“…For instance, in Cohn et al (2019) study, the incidence of returning the lost wallets in the money condition was the highest in countries like Sweden (82%), Denmark (82%), Norway (80%) or Switzerland (80%), while in Mexico and Peru it was only 16% and 14%, respectively. The relatively low rate of pro-social behavior in our study could be explained by the persistence of a social background characterized by a high level of social cynicism ( Dincă and Iliescu, 2008 ; Gavreliuc and Gavreliuc, 2018 ), generalized interpersonal and institutional distrust ( Gavreliuc, 2011 ; Friedlmeier and Gavreliuc, 2013 ; Voicu, 2020 ), a prevalent pattern of negative interactional experiences with others ( Mihăilescu, 2017 ; Gavreliuc et al, 2021 ) and the prevalence of traditionalist and conservative values ( Voicu and Voicu, 2007 ; Gavreliuc, 2011 ), associated with a visible decline of solidarity toward the “(ordinary) people from Romania” ( Rusu, 2020 , p. 66). Therefore, this egoistic concern could be interpreted as a functional way of thinking and acting ( Gavreliuc et al, 2009 ) in a society characterized by mistrust and low normative climate, by routinely activating a mechanism of tolerated deviance ( Stebbins, 2012 ).…”