Instrumentality boosts appreciation: Helpers are more appreciated while they are useful 2012 By Benjamin ConverseA. Fishbach Instrumentality boosts appreciation: Helpers are more appreciated while they are useful Instrumentality boosts appreciation: Helpers are more appreciated while they are useful by Benjamin Converse and A. Fishbach We propose that in social interactions, appreciation depends on the helper’s instrumentality: The more motivated one is to accomplish a goal and the more one perceives a potential helper as ableto facilitate that goal, the more appreciation one will feel for that helper. Three experimentssupport this instrumentality-boost hypothesis by showing that beneficiaries feel moreappreciation for their helpers while they are receiving help toward an ongoing task than after thattask has been completed or after the helper has been deemed no longer instrumental. This holdsfor the positive side of appreciation (gratitude) and the negative side (indebtedness), and across arange of relationships (complete strangers, new partners, and friends). This pattern ofappreciation is counterintuitive for helpers, resulting in a mismatch between the time courses ofexperienced and expected appreciation. Psychological Science Areas of focus Social Psychology Benjamin Converse I am an associate professor of public policy and psychology, with appointments in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and the Department of Psychology. Read full bio A. Fishbach Related Content Benjamin Converse Next Week, Next Month, Next Year: How Perceived Temporal Boundaries Affect Initiation Expectations Research To move from commitment to action, planners must think about the future and decide when to initiate. We demonstrate that planners prefer to initiate on upcoming days that immediately follow a temporal boundary. Slow Motion Increased Perceived Intent Research To determine the appropriate punishment for a harmful action, people must often make inferences about the transgressor’s intent. In courtrooms and popular media, such inferences increasingly rely on video evidence, which is often played in “slow motion.”
Benjamin Converse I am an associate professor of public policy and psychology, with appointments in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and the Department of Psychology. Read full bio
Next Week, Next Month, Next Year: How Perceived Temporal Boundaries Affect Initiation Expectations Research To move from commitment to action, planners must think about the future and decide when to initiate. We demonstrate that planners prefer to initiate on upcoming days that immediately follow a temporal boundary.
Slow Motion Increased Perceived Intent Research To determine the appropriate punishment for a harmful action, people must often make inferences about the transgressor’s intent. In courtrooms and popular media, such inferences increasingly rely on video evidence, which is often played in “slow motion.”