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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
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Do negative emotional experiences facilitate or hinder prosocial behaviour?
Mariola Laguna1, Natalia Łukawska1, Michał Kędra1
1Institute of Psychology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Cognition & Emotion
|September 15, 2025
Summary
Negative emotions like anger, guilt, sadness, and fear do not appear to drive prosocial behavior. This research found no significant link between negative emotional experiences and helping actions across three studies.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Emotion Research
Background:
- Positive emotions are thought to promote prosocial behavior, but the influence of negative emotions remains poorly understood.
- Existing theories suggest negative emotions might motivate helping, yet empirical evidence is inconsistent.
- This study investigates the relationship between specific negative emotions and prosocial actions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between negative emotional experiences (anger, guilt, sadness, fear, negative affect) and prosocial behavior.
- To test the impact of experimentally induced negative emotions on financial donations and helping.
- To explore the daily relationship between negative affect and prosocial behavior using a diary methodology.
Main Methods:
- Three studies were conducted: Study 1 surveyed individuals (N=365) on helping refugees; Study 2 used a lab experiment (N=203) with emotion induction; Study 3 employed a 7-day diary methodology (N=148).
- Prosocial behavior was measured through self-reported helping, financial donations, and helping the experimenter.
- Statistical analyses included correlational analysis, multilevel modeling, and analysis of experimental data.
Main Results:
- No significant association was found between anger, guilt, sadness, or fear and helping Ukrainian refugees in Study 1.
- In Study 2, induced negative emotions did not affect financial donations or willingness to help the experimenter.
- Study 3 revealed no significant relationship between daily negative affect and daily prosocial behavior, nor between previous-day affect and current prosocial behavior.
Conclusions:
- Contrary to some theories, negative emotions and negative affect do not appear to be significant drivers of prosocial behavior.
- Transient emotional states may play a lesser role in prosocial actions than dispositional traits like trait prosocialness.
- Future research should focus on the dispositional factors that consistently predict helping behavior.
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