Prosocial Behavior and Reputation: When Does Doing Good Lead to Looking Good?
Journal
Current Opinion in Psychology
Subject
Marketing
Publishing details
Current Opinion in Psychology 2021 Vol 43 p 102-107
Authors / Editors
Berman J Z;Silver I
Biographies
Publication Year
2021
Abstract
One reason people engage in prosocial behavior is to reap the reputational benefits associated with being seen as generous. Yet, there isn’t a direct connection between doing good deeds and being seen as a good person. Rather, prosocial actors are often met with suspicion, and sometimes castigated as disingenuous braggarts, empty virtue-signalers, or holier-than-thou hypocrites. In this article, we review recent research on how people evaluate those who engage in prosocial behavior and identify key factors that influence whether observers will praise or denigrate a prosocial actor for doing a good deed.
Keywords
Charity; Psychology
Available on ECCH
No