Reward, punishment, and prosocial behavior: Recent developments and implications

Junhui Wu; Shenghua Luan; Nichola Raihani

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.09.003

Reward, punishment, and prosocial behavior: Recent developments and implications

Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Apr:44:117-123. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.09.003. Epub 2021 Sep 11.

Authors

Junhui Wu¹, Shenghua Luan², Nichola Raihani³

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. Electronic address: wujunhui@psych.ac.cn.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
³ Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.

PMID: 34619459
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.09.003

Abstract

Reward and punishment change the payoff structures of social interactions and therefore can potentially play a role in promoting prosocial behavior. Yet, there are boundary conditions for them to be effective. We review recent work that addresses the conditions under which rewards and punishment can enhance prosocial behavior, the proximate and ultimate mechanisms for individuals' rewarding and punishing decisions, and the reputational and behavioral consequences of reward and punishment under noise. The reviewed evidence points to the importance of more field research on how reward and punishment can promote prosocial behavior in real-world settings. We also highlight the need to integrate different methodologies to better examine the effects of reward and punishment on prosocial behavior.

Keywords: Prosocial behavior; Punishment; Reputational benefits; Reward; Sanctions.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Altruism*
Humans
Punishment*
Reward