Heroes Flashcards
altruism
actions that benefit another at a cost to oneself
kin selection theory
helping family or others that you share genes with because evolution is about preserving your DNA
reciprocal altruism and helping
help a stranger and maybe they will help you back
personality
a tendency (both biological and learned) to behave a certain way across time and space (interacts with social situation)
personality trait
an enduring aspect of a person’s character that manifests itself in behaviors, thoughts, and feelings (example - shyness is a behavioral tendency, not inside the person)
Fundamental Attribution Error
we overemphasize personality when explaining helping behavior; no personality trait for helping behavior; anyone has the potential to be a hero
interactionism
a person’s behavior depends on interactions between the person and the situation
strong social situation
(formal setting with expected behaviors) personality plays less of a role in behavior (interview, date)
weak social situation
(informal setting) personality plays more of a role
Hero (operational definition)
- a little deviant; 2. must overcome psychological and situational barriers; 3. know that helping involves risk to oneself (Darwin - altruists should die out); 4. need knowledge and training for the situation
Samuel Pearl Oliner study: Holocaust Rescuers; rescuers vs non-rescuers; found personality/situational differences
more likely to help IF: perceived similarity to victim (in-group helping) or received a direct request (often helped neighbors
common techniques to get compliance
public execution, execution of innocent family members or neighbors, torture and execution
you are also more likely to help if
your parents avoided physical punishment or explained punishment, emphasized moral responsibility, were good role models themselves, or if you have a higher level of dispositional empathy and willingness to accept responsibility for wellbeing of others
rescuers showed higher levels of extensivity, meaning
empathy and a sense of responsibility for all people; feeling of concern, attachment, connectedness, to other people; a sense of we-ness
non-rescuers (not bad people) are often biased in favor of ________ members
in-group
self-efficacy
sense of personal control; I can and must do this; deviance from group norms (sense of individuality - I’ll go my own way)
problems with Oliner’s Holocaust research
post-hoc analysis; rescuers were identified as altruistic heroes and then studied
Three reasons we don’t ask for help
- psychological reactance (loss of freedom or control); 2. violation of norm reciprocity (favors); 3. negative attributions (inferior, blow to self-esteem and status)
High self-esteem people are _____ willing to seek help than low self-esteem people. Introverted are _____ likely to seek help than extroverted people.
less
learned helplessness; research - students believing that intelligence is a skill that can be improved recover from failure better
giving up when we believe a problem is out of our control, or can’t receive reinforcement (if you try and fail, you might think it’s out of your hands)
college student preferences for seeking help
similar peer tutors (reasoning - I can get tips about exam questions and for self-improvement)
diffusion of responsibility; Darley and Latane cubicle study (confederate in other cubicle has seizure)
the more people are present in a situation, the less likely each of them is to help; 100% helped if they were alone, 81% if they were with 2 others, 62% if 6 others in a cubicle; personal responsibility decreases as number of people increase
When are people less likely to help?
diffusion of responsibility, ambiguous situations (social reality is unclear)
please watch my stuff beach study
94% of ss intervened if they were asked to watch the stuff, 20% if not asked
If authority is present, then people __________ to help
hesitate; trained 1st responders will help sooner because they’re more familiar with injuries and they give more effective types of help
Why is there less helping in big cities?
population density and stimulus overload; restrict attention to personally important environmental stimuli
Arousal/Cost-Reward Model of Helping (best empirical support)
- notice a need for help, 2. you get negative emotional arousal, 3. you weigh costs and benefits for helping (want to reduce negative emotions), 4. (if cost is low, then there is an increased chance that help will be offered) (the motivation for helping is to reduce negative arousal)
effects of mood on helping
good moods help us feel sympathy for others, helping is a way to prolong a good mood, good moods make us focus on our values and beliefs (help your neighbor); a sad mood might make you help to improve your mood
Batson’s Empathy Altruism Model
empathic concern can lead to true altruistic motivation to benefit other person; under difficult escape conditions, everyone helps; under “easy escape” conditions, only empathic concern subjects stay and help (costly to themselves)
Sibicky, Schroeder, Dovidio research on empathy and helping: considering the consequences of intervention
tested the assumption that empathy would lead people to consider the long-term consequences of their helping for the person in need; findings: empathy enhances sensitivity to the long-term needs of others, sometimes less help is more helpful
B.F. Skinner said,
“When you help a child by tying their shoe laces for them you deny them the opportunity to learn.”
gender differences (in types of helping, not in amount of helping)
men - more likely to help in heroic, chivalrous, grand, action-oriented ways; women - more likely to help in nurturing ways that involve talking, relationship intervention, or long-term commitment
