Be the change you want to see in the world: being prosocial improves attributions of others

Willcox, Kevin (2022) Be the change you want to see in the world: being prosocial improves attributions of others. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

Text Willcox_2022_be_change_you_want_see_world_being_prosocial_improves_att.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (964kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Having positive and prosocial attributions about others is crucial for well-being. While research has thoroughly demonstrated the importance of having positive attributions toward the people we interact with, there is little research that investigates what a person can do to improve their attributions of the people they interact with. In two experimental studies I investigate the impact on attributions toward another person caused by giving a resource to and feeling empathy toward them. I use 2 (giving: before/after attribution measures) by 2 (empathy: present vs. absent) between participants designs. Both studies showed that both giving to the other person and feeling empathy toward them improved prosocial attributions of the other person and reduced antisocial attributions. Giving and empathy interacted to affect the amount of the resource that participants gave. This impacted attributions such that those who gave more had more prosocial and fewer antisocial attributions about the other person. These results suggest that a single act of giving and empathy improved attributions about another person, and that participants attributions of the other person depended upon the way they treated them. These results are important because they suggest that each socially oriented thought and behavior a person has affects the way they see people. This has implications for any research involving human interaction or social perception. Future research should investigate the boundary conditions for these effects and their impact on other scenarios.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	attributions; impressions; interpersonal; perception; positive; prosocial; empathy
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
MeSH Subjects:	F Psychiatry and Psychology > F01 Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Psychological Sciences
Date Deposited:	02 Jun 2023 18:03
Last Modified:	02 Jun 2023 18:03
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5943

Actions (login required)

IR Staff Record View

Downloads