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Published on: September 28, 2018
Beauty growth-mindset promotes prosocial and altruistic behavior
Iris W Hung1, Natalie T Faust2
1Department of Marketing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China. irishung@cuhk.edu.cn.
Believing beauty is improvable (a growth mindset) increases prosocial behavior, like donating to charity and vaccination intentions. This mindset enhances perceived ability to impact others, fostering altruism.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Beauty influences social judgment and behavior, often conferring benefits only to attractive individuals.
- Existing research suggests personal beauty does not impact one's own prosocial actions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of "beauty mindset" in shaping prosocial and altruistic behaviors.
- To explore whether believing beauty is improvable influences altruistic actions.
Main Methods:
- Conducted 10 experiments with 4,449 participants.
- Assessed the impact of a "beauty growth-mindset" compared to a "fixed-mindset" on prosocial behaviors.
- Utilized interventions focusing on herd-protection versus self-protection for vaccination decisions.
Main Results:
- Participants with a beauty growth-mindset donated more to charity than those with a fixed-mindset.
- A beauty growth-mindset increased likelihood of COVID-19 vaccination after herd-protection messaging.
- This mindset was linked to greater intention for prosocial and altruistic behaviors, mediated by perceived self-efficacy.
Conclusions:
- A beauty growth-mindset, the belief that beauty can be improved, promotes prosocial and altruistic behaviors.
- The effect is mediated by an enhanced self-perception of one's ability to impact others.
- This research opens avenues for understanding how beauty mindset can foster societal prosociality.
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