Daily Perceived Expectations for Social Engagement and Daily Prosocial Behavior: Evidence From Two Cultures

Abstract

Demographic change has intensified debates about what older adults should be like, including expectations that they should remain active and contribute to the common good. The present study examined whether daily perceived expectations for active aging (PEAA) in the social domain were associated with daily prosocial behaviors among middle-aged and older adults in Germany and Hong Kong SAR. Across two preregistered 14-day diary studies, 199 participants from Germany (age range = 50–91, M = 65.08, SD = 8.06; 65.8% female) and 314 participants from Hong Kong SAR (age range = 50–80, M = 60.99, SD = 6.18; 53.8% female) reported perceived expectations for social engagement and their prosocial behaviors. We investigated interindividual differences and daily fluctuations in the relation between PEAA and prosocial behaviors while accounting for individual differences in prosocial orientation. Generalized linear mixed models showed that individuals with higher trait prosocialness and higher between-person PEAA had greater odds of daily prosocial behavior overall. In addition, on days with above-average PEAA, the odds of engaging in prosocial behaviors was also higher. Moreover, this within-person association was more pronounced in Germany compared with Hong Kong SAR. These findings suggest that older adults’ everyday prosocial engagement is associated with both stable prosocial orientation and perceived external expectations for social contribution. The stronger within-person association in Germany than in Hong Kong SAR further suggests that the behavioral relevance of daily PEAA may vary across cultural contexts. Overall, this study highlights the value of considering personally perceived expectations in the social domain when examining prosocial engagement in aging societies.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 2026 · DOI ↗