Chapter 8 - Altruism

Question 1

why do we help other people?

Answer 1

for others peoples welfase (altruism)

for self-gain
- reputation
- avoidance of negative emotions
- reciprocity motives

Question 2

define altruism

Answer 2

the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others

Question 3

How does being in a group determine our prosocial behaviour?

Answer 3

we help them because of identification and similarity along with reciprocal altruism (example is of penguins and how they depend on other penguins to survive in the cold winters). we also help other people out being of humanitarian values (when others are less fortunate). We help more in public places where we can expect help in return when needed, ie school.

Question 3

what are the 2 reason why our reputation is valued for prosocial behaviour?

Answer 3

• for publciity
• to be liked by our peers

Question 4

how do people act when its private vs. public altruism?

Answer 4

people are more likely to do prosocial behaviour to strangers when placed in a public setting, where people will see if they do it or not. these people will also seem to be more trustworthy and compassionate to other.

example with people volunteering out loud or privately shows this.

Question 5

how does the feel bad, do good vs feel good, do good, theory rule out?

Answer 5

there was an experiemnt done where some participants were told previously information about the study, and some not. But when they entered the study, those who had been told informativ=on, then lied to the researcher and felt guilt. When asked if they would help grade after the study was completed, those who had lied were far more likely to help and stay much longer than lose who never lied to the researcher.

Question 6

does the mood your in affect how much you would help others?

Answer 6

experiment where people were put in negative, happy or neutral moods. then were given a placebo drug that either couldn’t or could change their moods. Sad subjects were shown to help only when they believed their mood were changeable (but not improved when they task was unpleasant) For happy people, helping others is not to increase anything but it is a side effect of a happy mood.

Sad people help to relive their sad mood, happy people help as a side effect of happiness

but when it comes to profound grief, people become was too self-focused to help others

Question 7

how will guilty people react to helping others?

Answer 7

even whne the task is unpleasant, they will help others because they are trying to remove their current state or uncomfortablness from lying, etc.

Question 8

explain the difference between altruism and egoism

Answer 8

altruistic motivation: helping purely for the sake of providing benefit to another person (empathy: i hate when that happen, she could use some help)

egositc motivation: helping in order to obtain rewards or avoid punishments (personal distress: i will feel guilty if i walk by so ill help)

Question 9

define empathy

Answer 9

the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
- can be dispositional
- can be situationally-induced

empathy can lead to altruism

Question 10

define empathy manipulation

Answer 10

previuosly told that another person shares many similar attitudes and values

for example with switching places with another person that would receive shocks during a memory test

Question 11

define escape motivation

Answer 11

whether or not partipant had to continue watching person receive shocks it they did not trade places with then

for example with switching places with another person that would receive shocks during a memory test

Question 12

define perspective taking

Answer 12

routinely takese another person point of view

Question 13

define empathic concern

Answer 13

tendecny to expereince sympathy and compassion

Question 14

define personal distress

Answer 14

the degree to which a person expereinces distress/discomfort in response to other/s distress

Question 15

define fantasy

Answer 15

tendency to imagine onelsef in hypothetical situation

Question 16

define the bystander effect

Answer 16

people are less likely to help a victim when others are present

Question 17

how do people intervent in an emergency?

Answer 17

• notice the event (we are often in a hurry and we don’t notice these things to even be able to help)
• interprect is as an emergency (pluralistic ignorance)
• assume responsibility (diffusion of responsibility)
• know how to help (don’t know cpr, and other things to help!)
• decide to help (fear for their own safety, embarked by rejected help)

Question 18

How did they demostrate the bystadner effect?

Answer 18

with the good samaritan study! there was three condition, people were either in no, moderate or a big rush. most participants in the hurried conditions claimed that they did not even see someone needed help. The more rushed someone was, the less likely they were to stop and help out another person.

Question 19

define pluralistic ignorance

Answer 19

this can explain the interpret step of how we asses emergencies and how the bystander effect can occur. its the observation that people are more likely to intervene in an emergency when alone than when other people are present. if people monitor the reactions of others around them, they may conclude that because no one else is helping that it is not necessary to intervene either. so if no one helps, this will happen for most people, but if someone helps, other people will more likely follow and ask to help.

Question 20

define diffusion of responsability

Answer 20

occurs when people who need to make a decision wait for someone else to act instead

Question 21

hwo can we improve prosocial behaviour?

Answer 21

• want to reduce ambiguity and diffusion of responsibility
• make it clear that you need help
• single out individual so they cant say no to helping because that cause cognitive dissonace (uncomfy)
• make people feel guilty
• define positive norms

Question 22

define altruism

Answer 22

a mtoive to increases anothers welfare without conscious regard for ones own self-interest

Question 23

define social-exchance theory

Answer 23

the theory that human interactions are transactiong that aim to maximize ones rewards and minize ones costs
rewards: internal (guilt, feel bad do good, feel good do good) or external

Question 24

define reciprocity norm

Answer 24

an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

example with people either giving money to charity or buying themselves a gift (public vs private)

Question 25

define social-responsibility norm

Answer 25

an expectation that people will help those dependent upon them

Question 26

how do our genes shape us in the way that we help other/survive?

Answer 26

kin selectin: favouritism twoards those who share our genes
direct reciprocity: I help you, you help me
indirect reciprocity: I help you, you help them, they help me
group selection: we all help each other

Question 27

define moral exclusion

Answer 27

the perception of certain individuals or groups as outside the boundary within which you apply moral values and rules of fairness

Question 28

define moral inclusion

Answer 28

regarding others as within your circle or moral concern