社会阶层如何影响个体的亲社会行为?——机制与相关因素的探讨

Social Class and Prosocial Behavior: How and why social class affects prosocial behavior

社会阶层的社会认知理论与相关研究表明,低社会阶层者常比高社会阶层者更亲社会,而亲社会行为的资源和代价理论认为高阶层者更有能力和可能做出亲社会行为。随着实证研究的增多,研究者开始从多种因素(微观的个体水平变量,如人格因素;中观的情境水平变量,即具体的社会互动情境;宏观的社会与文化变量,如社会结构与文化因素)共同影响行为的视角入手来全面地理解社会阶层与亲社会行为之间的关系。研究发现,微观个体层面的互惠信念、感恩特质和相对剥夺感,中观情境层面的互动对方的利他水平、慈善呼吁类型和亲社会情境公开性,以及宏观社会层面的收入不平等性和文化等因素,都会影响社会阶层与亲社会行为之间的关系。未来研究应探讨亲社会情境、社会与文化层面的因素如何与个体的社会阶层交互影响其亲社会行为;考察受助者的社会阶层如何激发人们的亲社会行为,以及行动者的社会阶层对亲社会行为传递的影响。

According to the social cognitive theory of social class and relevant research,people of low social class tend to be more prosocial than their upper class counterparts,while the resource and cost theory of prosocial behavior supports that people of high social class are of higher capability and possibility to engage in prosocial behavior.As empirical studies increased,researchers began to realize that the relationship between social class and prosocial behavior can be better understood from the perspective that various factors jointly influence people’s behavior,including micro variables of individual level(such as personality factors),meso variables of situational level(such as the specific social interaction situation),macro variables of social and cultural level(such as social structure and cultural factors).Recent studies reveal that the relationship between social class and prosocial behavior is influenced by the reciprocity belief,the publicity of prosocial context and relative deprivation on the micro individual level,and altruism level of partner,charity appealing type and the publicity context on the meso situational level,and income inequality and cultural on the macro social level.Future research should explore how prosocial context,social and cultural factors interact with an individual’s social class to influence prosocial behavior,as well as investigate the effect of recipient’s social class in eliciting people’s prosocial behavior,and the effect of actor’s social class in people’s paying the prosociality torward.