Prosocial modeling: A meta-analytic review and synthesis

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Prosocial models are widely used to encourage helping behaviors.
• Decades of research exist on the impact of observing prosocial actions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meta-analytically synthesize research on prosocial modeling.
• To determine the effectiveness of prosocial models in eliciting helping behavior.
• To identify moderators of the prosocial modeling effect.

Main Methods:

• Meta-analysis of 88 studies.
• Inclusion of 25,354 participants.
• Examination of various helping behaviors, targets, and experimental conditions.

Main Results:

• A moderate effect size (g = 0.45) for prosocial modeling on subsequent helping.
• The effect generalized across helping types and targets, and was robust to bias.
• Factors increasing the effect included helping the model directly, higher female participant percentages, benefits to others, and model rewards.

Conclusions:

• Prosocial modeling is an effective strategy for fostering helping behavior.
• Specific conditions, such as direct benefit to the model or observed rewards, amplify the modeling effect.
• Understanding moderators is crucial for optimizing interventions and future research directions.