ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理科学进展 ›› 2025, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (12): 2121-2137.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2025.2121 cstr: 32111.14.2025.2121

• 元分析 • 上一篇    下一篇

第三方干预对亲社会行为的影响:一项三水平元分析

沈殷琪, 蔡怡, 吴继霞()   

  1. 苏州大学教育学院, 江苏 苏州 215123
  • 收稿日期:2025-05-15 出版日期:2025-12-15 发布日期:2025-10-27
  • 通讯作者: 吴继霞,E-mail: wujixia@suda.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    江苏省研究生科研与实践创新计划项目(KYCX25_ 3516)

The effects of third-party intervention on prosocial behavior: A three-level meta-analysis

SHEN Yinqi, CAI Yi, WU Jixia()   

  1. School of Education, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
  • Received:2025-05-15 Online:2025-12-15 Published:2025-10-27

摘要:

作为维护社会规范的重要力量, 第三方干预在促进亲社会行为方面的潜力已受到研究者们的广泛关注。为系统考察第三方干预的亲社会效应强度及其影响因素, 本研究采用三水平元分析方法, 整合了40篇文献中的130个效应量(共计10289名被试)。主效应检验发现, 第三方干预对亲社会行为的促进作用达中等偏大水平。调节效应分析表明, 第三方干预的强度和概率会影响其对亲社会行为的促进作用, 干预强度越大, 概率越高, 第三方干预对亲社会行为的促进效应越强。而被试年龄、性别、第三方干预类型、形式、主体、成本、亲社会行为测量方式, 以及对照组设置均未表现出显著的调节作用。本研究系统验证了第三方干预对亲社会行为的积极影响, 并厘清了一系列关键的调节因素, 为后续理论发展与实证研究提供了一定启示。

关键词: 第三方干预, 亲社会行为, 三水平元分析, 调节效应

Abstract:

Third-party intervention refers to the proactive action of an uninvolved observer who, upon witnessing a behavioral event that violates, conforms to, or exceeds social normative expectations, imposes punishment, delivers rewards, or provides compensation to the actor involved. As a crucial mechanism for maintaining social order, third-party intervention has attracted extensive scholarly attention for its potential to foster prosocial behavior. Nevertheless, empirical findings remain inconsistent, suggesting that its effectiveness may depend on complex boundary conditions.

To systematically examine the strength of third-party intervention’s prosocial effect and its influencing factors, the present study employed a three-level meta-analytic approach, synthesizing 130 effect sizes from 40 empirical studies with a total sample of 10,289 participants. Results of the main effect analysis revealed that third-party intervention has a moderately strong positive impact on prosocial behavior. Moderator analyses further indicated that greater intensity and higher probability of intervention were associated with stronger prosocial effects. This pattern can be explained by several mechanisms: higher intensity and probability increase the anticipated costs of norm violations, enhance the potential benefits of engaging in prosocial actions, and transmit clearer normative signals, thereby fostering prosocial behavior. All forms of third-party intervention—punishment, reward, compensation, and their combinations—significantly promoted prosocial behavior, though the effect of rewards was relatively weaker. This asymmetry may be attributed to the principle of loss aversion, or the higher informational value of negative feedback relative to positive cues. Demographic moderators, including age and gender, were non-significant, suggesting that the prosocial impact of third-party intervention is stable across populations. Likewise, there was no difference between social versus monetary forms of intervention, indicating that both material incentives and social approval serve as fundamental motivation for prosocial behavior. Furthermore, whether the third-party agent was human or computer did not significantly alter prosocial effects. This may be because participants either lacked a strong psychological distinction regarding the agent’s identity, or because they focused more on the behavioral consequences themselves than on the intentions of the interveners. The presence or absence of intervention costs also did not significantly moderate the effect, which may reflect discrepancies between participants’ subjective perceptions and the coding schemes adopted by researchers. Future research should further investigate whether individuals’ prosocial behavior is differentially affected when they can clearly perceive variations in the level of intervention costs. Finally, methodological moderators, including measurement paradigms and control group setting, did not significantly influence outcomes, underscoring the robustness of the overall effect across experimental conditions.

Theoretical integration of these findings provides support for deterrence theory, focus theory of normative conduct, and indirect reciprocity theory. Specifically, deterrence theory explains the effect of punishment by emphasizing the increased costs associated with norm violations; focus theory highlights the capacity of intervention to draw attention to and strengthen normative awareness; and indirect reciprocity theory stresses the indirect reputational or cooperative benefits generated by intervention behaviors. Rather than being mutually exclusive, these perspectives are complementary, offering a multidimensional framework for understanding how third-party intervention fosters prosociality. Beyond theoretical insights, the findings also carry practical significance. Comparisons of control group conditions revealed that active third-party intervention consistently yielded stronger prosocial outcomes than either the absence of a third party or mere passive observation, underscoring its distinctive role in reinforcing social norms and sustaining cooperation.

In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides comprehensive evidence regarding the effectiveness and moderators of third-party intervention in promoting prosocial behavior. By clarifying the robustness of its effects, delineating key boundary conditions, and situating findings within complementary theoretical perspectives, the study advances our understanding of how external normative strategies can be leveraged to cultivate prosociality and collective well-being.

Key words: third-party intervention, prosocial behavior, three-level meta-analysis, moderating effect.

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