关键词: 利他行为, 利他动机, 炫耀动机, 预测偏差, 印象管理, 亲社会行为

Abstract: People who help others often find themselves in a predicament: they desire recognition for their acts of kindness, yet feel ashamed and hesitant to showcase their benevolent deeds. From a social perspective, a paradox emerges - altruistic acts must be known to be disseminated and emulated, yet the humble moral principle of "doing good without seeking recognition" discourages the active display of benevolence. While altruism devoid of any desire for recognition deserves to be celebrated, is there any value in altruism tinged with other motives? Does flaunting altruistic deeds genuinely result in negative evaluations from others? This study delineates the concept of conspicuous altruism, characterized by engaging in or showcasing altruistic actions, at least in part, driven by impression management motives, and examines the perception gap between the altruist and bystander, hypothesizing that helpers would underestimate bystanders' evaluations of conspicuous altruistic behavior. We conducted six experiments to examine the prediction bias within conspicuous altruism and delve into its underlying mechanisms. In Study 1a (N = 199), Study 1b (N = 147), and Study 1c (N = 400), we presented screenshots of conspicuous altruistic content from social media networks to preliminarily examine whether altruists underestimate bystanders' evaluations of their actions. In Study 2 (N = 140), we utilized microblogs and tangible mementos as vehicles for conspicuous altruism to retest the main effect. Study 3 (N = 140) involved simulated volunteer activities, requiring altruists to engage in actual acts of kindness while bystanders observed altruistic content, once again investigating the prediction bias. In Study 4a (N = 140) and Study 4b (N = 199), we explored the mediating role of perceived altruistic motives and the motive to flaunt, using social media posts and verbal self-promotion as forms of conspicuous altruism. Our findings revealed that, compared to altruists' predictions, bystanders perceived stronger altruistic motives behind conspicuous altruistic behavior, while the mediating role of flaunting motives was not significant. This research unveils the prediction bias associated with conspicuous altruism, where altruists tend to underestimate bystanders' evaluations of their actions, and explores the underlying psychological mechanisms. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of conspicuous altruistic behavior and its societal evaluations, providing a basis for encouraging altruists to openly address their impression management motives, actively promote altruistic actions, and thereby enhance the culture of altruism at the societal level.

Key words: altruistic behavior, altruistic motivation, conspicuous behavior, prediction bias, impression management, prosocial behavior