The Attributions of Others' Success and Self-Efficacy in Helping Peers in Upward Social Comparisons

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Belonging and the Social Dynamics of Learning

Abstract

This study investigated factors affecting helping behavior in upward comparisons as Korean students often face competition. To find out, Korean middle school students’ self-efficacy beliefs were measured, and their score was compared with a superior peer’s in academic contexts. Then, the attributions were given by explaining how the superior peer received higher score, and students were asked to either help the peer or not. The results indicated that students who received the effort attribution showed less negative emotion and higher helping behavior, and that empathic and social self-efficacy moderated on relations between the attributions of others’ success and helping behavior. Both situational and intrapersonal factors have to be provided when developing prosociality in upward comparisons.

Authors

• ByungYoon Lee, Seoul National University

• Seon-Young Lee, Seoul National University