The impact of secure attachment on IAB: From the helper and seeker’s perspective

Previous studies on Internet altruistic behavior (IAB) mostly focused on the perspective of helpers, and IAB, as a prosocial behavior that occurs in the context of online interpersonal interaction, is bound to be affected by both helpers and seekers. Consequently, the present study aimed to integrate attachment theory and social information-processing models to examine the effects of both helper factors (secure attachment and positive empathy) and seeker factors (emoji symbols) on IAB and their underlying mechanisms. We conducted a total of 3 studies. Study 1 adopted a one-way between-subjects design to assess the effects of secure attachment on IAB. Study 2 used an experimental-causal chain design with 3 sub-studies to validate the causal association between secure attachment, positive empathy, and IAB. Study 3 employed a 2 (positive empathy: high/low) × 2 (emoji: with/no) between-subjects design to assess the impact of the seeker’s emoji on the link between the helper’s secure attachment and IAB. Results showed that helpers with higher (vs. lower) secure attachment exhibited more IAB and that positive empathy mediated the relationship between secure attachment and IAB. In addition, the seeker’s emoji moderated the relationship between the helper’s positive empathy and IAB. The findings of this study help us to understand the occurrence of IAB more comprehensively, and provide a scientific reference for the promotion of IAB.