Virtual Rewards, Real World Impact? Investigating the Prosocial Effects of Videogame Reward Salience

Prosocial behaviour is crucial in human relationships, enhancing the well-being of both the helper and the recipient. Using rewards to encourage prosocial behaviour can be effective, but may influence reasoning and negatively affect follow-up prosocial behaviour. The salience of the reward for the initial helping behaviour could explain the mixed findings in prior literature. Using a 2 (Aesthetic Upgrade, No Aesthetic Upgrade) × 2 (Functional Upgrade, No Functional Upgrade) online experimental study design (<i>N</i> = 170), this research investigates the impact of reward salience within a videogame on follow-up prosocial behaviour (donation to charity). Findings indicate that although reward salience was successfully manipulated, it did not have a statistically significant relationship with reasoning or behaviour. Notably, strategic reasoning for in-game helping was negatively associated with charitable donations. These results emphasise the importance of understanding how people perceive their prosocial actions to better predict future prosocial engagement, with implications for future research and games designed for social change.

亲社会行为（Prosocial behaviour）在人际关系中至关重要，可提升助人者与受助者双方的福祉。利用奖励激励亲社会行为虽能奏效，却可能干扰个体的推理过程，并对后续亲社会行为产生负面影响。初始助人行为中奖励的显著性（salience）或许能解释以往文献中结论不一的现象。本研究采用2（美学升级、无美学升级）×2（功能升级、无功能升级）的在线实验设计（<i>N</i> = 170），探究电子游戏场景中奖励显著性对后续亲社会行为（慈善捐赠）的影响。研究结果显示，尽管奖励显著性已被成功操控，但其与推理过程或行为之间并未呈现统计学意义上的显著关联。值得注意的是，游戏内助人行为的策略性推理与慈善捐赠呈负相关。这些结果凸显了理解个体如何认知自身亲社会行为的重要性——这有助于更精准地预测未来亲社会参与度，并为后续研究及旨在推动社会变革的游戏设计提供了启示。