This experimental study asks whether generosity decreases emotional distance, a question pertinent to human service quality. Highly vulnerable service recipients may not enforce quality standards. Quality can then be viewed as an act of generosity, a gift from the provider to the recipient. For...

This article provides an overview highlighting some major themes of the recent literature on the role of pro-social motivation in the provision of social services. We focus on the insights obtained from two alternative ways of modelling pro-social motivation; action-oriented and output-oriented...

Die Armutsquote in Deutschland hat ein Rekordhoch erreicht. Die verheerenden Auswirkungen erlebt Cansin Köktürk bei ihrer täglichen Arbeit als Sozialarbeiterin hautnah: In Kitas, in Schulen, in der ambulanten Jugendhilfe, in Notunterkünften und in den Städten, die am stärksten davon...

Promising serves as an important commitment mechanism by operating on a potential cheater’s internal value system. We present experimental evidence on what motivates people to keep their promises. First, they feel that they are duty-bound to keep their promises regardless of whether promisees...