Prosocial Behavior Following Transgression: Evidence For Intrapsychic And Interpersonal Motives

Abstract

This experiment examined the notion that interpersonal, as well as intrapsychic motives, need to be considered when attempting to explain prosocial behavior following transgression. Ss (N = 51) were American college students. They received a tip-off concerning the answers on a test and later denied having such knowledge. For half the Ss the E revealed she had found out about the tip-off and excused the Ss' failure to admit their prior knowledge. Ss were asked to volunteer for another experiment under anonymous or public conditions. A control group did not receive the tip-off about the answers on the test and volunteered publicly. A significant interaction of the two independent variables was obtained. More Ss volunteered anonymously when they had not been excused than when they had been excused. Whether or not Ss had been excused made little difference in their willingness to volunteer publicly. © 1984 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Department(s)

Psychological Science

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1940-1183; 0022-4545

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2023 Taylor and Francis Group; Routledge, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 1984

Link to Full Text

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