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Identifying Predictors of Faculty Prosocial Behavior: The Influence of Empathy, Perceived Similarity, Causal Attribution, and Self-Efficacy

Kerper, Sarah Identifying Predictors of Faculty Prosocial Behavior: The Influence of Empathy, Perceived Similarity, Causal Attribution, and Self-Efficacy. 2012. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.

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Abstract

Out-of-class communication often involves students meeting with instructors during office hours, about an academic problem, which ends in self-disclosure of personal problems as a form of help-seeking. In the current study, causal attribution, perceived similarity, self-efficacy, and empathy were hypothesized as predictors of instructor prosocial tendencies. Using a questionnaire method, 138 instructors participated in the study. Results indicated significant positive associations between perceived similarity, self-efficacy, empathy, and prosocial tendencies. Further analyses revealed empathy partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and prosocial tendencies. These findings indicated that instructors were more helpful in situations where they were more empathetic towards the student, as well as when instructors felt self-efficacious in helping students. Implications for instructor training and future research are discussed.

Item Type: Thesis
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of Psychology
Date Deposited: 20 Feb 2013 20:06
Last Modified: 20 Apr 2023 18:15
URI: http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/57

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