Social goals, such as prosocial and social responsibility goals, are crucial predictors of learning and optimal functioning. Past studies on social goals have usually focused on how teachers and peers influence social goal pursuit. However, the role of social contagion among classmates has seldom been explored. This study aimed to test the social contagion of social goals (prosocial and social responsibility goals) among classmates and the implications this might have on students' engagement in school. We recruited 1524 students nested within 50 classes and asked them to respond to surveys across two time points. Multilevel path analysis was used to analyze the data. Students embedded in classes with higher social goals at Time 1 had higher social goals themselves at Time 2, demonstrating social contagion effects. Social contagion effects remained robust despite controlling for auto-regressor effects and other alternative explanations. Higher social goals (prosocial and social responsibility), in turn, were positively associated with greater engagement. This study has important implications for theorizing on social goals and highlights the need to examine the important role played by social contagion in understanding motivational processes.

社会目标，例如亲社会和社会责任目标，是学习和最佳功能的关键预测指标。过去关于社会目标的研究通常集中在教师和同龄人如何影响社会目标追求上。但是，很少探讨同学之间社会传染的作用。这项研究旨在测试同学之间社会目标（亲社会责任目标）的社会传染性，以及对学生参与学校活动的影响。我们招募了5024个班级中的1524名学生，并要求他们在两个时间点内对调查做出回应。使用多级路径分析来分析数据。在时间1嵌入具有较高社会目标的班级的学生在时间2本身具有较高的社会目标，显示出社会传染效应。尽管控制了自回归效应和其他替代解释，社会传染效应仍然保持强劲。反过来，更高的社会目标（亲社会和社会责任）与更大的参与度正相关。这项研究对于理论化社会目标具有重要意义，并强调需要研究社会传染在理解动机过程中所起的重要作用。