Paper 2 Review Flashcards
pro-social behavior
behavior that benefits another person or has positive social consequences
altruism
helping a person for no reward, and even at some cost to oneself
Prisoner’s Dilemma Study date
Axelrod and Hamilton, 1981
Prisoner’s Dilemma Study method
two individuals play a game where if they both do not confess they are rewarded. If they both cooperate, then neither get a big payoff. But if only one confesses, then they get more than the other person
Prisoner’s Dilemma Study findings
when players play 1 round, they are more likely to cooperate to increase their own survival. But when multiple rounds are played, they eventually respond by mimicking their opponent’s last move
Prisoner’s Dilemma Study conclusion
they may mimic the last move because they learn that their behavior will be reciprocated, i.e. they are nice to gain something (pro-social)
empathy altruism
when people see someone suffering they experience 1 of 2 emotions:
- personal distress: anxiety or fear, which leads to egoistic helping
- empathy concerns: sympathy or compassion, which leads to altruism
egoistic helping
weighing the costs and benefits of helping (pro-social behavior)
Carol Study date
Batson, 1981
Carol Study method
students listened to an interview of a student named Carol who had broken her leg in a car accident and needed the class notes. Some groups were told to focus on Carol’s feelings (empathy) and within those groups people were told that Carol would return to class, while others were told she wouldn’t (cost)
Carol Study findings
high empathy groups helped no matter the cost. low empathy groups only helped if cost of not helping was high
Carol Study conclusion
confirms that behavior based on empathy is unselfish, i.e. altruistic
Evolutionary (biological) explanations for altruism
reciprocal altruism theory: based on the idea that it may be beneficial to an animal’s survival to behave altruistically if there is an expectation that the favor will be returned in the future
Prisoner’s Dilemma Study evaluation
it is questionable whether animal behavior can be generalized to humans, specifically because humans are influenced by culture and conscious thought; does not explain altruistic acts that do not benefit our kin or occur without expectations of reciprocity
psychological explanations for altruism
empathy altruism
Carol Study evaluation
research supports this model; only short term altruism has been tested; personality factors have not been taken into account; difficult to measure levels of empathy; does not explain if empathy is biological based or learned
Cross Cultural Pen study date
Levine
Cross Cultural Pen study aim
to determine how many passing pedestrians would help a neatly dressed college age male pick up his dropped pen
Cross Cultural Pen study methods
the experimenter would reach into his pocket while walking and “accidentally” drop his pen
Cross Cultural Pen study findings
there were definite differences between cultures; worldwide, Latin American cities were the most helpful
Cross Cultural Children study date
Graves and Graves, 1985
Cross Cultural Children study
helping was least likely in communities where children had completed school and didn’t have many chores; caring for younger children provides an opportunity for pro-social behavior for modeling and social norms
culture on pro-social behavior
research supports the idea that culture plays a role in one’s likelihood to help in some situations
social identity theory
personal identity involves personal accomplishments; we are more likely to help people of our own ethnic groups
