8 - prosocial behaviour

Question 1

what are the biological and evolutionary perspectives of pro sociality?

Answer 1

mutualism - prosocial behaviour benefits the co-operator as well as others; a defector will do worse than a co-operator

kin selection - prosocial behaviour is biased towards blood relatives as it helps their own genes
(stevens et al)

Question 2

what is prosocial behaviour?

Answer 2

• acts that are viewed postivily by society
• has positive social consequences and contributes to wellbeing of others
• voluntary and intended to benefit others
• includes being helpful and altruistic

Question 3

what is helping behaviour?

Answer 3

acts that intentionally benefit someone else/group

Question 4

what is altruism?

Answer 4

acts that benefit another person rather than one’s self
- performed without expectation of own gain
- selfless

Question 5

what are limitations of the biological and evolutionary perspective?

Answer 5

• doesn’t explain why we help non-relatives
• little empirical evidence
• doesn’t explain why we would help in some circumstances but no in others (familial violence)
• ignores social learning

Question 6

what are social norms that may explain why we engage in prosocial behaviour?

Answer 6

• reciprocity principle
• social responsibility
• just-world hypothesis

Question 7

what is the reciprocity principle?

Answer 7

we should help people who help us

Question 8

what is social responsibility?

Answer 8

we should help those in need independent of their ability to help us

Question 9

what is the just-world hypothesis?

Answer 9

world is just and fair place, if we come across anyone who is undeservedly suffering, we help them to restore our belief in a just world

Question 10

how do children learn prosocial behaviour?

Answer 10

giving instructions - telling children to be helpful works, telling them what is appropriate forms a guide for later life

using reinforcement - rewarding behaviour, if rewarded they are more likely to help again, if punished less likely to help

exposure to models - Ruston found modelling more effective in shaping behaviour than reinforcement

Question 11

what is Bandura’s social learning theory?

Answer 11

it is the knowledge of what happens to the model that determines whether or not the observer will help rather than just mechanical imitation

Question 12

evidence of Bandura’s social learning theory

Answer 12

Hornstein
- people observed a model returning a lost wallet
- model appeared either pleased, displeased or neutral at helping
- later participant came across a lost waller, those who observed pleasant condition helped the most

Question 13

what is the bystander effect/apathy?

Answer 13

people are less likely to help in an emergency when they are with others than when they are alone

Question 14

evidence of the bystander effect?

Answer 14

Latane & Darley
- emergency situations whilst completing questionnaire
- very few people intervened in the presence of others, especially when others did not intervene

Question 15

what is Latin and Darley’s cognitive model?

Answer 15

1. attend to what is happening
2. define event as emergency
3. assume responsibility
4. decide what can be done

these things need to happen for someone to give help

Question 16

what are the processes contributing to the bystander effect?

Answer 16

diffusion of responsibility - individual assumes others will take responsibility

audience inhibition - onlookers may make individual feel self-conscious about taking action

social influence - others provide a model for action, if they are unworried, the situation may seem less serious

Question 17

what is the bystander calculus model?

Answer 17

Piliavin et al
processes which calculate whether or not we help:
1. physiological processes
2. labelling the arousal
3. evaluating the consequences of helping

Question 18

what are physiological processes?

Answer 18

• empathetic response to someone in distress
• the greater the arousal, greater chance we help
• triggered when we believe we are similar to victim and can relate to them

Question 19

what does it mean to label the arousal?

Answer 19

we label arousal as an emotion (e.g. distress)

helping behaviour motivated by desire to reduce own negative emotional experience

Question 20

how do we evaluate the consequences of helping?

Answer 20

cost benefit analysis

costs of helping:
- time and effort
- personal risk

costs of not helping:
- empathy costs of not help can cause distress to bystander who empathises
- personal cost can cause distress e.g. guilt

Question 21

what study contradicts the bystander effect?

Answer 21

Philpot et al
- CCTV recordings of 219 street disputes in Lancaster, Amsterdam, Cape Town
- at least 1 bystander intervened in 90% of cases
- presence of others increased likelihood of helping

Question 22

strengths of Philpot et al?

Answer 22

• large scale test of bystander effect in real life scenarios
• effect consistent across 3 countries

Question 23

limitations of Philpot et al

Answer 23

• only in cities and mostly western countries
• intervention defined very broadly
• lack of audio

Question 24

how does personality determine helping?

Answer 24

Bierhoff et al studies people who did and didn’t help in traffic accident

helpers and non-helpers distinguished on:
- the norms of social responsibility
- internal locus of control
- greater dispositional empathy

only correlational

Question 25

how does mood determine helping?

Answer 25

individuals who feel good are more likely to help someone in need compared to those who feel bad

receiving good news increased willingness to help

but only short-lived: increased willingness to help stranger only within first 7 minutes of positive mood induction

Question 26

how does competence determine helping?

Answer 26

feeling competent to deal with an emergency makes it more likely help is given

specific kinds of competence increase helping:
- people more willing to help move electrically charged objects if told they have high tolerance for electric shocks
- people more likely to help capture lab rat if told they were good at handling rats

certain skills perceived as relevant to some emergencies e.g. first-aid

Question 27

what are perceiver centred determinants of helping?

Answer 27

• personality
• mood
• competence

Question 28

how does group membership determine helping?

Answer 28

more likely to help recipients in same or similar social group to ourselves

category of membership can be avoided as long as in same group e.g. help football fans regardless of club

Question 28

how does responsibility for misfortune determine helping?

Answer 28

people more likely to help people not responsible for their misfortune - just-world hypothesis

Question 29

what are recipient centred determinants of prosocial behaviour?

Answer 29

• group membership
• responsibility for misfortune

Question 30

evidence that receivers don’t always want help

Answer 30

Wakefield et al
female students made aware women stereotyped as dependent and then placed in situation where they needed help

those made aware of dependency stereotype were less willing to seek help

those that did felt worse the more help they sought