Why scarcity can both increase and decrease prosocial behaviour: A review and theoretical framework for the complex relationship between scarcity and prosociality.

TY - JOUR

T1 - Why scarcity can both increase and decrease prosocial behaviour: A review and theoretical framework for the complex relationship between scarcity and prosociality.

AU - Civai, Claudia

AU - Elbaek, Christian T.

AU - Capraro, Valerio

PY - 2024/12

Y1 - 2024/12

N2 - In recent years, scholars from different fields have studied the effects of scarcity on social behaviour, producing mixed findings. This review synthesizes the most recent literature on the topic and proposes a framework to organize the evidence. According to this framework, scarcity produces an attentional shift towards the scarce resource and a cognitive load that triggers heuristic thinking; this affects social behaviour in various ways, depending on individual and contextual factors, which can be transient (e.g., emotional states or social expectations), or enduring (e.g., personality or social environment). We then apply this framework to explain when and how scarcity influences parochialism. We conclude with a caution against the uncritical use of scarcity salience as a tool for social behavioural change.

AB - In recent years, scholars from different fields have studied the effects of scarcity on social behaviour, producing mixed findings. This review synthesizes the most recent literature on the topic and proposes a framework to organize the evidence. According to this framework, scarcity produces an attentional shift towards the scarce resource and a cognitive load that triggers heuristic thinking; this affects social behaviour in various ways, depending on individual and contextual factors, which can be transient (e.g., emotional states or social expectations), or enduring (e.g., personality or social environment). We then apply this framework to explain when and how scarcity influences parochialism. We conclude with a caution against the uncritical use of scarcity salience as a tool for social behavioural change.

KW - behavioural change

KW - parochialism

KW - prosociality

KW - scarcity mindset

KW - social expectations

KW - Scarcity mindset

KW - Behavioural change

KW - Prosociality

KW - Parochialism

KW - Social expectations

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85206897384&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101931

DO - 10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101931

M3 - Review

SN - 2352-250X

VL - 60

SP - 101931

JO - Current Opinion in Psychology

JF - Current Opinion in Psychology

M1 - 101931

ER -