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Cited by 1,127Experimental Behavioral Economics StudiesSocial Power and Status DynamicsSocial and Intergroup Psychology

The pursuit of joint outcomes and equality in outcomes: An integrative model of social value orientation.

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Van Lange, Paul A. M.·1999·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.77.2.337
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Abstract

The author provides a conceptual framework for understanding differences among prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientations.Whereas traditional models conceptualize prosocial orientation in terms of enhancing joint outcomes, the author proposes an integrative model of social value orientation in which prosocial orientation is understood in terms of enhancing both joint outcomes and equality in outcomes.Consistent with this integrative model, prosocial orientation (vs.individualistic and competitive orientations) was associated with greater tendencies to enhance both joint outcomes and equality in outcomes; in addition, both goals were positively associated (Study 1).Consistent with interactionrelevant implications of this model, prosocial orientation was strongly related to reciprocity.Relative to individualists and competitors, prosocials were more likely to engage in the same level of cooperation as the interdependent other did (Study 2) and the same level of cooperation as they anticipated from the interdependent other (Study 3).Presumably, patterns of social interaction could be relatively easily understood if individuals tended to act in accordance with "rational self-interest."However, the motivations that individuals bring to bear on social interactions seem to be broader and more multifaceted than the simple pursuit of personal outcomes.One pervasive broader motivation derives from tendencies to enhance the outcomes of a dyad, group, or collective, even when such actions are quite costly to the self (e.g., donations to public goods, acts of self-sacrifice in relationships).The pursuit of joint outcomes has received a fair amount of attention in the literature on experimental games, cooperation, and competition (e.g., Kelley & Stahelski, 1970;McClintock & Liebrand, 1988).Another pervasive broader motivation derives from tendencies to enhance equality in outcomes, even when such actions are quite costly to the self (e.g., distributing resources in a fair manner, compromising and sharing in relationships).The pursuit of equality in outcomes has received a fair amount of attention in the literature on justice, fairness, and equity (e.g., Deutsch, 1975;Lind & Tyler, 1988).How are the broader motivations of enhancing joint outcomes and enhancing equality in outcomes to be understood?Does each of these motivations operate in isolation or in concert?Might it be that many people tend to pursue both joint outcomes and equality in outcomes, or do these motivations exclude each other?This research addresses social value orientation, a concept that theoretically extends the rational self-interest postulate by assum-

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  • The TD and SVO tasks were conventional measurements of one's stable disposition in social value orientation.

    “In the behavioral session, all participants provided demographic information and completed the triple dominance (TD) 5 and social value orientation (SVO) 28 tasks, which were conventional measurements of one's stable disposition in social value orientation.”

    From Oxytocin modulates social value representations in the amygdala (2019) · cites this paper as [5]

  • Previous research documented that individuals' propensity for altruism is relatively stable across time, but these studies did not provide a biological basis for this temporal stability.

    “Previous research has documented that individuals' propensity for altruism is relatively stable across time, but these studies did not provide any biological basis for this temporal stability (Benz and Meier, 2008;Van Lange, 1999).”

    From Linking Brain Structure and Activation in Temporoparietal Junction to Explain the Neurobiology of Human Altruism (2012) · cites this paper as Van Lange, 1999

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Authors
Van Lange, P. A. M.
Venue
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
1999-08
Volume
77
Issue
2
Pages
337-349
ISSN
  • 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1315
DOI
10.1037/0022-3514.77.2.337
OpenAlex
W2121743627
Cited by
1,127
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 78 · 2022: 50 · 2021: 60 · 2020: 49 · 2019: 60 · 2018: 81 · 2017: 66 · 2016: 68 · 2015: 60 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 60 · 2012: 47
FWCI
49.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Keywords
social value orientation, prosocial orientation, competitive orientation, joint outcomes, reciprocity, cooperation, fairness, rational self-interest, prosocial motivation

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