Premium
Effect of obligation to help on positive affect: Comparing Japan, Romania, and the United States
Author(s) -
Gherghel Claudia,
Nastas Dorin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22608
Subject(s) - obligation , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , psychology , political science , law , communication
Culture shapes the experience of obligation. Comparing participants from three countries with different cultural backgrounds, this study investigated the effect of obligation to help on positive affect and satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Adult participants from Japan, Romania, and the United States recalled either a situation in which they helped spontaneously, without being directly requested to do so (agentic help), or a situation in which they felt obligated to respond to a direct request for help (obligated help). The results revealed that obligation reduced benefactors' positive affect, but less so in Japan. The effect of obligation on satisfaction of basic psychological needs did not differ by culture. The results suggest that obligation to help may have less detrimental effects on positive affect in countries such as Japan, where social expectations to help are more fully internalized.