Chapter 10 Helping Others Flashcards
Prosocial behaviours
Actions intended to benefit others
Altruism
Desire to help another, to improve their welfare, regardless of whether we derive any benefit. Helping another without conscious regard for one’s self-interest
kin selection
Preferential helping of genetic relatives, which results in the greater likelihood that genes held in common will survive
Reciprocal Altruism
Altruism that involves an individual helping another (despite some immediate risk or cost) and becoming more likely to receive help from the other in return
direct reciprocity
helping someone who may help you later
indirect reciprocity
help someone; someone else helps you later
Why do people engage in prosocial behaviours?
- Norm of reciprocity
- Norm of equity
- Norm of social responsibility
- Concerns about justice/fairness
- Cultural norms
Empathy
Understanding or vicariously experiencing another individual’s perspective and feeling sympathy and compassion for that individual
Norm of social responsibility
- Sometimes helping due to peer pressure, social norms, social influence
- reluctant altruism
- prosocial media effects
- Role models
Reluctant altruism
Altruistic kinds of behavior that result from pressure from peers or other sources of direct influence
Empathy- Altruism Hypothesis
The proposition that empathic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping
egoistic
motivated by the desire to improve one’s own welfare
altruistic
Motivated by the desire to improve another’s welfare
Emotional components of empathy
- personal distress
- empathic concern
Bystander effect
The effect whereby the presence of others inhibits helping
Diffusion of responsibility
The belief that others will or should take the responsibility for providing assistance to a person in need
Pluralistic ignorance
The state in which people in a group mistakenly think that their own individual thoughts, feelings, or behaviours are different from those of the others in the group
You are more likely to help when you…
- are paying attention
- know what to do
- assume responsibility
- overlook risks
- focus on others - not yourself
- feel guilty and/or happy
- think others will appreciate your help
Social Exchange Theory
- Helping can be rewarding in a number of ways
- Helping someone is an investment in the future, the social exchange being that someday, someone will help us when we need it
- Gain social approval
Costs of helping:
physical danger
pain
embarrassment
time consuming
Benefits of helping:
Make us feel good
Avoid punishment for breaking social norms
Social approval of others
decreases stress
Be reciprocated in the future
Motive to help because of personal distress
egoistic motive
Motive to help because of empathic concern
Altruistic motive
Steps to intervening in an emergency
- Notice event
- Interpret as emergency
- assume responsibility
- know how to help
- Decide to help
Problem with Step 1: Notice the event
World has distractions, we’re often in a hurry, so we don’t notice event or don’t have the time to help
Problem with Step 2: Interpret emergency
Just because we notice an event, doesn’t mean we will interpret it as an emergency
especially if no one else seems worried (pluralistic ignorance)
Problem with Step 3: Assume responsibility
Even if we have interpreted an emergency, we may think they are others who can help (diffusion of responsibility)
Problem with step 4: Know how to help
We might not know how to help (e.g., don’t know CPR or how to swim)
Problem with step 5: Decide to help
Even when there is an emergency and we know how to help sometimes we still don’t help due to fear for own safety, or embarrassed by rejected help
How to reduce bystander effect
Reduce ambiguity and diffusion of responsibility
-Make it clear that you need help
- Single out individual
