Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan observed that when we reflect on what we've received from another person, we might feel an obligation to help that person, but the motivation to help doesn't necessarily extend to other people. And reflecting on what we've received from others may even cause us to feel dependent and indebted.
"Helping, giving, volunteering, and other actions undertaken to benefit others play a critical role in protecting health, promoting education, fighting poverty and hunger, and providing disaster relief," the researchers said.
The study claims that reflecting on giving could lead a person to see himself as a benefactor, strengthening his identity as a caring, helpful individual and motivating her to take action to benefit others.
In their first experiment, the researchers studied fundraisers whose job was to solicit alumni donations to support various programmes at a university. The fundraisers were divided into two groups: one group wrote journal entries about recent experiences of feeling grateful for receiving a benefit and the other group wrote journal entries about recent experiences in which they made a contribution that enabled other people to feel grateful.
The researchers Adam Grant of the Wharton School of Business and Jane Dutton of The Ross School measured how many calls each fundraiser made per hour in the two weeks before and the two weeks after the week that they spent journaling.
Because the fundraisers were paid a fixed hourly rate, with no fundraising goals or incentives, the number of calls they made reflected voluntary effort to help raise funds for the university.
As the researchers hypothesised, the fundraisers who wrote about giving for just two or three days increased their hourly calls by more than 29 per cent in the following two weeks. The fundraisers who wrote about receiving, however, showed no change in the number hourly calls made.
The research suggests that self-reflection about giving can be a powerful tool for motivating helping and volunteering behaviours that benefit individuals and communities. When we reflect on positive experiences, it may be worthwhile to think about what we've given to others