Content area
Full text
A number of findings attest to the positive influence that prosocial behavior, namely people's tendency to act voluntarily to benefit others, exerts on individual functioning and interpersonal transactions. A large sample from the Italian population belonging to six age groups participated in the study and filled out self-report questionnaires aimed at evaluating personal efficacy beliefs, values, and prosocial behavior. The present study examined a conceptual model in which self-efficacy beliefs and self-transcendence values-benevolence and universalism-operate in concert to promote prosocial behavior. The posited model accounted for a notable portion of the variance of prosocial behavior, ranging from 41% to 70% in both genders. Findings attest to the effects that self-transcendence values exert on prosocial behavior either directly, or indirectly through self-efficacy beliefs, in regulating affect and in managing interpersonal relationships.
Prosocial behavior refers to individuals' tendency to undertake voluntary actions aimed at benefiting others, such as sharing, donating, caring, comforting, and helping (Batson, 1998; Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998; Fermer, Dovidio, Piliavin, & Schroeder, 2005; Schroeder, Fermer, Dovidio, & Piliavin, 1995).
As the importance of the ability to benefit others may seem obvious for the quality of social interactions between individuals and among groups, prosocial behavior has long been a domain of philosophical speculations on human nature (Sills, 1968).
The enactment of prosocial behavior can improve the quality of social interactions in a double way. On the one hand, individuals who are the targets of prosocial actions clearly benefit from being taken care of and helped by others. On the other hand, behaving prosocially, while carrying social approval, can in and of itself be self-rewarding and have beneficial effects.
Findings from developmental research show that prosocial behavior is positively correlated with psychosocial adjustment in children and adolescents (see Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). Early prosocial behavior contributes to children's accomplishments in social and academic domains, in warding off depression and transgressive behavior, and in promoting academic achievement (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996; Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, & Regalia, 2001; Bandura, Pastorelli, Barbaranelli, & Caprara, 1999; Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, Bandura, & Zimbardo, 2000).
Other findings also show the positive effect that behaving prosocially has across all stages of adult life. Indeed, prosocial behavior may represent a protective factor that fosters self-enhancement, self-acceptance, and successful psychosocial adaptation,...