Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to Help
People are less likely to help others when they view time as a scarce resource. Does changing people’s <i>perception</i> of time influence their willingness to help? We hypothesized that people would be more willing to help and would allocate more time to helping others when they view ti...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/15/5/90 |
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| author | Yu Niiya Syamil Yakin Lora E. Park Ya-Hui Chang |
| author_facet | Yu Niiya Syamil Yakin Lora E. Park Ya-Hui Chang |
| author_sort | Yu Niiya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | People are less likely to help others when they view time as a scarce resource. Does changing people’s <i>perception</i> of time influence their willingness to help? We hypothesized that people would be more willing to help and would allocate more time to helping others when they view time as a <i>nonzero-sum</i> resource (i.e., as a resource that merely exists or that can be created moment-by-moment with their interactions with others) versus a <i>zero-sum</i> resource (i.e., a commodity that can be lost, taken, or given away). Study 1 measured people’s perception of time and their willingness to help in hypothetical vignettes. Studies 2 and 3 manipulated the perception of time to examine its effect on people’s willingness to help others and the amount of time they wanted to spend helping. Study 3 further examined prosocial motivation as a potential mediator. Across the three studies, we demonstrated that when people perceive time as a nonzero-sum resource versus a zero-sum resource, people are more willing to help others. People’s prosocial motivation to reduce others’ distress mediated this relationship. We speculate that when people perceive time to be nonzero-sum, time spent helping others is not viewed as costly, but as a resource to invest in to benefit both themselves and others. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e92d2a7dc9ce428098d717e76445e98a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2174-8144 2254-9625 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-e92d2a7dc9ce428098d717e76445e98a2025-08-20T02:33:52ZengMDPI AGEuropean Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education2174-81442254-96252025-05-011559010.3390/ejihpe15050090Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to HelpYu Niiya0Syamil Yakin1Lora E. Park2Ya-Hui Chang3Department and Faculty of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies, Hosei University, Ichigaya Campus, Tokyo 102-8160, JapanDepartment of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USADepartment of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USADepartment of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USAPeople are less likely to help others when they view time as a scarce resource. Does changing people’s <i>perception</i> of time influence their willingness to help? We hypothesized that people would be more willing to help and would allocate more time to helping others when they view time as a <i>nonzero-sum</i> resource (i.e., as a resource that merely exists or that can be created moment-by-moment with their interactions with others) versus a <i>zero-sum</i> resource (i.e., a commodity that can be lost, taken, or given away). Study 1 measured people’s perception of time and their willingness to help in hypothetical vignettes. Studies 2 and 3 manipulated the perception of time to examine its effect on people’s willingness to help others and the amount of time they wanted to spend helping. Study 3 further examined prosocial motivation as a potential mediator. Across the three studies, we demonstrated that when people perceive time as a nonzero-sum resource versus a zero-sum resource, people are more willing to help others. People’s prosocial motivation to reduce others’ distress mediated this relationship. We speculate that when people perceive time to be nonzero-sum, time spent helping others is not viewed as costly, but as a resource to invest in to benefit both themselves and others.https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/15/5/90nonzero-sumzero-sumtime perceptionhelpingprosocial |
| spellingShingle | Yu Niiya Syamil Yakin Lora E. Park Ya-Hui Chang Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to Help European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education nonzero-sum zero-sum time perception helping prosocial |
| title | Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to Help |
| title_full | Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to Help |
| title_fullStr | Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to Help |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to Help |
| title_short | Nonzero-Sum Time Perception Is Associated with Greater Willingness to Help |
| title_sort | nonzero sum time perception is associated with greater willingness to help |
| topic | nonzero-sum zero-sum time perception helping prosocial |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2254-9625/15/5/90 |
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