Chapter 10 - Prosocial Behavior

Question 1

Define prosocial behavior

Answer 1

-any act performed with the goal of benefitting another person

Question 2

Define altruism

Answer 2

the desire to help another person or group of people, even if it involves a cost to the helper

Question 3

Define kin selection

Answer 3

-behaviours that help a genetic relative are favoured by natural selection

Question 4

Define the norm of reciprocity

Answer 4

-the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future

Question 5

People are genetically programmed to learn _____ norms and one of these norms is _______.

Answer 5

-social; altruism

Question 6

Define empathy

Answer 6

-the ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person, experiencing events and emotions the way that person experiences them

Question 7

Define the empathy-altruism hypothesis

Answer 7

-when we feel empathy for another person we will attempt to help that person purely for altruistic reasons, regardless of what we have to gain

Question 8

When people help others, what parts of their brains are activated?

Answer 8

-the same parts as when they receive rewards

Question 9

What are the three basic motives underlying prosocial behaviour? (3)

Answer 9

1. Helping others who are related to help their genes survive (evolutionary)
2. The rewards of helping outweigh the cost (social exchange theory)
3. Feelings of empathy (empathy-altruism hypothesis)

Question 10

Define the altruistic personality

Answer 10

-sympathy, empathy and a need to help others

Question 11

Is the altruistic personality heritable?

Answer 11

-in part, yes

Question 12

Lower class people tend to develop more ________ self-concepts whereas upper class people tend to develop more _______ self-concepts.

Answer 12

-communal, agentic (self control)

Question 13

There is ample evidence that when it comes to helping, people favour their __-______ and discriminate against __-_____.

Answer 13

-in-groups; out-groups

Question 14

Define in-groups and out-groups.

Answer 14

-groups where people identify as a member and groups where they do not

Question 15

Does religion foster prosocial behaviour?

Answer 15

-sometimes, less for helping strangers (like donating blood or tipping a server)

Question 16

Feeling happy leads to greater _______. Feeling ___ can also lead to greater helping. Feeling _____ does too!

Answer 16

-helping; sad; guilty

Question 17

Define the urban-overload hypothesis.

Answer 17

-the idea that if you put people that live in cities in a calmer, less stimulating environment, they would be as likely as anyone else to reach out to others

Question 18

According to the urban-overload hypothesis, to predict whether people will help, it is more important to know whether they are ______ in a rural or urban area than it is to know it they _____ __ in a small or big city.

Answer 18

-currently; grew up

Question 19

How does how long someone has been in a community explain the urban-overload hypothesis?

Answer 19

-people who have moved care less about their community then people who have been there for a while

Question 20

Define the bystander effect

Answer 20

-the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them is to help the victim

Question 21

Describe the five steps to helping in an emergency that relates to the bystander effect.

Answer 21

1. Noticing the event
2. Interpreting it as an emergency
3. Assuming responsibility
4. Have the knowledge to help
5. Decide to help

Question 22

Define pluralistic ignorance

Answer 22

-occurs during the bystander effect when people wrongly assume that an emergency is not occurring because no one else looks or acts concerned

Question 23

Define a diffusion of responsibility

Answer 23

-each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses to the crisis increases

Question 24

Do playing prosocial video games and listening to prosocial music make people act more prosocial?

Answer 24

-yes