 |
|
Memories and Prosocial Motivation
by Margaret Butler
Faculty Advisor: Marlone Henderson, PhD
Prosocial behavior is a powerful force in this world, yet understanding what drives humans to be good is a complex topic. Self-perception theory explains how strengthening confidence and capability as a helper perpetuates prosocial behavior. Role placement, the assignment of social roles as a benefactor of helpful behavior or a beneficiary has been known to impact self perception. But how does the amount of time from when one helped another affect one’s self perception? This question has been neglected so far in the literature. Temporal distance represents the psychological separation in time between the current moment and past memories. The amount of temporal distance between memories impacts one’s sense of self. Distant memories engage with an abstract sense of self, compared to recent memories that activate context-specific aspects. The general learning model asserts that prosocial media can influence an observer’s behavior through vicarious activation. My study investigated intersections of role placement, temporal distance, and social media’s influence by examining a volunteer who completed a 4000 km ride, the longest annual charity bike ride in the nation. They reflected on recent or distant memories in which they were the beneficiary or benefactor of helping behavior. In addition, they posted their responses on social media. Finally, 47 observers (M age = 19 , SD=1.04) rated their prosocial motivation after reading these posts. I hypothesized that when riders thought about themselves as benefactors rather than beneficiaries, especially in the distant versus near past, their sense of a moral self would be much higher and subsequently spill out via their language, resulting in greater prosocial motivation in observers. Contrary to my hypotheses, results revealed no significant effects of riders’ role placement nor temporal distance on observers prosocial motivation. Theoretical and practical implications will be discussed.