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Student Pro-sociality: Measuring Institutional and Individual Factors that Predict Pro-social Behaviour at University

Stiff, Christopher; Rosenthal-Stott, Harriet E.S.; Wake, Stephanie; Woodward, Amelia

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Authors

Harriet E.S. Rosenthal-Stott

Stephanie Wake

Amelia Woodward



Abstract

Students operate within a bounded social context and often face decisions regarding whether to pursue selfish or group-level benefit. Yet little work has examined what predicts their behaviour towards fellow students. This work addresses this gap by investigating what factors may predict students’ performance of pro-social actions at university, and how an institution may maximise such behaviour. Study 1 created the student pro-sociality scale, used to measure these tendencies in students. In study 2, 428 students from 25 UK universities took part an online survey study using this scale, and several other pre-existing measures of possible predictors. Analysis suggested that of those factors examined, role clarity, affective commitment, empathy, and perspective-taking emerged as the most influential. This first foray into this area can now inspire further research in finding the effective ways of fostering pro-social behaviour in students.

Acceptance Date Mar 31, 2019
Publication Date Aug 1, 2019
Journal Current Psychology
Print ISSN 1046-1310
Publisher Springer Verlag
Pages 920-930
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00256-3
Keywords pro-social, student, university, survey, scale development
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00256-3

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