PROSOCIAL VIRTUAL SEMINAR
The PROSOCIAL Virtual Seminar is an open, online, and interdisciplinary series organized collaboratively by RWI & WZB. It provides a platform for academics to present their work from various areas of prosocial behavior, including but not limited to monetary donations, blood donations, organ donations, volunteering, and pro-environmental behavior.
The presentations take place on the second Tuesday of each month from 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time) via Microsoft Teams.
Each seminar presentation is scheduled to last 60 minutes, consisting of a brief introduction, a 40-minute presentation and 15 minutes for Q&A. You must register for each presentation individually by clicking on the presentation date below and following the instructions provided there.
Background
This idea was developed as part of the Stimulating Prosocial Behavior (PROSOCIAL) project. For more details please follow this link. 
Upcoming presentations
Seminar title: Links between joint action and pro-sociality
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Natalie Sebanz (Central European University)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
Abstract: In this talk, I will give a summary of previous accounts and findings that postulate a link between pro-sociality and joint action. This includes the social brain hypothesis, which suggests that the complexity of group coordination improves social cognitive abilities; the co-efficiency hypothesis, which assumes that co-actors prioritize group efficiency over individual efficiency; as well as evidence for the idea that joint action is inherently rewarding and tends to increase pro-sociality. I will present findings from a few recent and ongoing studies that further explore how joint action mechanisms and different aspects of pro-sociality might be related.
Please note that this seminar will not be recorded and made available on YouTube afterwards.
Seminar title: Why Morally Motivated Public Good Provision can Lead to Polarization and Minimal Contributions
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Karine Nyborg (University of Oslo)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
Abstract: If public good provision relies on voluntary efforts, individuals may feel morally obligated to contribute. This may trigger social processes easing individuals’ perceived moral burdens, undermining contributions in the long run while causing segregation and polarization. We assume that individuals prefer to behave in accordance with their own and peers’ ethical views. Income inequality is exogenous, peer groups are endogenous, and there is biased social learning of ethical views. We find that in the long-run equilibrium, total contributions are minimal; moreover, the poor (rich) stick together, holding completely (non-)egalitarian views. Tax-funded public provision, however, does not drive similar polarization.
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Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Ragan Petrie (Texas A&M University)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
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Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Jana Gallus (UCLA Anderson School of Management)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
Abstract: tba
Seminar title: Generating Generosity
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: René Bekkers (VU Amsterdam)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
Abstract: tba
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Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Bertil Tungodden (NHH Norwegian School of Economics)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
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Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Paul van Lange (VU Amsterdam)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
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Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Alex Imas (University of Chicago)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
Abstract: tba
Latest video from the seminar series
Past presentations
Seminar title: Incentives and Prosocial Discomfort: A Laboratory Experiment
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Nicola Lacetera (University of Bologna)
Seminar video: youtu.be/oD5tmCMUj0A
Abstract: We conducted a laboratory experiment in which participants decided whether to experience discomfort for charity, with or without additional personal compensation. Acceptance decreased with greater discomfort and increased with both larger charitable donations and personal payments. However, personal compensation reduced the marginal impact of donations—the combined effect of private and social rewards was less than additive. Moreover, order mattered: participants who first faced choices without personal compensation were more responsive to charitable donations throughout, whereas those exposed first to paid choices were less responsive, even when later decisions involved no payment. These results show that context — especially the presence and sequencing of private rewards— affects the relationship between incentives and prosocial behavior.
Seminar title: Ends versus Means: Kantians, Utilitarians, and Moral Decisions
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m. CET (Berlin time)
Speaker: Roland Bénabou (Princeton University)
Access: Microsoft Teams; Register for this event here.
Abstract: tba
Contact
If you have any questions or comments regarding the seminar series, please contact us at seminar.prosocial@rwi-essen.de.
If you want to join the mailing list, please write an email to seminar.prosocial@rwi-essen.de with the following text: “I would like to join the PROSOCIAL Virtual Seminar mailing list to receive regular updates about upcoming presentations in the PROSOCIAL Virtual Seminar and how to register for them”. One week before each seminar, you’ll receive an email with all the information you need to register for that session.
For more information about how we handle your data, please refer to our privacy policy.
Organizers
Prof. Dr. Mark A. Andor
Co-head of the research unit “Environment and Resources” and Head of the research group “Prosocial Behavior” at RWI
Photo: Sven Lorenz
Prof. Dr. Maja Adena
Head of the research group "Information, Incentives, Inequality" at WZB
Photo: David Ausserhofer