The relationship between rejection avoidance and altruism is moderated by social norms

• Published in: Personality and individual differences 2018-07, Vol.129, p.24-27
• Main Authors: Kawamura, Yuta, Kusumi, Takashi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Altruism; Attitudes; Norm deviance; Norms; Personality traits; Praise seeking; Prosocial behavior; Rejection avoidance; Reputational concern; Reputations; Social norms
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.038

Recently, the relationship between reputation and altruism has gained significant attention. The present study examined whether the relationship between rejection avoidance and altruism differs according to social norms. A total of 320 participants completed an online survey with questions concerning rejection avoidance and altruism in situations where either a prosocial or non-prosocial norm was present. As predicted, people with higher levels of rejection avoidance displayed less altruism only in the context of non-prosocial norms. This result corresponds with previous evidence that suggests that altruism can be evaluated negatively by others when it deviates from social norms. These findings shed a new light on the relationship between reputation and altruism. •The study examines the moderating effect of social norms on the relationship between reputational concern and altruism.•The relationship between rejection avoidance and altruism was moderated by social norms.•Rejection avoidance was found to be negatively related to altruism only under non-prosocial norms.