Helping others Flashcards
Define prosocial behaviour
Voluntary acts that are positively valued by society with positive social consequences
Define helping behaviour
A subcategory of prosocial behaviour that is intentional and aimed at helping others
Define altruism
A subcategory of prosocial behaviour. A good behaviour without expectation of personal gain. Also can be costly and should show selflessness
What are the two biological/evolutionary explanations for helping others
Kin selection
Reciprocal altruism
Explain the kin selection theory of helping others
Preferential helping of genetic relative
Results in the greater likelihood that common genes will survive
Explain the reciprocal altruism theory of helping others
Involves helping another despite immediate risk/cost
Become more likely to receive help in return
What are some problems around evolutionary theories of helping behaviour
Difficulty in demonstrate causal relationships.
Although we are more likely to help kin, we help others as well.
Difficulty explaining helping a complete stranger.
Define empathy
Understanding or vicariously experiencing another individual’s perspective and feeling sympathy and compassion for that individual
Where has empathy been found besides adult humans
Animals and children
Briefly describe the negative state relief model
Helping makes us feel good
People feeling bad will help others to feel better
We help to reduce the negative feelings
What did Batson say about altruism
True altruism only happens if people help when they’re not troubled by seeing the victim and when people can easily not help (e.g. escaping or slip off)
What did Cialdinin say about altruism
We help for selfish reasons
Explain Cialdinis reinterpretation of the empathy-altruism relationship
Cialdini argued you need to look at all these egoistic motivators together, not just one at a time, and empathy is due to oneness. Looking at the relationship between empathy and helping, when considering egoistic motives: distress, sadness, oneness. No relationship when all are taken into account.,
Name the 3 processes responsible for reluctance to help as a bystander
Diffusion of responsibility
Audience inhibition
Social influence
Explain the diffusion of responsibility process of the bystander effect
Tendency of an individual to assume that others will take responsibility (as a result, no one does).
Explain Audience inhibition process of the bystander effect
The dread of acting inappropriately or of making foolish mistake witnessed by others. The desire to avoid ridicule inhibits effective responses to an emergency by members of a group.
Explain Social influence process of the bystander effect
Other onlookers provide a model for action. If they are passive and unworried, the situation may seem less serious. The communication channel implies that the individual can see the other, but not vice versa
What are the 5 barriers of the bystander effect
Notice the event
Interpret the event as emergency
Assume personal responsibility
Know how to help
Implement the help
Why do good moods increase helping
Individuals may be less preoccupied with the self, more sensitive to the needs of others
Why could bad moods decrease helping
Individuals could be more focused on their own issues, less concerned with the welfare of others
Why could good moods increase helping
Negative state relief model.
Helping others also leads to feeling better.
Define Personal Relative Deprivation (PRD)
Dissatisfaction and resentment stemming from the belief that one is deprived of desire and deserved outcomes compared to some referent
Explain the process of Personal relative deprivation (PRD)
Adverse social comparison –> Perceived unfairness –> angered resentment
Which attachment style s more compassionate and as a result more likely to help others
Securely attached people
what personality traits make a person more likely to help others
Being from a small town as oppossed to big city
Competence
Leadership
Why does competence incease likelihood of helping others
Competence means having the skills to help others, increasing likelihood of helping, for example knowing first aid. Additionally knowing what to do instills a sense of responsibility to help
Why does leadership increase likelihood to help
Being a leader comes with more responsibility
How do individuals judge whether someone deserves or doesnt desere our help
If the situation is uncontrollable and they are not responsible for the situation, helping is more likely
If the situation is controllable and they are responsible for the situation, helping is less likely.
