Hans-Werner Bierhoff

Altruistic personality in the context of the empathy-altruism hypothesis

In this study the influence of the altruistic personality in general and social responsibility in particular on prosocial behaviour were investigated in the context of the empathy–altruism hypothesis. In an experiment 56 female participants had an opportunity to help a person in distress. In this setting, ease of escape without helping was manipulated. In addition, on the basis of their self‐reports of situation‐specific emotions, participants were divided into an empathic‐concern and a personal‐distress group. The results of the 2 (ease of escape) × 2 (predominant emotional response) design were in agreement with the empathy–altruism hypothesis. Further results indicated that in the easy‐escape condition an altruistic motivation prevailed, whereas in the difficult‐escape condition an egoistic motivation was more dominant. Besides the full scale, two subscales of social responsibility were formed: Moral Fulfilment of the Justified Expectations of Others and Adherence to Social Prescriptions. The full social responsibility scale was significantly related to helpfulness only in the difficult‐escape condition. Further analyses including the subscales showed that the component Moral Fulfilment of the Justified Expectations of Others correlated positively with helping in the easy‐escape condition. Results were interpreted as showing that specific profiles of personality variables are associated with helpfulness in the easy‐escape and difficult‐escape conditions. Copyright

Responsibility: The Many Faces of a Social Phenomenon

Part I Introduction 1. Responsibility as a fundamental human phenomenon - Hans-Werner Bierhoff and Ann Elisabeth Auhagen Part II. Basic Issues and Domains of Responsibility 2. Philosophical foundations of responsibility - Dieter Birnbacher 3. Responsibility - a biological perspective - Robert A. Hinde 4. Toward a broader psychological foundation for responsibility - who, what, how - Kelly G. Shaver and Deborah A. Schutte 5. An attributional approach to perceived responsibility for transgressions - extensions to child abuse, punishment goals and political ideology - Bernard Weiner 6. Responsibility in everyday life - Ann Elisabeth Auhagen 7. Denial of responsibility - Leo Montada Part III. Applications of Responsibility 8. Responsibility and technology - Hans Lenk and Matthias Maring 9. Responsibility and ecological behaviour - a meta-analysis of the strength and the extent of a causal link - Florian G. Kaiser, Urs Fuhrer, Olaf Weber, Thomas Ofner and Evelina Buhler-Ilieva 10. Responsibility appraisals of health protection - Elisabeth Kals 11. Responsibility in work organisations - L. Alan Witt 12. Responsibility and altruism - the role of volunteerism - Hans-Weber Bierhoff 13. Responsibility and reactions to the disadvantaged - Manfred Schmitt, Barbara Reichle and Jurgen Maes Part IV. Perspectives 14. Responsibility at the Beginning of the Third Millennium - Ann Elisabeth Auhagen and Hans-Weber Bierhoff

The illness and everyday living: close interplay of psychopathological syndromes and psychosocial functioning in chronic schizophrenia

The interaction of psychopathological states and psychosocial functioning determine the long-term course of schizophrenia and its treatment. To be able to achieve this interplay better, exact assessment of psychosocial functioning is needed besides measurement of psychopathology. Using the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) Scale, examination of the association between psychosocial functioning and psychopathology was conducted in a sample of 103 patients with chronic schizophrenia. Rating instruments were in addition Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale, as well as Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Clinical Global Impression Scale, and Mini-ICF-APP-Rating for Mental Disorders (Mini-ICF-APP). Besides good psychometric properties for the PSP scale in this chronic sample, we found, as expected, significant associations between the two relevant outcome domains: results showed significant negative correlations between PSP and PANSS. Findings prove the close interplay between social functioning and psychopathology in the chronic course of schizophrenia.

Social Context and Perceived Justice

Contemporary research on fairness and justice has focused on the situational determinants of the relationship between performance and reward. Social psychologists have emphasized the influence of contributions of the group members on the reward distribution. In contrast to this major interest area in justice studies, the influence of the reward allocation on the inferred input level of the group members has received relatively little attention.

Leadership, mood, atmosphere, and cooperative support in project groups

Purpose – To analyze the particular influence of leadership styles on voluntary collaboration between members of project groups.Design/methodology/approach – Uses a field‐study approach to gather data of 24 project groups in an academic learning context. Takes measures of different leadership styles, affective variables (mood, group atmosphere), and pro‐social work behavior.Findings – Supports theoretical assumptions about mediating influences of mood and group atmosphere. Shows that leaders of project groups may enhance cooperative support by considering the emotional impact of their behavior.Research limitations/implications – The field context (academic learning setting, students as project group members) may set limitations to the generalizability of obtained findings.Practical implications – Helps personnel managers to look at project group leadership from a different point of view.Originality/value – Provides evidence about an emotionality link between leadership and cooperation.

Entwicklung und Validierung von Skalen zur Erfassung von Vermeidung und Angst in Partnerschaften Der Bochumer Bindungsfragebogen (BoBi)

Zusammenfassung. Die deutsche Adaptation der „Experiences in Close Relationships“ (ECR) wird vorgestellt, der Bochumer Bindungsfragebogen (BoBi), ein Messinstrument zur Selbsteinschatzung der partnerschaftlichen Bindung entlang der beiden Dimensionen Vermeidung und Angst. Der BoBi wurde 435 Studierenden und 178 ambulanten Patienten einer psychosomatischen Klinik vorgegeben. Die zweifaktorielle Struktur des ECR konnte fur den BoBi bestatigt werden. Vergleiche der BoBi-Skalen mit weiteren Partnerschafts- und Personlichkeitsvariablen erbrachten, dass Vermeidung vor allem mit dem Fehlen von romantischer Liebe und geringerem Partnerschaftserfolg einhergeht, Angst ist durch besitzergreifende Liebe, ein Gefuhl der Verbundenheit mit dem Partner und geringes Selbstwertgefuhl gekennzeichnet. Dieses Ergebnismuster belegt die Konstruktvaliditat des BoBi. Der BoBi kann gleichermasen in Stichproben aus der Normalbevolkerung wie im klinischen Bereich eingesetzt werden. Studien mit dem BoBi konnen mit internationalen Studien mit dem ECR verglichen werden. Schlusselworter: Bindung, Partnerschaft, Vermeidung, Angst, Liebesstile Development and validation of scales for measuring avoidance and anxiety in romantic relationships – The Bochum Adult Attachment Questionnaire mmmm mmm m mm m

Skalen der Einstellungsstruktur ehrenamtlicher Helfer (SEEH)

Zusammenfassung. Die Skalen der Einstellungsstruktur ehrenamtlicher Helfer - ein Fragebogen zur Messung der Bereitschaft, freiwillige Beitrage in Nonprofit-Organisationen zu leisten - werden vorgestellt. Der Fragebogen erfasst acht Ziele, die entweder selbstdienliche oder altruistische Anreize fur freiwillige Arbeit reprasentieren: Soziale Bindung, Selbsterfahrung, Selbstwert, soziale Beeinflussung, Berufsausgleich, Karriere, soziale Verantwortung und politische Verantwortung. Die Skalen wurden in drei Untersuchungen entwickelt, von denen zwei mit ehrenamtlichen Helfern und eine mit Studierenden durchgefuhrt wurden. Die theoretisch angenommenen Einstellungsdimensionen, die den acht Skalen zugrunde liegen, lassen sich faktorenanalytisch auf der Basis der Fragebogenitems bestatigen. Die acht Einstellungsdimensionen ihrerseits werden durch zwei ubergeordnete Dimensionen reprasentiert, die sich als selbstdienliche und altruistische Orientierung bezeichnen lassen. Antworten auf dem Fragebogen werden nur gering...

Ichbezogenheit versus Liebe in Paarbeziehungen

Zusammenfassung: Das Ziel dieser Arbeit war, Zusammenhange zwischen partnerschaftlicher Bindung, Liebesstilen und Narzissmus als einem Personlichkeitsstil zu uberprufen. 45 Studenten und 60 Studentinnen wurden mit Hilfe standardisierter Messinstrumente befragt. Zunachst wurde uberpruft, ob sich die Dimensionen der partnerschaftlichen Bindung und die Liebesstile zu ubergeordneten Dimensionen des Erlebens in Paarbeziehungen zusammenfassen liesen. Drei Dimensionen wurden gefunden: Distanzierung vom Partner, Verunsicherung in der Beziehung und Orientierung an Gemeinschaft und Austausch. Anschliesend wurden Selbsteinschatzungen des Narzissmus zu diesen Dimensionen in Beziehung gesetzt. Narzissmus hing mit allen drei Dimensionen zusammen: Hoch Narzisstische tendierten zur Distanzierung vom Partner durch Untreue, zeigten Verunsicherung und Eifersucht und waren auf der Grundlage einer pragmatischen Einstellung stark austauschorientiert. Die Ergebnisse stutzen die These, dass Narzissmus mit verschiedenen Dimension...

Positive feelings and cooperative support in project groups

This study examined the question how feelings mediate cooperative support in temporary work units, i.e. project groups. Tests and questionnaires were administered on three occasions during projects. Data were gathered from 150 undergraduate students who worked together in 39 project groups. Required tasks were to plan, conduct, analyze, and report an empirical study within a period of 3 to 4 months. The groups were led by members of the educational staff who monitored the progress of task accomplishment. It was established that cooperative support within the groups was strongly influenced by positive mood and group atmosphere, thus confirming the conceptual framework of organizational spontaneity. Implications for research and application are discussed.

Comparison of Self- and Clinician’s Ratings of Personal and Social Performance in Patients with Schizophrenia: The Role of Insight

Background: Patients with schizophrenia are often markedly impaired in their social functioning, partly independent of symptom severity. Few studies have examined patients’ self-reporting of their social functioning, how a patient’s self-perspective differs from third-party ratings, and whether or not the patients’ self-rating of social functioning is influenced by their awareness of illness. Sampling and Methods: Based on the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale as a clinician-administered scale, a PSP self-rating scale for patients was developed. The study included 42 inpatients with schizophrenia. Instruments were the PSP scale, the PSP self-rating scale, the Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale, and the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder. Results: A significant correlation was found between PSP self- and clinician’s rating for ‘socially useful activities’, whereas the other PSP subdimensions as well as the total score were not significantly correlated. For patients with high insight, a significantly positive association emerged with ‘disturbing and aggressive behaviour’, while there was no significant correlation between PSP self- and clinician’s ratings for the patients with poor insight into their disorder. Conclusions: Patients and clinicians only marginally converge on their judgments concerning the patients’ psychosocial functioning. Patients’ insight may have a moderating role on the approximation of agreement between self- and third-party ratings. Results are discussed in line with the present literature regarding the accuracy of self-awareness in schizophrenia.