| Prosocial behavior is usually defined as the behavior that individuals engage in during social interactions that benefit others.It has long been encouraged and advocated by our country.But this behavior can be influenced by a number of factors,and sometimes people are reluctant to engage in helping others,not necessarily because they are mean,but possibly they are too depleted by other events and have lowered their opinion of themselves to give a helping hand.In this study,we investigated the effect of self-depletion on prosocial behavior and its underlying mechanism by questionnaire and experimental research.Study 1 examined the relationship among ego depletion,self-efficacy,and pro-social behavior by questionnaire,and explored the role of moral disengagement in the process of ego depletion affecting pro-social behavior.The results showed that ego depletion significantly and negatively predicted prosocial behavior,self-efficacy mediated the relationship between ego depletion and prosocial behavior,and moral disengagement moderated the second half of the mediated path.Individuals with high levels of moral disengagement and higher levels of ego depletion reduce their self-efficacy in subsequent tasks and thus are less likely to engage in pro-social behavior.Study 2 used the Stroop paradigm to manipulate s the level of ego depletion,and subsequently measured their levels of self-efficacy and performance in the dictator game to examine the differences in pro-social behavior.Results Individuals with different levels of ego depletion differed in their pro-social behavior,with individuals having lower levels of self-efficacy and lower levels of pro-social behavior in the high ego depletion condition compared to the low ego depletion condition.Study 3 used the E-crossing paradigm to manipulate the level of ego depletion,assessed individuals’ pro-social behaviors with a public goods game,and used different approaches to verify the effects of ego depletion on self-efficacy and pro-social behaviors,as well as to explore the moderating role of moral disengagement between self-efficacy and pro-social behaviors.The results showed that the higher the degree of ego depletion,the lower the level of pro-social behavior,while the moderating effect of moral disengagement was not significant.Conclusions:(1)Ego depletion negatively predicts pro-social behavior,and the higher the level of ego depletion,the lower the level of pro-social behavior.(2)Ego depletion decreases individuals’ self-efficacy and reduces their pro-social behavior,in which self-efficacy plays a mediating role. |
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