Chapter 9 Flashcards
Define prosocial behaviour
any act performed with the goal of benefiting another person
Define altruism
desire to help others, even is it involves a cost to the helper
What are the 2 brain regions most involved in altruism?
• Amygdala and prefrontal cortex: most involved in altruism
According to evolutionnary psychology, altruism has evolved through 3 processes, which are they?
Kin selection
Reciprocity norm
Group selection
Define kin selection and how its linked with evolution of a species
○ People are + likely to help relatives than non relative
Behaviour helping relatives is favored by natural selection - increases chances that genes will be passed on
Define reciprocity norm
social norm reminding us that we should follow the principles of reciprocal altruism
Define reciprocal altruism
Expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future
Define social responsibility norm
We should try to help others who need assistance, even without any expectation of future paybacks
Define group selection and explain why it is adaptive
Altruistic groups might be stronger than individualistic/selfish groups
Species survival - goal of natural selection
Learning social norms - helping others is one of the biggest norm
Define the social exchange theory
(financial model, not evolutionary) argues that altruistic behaviour:
• Can be based on self-interest
• Stems from the desire to maximize our outcomes and minimize our costs
Explain the experiment with students giving a presentation and its link with social exchange theory
experiment where students were on time or running late - on time helped more than those who were late (because it cost much less)
Define empathy and name one possible brain structure responsible for it
putting ourselves in the shoes of another person and experiencing the events and emotions the way that person experiences them
Mirror neurons
Define the empathy-altruism hypothesis
when we feel empathy for a person, we will attempt to help him or her purely for altruistic reasons (regardless of our gain)
Define the concept of an altruistic personality
the aspects of a person’s makeup that are said to make them likely to help others in a wide variety of situations
Are we more likley to help a student who is trying really hard or one that is not? Why is that?
• We are more likely to help people who seem like they need help because of situations outside of their control than people who seem to control the situation but still need help (ex; giving notes to a student who tried really hard but cannot take good notes vs giving notes to a student who never comes to class because they’re lazy)
What can be the negative reaction to receiving help? Name 2 factors responsible for this outcome
sometimes help is not welcome - it implies a status discrepancy between the 2 people and a situation of dependence (the person being helped is of lesser status and is dependent on the resources of the person giving help) - dependency-oriented help
Explain the gender differences in prosocial behaviour
Men:
• More likely than women to perform acts of bravery and heroism (more likely to help in situations where physical help is required)
○ Ex: saving someone form a burning building
Women:
• More likely than men to give supportive long-term help to individuals, groups and important causes
Ex: donating blood, offering social support
Describe cultural differences in prosocial behaviour
- Collectivistic: More likely to help a member of their ingroup
- Individualistic: less likely to help a member of their ingroup
- Collectivistic cultures less likely to help “out-group”
- There a more modest approach for helping others: they are less likely to take credit
What was the experiment observing mood on prosocial behaviour conducted in a shopping mall? What is the conclusion about prosocial behaviour and mood?
Researchers have found a “feel good, do good” effect on diverse situations
Conducted in shopping malls
Put people in a good mood: left a dime on the floor (making people who found them to be happy)
• As they were happy, a confederate dropped papers near the person
Ø Those that found the dime, 85% helped
Ø 4% of those who had not found a dime helped
Define the negative-state relief hypothesis
we help in order to alleviate sadness/distress
What is personal distress? What are the relations with helping?
the negative emotions that we may experience when we view another person’s suffering
• Makes us LESS likely to help if the emotions are too negative
• If not, it may increase our empathy and make us MORE likely to help
Name the 3 main situational determinants of prosocial behaviour
Environment (urban vs rural)
Residential mobility
Bystander effect
Define the urban-overload hypothesis
people living in cities keep to themselves in order to avoid being overloaded
Define residential mobility and its link to prosocial behaviour
• People who have lived for a long time in one place are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviours that help their community
Define the bystander effect
the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them will help
(according to studies of Darley and Latané)
What is the first step of the bystander intervention model?
• Notice the event: too much stimuli in big cities (like New York) - difficult to notice all the situations around us
What is the second step of the bystander intervention model?
• Interpret the event as an emergency : tricky (we tend to check other people’s behaviour to see if it is urgent - informational social influence)
Define informational social influence
we tend to check other people’s behaviour to see if it is urgent -
Define pluralistic ignorance
In which step of the bystander intervention model it may happen?
when people think that others in their environment have information that they do not have and when they base their judgements on what they think the others are thinking
Interpret the event as an emergency
What is the third step of the bystander intervention model?
• Assume responsibility: we see diffusion of responsibility when there is a group around; the responsibility to help does not only fall on 1 person when there is a group around, therefore no one feels a strong need to help
Define the final step before intervention in the bystander intervention model
• Knowing how to help: people trained to help (medical professionals) are + likely to help, otherwise everyone is able to contact someone for help
Explain 2 ways to increase prosocial behaviour in children
- Reward prosocial acts with praise, smiles and hugs
* Behave prosocially to represent a model of those behaviours for the children
Name 2 ways to increase bystander intervention
- Teaching people about the bystander effect and determinants of prosocial behaviour
- Reduce diffusion of responsibility
- When in a crowd, point to one person and give specific instructions; YOU, CALL 911!
