adolescence is also characterized by reward-seeking and risk-taking behavior (Galvan, 2010; Wolfgang, Thornberry, & Figlio, 1987) and the development of higher-level thinking and reasoning skills (Sternberg & Downing, 1982). Therefore, providing adolescents opportunities for less-risky peer socialization and engagement with pro-social institutions (i.e., school) may prevent disengagement from normative educational trajectories (Morrison et al., 2002).School Engagement as a Mediator between Adolescent Behaviors and Educational OutcomesImproving adolescents' engagement with school can improve youth outcomes across a range of indicators. School engagement, or students' behavioral and emotional connectedness with school, is a strong predictor of high school graduation and college attendance (Finn & Owings, 2006) and is an indicator of PYD (Catalano et al., 2004). …

Prosocial norms in the classroom: The role of self-regulation in following norms of giving

Children who are prosocial in elementary school tend to have higher academic achievement and experience greater acceptance by their peers in adolescence. Despite this positive influence on educational outcomes, it is still unclear why some children are more prosocial than others in school. The current study investigates a possible link between following a prosocial norm and self-regulation. We tested 433 children between 6 and 13 years of age in two variations of the Dictator Game. Children were asked what they should or would give in the game and then played an actual DG. We show that most children hold a common norm for sharing resources, but that some children fail to follow that norm in the actual game. The gap between norm and behavior was correlated with self-regulation skills on a parent-report individual differences measure. Specifically, we show that two components of self-regulation, attention and inhibition, predict children's ability to follow the stated norm for giving. These results suggest that some children are poorer at holding the norm in mind and following through on enacting it. We discuss the implications of these results for education and programs that promote social and emotional learning (SEL).

Student Voice for School‐Climate Improvement: A Case Study of an Urban Middle School

AbstractThis case study used a student voice program in an urban middle school in the southeastern United States to examine the validity of three theoretically derived pathways through which student voice may affect positive school climate. First, using a youth participatory action research process to identify barriers to learning, analyse their root causes, and advocate for solutions to school administration allowed students to influence minor school policies and implement anti‐bullying, classroom‐behaviour‐monitoring, and experiential‐learning initiatives. However, there were challenges to making these policy and practice changes systemic. Second, relationships were formed and strengthened as a byproduct of student participant and staff collaboration in program activities. However, the program may have contributed to an ingroup–outgroup dynamic between participants and other peers. Third, students who participated in the program developed citizenship competencies, and their development may have promoted broader prosocial norms among the student body, though evidence was inconsistent. Study findings suggest that future research examine how variations in the implementation of student voice initiatives can maximize the contribution to a positive school climate in urban schools. Findings also suggest that practitioners should ensure that student teams be representative of a multitude of student identities. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.