The effect of perceived financial vulnerability on prosocial activity

Motsenok, Marina; Ritov, Ilana

doi:10.1002/bdm.2198

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Nevertheless, other studies have reported negative effects of socio-economic status on prosocial and ethical behaviour [66][67][68][69][70][71][72]. We cannot account for the apparently contradictory findings in this field though we note that some of these earlier studies have been based on relatively small undergraduate samples [67,69] and several key results have failed to replicate in large-N, pre-registered replication attempts [73].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…We note that a prediction that derives from all these hypotheses (albeit one that we cannot test with our data) is that higher indices of deprivation in the UK will only affect the willingness to help a stranger, but not the willingness to help others that are part of one's existing community. Some empirical work supports the hypothesis that exposure to adversity or low socio-economic status is associated with an increased tendency to help friends or in-group members [70,71] though this hypothesis deserves further empirical attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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Neighbourhood wealth, not urbanicity, predicts prosociality towards strangers

Zwirner

Raihani

2020

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Urbanization is perhaps the most significant and rapid cause of demographic change in human societies, with more than half the world's population now living in cities. Urban lifestyles have been associated with increased risk for mental disorders, greater stress responses, and lower trust. However, it is not known whether a general tendency towards prosocial behaviour varies across the urban–rural gradient, or whether other factors such as neighbourhood wealth might be more predictive of variation in prosocial behaviour. Here, we present findings from three real-world experiments conducted in 37 different neighbourhoods, in 12 cities and 12 towns and villages across the UK. We measured whether people: (i) posted a lost letter; (ii) returned a dropped item; and (iii) stopped to let someone cross the road in each neighbourhood. We expected to find that people were less willing to help a stranger in more urban locations, with increased diffusion of responsibility and perceived anonymity in cities being measured as variables that might drive this effect. Our data did not support this hypothesis. There was no effect of either urbanicity or population density on people's willingness to help a stranger. Instead, the neighbourhood level of deprivation explained most of the variance in helping behaviour with help being offered less frequently in more deprived neighbourhoods. These findings highlight the importance of socio-economic factors, rather than urbanicity per se , in shaping variation in prosocial behaviour in humans.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Neighbourhood wealth, not urbanicity, predicts prosociality towards strangers

Zwirner

Raihani

2020

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…In the local condition, participants were told about an Israeli organization named "Latet" (Hebrew, "To give"), which strives to reduce food insecurity among families and individuals in severe poverty. In the distant condition, participants were presented with an almost identical description of a charitable organization called "Aid for Africa," which helps individuals and families suffering from food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa (see Motsenok & Ritov, 2021, for a similar procedure). All participants were then asked whether or not they would like to donate money to the organization presented to them, on a scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although, in these studies, the prospective helper's adversity occurred in the past and does not take place at the time of the decision, several studies show that, in some cases, prospective helpers' current inferiority may be motivating them to help others (e.g., Motsenok & Ritov, 2021;Piff et al, 2010). These studies demonstrate a positive link between financial vulnerability and helping behavior.…”

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confidence: 96%

“…Research on social class has demonstrated that, under stressful circumstances, socially vulnerable individuals (i.e., of lower social class) engage more in communal coping strategies than less socially vulnerable individuals (of higher social class), such as turning to relationships with others in one's social environment for support (Piff et al, 2012). Financial vulnerability and comparative financial disadvantage have also been found to increase prosocial behavior (Motsenok & Ritov, 2021;Piff et al, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Perceived Physical Vulnerability Promotes Prosocial Behavior

Motsenok

Kogut

Ritov

2021

Pers Soc Psychol Bull

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Our research examines the association between perceived physical vulnerability and prosocial behavior. Studies 1 to 4 establish a positive association between individuals’ vulnerability and their prosociality. To increase generality, these studies looked at different behaviors (volunteering vs. monetary donations), various physical harms (e.g., war vs. illness), and different samples (students vs. MTurk workers). Study 4 also provides initial evidence of a partial mediating effect of closeness on the observed association. In Study 5, perceived vulnerability is experimentally manipulated, demonstrating a causal link between vulnerability and willingness to donate. Study 6 further demonstrates that closeness partially mediates the association between vulnerability and donation, while ruling out an alternative explanation of the effect—such as that vulnerable people donate in expectation of future reciprocity. Together, our research demonstrates a consistent positive association between perceived physical vulnerability and prosociality. This effect appears small when considering daily threats and stronger when vulnerability becomes more salient.

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Looking up or down on the social ladder: How socioeconomic comparisons shape judgments about monetary and time donations

Demczuk

Mantovani

Fernandes

2022

Behavioral Decision Making

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The increasing inequality rate within countries worldwide makes social comparisons more evident. In seven experiments, we demonstrate that people comparing themselves to others in a superior socioeconomic position (upward comparison) judge that wealthier others should donate more time and money to charity. However, social comparison to others in an inferior position (downward comparison) does not always increase monetary donations. This discrepancy in prescriptions for monetary donations between those who make upward and downward social comparisons is driven by judgments about relative spare money; while people making upward comparisons believe that others have more spare money, people making downward comparisons only think they have more spare money, and should donate more, when reminded of their hierarchical position at the time of judgment. Low meritocracy beliefs exacerbate the difference between the prescriptions of how much oneself and others should donate given their socioeconomic position. This differential pattern among individuals making upward and downward social comparisons helps to propagate economic inequality. People making upward comparisons prescribe to wealthier others the responsibility to donate to charity, who in turn may not think they should donate more money. These findings have implications for charitable and non-profit organizations and contribute to research on social comparison, inequality, and judgments about monetary and time donations.

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The effect of perceived financial vulnerability on prosocial activity

Cited by 10 publications

References 65 publications

Neighbourhood wealth, not urbanicity, predicts prosociality towards strangers

Neighbourhood wealth, not urbanicity, predicts prosociality towards strangers

Perceived Physical Vulnerability Promotes Prosocial Behavior

Looking up or down on the social ladder: How socioeconomic comparisons shape judgments about monetary and time donations

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