ABSTRACT

Prosocial behavior benefits happiness, making such behavior an important strategy for achieving well-being. The present studies investigate if depriving people of the opportunity to help others lowers happiness. In Study 1 (N = 162), participants were randomly assigned to rate how they would feel if they intended to help someone and were able to help, if they intended to help someone but someone else helped first, or if they did not want to help someone. Participants who wanted to help but were deprived of this opportunity showed the lowest level of happiness (vs. other scenario conditions). Study 2 (N = 196) showed that thwarted autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction partially mediated the association between being deprived of helping someone and lower happiness. Study 3 (N = 234) replicated this effect with a different type of scenario and investigated an additional condition – when the target helps themselves. Moreover, Study 3 showed that thwarting of a fourth possible need, for beneficence, added to the mediation of the effect. These studies add to the literature on prosocial behavior and happiness by showing that being thwarted in enacting one’s prosocial intentions has negative consequences. They also add to emerging findings suggesting that beneficence may be a basic psychological need.

摘要

亲社会行为有益于幸福，使这种行为成为实现幸福的重要策略。目前的研究调查了剥夺人们帮助他人的机会是否会降低幸福感。在研究 1 ( N = 162) 中，参与者被随机分配来评估他们是否打算帮助某人并且能够帮助他们的感受，如果他们打算帮助某人但其他人首先帮助了他们，或者他们是否不想帮助他人。想要提供帮助但被剥夺了这个机会的参与者表现出最低水平的幸福感（与其他情景条件相比）。研究 2 ( N= 196) 表明受阻的自主性、能力和相关性需要满足部分调节了被剥夺帮助某人和降低幸福感之间的关联。研究 3 ( N = 234) 用不同类型的场景复制了这种效果，并研究了一个额外的条件——当目标自助时。此外，研究 3 表明，阻止第四种可能的需要，为慈善，增加了效果的中介。这些研究表明，在制定亲社会意图时受阻会产生负面影响，从而丰富了有关亲社会行为和幸福的文献。他们还补充了新的发现，表明行善可能是一种基本的心理需求。