The internet has opened a new social space for communication. The present work studies interpersonal relationships in cyberspace using the chat channel as an interaction medium. Data obtained have outlined the sociodemographic and personality profile of internet users who engage in online chats as well as group self-perception, chatters' use habits, motivations to interact online, and the chatters' network of virtual and face-to-face relationships. Results suggests that relationships developed online are healthy and a complement to face-to-face relationships. These data are confirmed by personality studies. The theoretical and methodological implications of data are discussed.
We study the beliefs in a developed country about the attribution of responsibility for the situation in developing countries, in relation to helping behaviors and level of commitment. Two samples were used: one for the synthesis of knowledge (N=527) and a second for the synthesis of beliefs (N=287). From the results, we analyze the synthesis of beliefs and obtain the structure of beliefs. The synthesis of beliefs sample was made up of 137 individuals who help developing countries and 150 who do not. ANOVAs show that developed countries activate three implicit theories as beliefs to explain poverty in developing countries. Attribution external to the actor is more significant at higher levels of commitment to help. The implications for social communication campaigns in the developed world are discussed.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in study 1, we examined the effect of two personality dimensions related to altruism such as Agreeableness and Neuroticism on the neural response to videos including images of situations from developing countries and audios of sentences employed by NGOs to demand help. For all the participants, the brain response across the whole brain was not significantly different in the Donor and Control videos. Multiple regression analyses revealed that while Agreeableness was related to activation of mentalizing brain areas (i.e., the precuneus), Neuroticism was related more to activation of the brain areas related to reward and donation. Study 2 was a psychometric study and confirmed that Neuroticism showed greater association with donation behavior and sponsoring children from developing countries than Agreeableness. Our results may serve to gain a better understanding of the relationship between personality traits and altruistic behavior.
The motivational effect of the perceived image of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) was analysed in two studies. Results from the first study, comprising two samples (N=314 and N=220), point to three dimensions of the perceived image of NGOs (solidarity, misleading and instrumentality). These dimensions have different effects on intention to collaborate and to recommend others to collaborate. In the second study, with a sample of N=485, confirmatory analysis confirmed the three-factor solution as appropriate. The misleading image emerged as a source of reactance to NGO campaigns. Results suggest the importance of promoting the image of solidarity as a motivational strategy.
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