TITLE:
Conscientiousness Moderates the Influence of a Help-Eliciting Prime on Prosocial Behavior
AUTHORS:
Rhonda Swickert, Branden Abushanab, Hannah Bise, Rebecca Szer
KEYWORDS:
Interactionism, Conscientiousness, Priming, Helping, Prosocial Behavior, Social Behavior
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.17,
November
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: This
study tested whether personality influenced the effect of a help-eliciting
prime. Participants (N = 203) attended
two experimental sessions. In the first session, Conscientiousness was measured
along with several control variables. Participants returned for a second
session where they were randomly assigned to a help-eliciting prime or a
Control prime. After completing the written prime exercise, participants were
asked to respond to a helping scenario. Textual analyses showed that written
responses to the help-eliciting prime differed across level of Conscientiousness,
with individuals high in Conscientiousness writing more often about one’s moral
obligation to help. An ANCOVA analysis revealed a significant main effect for Conscientiousness,
as well as a significant interaction effect between Conscientiousness and the
Prime. Individuals scoring higher in Conscientiousness were more likely to
provide assistance, and this was particularly true if they were in the help-eliciting
prime condition. Our results are supportive of an interactional model where one
must consider both personality and situational factors to successfully
understand and predict helping responses.