The Effect Of The Frame Effect On Individual Altruistic Behavior In The Context Of Public Goods Dilemmas

Altruistic behavior is a voluntary and helpful social behavior,and thus has been the focus of psychological research. Based on the influence factors of altruistic behavior, this study chose a new point - frame effect, and tried to explore the effect of frame effect on altruistic behavior.In this study, the undergraduates and graduate students in n city colleges were tested, and the influence of the attribute frame and the goal frame on individual altruistic behavior was discussed through two experiments in the public-goods dilemmas.We used a single-factor between-subject design in both of the experiments . In experiment 1, we examined the effect of the title frame on individual altruistic choices,and the title frame is divided into team cooperation title and money game title. The dependent variable was the altruistic choice of the individual (the operational definition is the amount of one’s donation). In experiment 2, we examined the effect of the goal frame and the title frame is divided into positive frame and negative frame.The dependent variable was also the altruistic choice of the individual.Through the experiments, the results are as follows:(1) The main effect of the title frame is significant, and the individual chooses to donate more money in team’s cooperation than in the money game;(2) The main effect of the goal frame is significant,and the individual in the negative frame donates more money than in the positive;(3) The main effect of gender is significant,women donate more than men.The conclusions are as follows:(1) Compared with the money game frame, the subjects under the teamwork frame would be more altruistic;(2) Compared with the positive goal frame, the subjects under the negative goal frame would be more altruistic ;(3) Gender also has a significant effect on individual altruistic behavior, and women show more altruistic than men.Our hypothesis is verified, the attribute frame and the goal frame have a significant effect on altruistic behavior. Moreover, there are gender differences in individual altruistic behavior.