7. Helping

Question 1

Reasons for helping

Answer 1

Evolutionary reasons
Social reasons
Biological reasons

Question 2

Evolutionary reasons for helping

Answer 2

Evolutionary psychology contends that the essence of life is gene survival.
Based on this, we would expect people to be motivated to help all other people.

Question 3

Genetic selfishness

Answer 3

The idea that we protect genes that are our own.

Question 4

Kin protection

Answer 4

Devotion to biological children. Parents are super devoted to their children. More true in Western societies.

Question 5

Filial norm

Answer 5

In some countries, children are very devoted to their parents.

Question 6

Reciprocity

Answer 6

Helping others so that others will help you.
Evolved as a mechanism for ensuring cooperation.

Question 7

Social-exchange theory

Answer 7

There are costs (guilt) and rewards. Can be intrinsic (where we feel good), can be extrinsic (we get something from someone else out of it). Has to be reciprocal for it to be sustainable.

Question 8

Social norms

Answer 8

Cultural norms on how people should behave.

Question 9

Social responsibility norm

Answer 9

Norm where we expected to help those who need it.

Question 10

Reciprocity norm

Answer 10

If I help you, then you will help me.

Question 11

Genuine altruism

Answer 11

Help because you like helping. Don’t gain anything from helping but still do it.

Question 12

Warneken & Tomasello, 2008

Answer 12

Children intrinsically motivated to help other people.

Question 13

Taxonomy of helping
(Pearce & Amato, 1980)

Answer 13

Planned/formal vs spontaneous/informal
Severity of problem
Indirect vs direct

Question 14

Types of prosocial behaviour

Answer 14

Prosocial tendencies measure (Carlo & Randall, 2002)
Public
Altruistic
Emotional
Dire
Anonymous
Compliance

Question 15

Public helping

Answer 15

Helping behaviour is visible and may be observable by others (e.g. motivated by social approval or recognition).

Question 16

Altruistic helping

Answer 16

Desire to help others without expecting anything in return, driven by altruistic concern for others’ well-being.

Question 17

Emotional helping

Answer 17

Concern for emotional well-being and the emotional responses (e.g. sympathy or empathy) evoked by seeing others in need.

Question 18

Dire helping

Answer 18

Situations of extreme need or emergency, such as crises or urgent circumstances.

Question 19

Anonymous helping

Answer 19

Help others without any desire for recognition or public acknowledgement, often in situations where the helper’s identity is kept private.

Question 20

Compliance helping

Answer 20

Help others when asked, especially when doing so is socially expected or when there is pressure to comply with requests.

Question 21

Factors which affect who helps

Answer 21

Personality
Age
Temperament
Religious faith
Gender

Question 22

Personality

Answer 22

Oliner & Oliner’s book (1988) The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe reported that rescuers were motivated by three primary factors:
About 11 percent were motivated primarily by a commitment to the justice principle.
Fifty-two percent were motivated by social norms. Helping was seen as obligatory by friends, family or the church. In offering help they did what they felt was expected.
The remaining 37 percent were moved by empathy, by the suffering of those whose lives were in danger.

Question 23

Age

Answer 23

Developmental differences
Life-stage differences
Older adults have been seen to donate more than younger adults.
Possibly because older people have more financial stability. The young people may want to donate more if they have the resources.

Question 24

Temperament

Answer 24

Happy people are helping people (Aknin et al., 2019).

Question 25

Religious faith

Answer 25

Conflicting research but the bottom line found that people who were more religious were more likely to help. When it was broken done into religions, Muslims were more likely on average to donate than Christians, but there were certain times of the year where Christians donate more.

Question 26

Gender

Answer 26

Girls/women are generally more prosocial than boys/men (Xiao et al., 2019). Not drastically different but there was a difference nonetheless. Women help everyone; men are more likely to help women (Eagly & Crowley, 1986).

Question 27

Why do men help women more?

Answer 27

Romantic interest Masculinity norms (men should help themselves). Less likely to go to the doctor when they're ill or go to therapy. Women are more likely to seek help (e.g. go to the doctors). Benevolent sexism - Women are a weaker and fairer sex and so need more help with things. Men as aggressors - Men are just generally more aggressive so less likely to help.

Question 28

Multidimensional prosocial measure

Answer 28

Defending Emotional helping Inclusion Physical helping Sharing

Question 29

Attribution bias

Answer 29

We are more likely to assume that somebody else's behaviour is due to dispositional factors rather than situational ones.

Question 30

Brickman et al. (1982) - four models of helping

Answer 30

Moral model Compensatory model Medical model Enlightenment model

Question 31

Moral model

Answer 31

Actors are held responsible for problems and solutions and are believed to need proper motivation. High responsibility for the problem, high responsibility for the solution.

Question 32

Compensatory model

Answer 32

People are not seen as responsible for problems, but they are responsible for solutions. People need power and the helper may resources or opportunities that the recipients deserve. Nonetheless, the responsibility for using this assistance rests with the recipient. Low responsibility for the problem, high responsibility for the solution.

Question 33

Medical model

Answer 33

Individuals are seen as neither responsible for the problem nor the solutions. It is not our fault if we get a cold. This approach characterises the healthcare system in all modern societies. Low responsibility for the problem, low responsibility for the solution.

Question 34

Enlightenment model

Answer 34

Actors are seen as responsible for problems but as unable or unwilling to provide solutions. They are viewed as needing discipline. High responsibility for the problem, low responsibility for the solution.

Question 35

Factors that affect when we will help

Answer 35

Time pressure - People are not more likely to help when they are rushed. Similarity - People are more likely to help those who are similar to us. Cost - Less likely to help when the cost to us is high.

Question 36

Bystander effect

Answer 36

Less likely to help when there are more people around.

Question 37

Reasons for not helping

Answer 37

For help to occur: need to notice the incident, interpret it as an emergency, and assume responsibility.

Question 38

Gergen & colleagues (1975)

Answer 38

People feel better when the donor is poor rather than when they are wealthy. Has more of an impact as it is more difficult for them. Even when the donor wasn't asking for repayment, people are more likely to voluntarily repay to the poor donor. Prefer giving and receiving in balance. Donor distrust - Distrust of donors if there are no strings attached as they think there might be a hidden motive.

Question 39

Donor distrust

Answer 39

Distrust of donors if there are no strings attached as they think there might be a hidden motive.

Question 40

Self-esteem (Fischer, Nadler, and Whitcher-Alagna, 1982)

Answer 40

Help from another may make one feel incompetent. Dislike the aid and donor. Avoid seeking such help again. Donor similarity lowers self-esteem. High self-esteem = aid feels worse Low self-esteem = aid feels better.

Question 41

How do we increase helping?

Answer 41

Reduce ambiguity, increase responsibility - a personal approach makes one feel less anonymous and more responsible.

Question 42

Concern for self-image

Answer 42

In online environments however, concern for our self-image hinders helping. Bastiaensens et al. (2015) report that individuals were more likely to intervene in the case of cyberbullying if they could contact the victim privately and anonymously.

Question 43

Kohn's (1990) recommendations for raising a helpful child

Answer 43

1. Focus on the positive 2. Explain the reason 3. Set an example 4. Let them help 5. Promote a pro-social self-image 6.Model altruism

Question 44

Personal distress

Answer 44

A self-focused emotional reaction to another person's distress or negative emotions, such as anxiety and discomfort. Negative relation between personal distress and regulation.

Question 45

Personal distress vs empathy

Answer 45

Personal distress = motivation to remove our own distress; empathy = remove the distress of the person in need.