Double-Edge Swords: Factors that Induce or Prohibit Prosocial and Ethical Behavior

Keywords: prosocial behavior, ethics, negotiations

Abstract: The present symposium will explore the tension between prosocial (and ethical) behavior and selfish (unethical) behavior across a variety of contexts (i.e., charitable giving, interpersonal contexts, work-place contexts, and negotiations). We explore how and when different states (e.g., environments that allow for more or less choice) and traits (e.g., strategic-thinking) may promote either type of behavior. Importantly, all of these papers provide novel investigations into how each specific factor that was previously thought to either promote or inhibit ethical behavior may, in fact, have the power to do both.