Context Factors for Prosociality in Cross-national and Cross-cultural Interactions

Prosociality is fundamentally important for societies. As people from different nations and cultures become increasingly interconnected due to globalization and migration, it is vital to understand the drivers of cross-national and cross-cultural prosociality. Contributing to this endeavor, this dissertation presents empirical studies that examine contextual factors for prosociality in cross-national and cross-cultural interactions. After providing an overview of theoretical models and empirical evidence for prosociality (Chapter 2 and 3) as well as a critical reflection of the methodology (Chapter 4), the studies are presented (Chapter 5). The first study focuses on prosociality between individuals from five different nations (Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, USA). The second study investigates host citizens’ prosociality towards refugees in Germany. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, a further study analyzes potential changes in prosociality before vs. during a crisis. The studies yield the following results: I) People are more prosocial towards the national in-group vs. out-group; hence, prosociality is rooted in a common social identity. However, in-group favoritism is not fixed but rather can be redirected to local cultural out-groups by making a common living environment salient. II) Individuals also act prosocially towards national and cultural out-group members – the degree of prosociality depends on certain out-group characteristics (e.g., closeness, similarity). III) Prosociality increased significantly during vs. before the COVID-19 crisis in Germany; prosociality is thus sensitive to changes in the external context. The results are discussed regarding their significance for existing theories, methodological limitations, and political implications to promote cross-national and cross-cultural prosociality