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Becoming Better: When and Why Positive Status Change Induces Prosocial Behavior Versus Self-Interested Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2024

Zhe Zhang Open the ORCID record for Zhe Zhang [Opens in a new window] ,
Yueqiao Qiao Open the ORCID record for Yueqiao Qiao [Opens in a new window] ,
Ming Jia ,
Boyuan Ju  and
Xingquan Wang
Zhe Zhang
Affiliation:
Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
Yueqiao Qiao*
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham Ningbo China, China
Ming Jia
Affiliation:
Northwestern Polytechnical University, China
Boyuan Ju
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, USA
Xingquan Wang
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, Singapore
*
Corresponding author: Yueqiao Qiao (qiaoyueqiao@yeah.net)
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Abstract

Prior research on status has focused primarily on the cognitive perspective, exploring the effects of status and offering a limited understanding of the impact of positive status change and its emotional mechanisms. This study draws upon the two-facet model of pride to examine how positive status change influences the behaviors of new status holders. Specifically, we propose that when status differentiation is low, positive status change enhances new status holders' prosocial behavior through their authentic pride, while in cases of high status differentiation, it increases their self-interested behavior through their hubristic pride. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a series of studies, including a laboratory experiment, a scenario experiment, and a time-lagged multilevel and multisource field study. Our multilevel analyses of the data provided strong support for our hypotheses. Our findings shed light on when and why positive status change triggers different behaviors among new status holders, offering important insights into the emotional mechanisms that underlie the effects of status change.

摘要

摘要

以往关于地位的研究主要采用认知视角来探讨地位变化对人的影响，但对地位上升对人的情感机制的影响理解有限。本研究认为一个人在低位上升时产生的骄傲感有双重面向，并考察了地位变化如何影响新地位持有者的行为。具体而言，我们提出了如下假设：当人与人之间地位差别较小时，地位上升能够增加个人的真实骄傲感，并促进其亲社会行为；而在地位差别较大时，地位上升会增加个人的自大骄傲感（即傲慢）及其自利行为。我们进行了系列研究，包括一个实验室实验、一个情景实验以及一个多时间点、多层次的实地研究。所有数据都支持了我们的假设。我们的研究结果揭示了地位上升为什么会引发新地位持有者的不同行为，提供了关于地位变化影响人的情感机制的重要见解。

Keywords

authentic pridehubristic pridepositive status changeprosocial behaviorself-interested behaviorstatus differentiation积极地位变化真实的骄傲虚荣的骄傲亲社会行为自利行为地位差异
Type
Article
Information
Management and Organization Review , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , August 2024 , pp. 541 - 565
Copyright
Copyright © Nottingham University Business School China, University of Nottingham Ningbo, 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Association for Chinese Management Research

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Footnotes

†

The first two authors contributed equally to this work.

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