Lesson 7 - Altruism and Prosocial Behaviours

Question 1

Altruism

Answer 1

Acting to help someone else at some cost to oneself.
- Can include a vast range of behaviours, from sacrificing one’s life to save others, to giving money to charity or volunteering, to simply waiting a few seconds to hold the door open for a stranger.
- Behaving altruistically is a form of prosocial behaviour

Question 2

Prosocial Behaviour

Answer 2

Voluntary behaviour intended to benefit another.

Question 3

Social Guilt

Answer 3

Some argue that altruism and prosocial in general only occur due to social debt (guilt)

Question 4

Social Exchange Theory

Answer 4

Weighing up the cost-benefit of the action. Our social behaviour is an exchange process, the aim of which is to maximise benefits and minimize costs.

Question 5

Social learning (Socialization)

Answer 5

We believe that we have to help because we have been socialised to do so, though norms presented to us regarding how we ought to behave. Through socialization, we learn the reciprocity norm.

Question 6

Reciprocity Norms

Answer 6

An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

Question 7

Social Responsibility Norms

Answer 7

The idea that we should help those who need our help- even if the cost outweighs the benefits. It is a focal point when teaching children morals and values important to be a part of society.

Question 8

Burnout

Answer 8

Feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, a lack of personal accomplishment, and a manifest inability to cope with even basic, ongoing demands in the work environment.

Question 9

I/O Psychologists

Answer 9

Focus on the behaviour of employees in the workplace. They apply psychological principles and research methods to improve the work environment, including performance, communication, professional satisfaction and safety.