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Abstract:

Many studies of social interaction have incorporated the nature of social value orientations (pro-social vs. pro-self) as an important factor. This paper extends this literature by showing that the effect of the nature of social value orientations is moderated by the consistency of social value orientations (high vs. low). In three studies, we examined this moderating influence. In Study 1, we investigated the temporal stability of social value orientations and found that high consistent orientations are more stable than low consistent orientations. In Studies 2 and 3, we found evidence for the moderating impact of consistency of social value orientations on reciprocal cooperation and forgiveness. High consistent individuals were more likely to follow the nature of their social value orientation than low consistent individuals.