The Effectiveness of the Prosocial Goals Intervention

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of our study was to test the effectiveness of the prosocial goals intervention in adolescents. We tested its effects on prosocial behavior as assessed by the decomposed game (DG) and the Efforts for Charity Index (ECI) capturing actual behavior leading to charitable donations. We applied a randomized controlled trial with four measurements. The results showed statistically significant effects of the intervention on the ECI, even when the baseline level of prosocial behavior and participants’ age were controlled for, but revealed no significant effects on the DG. The ECI proved to be a reliable and sensitive behavioral tool assessing changes in prosocial behavior. This short intervention facilitating prosocial goal realization may be useful for practitioners working with adolescents.