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Motivational determinants of prosocial behavior: What do included, hopeful excluded, and hopeless excluded individuals need to behave prosocially?

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Abstract

In light of the current relevance of analyzing the motivational determinants of prosocial behaviors, an experimental design was applied to examine the influence of rejection sensitivity, affective states, and trust on prosocial behavior in the included versus excluded context. The research was performed at a Spanish university with a sample of 118 students. The results confirm that excluded individuals are more prosocial than included individuals only when they see reconnection as possible (hopeful excluded individuals). The inclusion/exclusion experience moderated (1) the links between rejection sensitivity and both affective states and prosocial behavior, and (2) the mediation of trust between affective states and prosocial behavior. Finally, a predictive model of prosocial behavior moderated by the type of inclusion or exclusion was partially supported. Results indicate the relevance of promoting different variables in included individuals, hopeful excluded individuals, and hopeless excluded individuals for prosocial behavior.

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Acknowledgments

The data collection was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology Grant number PSI 2009-07423, in which Carmen Tabernero is the main researcher. And the manuscript was written while Esther Cuadrado was a fellow doctoral researcher financially supported by the Spanish Educational Ministry within the framework of the National Program of university teacher training (2010–2014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Cordoba, Calle San Alberto Magno s/n, 14071, Córdoba, Spain

    Esther Cuadrado & Carmen Tabernero

  2. Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300, RB Leiden, The Netherlands

    Wolfgang Steinel

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  1. Esther Cuadrado
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  2. Carmen Tabernero
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  3. Wolfgang Steinel
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Correspondence to Esther Cuadrado.

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Cuadrado, E., Tabernero, C. & Steinel, W. Motivational determinants of prosocial behavior: What do included, hopeful excluded, and hopeless excluded individuals need to behave prosocially?. Motiv Emot 39, 344–358 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9460-z

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