心理学报2025，Vol.57Issue(12)：2202-2219,中插31-中插32,20.DOI:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.2202
公平还是效率?完成动机对亲社会行为偏好的影响
Equity or efficiency?Impact of completion motivation on prosocial behavior preferences
摘要
Abstract
In prosocial behavior,helpers often face a trade-off between equity and efficiency due to limited resources.Previous research has shown that individuals are prone to prioritize equitable resource distribution when faced with incompatibility between fairness and efficiency.This tendency indicates that helpers frequently overlook the efficiency of aid provided to a minority in favor of equal assistance to a large group.This study hypothesizes that when the efficiency of assisting a few individuals reaches 100％,helpers may be prompted by completion motivation,resulting in a change in their decision-making regarding equity and efficiency. We conducted six experiments to validate our hypothesis.Experiment 1(N=194)examined individual prosocial decision-making preferences in situations where assistance could not be fully provided(non-completable situations;inefficient help for all)as opposed to situations where complete assistance could be provided for a few beneficiaries(completable situations;efficient help for minority).Experiment 2(N=115)explored how different levels of efficiency in options influence individual helping preferences in non-completable situations,thus controlling for potential confounding effects of preference for high efficiency.Based on the results of Experiments 1 and 2,Experiment 3(N=164)further explored the mechanisms underlying the differences in helping preferences in these scenarios,thereby highlighting the mediating role of relative completion motivation.To investigate the contextual boundaries of completion motivation in shaping prosocial behavior preferences,Experiment 4(N=168)employed a refined experimental design that categorized helping contexts into survival-related and development-related situations.Building upon these findings,Experiment 5(N=133)examined whether completion motivation could enhance donation behaviors in broader prosocial contexts not constrained by fairness-efficiency trade-offs.Afterward,Experiment 6(N=123)was conducted to eliminate potential confounding effects of psychological ownership,thus strengthening the robustness of the observed relationship between completion motivation and prosocial behavior. The six experiments revealed that when the difficulties of all of the beneficiaries could not be completely resolved,participants displayed a strong preference for fairness.Conversely,when the difficulties of a few beneficiaries could be fully addressed,they showed a decreased inclination toward fairness and an increased inclination toward efficiency(Experiment 1).This notable shift in decision-making was significantly mediated by individual completion motivation(Experiment 3),rather than by a general preference for higher-efficiency options(Experiment 2).Specifically,in non-completable situations,a high motivation for fairness drove individuals to choose fair options.Conversely,in completable situations,an increased motivation for completion prompted more individuals to prefer efficiency options.Moreover,the stimulating effect of completion motivation on the preference for efficiency was observed solely in development-related helping contexts while proving ineffective in survival-related situations(Experiment 4).In addition,individual completion motivation had a significant positive influence on donation amounts in broader contexts where fairness considerations were absent(Experiment 5),after controlling for potential confounding effects of psychological ownership(Experiment 6). This study significantly enhances our understanding of the relationship between equity and efficiency in prosocial behavior by highlighting the critical role of completion motivation.The findings suggest that helpers are apt to prioritize fairness when no one can benefit completely;however,they shift toward efficiency when some individuals can be fully assisted.These insights have practical implications for designing interventions aimed at promoting effective altruism,underscoring the importance of helping efficiency while considering the psychological motivations that influence individuals' prosocial decisions.关键词
捐赠行为/公平/效率/完成动机Key words
donation behavior/fairness/efficiency/completion motivation分类
社会科学引用本文复制引用
李维维,欧敏华,康志强,文雨婷,林雪晴..公平还是效率?完成动机对亲社会行为偏好的影响[J].心理学报,2025,57(12):2202-2219,中插31-中插32,20.基金项目
国家自然科学基金(32100874)、湖南省自然科学基金(2023JJ40430)项目资助. （32100874）
