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Inspiring altruism: reflecting on the personal relevance of emotionally evocative prosocial media characters

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 20:17 authored by Tom FarsidesTom Farsides, Danelle Pettman, Louise Tourle
Educators have proposed that admired behavior by media characters evokes audience emulation if subsequent personal reflection results in audience members realizing that they want to and are able to behave in a similar manner. Two experiments investigated this. In Study 1, exposure to prosocial media models increased altruistic inclinations among teenagers only if they were also instructed to reflect on the personal significance of what they had seen. In Study 2, medical students exposed to prosocial media models had higher empathic and altruistic intentions if they reflected on the personal rather than the professional significance of what they had seen. Personal inspiration and recognition of enactment possibilities seemed key determinants of emulation.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Journal of Applied Social Psychology

ISSN

0021-9029

Publisher

Wiley

Issue

11

Volume

43

Page range

2251-2258

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-01-20

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-01-20

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