Does Cultivating a Giving Culture Make People More Willing to Share Counter-Normative Ideas?

Abstract

This study examines and supports the hypothesis that cultivating a giving culture makes people more willing to share counter-normative ideas as compared to those not engaged in such a culture, regardless of their existing giver/taker tendency measured by the Give & Take scale. A giving culture was manipulated using Adam Grant’s Reciprocity Ring, an exercise that employs the pay-it-forward principle. Results showed that participants who underwent the Reciprocity Ring were more likely to share counter-normative ideas with others in their group than those who did not. Implications of the findings are discussed.