Prosocial media effects: a scoping review of content characteristics and underlying mechanisms

Abstract This scoping review sheds light on how media may lead to attitudes and behaviors that do not only benefit the individual, but other people, the society, and the environment. It aims to identify which types of prosocial behavior, mediated public communication, content characteristics, and underlying mechanisms are examined in the research on prosocial media effects. The databases Communication and Mass Media Complete, SocINDEX, PsycINFO, and the meta-database Web of Science were searched. After a two-step selection procedure, 352 publications were included. Results include a concept map that lays the base for future research on prosocial media effects. Examples of recommendations derived from discussing the findings are: (1) research should not just consider individual prosocial behavior but also joint behavior and political participation, (2) when studying person-centered content, communication science approaches such as parasocial phenomena ought to be applied, (3) normative beliefs as potential mediators of prosocial media effects are understudied.