CONSIDERING THE GREATER GOOD: THE EFFECT OF FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE ON DECISION-MAKING IN SOCIAL DILEMMAS

Abstract

Social distancing measures were implemented because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, introducing a social dilemma. Individuals faced the tough decision to either prioritise their freedom or abide by these rules for the greater good. Future time perspective suggests that individuals with a higher orientation for the future will prioritise the collective’s interest by focusing on the long-term benefits instead of opting for immediate self-interest, hence, engaging in more prosocial behaviours in a social dilemma. Through two separate studies, the current thesis investigated two possible mediators of future time perspective to prosocial behaviour pathway, collective interest, and self-distancing. In Study 1, we found significant mediating effects of collective interest on the proposed pathway, but not for self-distancing when a close-other is involved in a social dilemma. In Study 2, the manipulation of future time perspective did not significantly predict the increase in collective interest nor prosocial behaviour intentions. However, the trends of the results were aligned to the current literature when applied to a more general instance of social dilemma, situated in the COVID-19 context. The current thesis contributes to the literature on the relationship between future time perspective and prosocial behaviours in a social dilemma.