Essay Flashcards
To what extent can biological theories explain prosocial behaviour?
Prosocial behaviour is any form of behaviour that is beneficial to another person or society as a whole. Prosocial behaviour includes altruism, a form of helping behaviour that is based on the donor (helper) giving help to the recipient (person receiving the help) for no expected gain and at some risk to themselves. In other words, altruism is an act of selfless helping behaviour that may cause the donor some inconvenience or put them in some danger. Biological psychologists argue that altruism stems from evolutionary drives (e.g. sex, survival, food), while others claim cognitive or sociocultural reasons for altruism. Batson believes that altruism depends on the degree of empathy the donor feels for the recipient.
The connection between selfish gene theory and kin selection theory
One evolutionary biological theory of prosocial behaviour is based on Dawkins’ (1976) selfish gene theory. His theory states that there is a purpose behind the behaviours or characteristics that are selected for continuation – and those which are rejected as unfit for purpose. Dawkins’ theory claims that a seemingly selfless altruistic act can be viewed in terms of how beneficial it is to the survival of a particular set of genes, and therefore a particular family and ultimately a particular species, rather than how much it helps another person or group.
Kin Selection theory states that the closer the relative is to an individual in terms of their genetic relationship, then the more likely it is that an altruistic act will take place, in order, again to ensure the survival of a particular set of genes.
Empathy-altruism theory
Cognitive theories are based on the idea that mood or state of mind can influence the degree of help given to another person. These theories operate at the level of conscious thought rather than as evolutionary, biological drives. One such theory is the empathy-altruism hypothesis (Batson, 1981), based on the notion that acts of altruism are not necessarily motivated by a selfless desire to help someone in need. Batson proposed that an egoistic motivation may underlie some acts of altruism: help is given not out of a genuine feeling of empathy for the person in need but to alleviate the donor’s distress or discomfort.
Discuss/ Explain theories of bystanderism
Bystanderism is defined as a phenomenon in which an individual is less likely to help another individual in an emergency situation when there are other people, or passive bystanders, watching, this was theorized by Darley and Latane (1968). The theory of bystanderism emerged after the case of Kitty Genovese in New York City in 1964. She was a victim who was attacked, stabbed, and raped several times by an unidentified person. After the incident numerous witnesses told that they had either heard screaming or saw a man attacking a woman. None of these witnesses intervened or called the cops until it was too late. The people thought they should stay out of it for personal protection and speculated that another passer by might help her. This situation caused psychologists to investigate what influences people to help or to not help another in an emergency situation. The two studies that would be discussed to prove this learning outcome are Latane and Darley (1968) and Pillavin et al. (1969).
