Heroic Helping: The Effects of Priming Superhero Images on Prosociality

Two experiments examined how exposure to superhero images influences both prosociality and meaning in life. In Experiment 1 (N = 246) exposed individuals to scenes with superhero images or neutral images. Individuals primed with superhero images reported greater helping intentions relative to the control group, which, in turn, were associated with increased meaning in life (indirect effect only; no direct effect). In Experiment 2 (N = 123), individuals exposed to a superhero poster helped an experimenter in a tedious task more than those exposed to a bicycle poster, though no differences were found for meaning in life. These results suggest that subtle activation of superhero stimuli increases prosocial intentions and behavior

The Role of Virtuous Acts on Meaning in Life

Research has focused on how creating and maintaining a sense of meaning in life is humankind’s primary motivation (Heine, Proulx, & Vohs, 2006). These desires for meaning are assumed to reduce the existential anxiety that is derived from one’s awareness of their own mortality (Greenberg, Koole, & Pyszczynski, 2004; Pyszczynski, Greenberg, Koole, & Solomon, 2010). Research suggests that mortality salience can elicit greater prosocial behaviors (Jonas, Schimel, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2002). Similarly, other research has found that prosocial or virtuous behavior is associated with meaning in life (Van Tongeren et al., 2016). The purpose of this research is to examine the degree to which a virtue intervention may provide a sense of well-being, religiosity and meaning in life. In this two-week longitudinal virtue intervention (instructing participants to commit to acting virtuously for the next two weeks), undergraduate participants completed measures of meaning in life, well-being, and religiosity. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) participants were asked to commit to acting as virtuously as possible in all of their daily interactions for the following two weeks (virtuous condition; VC), or (2) participants were asked to commit to being fully present in all of their daily interactions (present condition; PC). Data were collected at baseline (T1), one week later (T2= 7 days after T1), and two weeks later (T3= 14 days after T1). Accordingly, participants completed these follow up surveys by indicating how virtuously (VC) or fully present (PC) they acted during the week. Participants then completed the same prior measures on meaning in life, well-being, and religiosity. We predict that those assigned to the virtue intervention—being instructed to act more virtuously—will report greater meaning in life after T3 than at T1 and in comparison to those who acted fully present. Data collection is ongoing (N~80; target N=100) and we plan to use multilevel modeling in our analysis of the data. This research will help us better understand the ways in which virtuous behaviors affect well-being, as well as identify potential experimental and clinical interventions to increase virtue, and, in turn, enhance meaning in life

The Role of Priming Disaster Images on Meaning, Religion, and God Associations

How do people psychologically recover from disasters and restore a sense of meaning in their life? Disasters can potentially threaten physical and psychological well-being. Previous research suggests that when faced with a disaster, people are driven to restore a sense of meaning in their lives (Haynes et al., in press). In this study, we aim to discover how priming disasters affects participants’ reported meaning in life and their concept of God (assessed both explicitly and implicitly). We hypothesize that (religious) participants faced with a disaster prime will reaffirm their meaning and religious values compared to those in the control group. Participants were undergraduate introductory psychology students at a private Midwestern liberal arts college. First, all participants filled out individual difference measures about their personality and religious beliefs. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) watching a video of a person driving through a major forest fire (natural disaster prime), (2) watching a video of the commercial airliners crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11 (terrorist disaster prime), (3) watching a video of the BP oil spill and oil rig fire (technical disaster prime), or (4) watching a video of a nature scene with waterfalls (neutral prime). All participants were asked to imagine themselves in the situations depicted in the videos. After the videos were shown, all sets of participants completed assessments on their implicit and explicit God associations and filled out a questionnaire about their reported meaning in life. Participants were then debriefed. We are in the process of collecting data (N~80; Target N=100), but we expect to find the data will support our hypothesis that meaning in life will be reaffirmed when a person is faced with a disaster scenario and that God associations will also be reaffirmed for religious participants. To analyze the data, we will run an ANOVA test comparing participant’s responses in all four conditions. This research will provide experimental evidence for the link between disasters, religion, and reported meaning in life. In general, this research may provide insight into psychological disaster relief and coping mechanisms that people use to recover from trauma. As the title of the research suggests, we are interested in how people flourish within their given circumstances

The Effects of Priming Heroes on Helping Intentions and Meaning in Life

Two experiments studied the effects of priming fictional superheroes (Experiment 1) and personal heroes (Experiment 2). We hypothesized that when primed with heroes, people would be more likely to help, and would report more meaning in life. In Experiment 1 participants from MTurk (N=241) were randomly assigned to a hero condition, in which they were implicitly primed with images of popular fictional superheroes, such as Superman or Spider Man, or a neutral condition, which did not include these heroic logos. After this priming, participants were given hypothetical situations in which they were to rate how likely they would be to help someone, and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Experiment 2 consisted of explicitly priming of a personal hero. Participants (N=257) were randomly assigned to instructed to write a paragraph describing their personal hero or to a neutral condition. They were then given the same measures as in Experiment 1, in which they reported their likelihood to exhibit helping intentions and their sense of meaning in life. For Experiment 1, results showed that when implicitly primed with a fictional superhero, participants reported higher helping intentions, which was associated with greater meaning in life. However, in Experiment 2, when asked to write about a personal hero, participants reported lower meaning in life in comparison to control conditions, which was mediated by lower helping intentions. Although the results from Experiment 1 support our hypothesis, whereas Experiment 2 did not, the difference in responses is intriguing. There is an oppositional effect that occurred when implicitly primed with fictional heroes relative to explicitly reflecting on personal heroes. It is likely that the content (abstract versus personal hero) and method (implicit versus explicit) of the hero priming induction matters greatly. The complex relationship between these variables and method in the current experiments are discussed

The Effects of Disasters on View of and Relationship with God

Disasters can be a considerable threat to one’s sense of meaning. We examined the effects of priming disaster related stimuli on participants’ view of and relationship with God. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) implicit disaster threat, (b) explicit disaster threat, (c) implicit neutral prime, or (d) explicit neutral prime. Next, participants completed measures of meaning in life, as well as scales assessing their views of God (e.g., authoritarian, benevolent) and their relationship to God, including an implicit assessment of their relationship with God. We hypothesize that (religious) participants faced with a disaster prime will reaffirm their meaning and religious values compared to those in the control group. We also sought to explore how the disaster prime would affect how people related to God. We are in the process of collecting data (N~50; Target N=100), but we expect to find the data will support our hypothesis that meaning in life will be reaffirmed when a person is faced with a disaster scenario and that God associations will also be reaffirmed for religious participants. We will also examine whether the primes affected how relate with God. To analyze the data, we will run an ANOVA test comparing participant’s responses in all four conditions. This research has the potential to inform how religious and spiritual values may play a role in overcoming larger meaning threats, such as disasters