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Positive attitudes and negative expectations in lonely individuals
[journal article]
Abstract Loneliness is a central predictor of depression and major factor of all-cause mortality. Loneliness is supposed to be a warning signal prompting individuals to seek out social connections. However, lonely individuals seem to be less likely to engage in prosocial activities and are overall more socia... view more
Loneliness is a central predictor of depression and major factor of all-cause mortality. Loneliness is supposed to be a warning signal prompting individuals to seek out social connections. However, lonely individuals seem to be less likely to engage in prosocial activities and are overall more socially withdrawn. Hence, it is yet unclear whether and how loneliness affects an individual’s social motivations. Prosocial attitudes and expectations about social interactions of lonely individuals might shed light on whether lonely individuals are more prone to connect or withdraw from social activities. Here, results from a large dataset (~ 15,500 individuals) provide evidence for both. In particular, lonely individuals indicate stronger altruistic attitudes, suggesting a positive tendency to build and maintain social bonds. However, they also report more negative expectations about others, as they believe their social partners be less fair and trustworthy, suggesting less favorable evaluations of social interactions. By highlighting an important link between loneliness, prosocial attitudes and social expectations, this work stresses the role of loneliness in social motivations, points to potential consequences for social behaviors, and proposes a mechanism for the paradoxical effects of loneliness on an individual’s social attitudes and expectations, with important implications for future basic and clinical research, as well as education, economics and public policy.... view less
Keywords
ISSP; psychology; behavior; solitude; attitude; expectation; altruistic behavior; interaction
Classification
Social Psychology
Free Keywords
ZA6980 v2.0.0: International Social Survey Programme: Social Networks and Social Resources - ISSP 2017; human behaviour
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 1-9
Journal
Scientific Reports, 10 (2020)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75712-3
ISSN
2045-2322
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed