Honesty‐humility and prosocial behavior: The mediating roles of perspective taking and guilt‐proneness

Abstract

The prosocial personality trait of honesty‐humility has received extensive attention in the last decade. However, research on the mechanism underlying the relationship between honesty‐humility and prosocial behavior is rather scarce. This study aims to explore the internal mechanism underlying this relationship to draw a complete picture of the honesty‐humility trait. A sample of 458 Chinese young adults was obtained to complete self‐report measures of honesty‐humility, perspective taking, guilt‐proneness, and prosocial behavior. The mediation model revealed that: (1) honesty‐humility positively related to prosocial behavior; (2) perspective taking and guilt‐proneness mediated the relationship between honesty‐humility and prosocial behavior, separately; and (3) the effect of honesty‐humility on prosocial behavior was mediated via perspective taking and then guilt‐proneness. In conclusion, we provide an initial support for the mediating roles of perspective taking and guilt‐proneness in the relationship between honesty‐humility and prosocial behavior. Both theoretical and practical implications for understanding the psychological mechanisms of prosocial behavior are discussed.

Honesty‐Humility and unethical behavior in adolescents: The mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of system justification☆

“…Third, although we found that moral disengagement signiicantly mediated the association between Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior, we are not yet able to fully elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. It is important that future research examines other potential mediators, for instance, perspective taking and guilt-proneness (e.g., Fang, Dong, & Fang, 2019). Fourth, we measured unethical behavior through hypothetical scenarios based on participants' self-reports.…”

Nonprofit organization advertising on social media: The role of personality, advertising appeals, and bandwagon effects

“…Yet, there is a lack of research involving nonprofit advertising. Given the prosocial context of NPOs, the Honesty/Humility dimension, in particular, is of interest (Anglim & O'Connor, 2019), as previous research has found that Honesty/Humility relates to prosocial behavior (Fang, Dong, & Fang, 2019; Lee & Ashton, 2013; Zettler & Hilbig, 2015). The HEXACO‐PI will allow for the examination of a key personality trait that may have effects on NPO advertising outcomes but has not been previously explored.…”

“…Previous research found that Honesty/Humility is predictive of prosocial behavior (Lee & Ashton, 2013; Zettler & Hilbig, 2015). Fang et al (2019) determined that “perspective taking” mediates the relationship between Honesty/Humility and prosocial behavior. Essentially, when people scoring higher in Honesty/Humility observe someone needing help, they are driven to assist through feelings of empathy.…”

“…Overall, previous studies have found relationships between prosocial behavior and individuals high in Honesty, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Those high in Honesty and Emotionality are driven through feelings of empathy to assist others (Ashton et al, 2014; Fang et al, 2019). Extraverted individuals are more likely to volunteer and partake in activism and civic engagement (Omoto et al, 2010).…”

Determination of Prosocial Behavior of Preschool-Aged Children in the Context of Preschool Education

“…These instruments usually detect basic types of prosocial behavior, where they are missing, indicators already incorporated by us, which are already noticeable at this age. Honesty is positively related to prosocial behavior (Ashton, Lee, 2007, Fang, Dong, Fang, 2019. Humility is a prediction and has a positive connection with prosocial behavior (Ashton, Lee, 2007, Allgaier, Zettlera, Wagnerb, Püttmannb, Trautwein, 2015, Fang, Dong, Fang, 2019.…”