9 - Prosocial behaviour Flashcards
define prosocial behaviour
action positively valued by society which benefits one or more people other than oneself
define helping behaviour
action performed with the intention to aid another
define social value orientation
extent to which an individual is pro-self orpro-social, determining how cooperative they’ll be
describe the bystander effect
fewer people intervening in an emergency because there are more people present, so we believe someone else will help and we won’t need to
what was the Kitty Genovese case
“38” witnesses saw a women get stalked and murdered but didn’t do anything although some did shout to leave her alone
limitations of the Kitty Genovese case
only 6 witnesses some of who did intervene
both attacks were on separate occasions
911 number didn’t exist
incidents at bar Kitty worked at not taken srsly
describe diffusion of responsibility
the more people there are, the less likely people are to notice, interpret the problem as one, and assume responsibility to intervene as think others will
what did the seizure experiment find about diffusion of responsibility
as the number of bystanders increased, the longer it took for them to help and the lower the likelihood of helping was
define pluralistic ignorance
wrongly assuming that others endorse a particular norm based on their actions
what is an example of pluralistic ignorance
not intervening in an emergency and perceiving intervention isn’t needed because no one else is
smoke in the room pluralistic ignorance experiment found what
people intervened most when alone, then with naive parts, then confederates
interviews with smoke in a rooom found participants thought what
didn’t know what smoke was so reported it
knew there was no fire
some thought it was an experiment
no one mentioned others’ reactions
what does the social identity perspective say about forming an identity
collective identity formed as members seen as extension of oneself and those identifying w collective more likely to help
how is identification made more likely w SI
through a common fate as “all in this together”
social identity perspective states what about emergencies
they broaden our identity level and cause us to have a sense of solidarity with each other
how does the social identity perspective explain diffusion of responsibility
social identities grant social norms which DoR can capture, and more bystanders makes non-intervening norm clearer
what did the london underground fire simulation study find out helping
crowd size didn’t predict co-operation but collective identification (shopping alone or football match) did
define bystander intervention
act of helping a person in danger/distress by those who haven’t caused it
what did the good samaritan experiment find
content of speech didn’t predict intervention but urgency did as less urgent stopped to help
what is the bystander intervention model’s criteria which all must be met
notice the event, interpret as an emergency, take responsibility, decide how to intervene, intervene
when does the BIM state we are more likely to intervene
if friends. group has drunk alcohol, bystanders are ingroup, think other bystanders will intervene
what are some limitations of the BIM
kitty genovese mistold so presence of others may actually increase helping likelihood
large group size can help due to perceived norm
being friends>strangers
being w others increases empowerment
define altruism
action performed to benefit another without concern for an external reward
modified altruism definition?
acting out of concern for another’s welfare as well as one’s own
why don’t we know if altruism actually exists
helping others always helps us in some way always if people think altruism is without benefitting ourself
define empathic concern
emotional reaction to suffering of others resulting from taking their perspective, increasing likelihood of helping
what type of personality means people will have empathic concern
altruistic personality as it predisposes people to help
what did a study about empathic concern find
objective perspective reduces likelihood of helping and we’re more likely to help if the conditions make it easy to
what is the empathy-altruism hypothesis
helpful actions genuinely motivated by wanting to do something good for someone else
what has been suggested about selfish motives
help others to help ourselves out of self-interest to pursue an internal reward
what was found in a study about social value orientations and altruism
SVO affected number of hours donated as cooperators donated more than individualists who donated more than competitors
why do we experience internal rewards with altruism even without concern for external rewards
deep moral capacities in our character as we respond emotionally to own actions and consequences
define moral reasoning
extent to which a person’s willingness to help is a function of own needs vs overarching moral standards
define moral emotions
emotions experienced when something occurs which violates our moral standards
what families of moral emotions are there
other-condemning - disgust
self-conscious
other-suffering - empathy
other-praising - awe
what types of people show more empathy and lalruism
those with higher levels of reasoning
define kin selection
acting differently towards members of the same species depending on the degree of genetic relatedness, encouraging altruism
humans prefer helping who
more closely related people but do help strangers still
define reciprocal altruism
acting altruistically with the hope that species member helped will act altruistically i return as a reward
how are prospects of mutural survival increased
preference of helping others who helped us
who do humans selectively make sacrifices for
ingroup members not outgroup even if ingroup can’t reciprocate
why did altruism shape our cognitive and emotional makeup so we developed empathy
to quickly form emotional ties with offspring to be successful parents but this may have generalised to everyone
define social dilemma
situations where interests of an individual are at odds with group’s interest
define cooperation in social dilemmas
decisions sacrificing person’s interest for group’s sake
define defection
pursuing decisions at the gorup’s expense
what is a moral agent
making own decisions in social dilemmas
what is the prisoner’s dilemma
if A and B cooperate, they get a reduced sentence
if one person defects, the defector’s freed
if both defect, get a longer sentence
real-world example of the prisoner’s dilemma
USA/USSR arms race
what is the public goods dilemma
an individual being better off if they don’t contribute but the group is worse off as a whole
define public good
a resource one can’t be stopped from using even if they don’t contribute, e.g. NHS
define common goods dilemma
where an individual’s interests are served by using a resource but collective interests are jeopardised as resources deplete, e.g. fishing
how can communicating with each other to establish principles and ground rules enhance cooperation
increases trust, advocates and norms a coop constructively instead of threatening to punish
what does it mean for cooperation if a social dilemma is easy to understand
it can be easily explained how the common interest is served by cooperating
how can cooperation be enhanced
people valuing the common interst, having strong sense of identification
how can punishment be used in a social dilemma
defectors can be punished in strategic decision making
what is tit for tat
reciprocity developing by starting off cooperating, retaliate if the other defects, forgive if the other cooperates
define altruistic punishment
self-sacrificing in order to harm someone who has defected
what are the possible consequences of altruistic punishment
increased norms adherence
increased average payoff received by all group members
what are some exceptions to altruistic punishment
depends on group size
some forms don’t cost the punisher, e.g. gossip
define indirect reciprocity
incurring personal cost to reward someone who has cooperated with other group members, eventually being rewarded by a 3rd party
what do pro-self people prioritise
maximising resources for self and actively seeking for others to get less
what do pro-social people prioritise
maximising resources available for others and themselves
how can encouraging strong social identification help cooperation
people then see that helping the group is evuivalent in seriousness to helping the self
what did a study about SVO find out about short term individual benefits incurring a long term collective cost
despite being told trains cause no damage to envmt, greater car preference was found in those with a higher pro-self value and train in pro-social people
