The Misprediction of Helpers in Comforting Situations and Its Mechanism

Figures & data

Table 1 Predictions of the Comforters and Judgments of the Comforted

Dependent Variable	Predictions of Comforters	Judgment of the Consoled	F
	M(SD)	M(SD)
1. Level of surprise of the consoled in receiving the letter	5.971 (2.407)	6.229 (2.340)	0.862
2. Degree to which the consoled was surprised by the content of the letter	5.514 (2.381)	5.400 (2.226)	0.541
3. Feeling of the consoled	2.486 (1.541)	3.029 (1.723)	1.728
4. Level of embarrassment of the consoled	3.686 (3.367)	1.714 (2.177)	5.544*

Note: *p<0.05.

Abbreviations: M, mean; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Predictions of the Comforters and Judgments of the Consoled (Study 2)

Dependent Variable	Predictions of Comforters	Judgment of the Consoled	t
	M±SD	M±SD
1. Satisfaction level of the consoled	3.625±1.804	5.000± 1.563	−4.608***
2. Appreciation level of the consoled	3.641±1.914	4.969±1.709	−4.141***
3. The consoled’s willingness to seek comfort again	5.016±1.000	5.547±1.126	−2.822**
4. The feeling of the consoled	2.859±1.910	3.375±1.864	−1.546

Notes: **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviations: M, mean; SD, standard deviation.

Table 3 Predictions of the Comforters and Judgments of the Consoled (Study 3)

Dependent Variable	Predictions of Comforters	Judgment of the Consoled	F
	M±SD	M±SD
1. Satisfaction level of the consoled
Success	4.500±1.254	4.694±1.527	0.827
Failure	0.583±2.557	2.000±2.541	19.340***
2. Appreciation level of the consoled
Success	4.444±1.319	5.250±1.461	19.636***
Failure	1.333±1.897	2.861±2.045	23.533***
3. Consoled’s willingness to seek comfort again
Success	4.889±1.260	4.861±1.437	0.014
Failure	2.028±2.236	2.528±1.540	1.981
4. Feeling of the consoled
Success	3.472±1.298	3.889±1.563	3.182
Failure	−0.139±2.113	0.694±2.081	6.783*

Notes: *p<0.05. ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviations: M, mean; SD, standard deviation.

Figure 1 Interaction between outcomes (satisfaction and gratitude) and roles.

Table 4 Predictions of the Comforters and Judgments of the Consoled (Study 4)

Dependent Variable	Predictions of Comforters	Judgment of the Consoled	F
	M±SD	M±SD
1. Satisfaction level of the consoled
Success	3.265±2.416	3.147±1.438	0.046
Failure	0.677±3.140	3.118±1.684	19.670***
2. Appreciation level of the consoled
Success	3.029±2.443	3.588±1.743	0.988
Failure	1.147±3.086	3.235±1.724	13.790***
3. Consoled’s willingness to seek comfort again
Success	4.265±1.483	4.206±1.321	0.033
Failure	3.353±1.368	3.971±1.167	3.613
4. Feeling of the consoled
Success	2.559±2.389	3.000±1.688	0.573
Failure	−0.177±3.119	1.794±2.199	11.422***
5. Rating of the consoled
Success	0.229±0.890	0.304±0.599	0.148
Failure	−0.642±1.061	0.110±0.565	14.800***

Note: ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviations: M, mean; SD, standard deviation.

Table 5 Comforters’ and Consoleds’ Predictions and Judgments of Comforts’ Ability and Warmth

Dependent variable	Predictions of Comforters	Judgment of the Consoled	F
	M±SD	M±SD
1. The ability of the comforters
Success	4.677±1.065	4.265±1.355	1.858
Failure	3.000±1.435	3.912±1.083	9.109**
2. The warmth of the comforters
Success	5.000±0.953	5.118±1.200	0.168
Failure	4.088±1.525	5.088±0.965	12.130***

Notes: **p < 0.01. ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviations: M, mean; SD, standard deviation.

Figure 2 Mediating effect of ability. ***p < 0.001,**p < 0.01. The coefficients are standardized regression coefficients.

Figure 3 Mediating effect of warmth. ***p < 0.001,**p < 0.01. The coefficients are standardized regression coefficients.