PSY336H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Prosocial Behavior, Social Emotions, Reinforcement
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An adaptation for altruism? (mccullough, et al. , 2008) Gratitude: positive emotion that typically flows from the perception that one has benefited from the costly, intentional, voluntary action of another person. Gratitude is a pleasant emotion, but it"s different from simple happiness because gratitude is typically preceded by the perception that one has benefited form another person"s generosity. Gratitude is responsive to four types of information about the benefit- giving situation: The extent to which it was given even without relational obligations to help. Tsang (2006a) found that, consistent with the proposition that gratitude increases proportionality with the benefactor"s intentionality, participants experienced more gratitude toward benefactors who helped them out of benevolent rather than self-serving motives. Mccollough et al (2001) also proposed that gratitude reinforces prosocial behavior because expression of gratitude (for example, saying thanks ) increases the likelihood that benefactors will behave prosocially again in the future. Expressing gratitude may make beneficiaries seem like safe targets for future investments.
