The Effect of Focus of Attention (Sadness and Joy) on Altruism

슬픔과 기쁨, 그 정서의 소재유형이 중학생의 이타행동에 미치는 효과

The present research was designed to study the effect of gender differences and focus of attention (on sadness and on joy) in altruistic behavior. The subjects were 74 boys and 76 girls from a junior high school in Seoul. Emotion arousing and focus of attention identifying methods were used. Statistical analyses were with two-way ANOVA and $Scheff\acute{e}$ test. There were significant differences in altruisic behavior between the sadness self-oriented group and the sadness other-oriented group. The results were explained in terms of the accessibility of cognitive contents.