The influence of anonymous peers on prosocial behavior.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Peer influence on students' maladaptive behaviors has been well documented; however, the influence on positive development is less acknowledged. PURPOSE:The purpose of this study was to examine anonymous peer influence on college students' prosocial behavior, specifically behavior for the improvement of society (i.e., donating money or participating in social campaigns) via an experimental approach. The effects of indirect peer influence (IP) and direct peer influence (DP) on college students' prosocial behavior were examined. METHODS:A total of 125 college students participated in an online survey and laboratory experiment. Self-reported helping behavior, social concern goals, and empathy were measured by the online survey. In the laboratory experiments, reading of a prosocial

SUBMITTER: Park S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5633145 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature