Dependency-Oriented Versus Autonomy-Oriented Help: Inferred Motivations and Intergroup Perceptions

Intergroup helping is a crucial interaction behavior between groups, which can be classified as either dependency-oriented or autonomy-oriented help. The widely recognized model of intergroup helping relations as status relations proposes that dependency-oriented help enables the helper group to maintain its dominant position. In other words, when a helper group has the motivation to preservation of their intergroup status, it will be more inclined to provide the recipient with dependency-oriented help. However, little research to date has focused on whether members of recipient groups recognize this status maintenance motivation, and how this might influence their inference of altruistic motivations or their perceptions of the helper’s warmth and competence. The results of three experiments involving a total of 677 participants indicated that compared to those receiving autonomy-oriented help, those receiving dependency-oriented help inferred a higher level of status maintenance and a lower level of altruistic motivation of the helper. Furthermore, they also perceived the helpers as having lower levels of warmth and competence. In response, these perceptions led to a reduced willingness to accept offers of help or cooperation. This effect was stronger when the help offered was needed more by the recipients, or when the helpers ignored requests for autonomy-oriented help and provided dependency-oriented help instead. This research complements the existing understandings of autonomy- and dependency-oriented help from the recipient’s perspective, while also outlining potential directions for future research.