Economic Sharing Among Members of a Religious Setting: Patterns and Psychological Correlates (Material, Tangible Support)

232 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1986.This study examines the psychological correlates of patterns of economic sharing of goods, services and money among members of a religious setting over a nine month period. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that individuals who both provided to and received from others over time (bidirectional sharers) reported greater life satisfaction and more positive economic attitudes than those who only provided or only received over time (unidirectional sharers). Among unidirectional sharers, only perceived economic need distinguished a provider from a receiver. Comparisons of sharers (providers, receivers and bidirectional sharers combined) with non-sharers revealed that sharers reported greater levels of involvement/community in the setting than non-sharers. Finally, all individuals reported a greater willingness to provide to others than to receive from them. Interpretation of results centers on psychological theories of helping behavior, and the setting context in which everyday economic sharing transactions occur. The implications of the results for future research and action in the helping, social support, and social policy areas are discussed.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD