The friendly taking effect: how interpersonal closeness leads to seemingly selfish yet jointly maximizing choice

This research documents the “friendly taking effect” in choosing consumption packages for the self and others: interpersonal closeness leads to a preference for a self-benefiting package when this package also offers greater total benefit to the self-other collective (studies 1-2). We propose that a friendly intention (i.e., concern for the total benefit) underlies the friendly taking effect; therefore, people both take more from and give more to a close (vs. distant) other when doing so offers greater benefits in total (study 3), and people are cognitively tuned in to (e.g., acquire, remember) information about the total benefit more when choosing a package for themselves and a close (vs. distant) other (study 4). Moreover, the importance people place on the total benefit mediates the impact of closeness on people’s preference for self-benefiting packages (study 5). We explore the boundary conditions (study 6) and implications for marketers of consumption packages (study 7).

本研究记录了在为自身与他人选择消费套餐时存在的亲善起效效应（friendly taking effect）：当某一自益套餐同时能为自我-他人整体带来更高总收益时，人际亲密度会提升个体对该套餐的偏好（研究1-2）。本研究提出，亲善意图（即对总收益的关切）是亲善起效效应的内在机制；因此，当某一行为能为整体带来更高收益时，个体对亲密他人（相较于疏远他人）会既更多索取、也更多给予（研究3）；且在为自身与亲密他人（相较于疏远他人）选择套餐时，个体对总收益相关信息的认知关注度更高（如信息获取、记忆）（研究4）。此外，个体对总收益的重视程度在亲密度对自益套餐偏好的影响中起中介作用（研究5）。本研究还探讨了该效应的边界条件（研究6）以及对消费套餐营销者的实践启示（研究7）。