Effects of Cost and Benefit of Prosocial Behavior on Reputation

Abstract

Prosocial behavior consists of a cost to the actor and a benefit of others. Previous studies have shown that prosocial actors generally receive positive social evaluations from observers. However, it is unknown how each component of prosocial behavior (i.e., cost and benefit) influences the two dimensions of person perception (i.e., warmth and competence). Thus, three studies investigated the independent effects of cost and benefit on the perceived warmth and competence of the actor. In Study 1, participants read a series of vignettes about a protagonist incurring a cost to benefit another individual and rated the warmth and competence of each protagonist. Although benefit enhanced both perceived warmth and competence, cost enhanced only perceived warmth. Studies 2a and 2b separately manipulated costs and benefits of prosocial behaviors in vignettes and confirmed the results of Study 1. Thus, this study demonstrated the independent effects of cost and benefit on person perception.