The research project on "Implicit Theories" focuses on how beliefs about the changeability of characteristics, such as health or poverty, influence interpersonal behavior, particularly helping behavior.
Incremental Theories of Health
In 2022, Prof. Dohle and colleagues published initial insights on this topic (see reference below). They discovered that an incremental theory of health—believing that health can change—can have both positive and negative effects on individuals' willingness to help others. Individuals who strongly believed that health is changeable showed a higher willingness to help people suffering from an illness, as they assessed the effectiveness of helping behavior more optimistically. However, this belief also led to a stronger attribution of blame to the person with illness, reducing sympathy and impairing willingness to help. Overall, strong incremental theories showed both positive and negative impacts on helping behavior.
New Insights: Incremental Theories of Poverty
To determine if this pattern extends to the willingness to help individuals affected by poverty, the research team conducted three additional studies. The results confirmed the expected positive effect: individuals who believed that poverty is changeable demonstrated a higher willingness to help. However, the anticipated negative effect also emerged: the belief of changeability led to stronger attributions of blame and, consequently, a reduced willingness to help those in need.
Conclusion
The results underscore that emphasizing the changeability of characteristics can bring about not only positive but also undesired negative effects. In the development of interventions, it is crucial to consider the potential negative impacts of incremental theories, such as increased attributions of blame.