The Effect of Sense of Community Responsibility on Residents’ Altruistic Behavior: Evidence from the Dictator Game

Chao Yang, Yanli Wang, Yuhui Wang, Xuemeng Zhang, Yong Liu and Hong Chen
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Chao Yang: Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Yanli Wang: Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Yuhui Wang: Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China
Xuemeng Zhang: Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Yong Liu: Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Hong Chen: Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-10

Abstract: Understanding the new mechanism of altruistic behavior is pivotal to people’s health and social development. Despite the rich literature on altruism, this is the first study exploring the association between the sense of community responsibility (SOC-R) and altruistic behavior by repeated dictator games. Data were gathered from 95 residents (30% male; M age = 33.20 years). Demographic variables, money motivation, and SOC-R were measured. The results revealed that there was a significant positive correlation between SOC-R and altruistic behavior, and SOC-R had a positive predictive effect on residents’ altruistic behavior. With the increasing of the number of tasks assigned, the level of residents’ altruistic behavior gradually decreased. There was a significant difference in money allocation between the groups with high and low levels of SOC-R. The level of altruistic behavior in the group with a high level of SOC-R was significantly higher than that in the the group with a low level of SOC-R. Findings from the present study highlighted the potential value of strengthening residents’ SOC-R in the improvement of altruism. Implications and directions for future research were also discussed.

Keywords: sense of community responsibility; altruistic behavior; dictator game; social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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