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Abstract

Scholars have long assumed that members of small groups are more likely to help each other. We argue that, even in a small group with collective rewards, those with an avoidance performance goal orientation, a dispositional fear of inadequate performance, would view social interaction as more disadvantageous and, as a result, help their group less. Using random coefficient modeling, we also demonstrate that the strength of the individual-specific assessment of reliance on and a category-specific common affiliation with group members reduce this negative association. We discuss theoretical and practical implications and conclude by identifying limitations of our study and offer directions for future investigation.

Keywords

goal orientation helping social exchange social identity theory

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Moderating Avoidance Performance Goal Orientation Withdrawal Through Individuated Assessments and Common Affiliation

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