How perception of university financial aid influences the social-giving-back behavior of students receiving aid

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Published: Mar 6, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.12789
Issue: Vol. 52 No. 3 (2024)
Keywords:
financial aid, higher education, perception of financial aid, self-concept, social-giving-back behavior, attribution of motive, low-income students
Article Highlights

  • Perception of university financial aid schemes by students who received this assistance was found to be positively related to their social-giving-back behavior.

  • Self-concept mediated the relationship between students’ perception of the financial aid scheme and their social-giving-back behavior.

  • When students perceived that the financial support they received was intended for their benefit, this strengthened the relationship between their perception of financial aid and their self-concept, which, in turn, reinforced the indirect effect of perception of financial aid on their giving-back behavior through their self-concept.

  • Our findings clarify why university financial aid leads to social-giving-back behavior among students who receive financial assistance, thus providing a reference for management practice in universities.

Main Article Content

Pingping Li
College of Education, Zhejiang University
Huaixin Zhu
College of Education, Zhejiang University
Yanbin Liu
School of Business, NingboTech University
Yanpeng Yuan
School of Marxism, NingboTech University
Cite this article:  Li, P., Zhu, H., Liu, Y., & Yuan, Y. (2024). How perception of university financial aid influences the social-giving-back behavior of students receiving aid. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 52(3), e12789.


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We used social construction theory to investigate the mechanisms and boundary conditions that underlie the relationship between perception of financial aid and social-giving-back behavior in the context of students in need who receive financial aid at China’s universities. The results of a time-lagged field survey with 436 students indicated that their perception of financial aid was positively related to their social-giving-back behavior, and that self-concept mediated this relationship. Furthermore, when the students perceived that financial support was intended for their benefit, this strengthened the relationship between their perception of financial aid and self-concept, which, in turn, reinforced the indirect effect of perception of financial aid on students’ giving-back behavior through their self-concept. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

As China’s higher education reform progresses, the number of low-income students receiving funding aid in universities has increased dramatically. In 2023 China’s colleges and universities had a budget of 41.73 billion yuan to support financially disadvantaged students (China News, 2023). In keeping with the traditional Chinese value of being full of gratitude, it might be expected that students who receive financial aid would demonstrate social-giving-back behaviors in return for the help they are receiving. However, some students have exhibited indifference toward their sponsors, and have shown little gratitude for the help they have received by then assisting classmates who are facing difficulties (Xue & Li, 2021). How can low-income university students who receive financial aid through the school be motivated to engage in social-giving-back behavior? Scholars have explored a variety of helping behaviors and antecedents of these, such as voluntary donations or volunteering (Kamas & Preston, 2021) and, in the context of a business, providing help to other employees in any way possible (Sawyer et al., 2022). Despite these contributions, some aspects of helping behavior remain unclear in the existing literature.

First, within a general organizational context, researchers have primarily examined factors such as leadership style (S. Li et al., 2023) and team climate (Hirst et al., 2016) as antecedents of helping behavior. However, students who are recipients of financial aid face unique challenges, such as financial hardship and lower self-efficacy levels compared to other students (Faith & Pyle, 2021), which may affect their behavior patterns. There is a lack of research exploring the antecedents of helping behaviors and social contributions within the population of financially disadvantaged university students.

Second, Guthrie and Wigfield (2017) found that receiving school financial aid stimulates students’ self-efficacy. However, ultimately, a key aim of the Chinese government’s support for low-income students is to foster a favorable social climate and encourage people in the community as a whole to help each other, and give back to society. Personal construct theory suggests that an individual’s personality and patterns of behavior are based on factors including values, individual beliefs, and individual competencies that are developed over a long period of practical experience (Kelly, 1955/1991). Therefore, according to social construction theory (Hacking, 1999), when university students receive financial aid, this can clarify their social values.  In turn, this can influence their self-concept, which is defined as individuals’ understanding of the meaning of the self at individual, relational, and collective levels, and can motivate them to optimize the social environment and promote social harmony as a responsibility. Thus, students’ self-concept leads to active social giving back to help those in need (van Knippenberg et al., 2004). However, there is a lack of in-depth research from a personal construct perspective on the mechanism through which university financial aid influences the social-giving-back behaviors of students who receive financial support.

Third, N. Li et al. (2017) found that an empowering leadership style can reinforce the positive impact of organizational support on proactive employee behavior. Additionally, gender can modify the impact of organizational support on employee helping behaviors (Thompson et al., 2020). In particular, students who are receiving financial aid may view it as deserved if they believe it is intended only for fulfilling the university’s obligations according to the policy rather than to help them, which may result in them displaying less helpful behavior toward the community at large. Therefore, there is a need for further research to explore the contextual factors and boundary conditions that shape perceptions of students who receive financial aid and how this relates to social-giving-back behavior.

As such, in this study we adopted personal construct theory (Kelly, 1955/1991) to examine the mechanisms and boundary conditions of the role of perception of financial aid in the social-giving-back behavior of students who receive this aid. Our aim was to add to existing theoretical research and provide guidance on how to manage financial aid for needful students at China’s higher education institutions.

Perception of School Support and Social-Giving-Back Behavior

From the perspective of social exchange theory, when individuals perceive support from an organization, they develop a sense of responsibility and obligation, and will engage in proactive behaviors toward others in the organization (Winstone et al., 2017). Perceiving that they receive support and assistance from a university may lead to students having a sense of responsibility to improve the school. In this situation, students who receive (vs. do not receive) support and assistance may show a higher level of social-giving-back behavior, such as a willingness to become a blood donor and taking part in volunteer activities to help others and/or benefit the community/society. According to Cai et al. (2019), perceived organizational support increases employees’ prosocial behaviors, such as assisting departmental colleagues with difficult tasks.
Hypothesis 1: Perceived financial aid and the social-giving-back behavior of students who receive this assistance will be positively correlated.
 

The Mediating Role of Self-Concept

We speculated that receiving financial aid would strengthen students’ self-concept. As described in social construction theory, a leader’s concern for group members makes each member feel that the self is an important part of the group, reinforcing the integration of individual-self meaning and group meaning (van Knippenberg et al., 2004). Universities’ financial aid measures convey to students who receive this assistance the message that as individuals in society, each person should actively help others (Castleman & Page, 2015). Students who receive financial aid perceive that it is their personal duty and responsibility to help others (Y. Li et al., 2019). University support measures are a form of societal help to these students, who feel that they are an important part of society and have an obligation to serve society and actively help others (Martin et al., 2014)

This positive perception of self encompasses abilities, attitudes, and values, as well as the kind of person the self aspires to be (van Knippenberg et al., 2004). When the self is defined within the collective, the collective interest becomes part of the individual’s interest. As such, individuals are intrinsically motivated to contribute to the collective good (e.g., to collective task performance) and to work toward collective goals (van Knippenberg et al., 2004). Therefore, students who receive financial aid perceive that the country cares about them and that they have a duty to help others (Bettinger et al., 2013), and they tend to help others in need with such offerings as providing tutorials.

When financial aid is provided by a university for students in need, these students feel that the community cares about their studies and life, and they form the self-concept that they are a key part of the community. In this situation, the students receiving aid are conscious that they should be active in helping others and give back to the country or social group. Thus, they engage in helping behaviors to give back to society.
Hypothesis 2: The self-concept of students who receive financial aid will mediate the relationship between their perception of the aid and their social-giving-back behavior.

The Moderating and Moderated Mediation Role of School Funding Intention

We presumed that the motives that students attribute to the school in regard to provision of financial aid will enhance the positive relationship between their perception of the aid and their self-concept. The recipient’s perception of the support they receive will depend on that individual’s attribution in regard to the purpose of the support (Kurtessis et al., 2017). In particular, when employees perceive that support is being provided for their good, this leads to higher organizational commitment (Mignonac & Richebé, 2013).

In the context of school financial aid for low-income students, if the recipients attribute the provision of financial aid to the school’s compliance with the laws and perceive that the aid does not address their real needs, their self-perception of being an important part of society will be significantly impaired. However, if students clearly perceive that the purpose of university financial aid is for their benefit, such as to help them finish their studies, relieve their family of financial pressure, improve their quality of life, or care for their psychological health, they will perceive that they are an important part of society. Previous studies have indicated that when employees perceive that organizational support is not for the benefit of the employee, this reduces the impact of the support on employee-initiated behavior (Harvey et al., 2014; Kurtessis et al., 2017). Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: Students’ attributions about the school financial aid they receive will positively moderate the relationship between their perception of the aid and their self-concept, such that this relationship will be stronger when they attribute school financial aid as being for the good of the student.
 
When students receiving financial aid attribute this to the idea that the school provides financial aid to create a better learning environment for them and that this enriches their knowledge and abilities, they understand the school’s financial aid as sincerely helping students to grow. As a result, they will be more aware that society cares about them and perceive their significance as an individual to society, and they will develop a more positive self-concept. To fulfill their self-responsibility, these students will help those in need by engaging in activities such as volunteering. Liao et al. (2021) found that attributing abusive supervision to the motive of performance promotion can enhance the positive impact of this leadership style on individual task performance.
Hypothesis 4: Attributions of students about the school financial aid that they receive will positively moderate the indirect relationship between perception of the aid influencing their giving-back behavior through their self-concept, such that this indirect relationship will be stronger when they attribute such aid as being for the good of the student.
 
The theoretical model of this study is shown in Figure 1.
 

Table/Figure

Figure 1. Hypothesized Model

Method

Participants and Procedure

This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the academic morality guidelines set by the Academic Committee of Zhejiang University, with written informed consent obtained from all students who took part. The protocol was approved by the Academic Committee of Zhejiang University and this study was approved by the university’s Ethics Committee.

Before commencing the study, we contacted the Student Employment Department of NingboTech University and asked the staff members to help us recruit students who were receiving financial aid. Students who participated did so voluntarily. To avoid common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003), we used a two-wave time-lagged design with 4 weeks between the rounds of survey collection. In the first stage the students reported on their perception of school financial aid, attributions of beneficial student motivations for the school aid, and self-concept. In the second stage, 4 weeks later, we asked the students to report on their social-giving-back behavior. From the first round we received completed survey forms from 469 students; from the second round there were 436 completed surveys. The students had majors in a variety of subjects, with between 12 and 19 students per major (M = 15). There were 267 men (61.2%) and 169 women (38.8%). The mean age of the sample was 20.74 years (SD = 1.47), with 211 students aged 20 years and under (48.4%) and 225 students aged between 21 and 25 years (51.6%).

Measures

As most of the measures we used in our study were originally developed in the English language, they were translated and back-translated separately to ensure reliability and validity (Brislin, 1980). We formed a research group consisting of two administrators in charge of financial aid in higher education for students in need, two doctoral students studying English, and a researcher on financial assistance for low-income students. The two English doctoral students in the research group translated the scales into Chinese, ensuring that the students fully understood the content of each item. The two doctoral students then translated the Chinese scales back into English and compared the translated scales with the originals to ensure accuracy of meaning.
 

Perceived School Financial Aid

We measured students’ perceived school financial aid using a six-item scale developed by Eisenberger et al. (1986). Students rated their agreement on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree) in response to statements such as “Help is available from the university when I have financial problems.” In our study Cronbach’s alpha was .97.
 

Self-Concept

We assessed self-concept using five items from Colquitt (2001), which are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). An example item is “I feel great pride when our nation does well, even if I’m not the main reason for its success.” In our study Cronbach’s alpha was .96.
 

Social-Giving-Back Behavior

We used five items developed by Rodell (2013) to measure students’ behavior of giving back to the community. Responses are made on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). A sample item is “I give my time to help a volunteer group.” In our study Cronbach’s alpha was .96.
 

Attribution Motives for Students

We used the eight-item scale developed by Lam et al. (2007) to measure students’ attribution motives of the school’s financial aid for the purpose of benefiting students who received the aid. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The items were all prefaced by the phrase “To what extent do you perceive your school’s aid for financially disadvantaged students is motivated by…” The item to complete the prompt phrase were “A desire to enhance the university’s image,” “A desire to build up for a later exchange,” “A desire to show off expertise in the administration of financial aid programs,” “A desire to look good in the administration of financial aid programs,” “A desire to avoid penalties for failing to implement the financial system,” “A desire to obtain recognition or rewards from a higher authority,” “A desire to create a good impression in the administration of financial aid programs,” and “A desire to help these students grow and develop.” In our study Cronbach’s alpha was .97.
 

Control Variables

Research has also indicated that the types of social-giving-back behavior are associated with age and gender (Lee et al., 2023; Vila-Vázquez et al., 2021); therefore, we controlled for students’ age and gender.

Data Analysis

Prior to hypothesis testing, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using Mplus 7.0 (Muthén & Muthén, 2012) to test the construct validity of the measures. To account for the nested nature of our data, we tested the direct effect of perceived school financial aid on students’ social-giving-back behavior and the mediating effect of self-concept using a complex model in Mplus 7.0. Finally, following the procedure used in previous research (Preacher & Selig, 2012), to enhance the validity of the results, we conducted Monte Carlo simulations of the confidence intervals (CI) for the mediating effects of collective self-concept and the moderation effect and moderated mediation effect of students’ attribution of motives for financial aid.

Results


The results of the CFA indicated that the four-factor model (students’ perception of school financial aid, self-concept, social-giving-back behavior, attribution motives) fit the data well, chi square = 722.64, degrees of freedom = 246, comparative fit index = .96, Tucker–Lewis index = .96, root-mean-square error of approximation = .07, standardized root-mean-square residual = .03. Descriptive statistics and correlations among model variables are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations of Study Variables

Table/Figure
Note. N = 436. Gender was dummy-coded as 1 = male, 0 = female. Cronbach’s alphas are presented in parentheses on the diagonal.
** p < .01.

Main Effect and Mediation Effect Test

We first conducted a null-model intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) test of students’ social-giving-back behavior, which revealed no significant differences, ICC(1) = 0.03. Thus, we did not distinguish between individual and group effects, ICC(1) < 0.12 (Bolino et al., 2015). Controlling for age and gender, the results (see Table 2) indicated that there was a positive effect of students’ perception of school financial aid on their social-giving-back behavior. Further, students’ perception of school financial aid positively influenced their self-concept, and self-concept positively influenced social-giving-back behavior. The indirect effect of perceived school financial aid positively influenced students’ social-giving-back behavior through their self-concept with a significant 95% CI. Then, we conducted Monte Carlo simulations of the CIs for the indirect effect of perceived school financial aid on social-giving-back behavior (Preacher & Selig, 2012). The results indicated that the indirect effect of perceived school financial aid on social-giving-back behavior through self-concept was significant. Thus, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported.

Table 2. Direct and Indirect Effects of Students’ Perceived School Financial Aid on Social-Giving-Back Behavior

Table/Figure
Note. N = 436. CI = confidence interval.
** p < .01.

Moderation Effect and Moderated Mediation Effect Test

Table 3 shows that when students’ motive attributions were high (M + 1 SD; that is, when they tended to attribute the school’s financial aid to the purpose of benefiting them), the effect of perceived school financial aid on self-concept was greater than when attributed motives for the students were low (M − 1 SD; that is, the students tended to attribute the school’s financial aid to the purpose of simply complying with the funding policy). The difference in the effect of perceived school financial aid on students’ self-concept was significant when comparing the attributed motives of the two groups. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 was supported.

Table 3 shows the indirect effect of students’ perceived school financial aid on their social-giving-back behaviors through self-concept. There was a significant difference in the indirect effect of perceived school financial aid on students’ social-giving-back behavior through their self-concept when they attributed a high motive compared to when they attributed a low motive. As there may have been a nested effect of our data, we conducted Monte Carlo simulations of the CI for this moderated mediating effect, and the results indicated that the indirect effect of perceived school financial aid on students’ social-giving-back behavior through self-concept was significant. Thus, Hypothesis 4 was supported.

As shown in Figure 2, the simple slope analyses demonstrated that when students tended to attribute the school’s financial aid to the purpose of benefiting students (high level, M + 1 SD) compared to the purpose of complying with the funding policy (low level, M − 1 SD), students in the high-attribution group held a stronger self-concept of having a responsibility to the community at large.

Table 3 shows the indirect effect of students’ perceived school financial aid on their social-giving-back behaviors through self-concept. There was a significant difference in the indirect effect of perceived school financial aid on students’ social-giving-back behavior through their self-concept when they attributed a high motive compared to when they attributed a low motive. As there may have been a nested effect of our data, we conducted Monte Carlo simulations of the CI for this moderated mediating effect, and the results indicated that the indirect effect of perceived school financial aid on students’ social-giving-back behavior through self-concept was significant. Thus, Hypothesis 4 was supported.

Table/Figure

Figure 2. Interactive Effects of Perceived School Financial Aid and Attributed Motives on Students’ Self-Concept

Table 3. Moderating Effect and Moderated Mediation Effect of Students’ Motive Attributions

Table/Figure
Note. PMX = path from perceived school financial aid for low-income students to self-concept; PYM = path from self-concept to social-giving-back behavior; PMX × PYM = indirect effect of perceived school financial aid for low-income students on social-giving-back behavior; Diff. = moderation effect difference between students’ high and low motive attributions; CI = confidence interval; LL = lower limit; UL = upper limit.
** p < .01.

Discussion


The findings revealed that the perception of school financial aid among students who receive this aid positively influences their social-giving-back behavior. Further, their self-concept mediates the effect of perceived financial aid on social-giving-back behavior. Moreover, we found that the attribution of benefits to students from university financial aid rather than just complying with policy reinforces the effect of perception of financial aid on students’ self-concept and, in turn, reinforces the indirect effect that perceived university financial aid positively influences their social-giving-back behavior through self-concept.

Theoretical and Practical Implications

First, using social construction theory (Hacking, 1999) in this study we uncovered the mechanism through which the perception of students who receive financial aid from a university aid scheme influences their social-giving-back behavior through their self-concept. Previous research utilizing the self-efficacy model (Bandura, 1982) revealed that financial aid initiatives for minority-group students at universities strengthen individual self-efficacy and improve their positive psychological state (Cuellar, 2014). By applying personal construct theory (Kelly, 1955/1991), we found that for recipients of financial aid in universities in China, getting this assistance can strengthen students’ self-concept, helping them form the perception that they are important members of the social family, and promoting the notion that they have a responsibility for the well-being of others. At this point, these students tend to show more social-giving-back behavior. Thus, compared to previous studies (e.g., Chen & Hossler, 2017; Herzog, 2018), in this research we have advanced understanding of the generating mechanism of social-giving-back behavior of students who are receiving financial aid.

Second, by introducing attributions of purpose of financial aid to low-income university students, in this study we verified the contextual mechanisms by which aid recipient students’ perception of university financial aid initiatives influences their social-giving-back behaviors through self-concept. Previous researchers have validated the positive impact of an empowering leadership style on organizational support and employee-initiated behaviors (see, e.g., N. Li et al., 2017). Nevertheless, in this study our results suggest that in the context of higher education in China, students who receive financial aid may attribute the aid measures as fulfilling the national policy only, an attribution that negatively impacts their perception that they are an important part of society, leading to a reduction in their self-concept and a lack of motivation to give back to society. Extending previous studies (e.g., Cuellar, 2014; Herzog, 2018), we have answered the question of why students who receive financial aid lack gratitude in present-day society.

In addition, our findings in this study offer several contributions to the practice of aid management for financially disadvantaged university students. We found that financial aid measures positively impacted the social-giving-back behavior of the students receiving aid. Hence, to strengthen giving-back intention, university authorities should increase financial aid for low-income students. Some examples of such an increase include providing diversified means of financial aid for students, such as providing money to students through subsidies, and developing more opportunities for work-study programs (Sandoval-Lucero et al., 2012). Additionally, in this study we found a mediating effect of students’ self-concept on the relationship between financial aid measures and their social-giving-back behaviors; thus, university staff should strengthen the self-concept perception of students who receive financial aid. This could include, for example, strengthening of the social and moral climate so that these students form the perception that they are important members of society and develop the mindset that they should pass on the spirit of the state to help the public. Finally, we found that the attribution of students who received financial aid that it was for their growth and development influenced the effect of their perception of financial support on their attitude toward giving back to society. Thus, staff at universities can help students who receive financial aid through providing opportunities for volunteering (Ghartey, 2022), while engaging more emotionally with such students (Netanda et al., 2019). Students will then understand that the motivation of financial aid is to help them develop the idea of serving the community, which will reinforce their social-giving-back behavior.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research

This study does have several limitations. First, we adopted a two-wave, time-lagged design to avoid common method bias, which effectively avoids spurious correlations among variables. Nevertheless, the variables involved in this study were all self-assessed, an approach that could not entirely avoid common method bias. Thus, future studies could use a combination of self- and other-rated variables for variable measurement (Podsakoff et al., 2003). For example, hours spent volunteering could be used as a proxy for social-giving-back behavior to reduce common method bias. Second, the mechanism of the effect of the perception of financial aid on the social-giving-back behavior of students who are receiving this aid may be complex. Consequently, future studies could explore other possible mechanisms through which perception of financial aid influences social-giving-back behavior. For instance, according to self-determination theory, perceived financial support intrinsically motivates individuals and stimulates the need for self-fulfillment (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002); thus, for students receiving financial aid, this may prompt them to engage in social-giving-back behaviors.

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Table/Figure

Figure 1. Hypothesized Model


Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations of Study Variables

Table/Figure
Note. N = 436. Gender was dummy-coded as 1 = male, 0 = female. Cronbach’s alphas are presented in parentheses on the diagonal.
** p < .01.

Table 2. Direct and Indirect Effects of Students’ Perceived School Financial Aid on Social-Giving-Back Behavior

Table/Figure
Note. N = 436. CI = confidence interval.
** p < .01.

Table/Figure

Figure 2. Interactive Effects of Perceived School Financial Aid and Attributed Motives on Students’ Self-Concept


Table 3. Moderating Effect and Moderated Mediation Effect of Students’ Motive Attributions

Table/Figure
Note. PMX = path from perceived school financial aid for low-income students to self-concept; PYM = path from self-concept to social-giving-back behavior; PMX × PYM = indirect effect of perceived school financial aid for low-income students on social-giving-back behavior; Diff. = moderation effect difference between students’ high and low motive attributions; CI = confidence interval; LL = lower limit; UL = upper limit.
** p < .01.

This work was supported by the Project of Humanities and Social Science Fund of the Ministry of Education (22YJA880020).

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Yanpeng Yuan, School of Marxism, NingboTech University, No. 1 South Qianhu Road, Yinzhou Area, Ningbo 315100, People’s Republic of China. Email: [email protected]

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