Study of the efficacy of the Hero program: Cross-national evidence

Abstract

The present study focuses on an analysis of the efficacy of the online intervention program called "Hero" for promoting prosociality and other socioemotional variables related to prosocial behavior, such as empathy, positive emotions, and forgiveness, in two Latin American countries: Argentina and Uruguay. The final Argentinean sample consisted of 579 adolescents (experimental group = 319 and control group = 260), and the Uruguayan sample consisted of 330 adolescents (experimental group = 140 and control group = 169), aged 12 to 15 years old. The 'Hero' program provided evidence of efficacy for the promotion of prosociality, empathy, positive emotions, and attitudes of forgiveness. It impacted each of the dimensions comprising these variables differently depending on the country where it was applied. We discuss the differences found in each country.

Do Positive Emotions Make You More Prosocial? Direct and Indirect Effects of an Intervention Program on Prosociality in Colombian Adolescents During Social Isolation Due to COVID-19

“…I truly liked that aspect of the program"; "I would be happy to help someone when they are sick." These results are consistent with previous research showing the effectiveness of the Hero Program for mitigating the adverse effects generated by isolation in other Latin American countries by promoting prosociality (Mesurado et al, 2020).…”

“…It is a short, online program composed of five intervention sessions. The first session seeks to stimulate the recognition of emotions and empathy; the second session seeks to stimulate a specific positive emotion (gratitude); the third session aims to stimulate other types of positive emotions, such as joy and serenity; the fourth is aimed at promoting forgiveness; and the fifth stimulates empathy toward people who need help (prosocial behavior) (Mesurado et al, 2020). According to Mesurado et al (2019b), the variables empathy, gratitude, positive emotions and forgiveness were chosen to be part of the program because they can be taught and because there is empirical evidence of their predictive effects on prosociality (Mesurado et al, 2019b).…”

“…According to Mesurado et al (2019b), the variables empathy, gratitude, positive emotions and forgiveness were chosen to be part of the program because they can be taught and because there is empirical evidence of their predictive effects on prosociality (Mesurado et al, 2019b). The program was created and tested in Latin American adolescents from Argentina and Uruguay (Mesurado et al, 2019b(Mesurado et al, , 2020. Each intervention lasts ∼40 min to an h. The program demonstrates high levels of acceptance among adolescents and is effective in the development of prosocial behaviors (Mesurado et al, 2019a(Mesurado et al, ,b, 2020.…”

“…The program was created and tested in Latin American adolescents from Argentina and Uruguay (Mesurado et al, 2019b(Mesurado et al, , 2020. Each intervention lasts ∼40 min to an h. The program demonstrates high levels of acceptance among adolescents and is effective in the development of prosocial behaviors (Mesurado et al, 2019a(Mesurado et al, ,b, 2020. In addition, it was found to be effective for promoting empathy and positive emotions, and its effects are maintained for as long as three months after the end of the intervention (Mesurado et al, 2020).…”

“…Each intervention lasts ∼40 min to an h. The program demonstrates high levels of acceptance among adolescents and is effective in the development of prosocial behaviors (Mesurado et al, 2019a(Mesurado et al, ,b, 2020. In addition, it was found to be effective for promoting empathy and positive emotions, and its effects are maintained for as long as three months after the end of the intervention (Mesurado et al, 2020). Consequently, Hero seems to be a promising program for promoting positive adolescent development, mainly due to the frequent use of technology by young people, which may have increased due to isolation.…”