TY - JOUR
T1 - Prosocial apathy for helping others when effort is required
AU - Lockwood, Patricia L
AU - Hamonet, Mathilde
AU - Zhang, Samuel H
AU - Ratnavel, Anya
AU - Salmony, Florentine U
AU - Husain, Masud
AU - Apps, Matthew A J
PY - 2017/7
Y1 - 2017/7
N2 - Prosocial acts-those that are costly to ourselves but benefit others-are a central component of human coexistence(1-3). While the financial and moral costs of prosocial behaviours are well understood(4-6), everyday prosocial acts do not typically come at such costs. Instead, they require effort. Here, using computational modelling of an effort-based task, we show that people are prosocially apathetic. They are less willing to choose to initiate highly effortful acts that benefit others compared with those benefitting themselves. Moreover, even when choosing to initiate effortful prosocial acts, people exhibit superficiality, exerting less force into the actions that benefit others than those that benefit themselves. These findings were replicated, and were present whether the other person was anonymous or not, and when choices were made to earn rewards or avoid losses. Importantly, the least prosocially motivated people had higher subclinical levels of psychopathy and social apathy. Thus, although people sometimes 'help out', they are less willing to benefit others and are sometimes 'superficially prosocial', which may characterize everyday prosociality and its disruption in social disorders.
AB - Prosocial acts-those that are costly to ourselves but benefit others-are a central component of human coexistence(1-3). While the financial and moral costs of prosocial behaviours are well understood(4-6), everyday prosocial acts do not typically come at such costs. Instead, they require effort. Here, using computational modelling of an effort-based task, we show that people are prosocially apathetic. They are less willing to choose to initiate highly effortful acts that benefit others compared with those benefitting themselves. Moreover, even when choosing to initiate effortful prosocial acts, people exhibit superficiality, exerting less force into the actions that benefit others than those that benefit themselves. These findings were replicated, and were present whether the other person was anonymous or not, and when choices were made to earn rewards or avoid losses. Importantly, the least prosocially motivated people had higher subclinical levels of psychopathy and social apathy. Thus, although people sometimes 'help out', they are less willing to benefit others and are sometimes 'superficially prosocial', which may characterize everyday prosociality and its disruption in social disorders.
U2 - 10.1038/s41562-017-0131
DO - 10.1038/s41562-017-0131
M3 - Article
C2 - 28819649
SN - 2397-3374
VL - 1
JO - Nature Human Behaviour
JF - Nature Human Behaviour
IS - 7
M1 - 0131
ER -