Abstract

Have you ever helped a friend find a lost item? Or donated old clothes or toys to a charity? When you help someone, you are taking part in prosocial behaviors. In our study, we analyzed data to determine which factors relate to prosocial behavior. We explored life satisfaction, positive emotions, and negative emotions. We found that people who are more satisfied with their life take part in more prosocial behaviors. We also found a relationship between positive emotions and prosocial behaviors. We learned that negative emotions are more difficult to use as a predictor for prosocial behaviors. Negative emotions often relate to less prosocial behaviors. But the relationship between negative emotions and prosocial behavior was less consistent.