Chapter 11- Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help?

Question 1

prosocial behavior

Answer 1

• any act performed with the goal of benefitting another person
• motivated by altruism

Question 2

alturism

Answer 2

-desire to help another person even if it involves a cost to the helper

Question 3

evolutionary psychology and helping

Answer 3

-help in order to benefit our genes

Question 4

kin selection

Answer 4

• helping genetic relatives
• ensures survival and replication of their genes
• increases chance of genes being passed

Question 5

norm of reciprocity

Answer 5

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

Question 6

gratitude

Answer 6

• positive feeling that are caused by the perception that one has been helped by others
• basis of norm of reciprocity
• if someone helps us, we feel gratitude, which promotes us to return the favor in the future

Question 7

social exchange theory

Answer 7

• much of what we do stems from the desire to maximize rewards and minimize costs
• helping is not genetically based
• help to get reward or relieve distress
• help for self-interest

Question 8

helping as rewarding

Answer 8

1. ) increase likelihood of being helped in return
2. ) relieve personal distress
3. ) increase social approval and self-worth

Question 9

helping as costly

Answer 9

1. ) puts helper in danger
2. ) results in pain, embarrassment
3. ) time consuming

Question 10

empathy

Answer 10

-putting ourselves int he shoes of another person and experiencing events and emotions the way the person does

Question 11

empathy alturism hypothesis

Answer 11

• when we feel empathy for another person, we will attempt to help that person for purely altruistic reasons
• regardless of what we have to gain
• if looking for gain, social exchange theory applies to helping behavior

Question 12

motives underlying prosocial behavior

Answer 12

1. ) promotes welfare of genes (evolutionary)
2. ) benefits self-interest (social exchange)
3. ) feelings of compassion (empathy-alturism)

Question 13

predicting how helpful people will be

Answer 13

1. ) personality (altruistic?)
2. ) gender
3. ) culture
4. ) religion
5. ) mood

Question 14

altruistic personality

Answer 14

• qualities that cause an individual to hep others in wide variety of situations
• personality is weakly linked to whether or not one helps

Question 15

gender differences prosocial behavior

Answer 15

• males more chivalrous and heroic

- females nurturing, and caring

Question 16

cultural differences prosocial behavior

Answer 16

• people favor and help members of in-groups when they are in need
• people help out-groups when it will make them look good

Question 17

religion and prosocial behavior

Answer 17

• religious people more likely to help in situations that make them look good
• not as likely to help if nobody knows they did it

Question 18

why help when in good mood

Answer 18

• feel good, do good principle
• makes us look at the bright side of people
• prolongs good mood
• makes us pay attention to social norm of altruism

Question 19

why help in bad mood

Answer 19

• decreases guilt from previous behavior

- want to engage in activities that make us feel better

Question 20

demographics and prosocial behavior

Answer 20

• helping is more common in small towns

- people have a sense of community w/ each other

Question 21

bystander effect

Answer 21

-greater # of bystanders, the less likely any one of them is to help victim

Question 22

deciding to intervene in emergency

Answer 22

1. ) notice event
2. ) interpret event as emergency
3. ) assume responsibility
4. ) know how to help
5. ) deciding to implement the help

Question 23

pluralistic ignorance

Answer 23

• people think that everyone else is interpreting event in certain way, when they are not
• bystander thinks no one is concerned and doesn’t help

Question 24

diffusion of responsibility

Answer 24

• each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increase
• others are present, so don’t feel strong need to act

Question 25

communal relationship

Answer 25

• primary concern is welfare of other
• less focus on benefits to receive from helping
• relationship with friends

Question 26

exchange relationship

Answer 26

-people concerned about what they will get in return when they help

Question 27

when task is important to us

Answer 27

• more likely to help strangers than friends
• don’t want to see a friend more successful than us
• results in hit on self-esteem

Question 28

when task is not important to us

Answer 28

• more helpful to friends

- have empathy and no need for gain

Question 29

how to increase prosocial behavior

Answer 29

• teach people about dangers of bystander effect

- encourage positive psychology

Question 30

positive psychology

Answer 30

-focuses on people’s strengths and virtues instead of mental diseases

Question 31

Dr. Hinford is a devout Catholic and Dr. Juaker is an atheist. According to research on the impact of religion on helping behavior, who will be likely make an anonymous donation to a sick child?

Answer 31

Jauker

Question 32

The phenomenon in which each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increases best defines

Answer 32

diffusion of responsibility

Question 33

According to the ______________ hypothesis, compared to rural dwellers, people in large cities are bombarded with stimulation and work to reduce it by keeping to themselves.

Answer 33

urban overload

Question 34

In Darley’s and Latané’s (1968) classic “seizure” experiment, participants were more likely to help the (alleged) seizure victim (and to help more quickly) when they believed that

Answer 34

they were the only one listening

Question 35

Some evolutionary psychologists argue that, in our distant past, those who selfishly pursued their own individual interests or who cooperated too readily would be less likely to survive to pass on their genes. This argument lies at the heart of _____ as a source of altruistic behavior.

Answer 35

reciprocity norm

Question 36

When an emergency occurs, people must first notice the event. What is the second decision-making step that people must go through before deciding to help?

Answer 36

interpret the event as an emergency

Question 37

Men are more likely to help in _____, whereas women are likely to help in ______.

Answer 37

heroic ways

ways that involve long term commitment

Question 38

There is a(n) _________ correlation between the length of time a person has lived in the same place, and their likelihood to help in the community.

Answer 38

positive

Question 39

According to the bystander effect, if you just witnessed a mugging, you will be most likely to call for help if you

Answer 39

are the sole witness

Question 40

Allen volunteers to visit the homes of AIDS patients because those visits help him forget about his own problems. This is an example of_____ behavior.

Answer 40

prosocial

Question 41

Elaine explains that she donates money to charity because, “It makes me feel like I’m investing in the future. It just feels good!” Her motive for helping is best described by which theory?

Answer 41

social exchange

Question 42

Ben and Jerry are co-workers in an exchange relationship. What is most likely to determine whether Ben agrees to lend Jerry $20?

Answer 42

whether Ben believes Jerry will pay him back

Question 43

Which of the following statements is most closely related to the empathy-altruism hypothesis?

Answer 43

walk a mile in my shoes

Question 44

Malika and Alicia are out shopping, when they are asked to contribute to AIDS research. Malika is in a good mood because she earned an A on her psychology exam, but Alicia is in a bad mood because she earned a D on her chemistry exam. According to your text, who is likely to contribute?

Answer 44

both Malika and Alicia

Question 45

According to evolutionary psychologists, why would Doris be more likely to save her children than her parents in a life-threatening emergency? Doris’s children

Answer 45

are more likely to pass on her genes

Question 46

According the empathy-altruism hypothesis, when people experience empathy with another in need, which of the following motivates helping?

Answer 46

helping other independent of self-interest

Question 47

Pluralistic ignorance is an example of the power of_________ to inhibit helping.

Answer 47

informational social influence

Question 48

Sue is a tourist in a large city, who begins choking while eating lunch. Assuming she is an out-group member, who would be the most likely to help her?

Answer 48

New Yorker (individualistic)

Question 49

You know that Susan is a very helpful person. She spends many hours volunteering, she donates a lot of money to charities, and she is always the first person to offer help among your group of friends. According to the research on the altruistic personality, you _____ that Susan would help carry a neighbor’s groceries if the situation arose because ______.

Answer 49

cannot be sure

personality is not the only predictor of prosocial behavior

Question 50

A(n) _____ group is a group with which individuals identify and of which they feel they are members.

Answer 50

in