The Psychological Mechanism Of Paying It Forward Reciprocity:the Role Of General Trust

Paying it forward reciprocity is a heart-warming notion.The concept is simple:A is kind to B,and B-rather than paying that kindness back to A—pays it forward to C.C then pays that kindness forward to D,and so on,creating a chain of goodwill.Existing research mainly focus on gratitude and positive emotions to explain this phenomenon in a strange group,but there is contradiction among different research results.Neuroimaging studies have shown that general trust and altruism may overlap brain areas of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal.Moreover,behavioral studies have shown that general trust is malleable for positive social interaction can improve individual's general trust.In addition,daily life experience suggests general trust and paying it forward reciprocity connected.After being helped by others,affect prompts us to help others more.Therefore,focused on general trust——a general outlook on most people are kind,ethical and trustworthy,the current research carried out three studies to explore the psychology mechanism of paying it forward reciprocity in a strange group.Study 1 surveyed 305 subjects and measured the correlation between general trust and altruistic behavior.We found that there was a significant positive correlation between general trust and altruistic behavior;and after controlling the influence of altruism on altruistic behavior,general trust could significantly predict altruistic behavior.Study 2a recruited 55 participants in order to verify the transitivity of altruistic behavior and explore the changes of general trust.After receiving altruistic behavior was simulated by a trust game in which participants had an expectation of being helped,participants' trust level was measured.Then,dictator paradigm was used to measure participants' altruistic level.Results showed that under the "expectation"scenario,altruistic behaviors were transmitted into unfamiliar groups;and after "being helped," the general trust of participants increased,and significantly predicted the subsequent altruistic level.In order to explore whether the transfer of altruistic behavior has cross-scenario consistency and how general trust changes,study 2b recruited 71 participants and used "dictator game" rather than "trust game" to simulate another type of altruistic behavior in real life in which participants had no expectation of being helped.In addition,in order to further explore the factors affecting changes in general trust,study 2b also added the measurement of personality traits,empathy,and attribution of subjects.The results showed that in the absence of "expectation" scenarios,altruistic behavior was transmitted among unfamiliar groups;and after "being helped",the general trust of the subject rose and the subsequent altruism was significantly predicted.In addition,in study 2b,about 3/4 of individuals general trust increased,and only in this population,the altruistic behavior was transmitted.Apart from this,the pre-trust level of trust significantly predicted the amount of change in general trust in a positive way,and conscientious personality significantly predicted negative prediction on general trust in a negative way.Above all,this research demonstrated the transitivity of altruistic behavior,and the improve of general trust may be an important psychological mechanism for paying it forward reciprocity.In the current anonymous society,frequent contacts among strangers,these findings are of great significance for the promotion of a civilized and harmonious society.