Six studies (two pre-registered, total N = 1861) examined whether individuals would be more likely to give advice to close rather than non-close others against engaging in prosocial behaviours. The results consistently showed that participants were less inclined to advise close (vs. non-close) others to donate blood (Studies 2 and 3), to donate money (Study 5) and to engage in volunteer activities (Studies 1-6). Moreover, Studies 3, 5 and 6 also provided evidence suggesting that prosocial advice given to close others was more contingent on cost judgements than that given to non-close others. These findings have significant implications for the understanding of social influences on prosocial behaviours.
Keywords: advice-giving; close others; prosocial behaviours.
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