title: The mediating role of relatedness need satisfaction in the relationship between charitable behavior and well-being: Empirical evidence from China.
abstract: Based on self-determination theory, the current research aimed to explore the potential mediating effect of relatedness need satisfaction on the relationship between charitable behavior and well-being in the Chinese context. Employing a cross-sectional design, participants reported data on the aforementioned variables in Study 1. The results indicated that relatedness need satisfaction mediated the positive relationship between charitable behavior and hedonic well-being and that between charitable behavior and eudaimonic well-being. Subsequently, a field experiment was conducted in Study 2. Participants rated their levels of relatedness need satisfaction and well-being after charitable donation behaviors were primed. We again observed consistent results. Specifically, charitable behavior was positively associated with both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, and these relationships were mediated by relatedness need satisfaction. The above findings help to clarify the association between charitable behavior and people's subjective feelings (i.e., well-being), and they deepen our understanding of the underlying mechanism from the perspective of psychological needs satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.|Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Taoran
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000639:trends*
keywords: Charitable behavior; Eudaimonic well-being; Hedonic well-being; Relatedness need satisfaction; Well-being