We tested antecedents (paternalistic beliefs; Study 1) and consequences (social change potential; Study 2) of autonomy‐ and dependency‐oriented help and developed scales assessing paternalistic beliefs and both forms of help. In Study 1 (N = 143 Germans), we focused on paternalistic beliefs as an antagonist to social change and a key distinguishing variable between engagement in both forms of help. As expected, paternalistic beliefs were positively related to dependency‐oriented help, mediated by concern for a positive national moral image, but negatively related to autonomy‐oriented help, mediated by perceived competence of refugees. In Study 2, both refugees (N = 80) and Germans (N = 94) perceived autonomy‐oriented help to have more potential for social change than dependency‐oriented help.