Praise Is Reciprocated With Tangible Benefits: Social Exchange Between Symbolic Resources and Concrete Resources

A recent study in the field of neuroscience showed that a class of symbolic resources (praise) activated the brain’s reward circuitry, which was similarly activated by monetary resources. This result implies that the two distinct classes of resources are mutually exchangeable. The present experiment addressed this possibility by comparing four conditions. Participants in the praise condition received a positive evaluation and decided how much money they would give to the evaluator, while participants in the no praise condition did not receive any evaluation. To distinguish the effect of praise from positive mood effect, participants in the positive mood condition decided how much money they would give to someone other than the evaluator. To explore the differential effects of praise and flattery, participants in the flattery condition were led to suspect the intention of the evaluator. Participants in the praise condition behaved more generously than those in the other three conditions. Keywords ingratiation, flattery, social exchange, reciprocity, dictator game Norms of reciprocity (i.e., if A gives benefits to B, B should give benefits back to A) dictate our day-to-day social lives (Gouldner, 1960). Recipients of a favor are inclined to help or give resources to the benefactor (e.g., Burger, Ehrlichman