People in more racially diverse neighborhoods are more prosocial

• Main Authors: Nai, Jared, Narayanan, Jayanth, Hernandez, Ivan, Savani, Krishna
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business::General; Identity; Diversity
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/90110; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/48369
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Five studies tested the hypothesis that people living in more diverse neighborhoods would have more inclusive identities, and would thus be more prosocial. Study 1 found that people residing in more racially diverse metropolitan areas were more likely to tweet prosocial concepts in their everyday lives. Study 2 found that following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, people in more racially diverse neighborhoods were more likely to spontaneously offer help to individuals stranded by the bombings. Study 3 found that people living in more ethnically diverse countries were more likely to report having helped a stranger in the past month. Providing evidence of the underlying mechanism, Study 4 found that people living in more racially diverse neighborhoods were more likely to identify with all of humanity, which explained their greater likelihood of having helped a stranger in the past month. Finally, providing causal evidence for the relationship between neighborhood diversity and prosociality, Study 5 found that people asked to imagine that they were living in a more racially diverse neighborhood were more willing to help others in need, and this effect was mediated by a broader identity. The studies identify a novel mechanism through which exposure to diversity can influence people, and document a novel consequence of this mechanism.