Chapter 11- Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help? Flashcards
prosocial behavior
- any act performed with the goal of benefitting another person
- motivated by altruism
alturism
-desire to help another person even if it involves a cost to the helper
evolutionary psychology and helping
-help in order to benefit our genes
kin selection
- helping genetic relatives
- ensures survival and replication of their genes
- increases chance of genes being passed
norm of reciprocity
-expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future
gratitude
- 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
social exchange theory
- 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
helping as rewarding
- ) increase likelihood of being helped in return
- ) relieve personal distress
- ) increase social approval and self-worth
helping as costly
- ) puts helper in danger
- ) results in pain, embarrassment
- ) time consuming
empathy
-putting ourselves int he shoes of another person and experiencing events and emotions the way the person does
empathy alturism hypothesis
- 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
motives underlying prosocial behavior
- ) promotes welfare of genes (evolutionary)
- ) benefits self-interest (social exchange)
- ) feelings of compassion (empathy-alturism)
predicting how helpful people will be
- ) personality (altruistic?)
- ) gender
- ) culture
- ) religion
- ) mood
altruistic personality
- qualities that cause an individual to hep others in wide variety of situations
- personality is weakly linked to whether or not one helps
gender differences prosocial behavior
- males more chivalrous and heroic
- females nurturing, and caring
cultural differences prosocial behavior
- people favor and help members of in-groups when they are in need
- people help out-groups when it will make them look good
religion and prosocial behavior
- religious people more likely to help in situations that make them look good
- not as likely to help if nobody knows they did it
why help when in good mood
- 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
why help in bad mood
- decreases guilt from previous behavior
- want to engage in activities that make us feel better
demographics and prosocial behavior
- helping is more common in small towns
- people have a sense of community w/ each other
bystander effect
-greater # of bystanders, the less likely any one of them is to help victim
deciding to intervene in emergency
- ) notice event
- ) interpret event as emergency
- ) assume responsibility
- ) know how to help
- ) deciding to implement the help
pluralistic ignorance
- 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
diffusion of responsibility
- 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
communal relationship
- primary concern is welfare of other
- less focus on benefits to receive from helping
- relationship with friends
exchange relationship
-people concerned about what they will get in return when they help
when task is important to us
- more likely to help strangers than friends
- don’t want to see a friend more successful than us
- results in hit on self-esteem
when task is not important to us
- more helpful to friends
- have empathy and no need for gain
how to increase prosocial behavior
- teach people about dangers of bystander effect
- encourage positive psychology
positive psychology
-focuses on people’s strengths and virtues instead of mental diseases
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?
Jauker
The phenomenon in which each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increases best defines
diffusion of responsibility
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.
urban overload
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
they were the only one listening
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.
reciprocity norm
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?
interpret the event as an emergency
Men are more likely to help in _____, whereas women are likely to help in ______.
heroic ways
ways that involve long term commitment
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.
positive
According to the bystander effect, if you just witnessed a mugging, you will be most likely to call for help if you
are the sole witness
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.
prosocial
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?
social exchange
Ben and Jerry are co-workers in an exchange relationship. What is most likely to determine whether Ben agrees to lend Jerry $20?
whether Ben believes Jerry will pay him back
Which of the following statements is most closely related to the empathy-altruism hypothesis?
walk a mile in my shoes
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?
both Malika and Alicia
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
are more likely to pass on her genes
According the empathy-altruism hypothesis, when people experience empathy with another in need, which of the following motivates helping?
helping other independent of self-interest
Pluralistic ignorance is an example of the power of_________ to inhibit helping.
informational social influence
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?
New Yorker (individualistic)
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 ______.
cannot be sure
personality is not the only predictor of prosocial behavior
A(n) _____ group is a group with which individuals identify and of which they feel they are members.
in
