Altruism does not always lead to a good reputation: A normative explanation

Individuals who engage in altruistic behaviors generally acquire a good reputation. However, recent studies have suggested that altruists are not always welcomed by others. We examined the possibility that norm-deviant altruism leads to unfavorable evaluations; distributing quite large amounts of one's resources could be less favored because the behavior deviates from social norms. In four studies, participants rated their feelings (i.e., liking and respect) toward a person who distributed his/her resources to others. We found that altruistic behavior that deviates from social norms was less favorably regarded than modestly altruistic behavior (Study 1–4), specifically in a culture with low tolerance for norm deviation (Japan; Study 3) and especially when the degree of the deviance was high (Study 2). These findings suggest that altruistic behavior is less favored when the behavior deviates from social norms and norm deviation is evaluated negatively. •Unfavorable evaluations of altruism depended on how much it deviated from social norms.•Evaluations of respect were not affected by the degree of deviation.•Findings were particularly true in a society with low tolerance for deviation.