Affect and altruism.

Abstract

The relationship between affect and altruism in 7-and 8-year-old middleclass white children was investigated. Children were asked to think of things that made them happy or sad, or they were assigned to control conditions. Subsequently they were given an opportunity to donate money to other children in the experimenter's absence. In accord with predictions, children who experienced positive affect gave more than control children while those who experienced negative affect gave less than controls. Girls gave more than boys overall. The relationship between self-reward and reward of others is discussed.Research into the determinants of altruistic behavior has increasingly implicated the role of affect as a setting condition. Several authors have investigated the effect of success on altruistic behavior and have speculated that their results are due to the affective component of the success experience. Berkowitz and Connor (1966), for example, found that adults who had experienced success proved more willing to help a beneficiary than did control subjects. These investigators interpreted their findings in terms of the feelings that arise from successful experience, terming them the "glow of goodwill." Isen (1970) obtained similar findings with regard to helpfulness and has suggested that the "warm glow of success" increases one's tendency to be helpful to others. Similar findings have recently been found among children by Isen, Horn, and Rosenhan (in press).These investigators and subsequent interpreters of their data (Bryan & London, 1970;Krebs, 1970; Rosenhan, in press) have attributed these findings to the positive affect that allegedly arises from the experi-

Depressive symptoms and unmitigated communion in support providers

“…However, the causal relationship could also be reversed (Moore, Underwood, & Rosenhan, 1973;Underwood, Froming, & Moore, 1977). An experimental design would provide more insight in the direction of causality of the link between support provision and providers' wellbeing as a function of UC.…”

Bonuses and Bribes: Mood Effects in Memory

“…Such "automatic processing" effects may occur in a nonreflective manner and may affect our impressions of both people and objects (Schneider, Hastorf, & Ellsworth, 1980;Zajonc, 1980 Although automatic processing may account for the effect of positive mood state on behavior, it does not appear consistent with the body of re search examining the effect of negative feelings on judgments and behav ior. That is, while a positive feeling state has generally been found to in crease the probability of drawing upon positive material in memory and behaviors such as helping and generosity (Aderman, 1972;Batson, Coke, Chard, Smith, & Taliaferro, 1979;Cunningham, Steinberg, & Grev, 1980;Isen, 1970;!sen, Clark, & Schwartz, 1976;!sen & Levin, 1972;Levin & !sen, 1975;Mischel, Ebbesen, & Zeiss, 1973;Moore, Underwood, & Rosenhan, 1973;Underwood, Froming, &Moore, 1977;Weyant, 1978), the effects of negative feeling states are far more complex. Some studies suggest that in ducing negative mood states increases the likelihood of antisocial behaviors (Baron, 1972;Baron & Bell, 1975), whereas others suggest that negative affect either has no effect or increases the likelihood of positive behaviors (Carlsmith & Gross, 1969;Cialdini, Darby, & Vincent, 1973;Cialdini & Kenrick, 1976;!sen, 1970;McMillen, 1971;Mischel, Coates, & Raskoff, 1968;Mischel & Moore, 1973;D.…”

“…T. Reagan, Williams, & Sparling, 1972;J. W. Regan, 1971;Teasdale & Fogarty, 1979;Underwood, Moore, & Rosenhan, 1973).…”

Work as a Source of Positive Emotional Experiences and the Discourses Informing Positive Assessment

“…Other work has found associations between positive emotions and desirable social behaviors such as helpfulness (Isen, 2001), generosity (Moore, Underwood, & Rosenhan, 1973), cooperativeness (Carnevale & Isen, 1986), graciousness (Emmons & McCullough, 2003), increased trust, and more integrative negotiation outcomes (Anderson & Thompson, 2004). Amabile et al (2005) found that positive affect (in a simple linear relationship) was associated with creativity in organizations, and Bono and Ilies' (2006) work suggests that leadership communication infused with positive emotion spreads positive affect to followers.…”