Breaking self-focused orientation in people who perceive economic scarcity: The influence of transcendent motivation to promote an abstract mindset and prosocial behavioral intentions.

Abstract

Previous research shows that being in a situation of economic scarcity promotes a more concrete mindset that motivates behavioral decisions based on action difficulty and their short-term outcomes, which frequently entails negative consequences. However, a concrete mindset can be counteracted by inducing an abstract mindset to help people focus on final broad goals. We explored how focusing on transcendent motives (vs. self-oriented) promotes a more abstract mindset facilitating prosocial behavioral intentions. Study 1 (pre-post design) explored whether focusing on transcendent motives for engaging in activities promoted a more abstract mindset compared to focusing on self-oriented motives. Using a 2 × 2 design with two consecutive opposing primes, Study 2 tested how inducing a transcendent orientation could reverse the effect caused by perceiving economic scarcity, promoting greater orientation toward others and prosocial behavioral intentions. In Study 1 participants who generated transcendent motives for behaviors presented a greater increase in the abstraction of construal level, compared to those who only generated self-oriented motives for the same behaviors. Study 2 demonstrated that, when participants who perceived economic scarcity were focused on transcendent motives (vs. self-oriented) to promote a more abstract mindset, their orientation toward others increased. Interestingly, for people perceiving economic scarcity, whose own difficulties could reduce prosocial behaviors, the greater orientation toward others promoted a greater intention to engage in demanding prosocial behaviors. We provide evidence of new strategies to promote abstraction in individuals and increase their involvement in prosocial behavioral intentions, especially for those perceiving economic scarcity.