Perceived self and behavioral traits as antecedents of an online empathic experience and prosocial behavior: Evidence from South Korea

Highlights

• We examine self and behavioral traits as antecedents of empathy and prosocial behavior online.

• Perceived self-traits were found to be associated with both empathic experiences and prosocial behavior.

• Self-efficacy in online relationships was the strongest predictor of both empathy and prosocial behavior.

• Patterns of an individual's networking produce mixed results in regard to association with prosocial behavior.

• Females exhibited statistically more significant empathy and prosocial behavior than males.

Abstract

The current study identified and examined perceived self-traits and behavioral traits as antecedents of online empathic experiences and prosocial behavior. Our findings suggest that perceived self-traits (i.e., self-efficacy in online relationship and self-disclosure) are strongly associated with both empathic experiences and prosocial behavior. Findings for the behavioral trait, interaction pattern of an individual, indicate that patterns of an individual's networking produce mixed results in regard to association with prosocial behavior. Bonding networking was found to positively predict prosocial behavior, while bridging networking showed a negative association with the same dependent measure. Identity discrepancy and writing activities were also found to positively affect prosocial behavior. Overall, the finding of this study indicates that perceived self-traits tend to display stronger explanatory power over both empathy and prosocial behavior than do behavioral traits.

Introduction

Since the mid-1980s, when the evolution of Internet technology was inextricably bound to its commercialization, we have observed paradigm shifts in every corner of our society, such as the manner of communication, consumption, education, political campaigning, and so forth. Due to the significant saturation of Internet technology in our individual and social lives, which is a consequence of its unique features (e.g., interactivity, connectedness, and easy access to the most updated information without geographical boundaries), scholars have made inquiries and engaged in debates over outcomes the Internet delivers at the social or individual levels (Dimaggio et al., 2001, Kraut et al., 1998, Norris, 2002, Wellman et al., 2001).

Internet addiction, for example, is one salient issue regarding the medium that has been examined in past research. It was found to be associated with varied predictors including demographic (e.g., gender, age), psychological (e.g., self-esteem, impulsiveness) and socio-psychological (e.g., extraversion, social gratification) factors. While those earlier efforts exploring the detrimental perspective of the Internet furnished scholarly and practical contributions on the issue, it is undeniable that research on a constructive view of Internet effects is thought to be relatively lackadaisical. Enabled with hindsight, the current study endeavors to explore those aspects of the Internet that generate a positive effect on individuals and our society. Therefore, empathy and prosocial behavior are the focus in our examination of Internet context for the study.

Empathy is often thought of as a positive state of mind that features emotional connections with others and cognitive awareness about their states (Hoffman, 2000). As human capacity to sense another person's situation grows, empathy helps facilitate social bonding and adapt one's behavior to others in the social group to which he/she belongs. Thus, it could be a foundation to overcome varied societal problems including hatred, prejudice and violence (Dalai Lama & Cutler, 2009). While the constructive view of empathy has been espoused with empirical evidence in past studies where empathy was found to be an influential predictor of prosocial behavior (Eisenberg & Miller, 1987), little research has addressed Internet usage or a user's self-traits as a generator of empathy or prosocial behavior (Melchers, Li, Chen, Zhang, & Montag, 2015). Indeed, recent Internet-based fund-raising campaigns (i.e., Ice Bucket Challenge, Boston Strong, etc.) are considered to be successful by generating an empathic experience that in turn leads to prosocial behavior (i.e., donation). This merits further examination of self- and behavioral traits of Internet users as antecedents of empathy and prosocial behavior and their association in an Internet context, which is quite distinctive from an offline context. Thus, the current study questions how an individual's perceived self and behavioral traits on the Internet are associated with an empathic experience or a prosocial motive or behavior.

Furthermore, we intend to investigate Internet users in Korea, a country in which digital infrastructure is highly developed due to the nation-wide adoption of broadband Internet. South Korea is ranked as one of the most connected online markets and boasts the highest average Internet connection speed, as well as the greatest availability of WiFi locations worldwide. With 41 million Internet users, South Korea also has one of the largest online populations within the Asia Pacific region (Statista, 2015). Acknowledging that past studies on the topic have been largely targeted in the U.S., the examination in a different cultural context could provide additional knowledge on the universality of the association between empathy and prosocial behavior.

In short, the current study explores antecedents of empathy and prosocial behavior on the Internet and in the South Korean context. In particular, we examine an individual's perceived self-traits and behavioral traits on the Internet, which could either encourage or constrain empathic experiences or prosocial behavior. In analysis, we further anticipate recognition of an association between empathy and prosocial behavior on the Internet, and can compare correlations between online observations to those offline results that have been empirically evidenced in past studies. Consequently, the findings of the current study are expected to furnish a constructive perspective on the Internet's effect on individuals and our society by revealing self and behavioral traits of Internet users that could be utilized in practice for generating or catalyzing empathy and prosocial behavior.