APS
2026 APS Annual Convention · 2026
Assessing Prosocial Behaviour: What Do Our Measures Really Capture?
- Andreia Santiago
William James Center for Research, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa - Nuno Gomes
William James Center for Research, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa - Nuno Gomes
William James Center for Research, Departamento de Educação e Psicologia, Universidade de Aveiro - Louise Ewing
School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia - Louise Ewing
Department of Psychology, University of East Anglia - Marie Smith
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London - Marie Smith
School of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, - Inês Mares
William James Center for Research, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa
Abstract
We compared four prosocial behavioural tasks and three self-report measures in 447 adults. Only the Dictator Game and Social Value Orientation showed significant associations with self-report empathic concern and fairness-reciprocity. Findings highlight substantial measurement inconsistencies, identifying the Dictator Game and Social Value Orientation as promising tasks to measure prosocial behaviour.
