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Surprisingly Happy to Have Helped: Underestimating Prosociality Creates a Misplaced Barrier to Asking for Help
1Department of Psychology, Stanford University.
Psychological Science
|September 6, 2022
Summary
People often hesitate to ask for help due to underestimating others' willingness and positive feelings. This reluctance stems from misjudging prosocial motivation, hindering beneficial social interactions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Acts of kindness boost well-being, but individuals are often hesitant to seek assistance.
- This reluctance may stem from inaccurate perceptions of others' willingness to help and their emotional responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate why people underestimate others' prosocial motivation when help is needed.
- To examine the accuracy of expectations regarding helpers' feelings and willingness to assist.
Main Methods:
- Utilized scenarios, recalled experiences, and live interactions with 2,118 adult participants in the United States.
- Assessed participants' expectations about how potential helpers would think, feel, and the perceived inconvenience.
Main Results:
- Individuals needing help consistently underestimated others' willingness to help and helpers' positive feelings.
- Help-seekers overestimated the inconvenience helpers would experience.
- Miscalibrated expectations were linked to underestimating prosocial motivation and overestimating compliance motivation.
Conclusions:
- People often undervalue the prosocial drive of others, creating unnecessary barriers to seeking help.
- Rethinking help-seeking beyond mere compliance is crucial for fostering supportive social connections.
- Addressing these misperceptions can encourage more open help-seeking behaviors.
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