DO YOU HAVE A MOMENT? ELICITING EMPATHY AND REINFORCEMENT TO ENCOURAGE CHARITABLE BEHAVIOUR
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1
Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Australia
Aims: Current reports have noted a significant decline of donating behaviour amongst Australian adults. Empathy and positive reinforcement have been implicated as factors in eliciting immediate prosocial behaviour. This study aimed at identifying the relative strength of these factors and whether their effect is additive.
Method: An online survey was administered to 160 volunteers from the staff and students at a regional Australian university and community members. The survey included an audio recording presenting a university student's intention to raise money to compete in a sporting event. Participants completed one of four conditions (Empathy with No Reinforcement; Empathy with Reinforcement; No Empathy with Reinforcement; No Empathy with No Reinforcement). Empathy and reinforcement were primed via instructional text prior to listening to the audio. Participants completed a five-factor personality questionnaire and an altruism scale. Participants were initially told the study was measuring memory and personality, but were given an opportunity to volunteer time to help fundraise at a later date.
Results: Correlations of the five-factor model and hours donated found that hours donated was positively correlated with Extraversion and Agreeableness. There was a trend towards the combination of primed empathy and positive reinforcement producing greater time donations in comparison to either factor alone. A further trend suggested that priming high empathy tended to increase hours donated in comparison to positive reinforcement. Positively reinforcing participants in the primed empathy condition resulted in the lowest number of hours donated.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that while empathy had a strong individual effect, empathy and positive reinforcement together might increase charitable behaviour in the context of time donation. However, underlying personality traits could account for some of the variance in time donating behaviour. Future research should focus on implementing additive models in encouraging charitable behaviour in multiple settings that require both time and money.
Aims: Current reports have noted a significant decline of donating behaviour amongst Australian adults. Empathy and positive reinforcement have been implicated as factors in eliciting immediate prosocial behaviour. This study aimed at identifying the relative strength of these factors and whether their effect is additive.
Method: An online survey was administered to 160 volunteers from the staff and students at a regional Australian university and community members. The survey included an audio recording presenting a university student's intention to raise money to compete in a sporting event. Participants completed one of four conditions (Empathy with No Reinforcement; Empathy with Reinforcement; No Empathy with Reinforcement; No Empathy with No Reinforcement). Empathy and reinforcement were primed via instructional text prior to listening to the audio. Participants completed a five-factor personality questionnaire and an altruism scale. Participants were initially told the study was measuring memory and personality, but were given an opportunity to volunteer time to help fundraise at a later date.
Results: Correlations of the five-factor model and hours donated found that hours donated was positively correlated with Extraversion and Agreeableness. There was a trend towards the combination of primed empathy and positive reinforcement producing greater time donations in comparison to either factor alone. A further trend suggested that priming high empathy tended to increase hours donated in comparison to positive reinforcement. Positively reinforcing participants in the primed empathy condition resulted in the lowest number of hours donated.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that while empathy had a strong individual effect, empathy and positive reinforcement together might increase charitable behaviour in the context of time donation. However, underlying personality traits could account for some of the variance in time donating behaviour. Future research should focus on implementing additive models in encouraging charitable behaviour in multiple settings that require both time and money.
Keywords:
Empathy,
Personality,
Positive reinforcement,
Donating behaviour,
charitable behaviour
Conference:
Southern Cross University 14th Annual Honours Psychology Research Conference, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, 5 Oct - 6 Oct, 2017.
Presentation Type:
Research
Topic:
Psychology
Citation:
Pupovac
AT and
Longstaff
M
(2017). DO YOU HAVE A MOMENT? ELICITING EMPATHY AND REINFORCEMENT TO ENCOURAGE CHARITABLE BEHAVIOUR.
Front. Psychol.
Conference Abstract:
Southern Cross University 14th Annual Honours Psychology Research Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fpsyg.2017.72.00037
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Received:
25 Sep 2017;
Published Online:
11 Dec 2017.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Mitchell Longstaff, Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia, mitchell.longstaff@scu.edu.au