Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe

Niels J. van Doesum; Ryan O. Murphy; Marcello Gallucci; Efrat Aharonov-Majar; Ursula Athenstaedt; Wing Tung Au; Liying Bai; Robert Böhm; Inna Bovina; Nancy R. Buchan; Xiao Ping Chen; Kitty B. Dumont; Jan B. Engelmann; Kimmo Eriksson; Hyun Euh; Susann Fiedler; Justin Friesen; Simon Gächter; Camilo Garcia; Roberto González; Sylvie Graf; Katarzyna Growiec; Serge Guimond; Martina Hrebíčková; Elizabeth Immer-Bernold; Jeff Joireman; Gokhan Karagonlar; Kerry Kawakami; Toko Kiyonari; Yu Kou; D. Michael Kuhlman; Alexandros Andreas Kyrtsis; Siugmin Lay; Geoffrey J. Leonardelli; Norman P. Li; Yang Li; Boris Maciejovsky; Zoi Manesi; Ali Mashuri; Aurelia Mok; Karin S. Moser; Ladislav Moták; Adrian Netedu; Chandrasekhar Pammi; Michael J. Platow; Karolina Raczka-Winkler; Christopher P. Reinders Folmer; Cecilia Reyna; Angelo Romano; Shaul Shalvi; Cláudia Simão; Adam W. Stivers; Pontus Strimling; Yannis Tsirbas; Sonja Utz; Leander van der Meij; Sven Waldzus; Yiwen Wang; Bernd Weber; Ori Weisel; Tim Wildschut; Fabian Winter; Junhui Wu; Jose C. Yong; Paul A. M. van Lange

doi:10.1073/pnas.2023846118

Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe

Niels J. van Doesum^*, Ryan O. Murphy, Marcello Gallucci, Efrat Aharonov-Majar, Ursula Athenstaedt, Wing Tung Au, Liying Bai, Robert Böhm, Inna Bovina, Nancy R. Buchan, Xiao Ping Chen, Kitty B. Dumont, Jan B. Engelmann, Kimmo Eriksson, Hyun Euh, Susann Fiedler, Justin Friesen, Simon Gächter, Camilo Garcia, Roberto GonzálezSylvie Graf, Katarzyna Growiec, Serge Guimond, Martina Hrebíčková, Elizabeth Immer-Bernold, Jeff Joireman, Gokhan Karagonlar, Kerry Kawakami, Toko Kiyonari, Yu Kou, D. Michael Kuhlman, Alexandros Andreas Kyrtsis, Siugmin Lay, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Norman P. Li, Yang Li, Boris Maciejovsky, Zoi Manesi, Ali Mashuri, Aurelia Mok, Karin S. Moser, Ladislav Moták, Adrian Netedu, Chandrasekhar Pammi, Michael J. Platow, Karolina Raczka-Winkler, Christopher P. Reinders Folmer, Cecilia Reyna, Angelo Romano, Shaul Shalvi, Cláudia Simão, Adam W. Stivers, Pontus Strimling, Yannis Tsirbas, Sonja Utz, Leander van der Meij, Sven Waldzus, Yiwen Wang, Bernd Weber, Ori Weisel, Tim Wildschut, Fabian Winter, Junhui Wu, Jose C. Yong, Paul A. M. van Lange

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one's location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries' better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits.

Original language	English
Article number	e2023846118
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	118
Issue number	35
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023846118
Publication status	Published - 31 Aug 2021

Keywords

Cross-national differences
Low-cost cooperation
Social mindfulness

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10.1073/pnas.2023846118Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

37972951Final published version, 688 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/34756Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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Doesum, N. J. V., Murphy, R. O., Gallucci, M., Aharonov-Majar, E., Athenstaedt, U., Au, W. T., Bai, L., Böhm, R., Bovina, I., Buchan, N. R., Chen, X. P., Dumont, K. B., Engelmann, J. B., Eriksson, K., Euh, H., Fiedler, S., Friesen, J., Gächter, S., Garcia, C., ... Lange, P. A. M. V. (2021). Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(35), Article e2023846118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023846118

@article{f7992f97de2646749f6fc619e3c1a5dc,

title = "Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe",

abstract = "Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one's location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries' better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits.",

keywords = "Cross-national differences, Low-cost cooperation, Social mindfulness",

author = "Doesum, {Niels J. van} and Murphy, {Ryan O.} and Marcello Gallucci and Efrat Aharonov-Majar and Ursula Athenstaedt and Au, {Wing Tung} and Liying Bai and Robert B{\"o}hm and Inna Bovina and Buchan, {Nancy R.} and Chen, {Xiao Ping} and Dumont, {Kitty B.} and Engelmann, {Jan B.} and Kimmo Eriksson and Hyun Euh and Susann Fiedler and Justin Friesen and Simon G{\"a}chter and Camilo Garcia and Roberto Gonz{\'a}lez and Sylvie Graf and Katarzyna Growiec and Serge Guimond and Martina Hreb{\'i}{\v c}kov{\'a} and Elizabeth Immer-Bernold and Jeff Joireman and Gokhan Karagonlar and Kerry Kawakami and Toko Kiyonari and Yu Kou and Kuhlman, {D. Michael} and Kyrtsis, {Alexandros Andreas} and Siugmin Lay and Leonardelli, {Geoffrey J.} and Li, {Norman P.} and Yang Li and Boris Maciejovsky and Zoi Manesi and Ali Mashuri and Aurelia Mok and Moser, {Karin S.} and Ladislav Mot{\'a}k and Adrian Netedu and Chandrasekhar Pammi and Platow, {Michael J.} and Karolina Raczka-Winkler and Folmer, {Christopher P. Reinders} and Cecilia Reyna and Angelo Romano and Shaul Shalvi and Cl{\'a}udia Sim{\~a}o and Stivers, {Adam W.} and Pontus Strimling and Yannis Tsirbas and Sonja Utz and Meij, {Leander van der} and Sven Waldzus and Yiwen Wang and Bernd Weber and Ori Weisel and Tim Wildschut and Fabian Winter and Junhui Wu and Yong, {Jose C.} and Lange, {Paul A. M. van}",

note = "Funding Information: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. C.P. passed away during the time we were working on the manuscript; we are grateful for his valuable contributions to this research. We thank Daniel Balliet for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Research was supported in part by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) under Grant No. 022.003.040, awarded to P.A.M.-V.L. The contributions of M.H. and S. Graf were supported by Grant No. 20-01214S from the Czech Science Foundation and by Rozvoj V{\'y}zkumn{\'e} Organ-izace (Development of a Research Organization): RVO 68081740 of the Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences. The contribution of R.G. was supported by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/ FONDAL 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006). The contribution of G.J.L. was supported by Standard Research Grant No. 410-2010-1221 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The contributions of S. G{\"a}chter and O.W. were supported by the European Research Council Grant No. ERC-AdG 295707 COOPERATION. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = aug,

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doi = "10.1073/pnas.2023846118",

language = "English",

volume = "118",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",

number = "35",

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Doesum, NJV, Murphy, RO, Gallucci, M, Aharonov-Majar, E, Athenstaedt, U, Au, WT, Bai, L, Böhm, R, Bovina, I, Buchan, NR, Chen, XP, Dumont, KB, Engelmann, JB, Eriksson, K, Euh, H, Fiedler, S, Friesen, J, Gächter, S, Garcia, C, González, R, Graf, S, Growiec, K, Guimond, S, Hrebíčková, M, Immer-Bernold, E, Joireman, J, Karagonlar, G, Kawakami, K, Kiyonari, T, Kou, Y, Kuhlman, DM, Kyrtsis, AA, Lay, S, Leonardelli, GJ, Li, NP, Li, Y, Maciejovsky, B, Manesi, Z, Mashuri, A, Mok, A, Moser, KS, Moták, L, Netedu, A, Pammi, C, Platow, MJ, Raczka-Winkler, K, Folmer, CPR, Reyna, C, Romano, A, Shalvi, S, Simão, C, Stivers, AW, Strimling, P, Tsirbas, Y, Utz, S, Meij, LVD, Waldzus, S, Wang, Y, Weber, B, Weisel, O, Wildschut, T, Winter, F, Wu, J, Yong, JC & Lange, PAMV 2021, 'Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 118, no. 35, e2023846118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023846118

TY - JOUR

T1 - Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe

AU - Doesum, Niels J. van

AU - Murphy, Ryan O.

AU - Gallucci, Marcello

AU - Aharonov-Majar, Efrat

AU - Athenstaedt, Ursula

AU - Au, Wing Tung

AU - Bai, Liying

AU - Böhm, Robert

AU - Bovina, Inna

AU - Buchan, Nancy R.

AU - Chen, Xiao Ping

AU - Dumont, Kitty B.

AU - Engelmann, Jan B.

AU - Eriksson, Kimmo

AU - Euh, Hyun

AU - Fiedler, Susann

AU - Friesen, Justin

AU - Gächter, Simon

AU - Garcia, Camilo

AU - González, Roberto

AU - Graf, Sylvie

AU - Growiec, Katarzyna

AU - Guimond, Serge

AU - Hrebíčková, Martina

AU - Immer-Bernold, Elizabeth

AU - Joireman, Jeff

AU - Karagonlar, Gokhan

AU - Kawakami, Kerry

AU - Kiyonari, Toko

AU - Kou, Yu

AU - Kuhlman, D. Michael

AU - Kyrtsis, Alexandros Andreas

AU - Lay, Siugmin

AU - Leonardelli, Geoffrey J.

AU - Li, Norman P.

AU - Li, Yang

AU - Maciejovsky, Boris

AU - Manesi, Zoi

AU - Mashuri, Ali

AU - Mok, Aurelia

AU - Moser, Karin S.

AU - Moták, Ladislav

AU - Netedu, Adrian

AU - Pammi, Chandrasekhar

AU - Platow, Michael J.

AU - Raczka-Winkler, Karolina

AU - Folmer, Christopher P. Reinders

AU - Reyna, Cecilia

AU - Romano, Angelo

AU - Shalvi, Shaul

AU - Simão, Cláudia

AU - Stivers, Adam W.

AU - Strimling, Pontus

AU - Tsirbas, Yannis

AU - Utz, Sonja

AU - Meij, Leander van der

AU - Waldzus, Sven

AU - Wang, Yiwen

AU - Weber, Bernd

AU - Weisel, Ori

AU - Wildschut, Tim

AU - Winter, Fabian

AU - Wu, Junhui

AU - Yong, Jose C.

AU - Lange, Paul A. M. van

N1 - Funding Information: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. C.P. passed away during the time we were working on the manuscript; we are grateful for his valuable contributions to this research. We thank Daniel Balliet for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Research was supported in part by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) under Grant No. 022.003.040, awarded to P.A.M.-V.L. The contributions of M.H. and S. Graf were supported by Grant No. 20-01214S from the Czech Science Foundation and by Rozvoj Výzkumné Organ-izace (Development of a Research Organization): RVO 68081740 of the Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences. The contribution of R.G. was supported by the Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (ANID/ FONDAL 15130009) and the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Research (ANID/FONDAP 15110006). The contribution of G.J.L. was supported by Standard Research Grant No. 410-2010-1221 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The contributions of S. Gächter and O.W. were supported by the European Research Council Grant No. ERC-AdG 295707 COOPERATION. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/8/31

Y1 - 2021/8/31

N2 - Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one's location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries' better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits.

AB - Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one's location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries' better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits.

KW - Cross-national differences

KW - Low-cost cooperation

KW - Social mindfulness

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U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2023846118

DO - 10.1073/pnas.2023846118

M3 - Article

C2 - 34426492

AN - SCOPUS:85113369710

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 118

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 35

M1 - e2023846118

ER -

Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe

Abstract

Keywords

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CUBE: Católica Lisbon Research Unit in Business and Economics

Erratum: Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2021) 118 (e2023846118) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023846118)

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Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe

Abstract

Keywords

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Other files and links

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CUBE: Católica Lisbon Research Unit in Business and Economics

Research output

Erratum: Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2021) 118 (e2023846118) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023846118)

Cite this