ABSTRACT
Research in the field of prosocial behavior has shown that the presence of others has a significant effect on individuals’ prosociality. However, no research has explored such an effect of romantic partner’s presence. Studies in evolutionary psychology have shown benevolence/prosociality as an important factor when choosing a romantic partner. Therefore, in the present study, we hypothesized that people will donate more in the presence of dating partners to maintain a positive impression on them. The research followed a mixed-method approach. The first study, a vignette-based experiment showed that people believed the presence of a dating partner significantly enhances the chances of donation. The second study was a between-subject experiment that confirmed the findings of study 1 from both donors’ and receivers’ perspectives. The third study was a qualitative investigation, where a semi-structured interview method was used to find out how and why the presence of a dating partner may influence donation. The interviews showed that the presence of dating partners increases prosociality mainly because donors want to make a good impression and project the right image of them in their partners’ eyes. The research overall suggests that the human need for self-presentation that projects them more socially likable shapes their willingness to extend a helping hand to others in the presence of their romantic partners.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge Dr. Tuheena Mukherjee, for her kind help in data collection.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).