The Effect of Impartial Beneficence on Bystander Cooperation Behavior: The Roles of Social Perception and Impartial Beneficence Personality

Previous research on utilitarianism has focused predominantly on instrumental harm while neglecting the investigation of impartial beneficence. This study designed three progressive experiments (total <i>n</i> = 1378) to explore how impartial beneficence influences bystander cooperation behavior and to uncover the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions. The findings indicate that (1) compared with a partial agent, an impartial agent reduces bystander cooperation behavior; (2) impartial beneficence affects bystander cooperation behavior by influencing bystanders' perception of warmth rather than competence; and (3) a bystander's impartial beneficence personality plays a moderating role in the mediation model, and this moderating effect occurs in the pathways from impartial beneficence to bystander cooperation behavior, perception of warmth, and perception of competence.