Direct and Indirect Influence of Altruistic Behavior in a Social Network

Abstract

Prior research has suggested that recipients of generosity behave more generously themselves (a direct social influence). In contrast, there is conflicting evidence about the existence of indirect influence (i.e., whether interacting with a recipient of generosity causes one to behave more generously), casting doubt on the possibility that altruistic behavior can cascade through social networks. The current study investigated how far selfish and generous behavior can be transmitted through social networks and the cognitive mechanisms that underlie such transmission. Participants played a sequence of public goods games comprising a chain network. This network is advantageous because it permits only a single, unambiguous path of influence. Furthermore, we experimentally manipulated the behavior of the first link in the chain to be either generous or selfish. Results revealed the presence of direct social influence, but no evidence for indirect influence. Results also showed that selfish behavior exerted a substantially greater influence than generous behavior. Finally, expectations about future partners’ behavior strongly mediated the observed social influence, suggesting an adaptive basis for such influence.

Exploring factors influencing the work-related morale for certified nursing assistants in hospice care: A structural equation modeling study

“…This study has several findings that should be noted ( Fig 2 ). While some of the relational paths identified in this work are not yet fully supported by the existing literature in the health sector, they are similar to those found in other domains, including the positive relationship between altruism and morale [ 71 , 72 ], the positive relationship between altruism and social support [ 73 , 74 ], and the positive relationship between altruism and job satisfaction [ 75 ]. Notably, the relationship between altruism and morale was the strongest among all the direct paths toward morale in the model.…”

College Students’ Interpersonal Relationship and Empathy Level Predict Internet Altruistic Behavior—Empathy Level and Online Social Support as Mediators

“…Yang, Liu and Zhou [21] showed that online social support could significantly account for altruistic behavior in the Internet. Liu, Safin, Yang, and Luhmann's data [22] revealed that an alternative expectation-based mechanism by which social interaction may influence altruistic behavior. Results from Liu, Xu, Liu, and Liu [23] suggested that online social support positively predicted online altruistic behavior.…”

Behavioral Intention Promotes Generalized Reciprocity: Evidence From the Dictator Game

“…As behavior propagates in the social network, the behavioral transmission chain would be extended to include three or more nodes, and the corresponding reciprocal effects would gradually weaken (Liu et al, 2015). It is therefore worth exploring the pattern and duration of the effects of intention manipulation, which would thus have a certain value in application.…”

“…Generalized reciprocity 1 refers to a situation whereby a person who had been treated positively or negatively by others in the past delivers a treatment following the same pattern to someone else, commonly referred to as "paying it forward" (Gray et al, 2014). As a principal component of moral codes, generalized reciprocity might induce a series of chain reactions from the initial biased behavior (e.g., Nowak and Sigmund, 2005;Liu et al, 2015). Evolutionary studies have confirmed that combined with certain behavioral strategies, generalized reciprocity could bring the benefits of generating cooperation behaviors and promoting interpersonal communication (Nowak and Roch, 2007;Rankin and Taborsky, 2009).…”