lecture 6

Question 1

when is dehumanization more likely?

Answer 1

when we are strong committed to a group

(ex. political party, ethnic group, sports team, gender, university)

Question 2

what is the paradox of social inclusion

Answer 2

we engage in social exclusion of others in order to protect our own sense of inclusion

Question 3

T/F student study shows that we are more likely to dehumanize someone (non-US citizen) when they’re not sitting next to a friend

Answer 3

false: more likely to dehumanize when sitting next to a friend

emphasizing group identity -> friendship -> activated the “us” vs “them” schema -> aggression increased

Question 4

how do we reverse dehumanization?

Answer 4

humanizing
empathy
relating
expanding our definitions of “in-group”
focus on similarities between groups

Question 5

what is out group homogeneity

Answer 5

• everyone in the outgroup is “the same”
• makes it easier to dehumanize the whole group
• finding common ground and combatting perceptions of out-group homogeneity can reduce dehumanization

Question 6

what is the identifiable victim effect

Answer 6

technique of persuasion describes the likelihood that we feel greater empathy

Question 7

“the death of a single russian soldier is a tragedy. the death of a million soldiers is a statistc”

Answer 7

jospeh stalin

Question 8

what is face-to-face communication and it’s implications

Answer 8

it’s easier to dehumanize people who are not directly in front of us

face-to-face communication leads to greater resolution between those in conflict

Question 9

T/F forgiveness reduce aggression

Answer 9

True: even imagining forgiveness can lead to improved conflict resolution

Question 10

define altruism

Answer 10

selfless behaviour that benefits others without regard to personal consequences

Question 11

3 motives for helping

Answer 11

1.) Social reward (selfish)
2.) Reduce personal distress (selfish)
3.) Empathetic concern (selfless)

Question 12

empathetic concern traits:

Answer 12

• fast
• intuitive
• selfless
• pure altruism

Question 13

how can generating empathetic concern be a solution to world peace?

Answer 13

look at past situations where empathic concern has been witnessed and try to learn about how it came to be (ex. WWII)

Question 14

“Righteous Among Nations” criteria

Answer 14

• helping a family member doesn’t count
• helping a jewish person convert to Christianity did not count
• assistance had to be substantial (without expectation of reward)

Question 15

common theme of real life “heroes”

Answer 15

• altruism + compassion had always been family values
• altruism was explicitly discussed as a virtue/family value

Question 16

what are the situational determinants of altruism

Answer 16

• time and resources
• presence of others

Question 17

the good samaritan study

Answer 17

• participants = seminary students
• invited to give a speech to students
• speech was randomly assigned as “The Good Samaritan Story” or “Jobs for Seminary Students”
• conditions = ample time, small time crunch, already late for the speech
• participants were to walk across campus to get to the room where they would give the speech
• would encounter a man in distress needing help

will the speech topic influence who helps?
does the time available condition influence who helps?

RESULTS:
- speech topic did not make a difference, time dud
- those not in a rush were 6x more likely to help

Question 18

what reduces helping behaviour in the presence of strangers?

Answer 18

• diffusion of responsibility
• anonymity
• costs and benefits
• social blunders due to ambiguity/uncertainty (is helping the right response?)

avoiding social blunders is the strongest reason (results from pluralistic ignorance)

Question 19

if you are in need of help, what should you do?

Answer 19

• make it very clear ex. “help, i’ve fallen and i can’t get up”
• pick out a specific individual and ask them for help

Question 20

stereotypes and prejudice can serve as ___ that influence the likelihood of offering help to others in need

Answer 20

construals

Question 21

Brian Sinclair case

Answer 21

• 45 yr/o indigenous man in Winnipeg
• waited in the ER room for 34 hours and no one helped him
• fell unconscious and died and still received no help
• hospital staff assumed he was drunk and sleeping it off in the ER
• never examined by medical staff
• he vomited and urinated, cleaning staff were notified and yet no one helped

construals in play:
- homelessness and social class
- race
- substance abuse
- disability

Question 22

individuals in rural areas are ___ likely to help strangers than those in urban communities

Answer 22

MORE likely

the greater the population, the less helping behaviour

lights, sounds, navigating people and cars makes people more self-focused therefore greater diffusion of responsibility

larger cities have more diversity, people are more likely to help those who are similar

Question 23

Priming study

Answer 23

• participants either saw religious or neutral words
• gave them a chance to share $10 with a stranger
• religion prime more likely to give half than neutral prime

Question 24

what is the panopticon effect

Answer 24

creates the feeling of being watched

Question 25

what is one of the most difficult human behaviours for evolutionary theory to explain

Answer 25

altruism

Question 26

what are the theories for altruism from an evolutionary theory perspective

Answer 26

1.) kin selection (if we are helping or kin, - genetic relatives - it’s worth the risk)
2.) reciprocity (trying to explain why we help non-kin) (cooperation, reciprocal altruism [helping others with the expectation they will help you], social rewards)

no explanation is completely altruism. maybe we see everyone as our kin?