The Impact Of Awe On Intergenerational Altruism: The Role Of Future Orientation And Authenticit

Intergenerational altruism is an altruistic behavior in which an individual is willing to give up a smaller benefit in the present in exchange for a larger benefit for future generations of human beings when weighing their own interests in the present against the interests of future generations of human beings(Wade-Benzoni & Tost,2009).In today’s society,extravagance is prevalent and resources available for future generations are scarce.To enable our future generations to reproduce,it is particularly important to explore the influences and interventions of intergenerational altruism.A sense of awe as a complex positive emotion can increase the level of an individual’s future orientation,thus making the individual think more about future generations.Authenticity,as a protective factor,can increase the influence of individuals’ future orientation on intergenerational altruistic behavior.Exploring the factors influencing intergenerational altruism and its interventions from the perspective of a sense of awe can enrich the research in the field of awe and intergenerational altruism,which can help increase the sense of awe of the present generation and deepen the moral concern of the present generation for future generations,thus motivating the present generation to value resources.This study constructs a moderated mediation model based on the extendedconstruct theory of positive emotions to examine the mediating role of future orientation in the relationship between a sense of awe and intergenerational altruism and the moderating role of authenticity in between.This study tested the model through three sub-studies.Study 1 was a correlational study that explored the relationship between a sense of awe,future orientation,intergenerational altruism,and authenticity through a questionnaire survey method.A total of 527 valid samples were obtained by distributing the questionnaire online.The results found that: awe had a significant positive predictive effect on intergenerational altruism;future orientation mediated the relationship between awe and intergenerational altruism;and authenticity moderated the relationship between future orientation and intergenerational altruism.Study 2 was an experimental study that used recall priming to test for causal relationships between variables,with 174 valid subjects selected in a formal experiment with a one-factor(awe-inspired: awe-inspired,happy-inspired,neutralinspired)between-subjects design using a contextual intergenerational altruism measure.The results found that: awe had a significant positive predictive effect on intergenerational altruism;future orientation mediated the relationship between awe and intergenerational altruism;and authenticity moderated the relationship between future orientation and intergenerational altruism.Experiment 3 was an experimental study that further tested the causal relationship between a sense of awe and intergenerational altruism using a video initiation method.One hundred and fifty-five valid subjects were recruited and the experiment was a one-way(awe-inspired: awe-initiated,happy-initiated,neutralinitiated)between-subjects design.Study 3 manipulated subjects’ sense of awe using a video initiation method with a contextual intergenerational altruism measure.The results found that: awe had a significant positive predictive effect on intergenerational altruistic behavior;future orientation mediated the relationship between awe and intergenerational altruistic behavior;and authenticity moderated the relationship between future orientation and intergenerational altruism.In summary,this study concludes the following:(1)Awe has a direct positive predictive effect on intergenerational altruism.(2)Future orientation has a mediating role in the relationship between awe and intergenerational altruism.(3)Authenticity moderates the mediating effect of future orientation and moderates the second half of the path in the mediation process.Specifically,the mediating effect increased as the level of authenticity increased.