Helping Behavior Flashcards
Why were many people shocked when they heard of Kitty Genovese’s death?
People were shocked because out of the 38 witnesses, none of them called the police
Before someone can act in an emergency, he must first do what, and how does this relate to the presence of others?
They first must define the situation as an emergency requiring action on their part.
- When the situation is ambiguous they often look to others to see how they are reacting
What is everyone else doing? This results in what?
When you see that everyone is acting cool, you are fooled into thinking that no one else is concerned
- This results in pluralistic ignorance.
What did the smoke study find?
Smoke Study : Latane and Darley had people wait alone or in a three-person group for a study to begin; while waiting, smoke entered the room
What they found was that :
- When alone, 75% reported the smoke before the experiment was terminated after 6 minutes
- When in a group, in only 38% of the groups did any one of them report it, and the fastest was 4 minutes.
How did the falling woman study differ from the smoke study, in regard to the involvement of subjects?
There was no threat to self
Falling Woman Study :
- Woman fell out of chair and called for help from participants who were alone or in a 2 person group
What they found out was that :
- When alone, 70% of the subjects made some effort to help.
- In only 40% of the 2-person groups did either one make any effort to help and those in groups took longer to help.
In what important respect did the seizure study differ from the other two studies, that is relevant to the Kitty Genovese situation?
Diffusion of responsibility : when a person is alone, all of the responsibility for acting falls on that person.
- However, if you cannot see each other, you may not know if anyone else has acted.
How did Lerner explain this effect? What implications might this have for future helping behavior or aggression?
Lerner suggests that we may derogate the victim due to a Belief in a Just World.
- Good things only happen to good people, and bad things only happen to bad people
What is the difference between Altruism and Egotism as motivations?
(A & E)
Altruistic: Motivated by the desire to increase another’s welfare.
- If altruistic motive, help is given regardless of ease of escape.
Egoistic: Motivated by the desire to increase one’s own welfare.
- If egoistic motive, helping should decline when escape from the situation is easy.
What are the five steps to helping?
(N. I. TR. D. PH)
- Noticing
- Interpreting - Overcome pluralistic ignorance
- Taking Responsibility - Overcome diffusion of responsibility
- Deciding how to help
- Providing Help - Overcome audience inhibition
What explanation was offered for the seizure study?
Diffusion of responsibility
Are those who can’t help indifferent? Explain.
No they are not
Did Latane & Darley agree with the explanation given by others?
No; there are actually psychological factors in place rather than just apathy
