NOBA helping and prosocial behavior

Question 1

Agreeableness

Answer 1

A core personality trait that includes such dispositional characteristics as being sympathetic, generous, forgiving, and helpful, and behavioral tendencies toward harmonious social relations and likeability.

Question 2

Altruism

Answer 2

A motivation for helping that has the improvement of another’s welfare as its ultimate goal, with no expectation of any benefits for the helper.

Question 3

Arousal: cost–reward model

Answer 3

An egoistic theory proposed by Piliavin et al. (1981) that claims that seeing a person in need leads to the arousal of unpleasant feelings, and observers are motivated to eliminate that aversive state, often by helping the victim. A cost–reward analysis may lead observers to react in ways other than offering direct assistance, including indirect help, reinterpretation of the situation, or fleeing the scene.

Question 4

Bystander intervention

Answer 4

The phenomenon whereby people intervene to help others in need even if the other is a complete stranger and the intervention puts the helper at risk.

Question 5

Cost–benefit analysis

Answer 5

A decision-making process that compares the cost of an action or thing against the expected benefit to help determine the best course of action.

Question 6

Diffusion of responsibility

Answer 6

When deciding whether to help a person in need, knowing that there are others who could also provide assistance relieves bystanders of some measure of personal responsibility, reducing the likelihood that bystanders will intervene.

Question 7

Egoism

Answer 7

A motivation for helping that has the improvement of the helper’s own circumstances as its primary goal.

Question 8

Empathy–altruism model

Answer 8

An altruistic theory proposed by Batson (2011) that claims that people who put themselves in the shoes of a victim and imagining how the victim feel will experience empathic concern that evokes an altruistic motivation for helping.

Question 9

Kin selection

Answer 9

According to evolutionary psychology, the favoritism shown for helping our blood relatives, with the goals of increasing the likelihood that some portion of our DNA will be passed on to future generations.

Question 10

Negative state relief model

Answer 10

An egoistic theory proposed by Cialdini et al. (1982) that claims that people have learned through socialization that helping can serve as a secondary reinforcement that will relieve negative moods such as sadness.

Question 11

Other-oriented empathy

Answer 11

A component of the prosocial personality orientation; describes individuals who have a strong sense of social responsibility, empathize with and feel emotionally tied to those in need, understand the problems the victim is experiencing, and have a heightened sense of moral obligations to be helpful.

Question 12

Pluralistic ignorance

Answer 12

Relying on the actions of others to define an ambiguous need situation and to then erroneously conclude that no help or intervention is necessary.

Question 13

Prosocial behavior

Answer 13

Social behavior that benefits another person.

Question 14

Prosocial personality orientation

Answer 14

A measure of individual differences that identifies two sets of personality characteristics (other-oriented empathy, helpfulness) that are highly correlated with prosocial behavior.

Question 15

Reciprocal altruism

Answer 15

According to evolutionary psychology, a genetic predisposition for people to help those who have previously helped them.