The effect of self-presentation on social value orientation

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Social value orientations (SVOs) describe how individuals pursue outcomes for themselves and others in social interdependence.
• Prosocial orientations (cooperation, altruism, equality, maximin) often lead to better social impressions than proself orientations (individualism, competition).
• Self-presentational concerns may thus inflate prosocial SVOs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of self-presentational concerns on social value orientations.
• To determine if inhibiting self-presentation alters SVOs.

Main Methods:

• A bogus pipeline procedure was employed to deter self-presentational concerns.
• Participants were Dutch university students.
• Two conditions were compared: bogus pipeline and control (no bogus pipeline).

Main Results:

• Students in the bogus pipeline condition exhibited significantly less prosocial orientation.
• Students in the bogus pipeline condition exhibited significantly more proself orientation.
• The bogus pipeline effectively inhibited self-presentation's influence on SVO.

Conclusions:

• Self-presentational concerns inflate prosocial social value orientations.
• When self-presentation is inhibited, individuals display more accurate, less socially desirable SVOs.
• Findings highlight the role of impression management in prosocial behavior.