Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Dev Psychol. 2012 Jan;48(1):103-10. doi: 10.1037/a0025677. Epub 2011 Oct 3.
When people reflect on their important values, they may become more attuned to the needs of others. Two longitudinal field experiments examined whether a subtle value-affirmation manipulation can initiate relatively enduring increases in young adolescents' prosocial feelings (Study 1; Mage = 12.9) and prosocial behaviors (Study 2; Mage = 12.9). Participants completed a brief writing exercise that affirmed the values they deemed either most important (value-affirmation group) or unimportant (control group). As predicted, the value affirmation, coupled with a booster affirmation 6 weeks later, caused increases in prosocial feelings and behaviors over the 3-month study period. Antisocial students who were value-affirmed showed especially strong increases in prosocial behavior. These results suggest that "gentle passions" can be aroused in youth by cost- and time-efficient means. The practical utility of value affirmations will need to be evaluated in future work.
当人们反思自己的重要价值观时，他们可能会更加关注他人的需求。两项纵向现场实验检验了微妙的价值观肯定操作是否可以引发青少年的亲社会情感（研究 1；平均年龄 12.9 岁）和亲社会行为（研究 2；平均年龄 12.9 岁）的相对持久增加。参与者完成了一项简短的写作练习，肯定了他们认为最重要的价值观（价值肯定组）或不重要的价值观（对照组）。正如预测的那样，价值肯定，再加上 6 周后的强化肯定，导致亲社会情感和行为在 3 个月的研究期间增加。被肯定价值的反社会学生的亲社会行为尤其显著增加。这些结果表明，通过成本效益高、耗时少的方式，可以在年轻人中唤起“温和的激情”。在未来的工作中需要评估价值观肯定的实际效用。
