People cooperate every day in ways that range from largescale contributions that mitigate climatechange to simple actions such as leaving another individual with choice – known as social... Show morePeople cooperate every day in ways that range from largescale contributions that mitigate climatechange to simple actions such as leaving another individual with choice – known as social mindfulness.It is not yet clear whether and how these complex and more simple forms of cooperation relate. Priorwork has found that countries with individuals who made more socially mindful choices were linked toa higher country environmental performance – a proxy for complex cooperation. Here we replicatedthis initial finding in 41 samples around the world, demonstrating the robustness of the associationbetween social mindfulness and environmental performance, and substantially built on it to show thisrelationship extended to a wide range of complex cooperative indices, tied closely to many currentsocietal issues. We found that greater social mindfulness expressed by an individual was related toliving in countries with more social capital, more community participation and reduced prejudicetowards immigrants. Our findings speak to the symbiotic relationship between simple and morecomplex forms of cooperation in societies. Show less
Corruption is a pervasive phenomenon that affects the quality of institutions, undermines economic growth and exacerbates inequalities around the globe. Here we tested whether perceiving... Show moreCorruption is a pervasive phenomenon that affects the quality of institutions, undermines economic growth and exacerbates inequalities around the globe. Here we tested whether perceiving representatives of institutions as corrupt undermines trust and subsequent prosocial behaviour among strangers. We developed an experimental game paradigm modelling representatives as third-party punishers to manipulate or assess corruption and examine its relationship with trust and prosociality (trust behaviour, cooperation and generosity). In a sequential dyadic die-rolling task, the participants observed the dishonest behaviour of a target who would subsequently serve as a third-party punisher in a trust game (Study 1a, N = 540), in a prisoner’s dilemma (Study 1b, N = 503) and in dictator games (Studies 2–4, N = 765, pre-registered). Across these five studies, perceiving a third party as corrupt undermined interpersonal trust and, in turn, prosocial behaviour. These findings contribute to our understanding of the critical role that representatives of institutions play in shaping cooperative relationships in modern societies. Show less
Doesum, N.J. van; Murphy, R.O; Gallucci, M.; Aharonov-Majar, E.; Athenstaedt, U.; Au Wing, T.; ... ; Lange, P.A.M. van 2021
Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one’s location in... Show moreHumans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one’s location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries’ better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits. Show less
Van Doesum, N.J.; Vries, R.E. de; Blokland, A.A.J.; Hill, J.M.; Kuhlman, D.M.; Stivers, A.W.; ... ; Lange, P.A.M. van 2019
Prosociality is a central topic in positive psychology. An important but under-studied distinction can be made between active and reactive expressions. We suggest that the novel construct of social... Show moreProsociality is a central topic in positive psychology. An important but under-studied distinction can be made between active and reactive expressions. We suggest that the novel construct of social mindfulness represents active rather than reactive prosociality. Across four studies (N = 2,594), including a multi-wave representative sample spanning six years, social mindfulness is found to correlate with personality traits associated with prosocial and/or antisocial behavior. We find positive associations with empathy, social value orientation, and general prosocial behavior, and negative associations with moral disengagement and narcissism. Importantly, social mindfulness emerges as an active rather than a reactive characteristic that is more strongly related to HEXACO honesty-humility (active cooperation) than to HEXACO agreeableness (reactive cooperation). The association between social mindfulness and honesty-humility was found across measures six years apart. Given the well-established link between prosociality and well-being, emphasizing social mindfulness may be a good start to promote the latter. Show less
Psychosis is characterized by problems in social functioning and trust, the assumed glue to positive social relations. But what helps building trust? A prime candidate could be social mindfulness:... Show morePsychosis is characterized by problems in social functioning and trust, the assumed glue to positive social relations. But what helps building trust? A prime candidate could be social mindfulness: the ability and willingness to see and consider another person’s needs and wishes during social decision making. We investigated whether first-episode psychosis patients (FEP) and patients at clinical high-risk (CHR) show reduced social mindfulness, and examined the underlying neural mechanisms. Show less
