Using STOPS to predict prosocial behavioral intentions: Disentangling the effects of passive and active communicative action

This study seeks to understand the confluence of factors that might lead individuals to engage in prosocial action around a societal issue that has received little attention– the mass incarceration of women in the United States. Through qualitative and quantitative inquiry, the authors employ the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) to disentangle active and passive communicative action in a model that predicts three common supportive prosocial behaviors--financial support, volunteerism, and political support. Findings demonstrate an asymmetry between passive and active communicative actions, both with respect to antecedents and the strength with which they predict prosocial behavioral support. While both situational motivation and referent criterion predict active communicative action; only situational motivation predicts passive communicative action. Further, in this context, passive communicative action is the best predictor of common support behaviors including donating money, volunteering time and participating in policy advocacy. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.