Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial Behaviors

Acute stress is believed to lead to prosocial behaviors via a “tend-and-befriend” pattern of stress response. However, the results of the effect of acute stress on prosocial behavior are inconsistent. The current study explores the moderating effect of gender and social value orientation on the rela...

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Main Authors: Liuhua Ying, Qin Yan, Xin Shen, Chengmian Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.803184/full
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author Liuhua Ying
Qin Yan
Xin Shen
Chengmian Zhang
author_facet Liuhua Ying
Qin Yan
Xin Shen
Chengmian Zhang
author_sort Liuhua Ying
collection DOAJ
description Acute stress is believed to lead to prosocial behaviors via a “tend-and-befriend” pattern of stress response. However, the results of the effect of acute stress on prosocial behavior are inconsistent. The current study explores the moderating effect of gender and social value orientation on the relationship between acute stress and individuals’ pure prosocial behaviors (i.e., pure prosociality and prosocial third-party punishment). Specifically, eighty-one participants were selected and underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (or were in the control group), followed by the third-party punishment task and the dictator game. The results showed that, in general, the main effect of condition or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity on individual prosocial behaviors was significant and did not vary between genders. Furthermore, social value orientation (i.e., prosocial or self-orientation) might moderate the impact of RSA reactivity on the amount of punishment in the third-party punishment task. That is, individuals with self-orientation exhibited more prosocial third-party punishment as RSA reactivity decreased, while the effect did not occur for individuals with prosocial orientation. Taken together, the findings of the current study provide further evidence for the “tend-and-befriend” hypothesis and highlight the underlying physical mechanisms as well as the individual dependence of the effect of psychosocial stress on individuals’ pure prosocial behaviors.
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spelling doaj.art-d2279299e3b646c280ae90c3633bfe2f2022-12-21T18:42:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782022-03-011310.3389/fpsyg.2022.803184803184Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial BehaviorsLiuhua YingQin YanXin ShenChengmian ZhangAcute stress is believed to lead to prosocial behaviors via a “tend-and-befriend” pattern of stress response. However, the results of the effect of acute stress on prosocial behavior are inconsistent. The current study explores the moderating effect of gender and social value orientation on the relationship between acute stress and individuals’ pure prosocial behaviors (i.e., pure prosociality and prosocial third-party punishment). Specifically, eighty-one participants were selected and underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (or were in the control group), followed by the third-party punishment task and the dictator game. The results showed that, in general, the main effect of condition or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity on individual prosocial behaviors was significant and did not vary between genders. Furthermore, social value orientation (i.e., prosocial or self-orientation) might moderate the impact of RSA reactivity on the amount of punishment in the third-party punishment task. That is, individuals with self-orientation exhibited more prosocial third-party punishment as RSA reactivity decreased, while the effect did not occur for individuals with prosocial orientation. Taken together, the findings of the current study provide further evidence for the “tend-and-befriend” hypothesis and highlight the underlying physical mechanisms as well as the individual dependence of the effect of psychosocial stress on individuals’ pure prosocial behaviors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.803184/fullstress reactivityTrier Social Stress Testsocial value orientationthird-party punishment taskdictator gametend-and-befriend
spellingShingle Liuhua Ying
Qin Yan
Xin Shen
Chengmian Zhang
Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial Behaviors
Frontiers in Psychology
stress reactivity
Trier Social Stress Test
social value orientation
third-party punishment task
dictator game
tend-and-befriend
title Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial Behaviors
title_full Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial Behaviors
title_fullStr Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial Behaviors
title_full_unstemmed Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial Behaviors
title_short Social Value Orientation Moderated the Effect of Acute Stress on Individuals’ Prosocial Behaviors
title_sort social value orientation moderated the effect of acute stress on individuals prosocial behaviors
topic stress reactivity
Trier Social Stress Test
social value orientation
third-party punishment task
dictator game
tend-and-befriend
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.803184/full
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AT qinyan socialvalueorientationmoderatedtheeffectofacutestressonindividualsprosocialbehaviors
AT xinshen socialvalueorientationmoderatedtheeffectofacutestressonindividualsprosocialbehaviors
AT chengmianzhang socialvalueorientationmoderatedtheeffectofacutestressonindividualsprosocialbehaviors