Prospective memory (PM) is defined as the memory to perform future intentions and includes activities such as picking up a gift for a friend on the way home from work or remembering to take medication at a certain time each day (Einstein & McDaniel, 1990). In the real world these intentions are often performed to benefit others and are considered prosocial in nature (Brandimonte, Ferrante, Bianco, & Grazia-Villani, 2010). An example of a social PM task would be remembering to keep an appointment with a study group, whereas a self-interested task might be remembering to order a new ink cartridge for your printer. Past research has shown that social PM tasks are perceived as more important than PM tasks that benefit the self (Penningroth, Scott,
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Furthermore, prosocial behavior is understood to be initiated by motivational forces including altruism and egoism. Altruism and egoism can be viewed as opposite sides of the same coin in that they are goal-directed motivations which seek to improve the well-being of a single individual or a group (Batson & Powell, 2003). Past research has provided a clear distinction between the two however, by deeming altruism as a motivational force with the goal of benefitting others, while egoism functions to benefit the self (Batson, 1987). For purposes of the proposed research, prosocial motivation is equivalent to what has historically been defined as altruism (benefitting another) while self-interested motivation is akin to egoism (benefitting the …show more content…
Eighty undergraduate students from a university in southern Naples (Mage = 22.5) participated in the first study which compared the effects of a low material reward (1 euro), a high material reward (20 euros), and no reward. The second study included a different sample of undergraduate students (Mage = 23.2) from the same university. Motivation was manipulated using a non-monetary incentive, which was publication of the participant’s altruistic behavior versus no public recognition for the behavior. Participants in the low material reward incentive had impaired PM performance; however, those in the high material reward condition exhibited better PM performance. In addition, public recognition of a participant’s altruistic behavior led to poorer PM performance as well as slower response times in the PM condition. This provides further support for the notion that motivational mechanisms impact PM performance differentially based on the context, and also suggests that monetary incentives undermine intrinsic motivation for prosocial
Furthermore, prosocial behavior is understood to be initiated by motivational forces including altruism and egoism. Altruism and egoism can be viewed as opposite sides of the same coin in that they are goal-directed motivations which seek to improve the well-being of a single individual or a group (Batson & Powell, 2003). Past research has provided a clear distinction between the two however, by deeming altruism as a motivational force with the goal of benefitting others, while egoism functions to benefit the self (Batson, 1987). For purposes of the proposed research, prosocial motivation is equivalent to what has historically been defined as altruism (benefitting another) while self-interested motivation is akin to egoism (benefitting the …show more content…
Eighty undergraduate students from a university in southern Naples (Mage = 22.5) participated in the first study which compared the effects of a low material reward (1 euro), a high material reward (20 euros), and no reward. The second study included a different sample of undergraduate students (Mage = 23.2) from the same university. Motivation was manipulated using a non-monetary incentive, which was publication of the participant’s altruistic behavior versus no public recognition for the behavior. Participants in the low material reward incentive had impaired PM performance; however, those in the high material reward condition exhibited better PM performance. In addition, public recognition of a participant’s altruistic behavior led to poorer PM performance as well as slower response times in the PM condition. This provides further support for the notion that motivational mechanisms impact PM performance differentially based on the context, and also suggests that monetary incentives undermine intrinsic motivation for prosocial