Book 1, Chapter 5

Question 1

Diffusion of responsibility

p. 195

Answer 1

When other people are present (or believed to be present) in a helping situation, responsibility for taking action is spread out among them.

Question 2

Bystander Effect

p. 196

Answer 2

The finding that the more people there are present in an emergency situation, the less likely it is that any one of those people will help. This finding arose from a programme of research conducted by John Darley and Bibb Latane

Question 3

The arousal: Cost-reward model

p. 198

Answer 3

Observation of an emergency creates a state of arousal in bystanders. This arousal becomes more unpleasant the longer it continues, but it can be reduced by a response based on a calculation of the relative costs and rewards of that response.
Piliavin et al.

Question 4

The empathy-altruism model (Daniel Batson)

pp. 200-201

Answer 4

Suggests that, while reducing personal distress aroused by another’s serves egoistic motives, perspective taking and empathetic concern serve altruistic ones.
Taking someone else’s perspective can increase empathy which in turn leads to more helping behaviour.

Question 5

Inclusive fitness theory

p. 206

Answer 5

a concept drawn from the area of evolutionary biology, which attempts to account for the existence of altruism. Helping others (particularly those with a higher degree of genetic relatedness to themselves) is suggested to enhance the survival or propagation of an organisms genes, and therefore becomes understandable from a evolutionary perspective.

Question 6

Cost-benefit analysis

p. 206

Answer 6

Compares the costs and benefits of a particular course of action

Question 7

Reciprocal altruism

pp. 206-297

Answer 7

Trivers argues that altruism towards strangers could have evolved if there was a chance of being in a situation where someone who had been helped would then reciprocate.
See altruistic punishment and defection.

Question 8

Defection

pp. 206-207

Answer 8

If those you have helped, then refuse reciprocation.
This is a stopping point in reciprocal altruism.
See Reciprocal altruism and altruistic punishment

Question 9

Altruistic punishment

pp. 206-207

Answer 9

The human predisposition to cooperate with others and to punish non-cooperators, even when the punishment is costly to the punisher.
See defection and reciprocal altruism

Question 10

Prosocial value orientation

p. 209

Answer 10

Proposed by Ervin Staub, PVO is a personality characteristic that includes a concern for others, and is with a associated with a range of helping behaviours.

Question 11

Just-world hypothesis

pp. 209-210

Answer 11

Coined by Lerner, this term describes the belief that people deserve what they get and get what they deserve.

Question 12

Social Identity and helping behaviour
4 key elements
pp. 214-216

Answer 12

1. The salience of social identity
2. The boundaries of social identity
3. The content of social identity
4. The strategic interests of social identity

Question 13

Dependency-oriented help

pp. 216-218

Answer 13

This is where the helper assumes that the person being helped cannot help themselves. The helper provides a “full solution”

Question 14

Autonomy-oriented help

pp. 216-218

Answer 14

The helper provides partial and temporary help to the person being helped. The underlying assumption of autonomy-oriented helping is that, given the right tools, a person can help themselves