Abstract:

Standard economic models of decision-making draw on the self-interest hypothesis, which indicates that people are rational and motivated by personal benefit. However, in situations of interdependence, individual’s social motives are more complex and feature larger individual differences. Social Value Orientation (SVO), referring to a preference for particular patterns of outcomes for oneself in relation to others in interdependent situations, is a concept that characterizes individual differences in the level of concern an individual has for others. The current study reviews three types of existing measurement methods of SVO (Triple-Dominance Scale, Ring Measure, and Slider Measure), highlights their strengths and weaknesses, and briefly summarizes recent research on SVO in decision making, social cognition, empathy, and prosocial behavior. Future research on SVO needs to investigate the interactions of SVO and social factors, as well as the neural mechanisms associated with different SVOs.

Key words: social value orientation, measurement methods, cooperator, competitor