Chapter 13

Question 1

What is Prosocial behavior?

Answer 1

Action by an individual intended to benefit other(s)

This can include art, scientific discoveries, social changes

Question 2

What is the functional approach?

Answer 2

To some degree our action (helping others) is motivated by self-interest

Question 3

What is another term for self-interest of helping others?

Answer 3

egoistic

Question 4

Being social animals, we ____ care only about ourselves. We also ___ ____ about those with whom we form _____ attachments.

Answer 4

don’t
genuinely care
emotional

Question 5

Altruistic motivation/altruism?

Answer 5

Helping someone for their benefit even if there is no benefit for us. This often happens when we feel empathy.

Question 6

Kin selection?

Answer 6

When we help those that are kin than other because of natural selection

Question 7

Norm of reciprocity

Answer 7

Why we help others: If we help them they will be more likely to help us later on.

Question 8

4 reasons for helping others

Answer 8

Kin
Social, attachment, helping
reciprocal helping
biological bases

Question 9

Prosocial development based off the learning-theory suggest that?

Answer 9

Learning to help happens in stages:

• To get things we want
• To gain social rewards
• Adhere to internalized values

Question 10

Emotionally warm parents lead to children that are?

Answer 10

Better able to empathize with other and are seen as more socially competent

Question 11

Cues about how to behave and be comes from

Answer 11

Family, teachers, role models, media

Question 12

Playing video games can help increase prosocial behavior. True or False
Why?

Answer 12

True.

Games that reward prosocial behavior

Question 13

Social exchange theory

Answer 13

Idea that people provide help to someone else when the benefits of helping and the costs of not helping outweigh the potential costs of helping and the benefits of not helping. (p. 479)

Question 14

Empathy-altruism model

Answer 14

People helping others depends on how much empathy they have for that individual. Empathy is low, help when benefits outweigh the cost; empathy is high, help even at cost to ourselves.

Question 15

Batson has argued that the road to — —- is paved with —.
-Research on emotions

Answer 15

True Altruism
Empathy
-The brain area activated when you feel another individuals emotion is the same as when you feel the same emotion.

Question 16

Negative stated relief hypothesis

Answer 16

People help to reduce their own distress

With empathy their pain becomes your pain

Question 17

Is there true altruism?

Answer 17

????? (p. 483)

Question 18

Who are we less likely to help?

Answer 18

Those dissimilar to us, those we are prejudiced against

Question 19

Empathy gap

Answer 19

Fail to give help when need because we underestimate physical pain and social rejection

Question 20

How do we close the empathy gap

Answer 20

Have others feel pain
Take perspective of person in need
Better when you focus on individual compared to large group

Question 21

Causal attributions and helping others

Answer 21

We will help others or not depending on if we think others deserve their situation or not. Because we believe in a just world. Is it because of who they are or is it the situation?
Same for groups: more likely to help those where the situation is not in their control. Cancer patients vs obesity/drug abuse
Those that need the most help: we dehumanize and feel less empathy toward them. Ex: homeless, drug addicts

Question 22

4 other prosocial feelings that motivate us to help

Answer 22

Guilt
Communal feeling
Recipients gratitude
Feeling socially secure

Question 23

Guilt and helping others

Answer 23

Tend to help when we feel personally responsible. Have internalized morals/its the right thing to do. Helping boosters our self-esteem and not helping brings guilt.

Question 24

Collective guilt

Answer 24

Are not responsible for the harm to others but still feel guilty.

Question 25

Problem with helping others when there is guilt

Answer 25

Idea of negative state relief. We help to get rid of negative feelings we help. Can lead to being less likely to help later on.

Question 26

Communal orinetation

Answer 26

Don’t distinguish between what is theirs and what is someone else. “you and I” become a “we.” Often help even where the other will not always reciprocate the help. Often get the biggest boost from this and biggest drop in mood: When we help or don’t help that person.

Question 27

Recipients gratitude

Answer 27

Likely to help again because we feel good, there reciprocity, we feel more communal, and enhances feeling of social value.

Question 28

Feeling socially secure

Answer 28

Reminds us we are part of an ecosystem when we help others, which helps with mental health.

Question 29

Priming prosocial feelings and behaviors: Positive Affect

Answer 29

Positive mood increases willingness to help. To avoid guilt and you tend to see the best in people.

Question 30

Priming prosocial feelings and behaviors: Prosocial methaphors

Answer 30

We use metaphors such as “that person is taking a moral high ground.”

Question 31

Priming prosocial feelings and behaviors: Priming Prosocial Roles

Answer 31

Social roles tell us how to behave. How to act with friends, professions that require helping. Thinking about friendships can prime you to be more helpful.

Question 32

Priming prosocial feelings and behaviors: Priming Mortality

Answer 32

Culture worldview usually prompts helping others as being a good valued person. Terror Management Theory also primes prosocial behavior.

Question 33

Priming prosocial feelings and behaviors: Priming Religious Values

Answer 33

Gives us rules and regulations about our behavior. What is needed to be a good person. It is usually, kindness and compassion.

Question 34

Bystander effect

Answer 34

A person witnesses another in need is less likely to help when there are other bystanders present to witness the event.

Question 35

Steps to helping

Answer 35

1. Notice the situation
2. Interpret the situation as an emergency: If ambiguous we use informational social influence. This leads to pluralistic ignorance.
3. Take responsibility: To help someone has to decide they will be responsible for acting. However, presence of other leads to diffusion of responsibility.
4. Decide how to help: Help yourself or get someone trained
5. Decide whether to give help

Question 36

Pluralistic ignorance

Answer 36

Individuals rely on others to identify a norm but falsely interpret others’ beliefs and feelings, resulting in inaction.

Question 37

Diffusion of responsibility

Answer 37

Situation in which the presence of others prevents any one person from taking responsibility.

Question 38

Urban overload hypothesis

Answer 38

Those that live in the city avoid being overwhelmed by stimulation by narrowing their attention, making it more likely that they overlook legitimate situations where help is needed.

Question 39

Altruistic personality

Answer 39

Collection of personality trains, such as empathy, that render some people more helpful than others.

Question 40

Individual differences in motivation for helping

Answer 40

On a spectrum from completely external to completely internal
Those more oriented toward others
Those with agreeableness

Question 41

Politics

Answer 41

Liberals are more likely to help the disadvantaged with social programs. Conservatives are less likely.

Question 42

Gender

Answer 42

Men are more likely to help in a physical way (like fixing a car). Men are more likely to help the opposite gender. Women are more likely to help in emotional situations.