Pro Social Behaviour Flashcards
Sudan 1993
- Kevin Carter was preparing to photograph a starving toddler trying to reach a feeding centre when a vulture landed nearby
- he waited 20 minutes to see if the vulture would flare its wings. He finally took a picture and then chased off the vulture
- however, he came under criticism for failing to help the boy
- sold to New York Times, the photograph first appeared March 26, 1993
- hundreds of people contacted the newspaper to ask the fate of the boy
- the paper reported that it was unknown whether she had managed to reach the feeding center `
why do we help
- prosocial behaviour: positive social actions intended to help others
- egotistic models: when behaviours are done for selfish reasons
- altruistic models: when behaviours are done for selfless reasons
egotistic model: negative relief model
- “something in it for me”
- we provide help to relieve our own negative reaction to thinking another’s pain
- empathy: having compassion for another, seeing the world through another’s eyes
- internal discomfort/negative reaction occurs first and then relieve that state through empathy
egoistic model: cost benefit analysis model
- we are more inclined to help others when it will help us well
- we weight others needs with our own. If helping “costs” too much, we won’t
- this includes not only our effort, but also potential negative consequences
- further, we consider the type of rewards we may achieve by helping
altruistic models: empathy-altruism model of prosocial behaviour
- some argue that there is no “true” self less help, while others contend that this can occur
- we are more likely to help others whose welfare is threatened
- this can occur even when there are great costs to the helping person
- people will help those in need if they feel nurturing feelings forward them, even in the absence of any selfish motivations
norms based theory
2 social “rules” for when people behaving in prosocial ways
1) reciprocity norm:
- we help others who have helped us
- even in babies there seems to be an instinctive drive to “repay” a favour (babies smile back when you smile at them)
- people expect that those for whom they do a favour will do a favour when requested
2) social responsibility norm:
- prosocial behaviour can be inspired by pressure from society and its members
- cultural norms influence our likelihood to help
- there are societies more prosocial than others and societies less prosocial than others
evolutionary reasons
we behave in prosocial ways to promote the survival of our genes
- kin selection:
we are more likely to help close relatives, even when the cost is great
promotes reproductive success of our own genetic line
- reciprocal altruism
helping others (even if not related) increases chances they’ll help us or kin in return
when do we help
The Case of Kitty Genovese (Darley and Latane)
- Catherine “kitty” Genovese was raped and stabbed to death
- 38 people had witnessed some or all of the attack, which took place in 2 or 3 distinct episodes over a period of about 30 mins - yet no one did anything to stop it
- no one even reported it to the police until she was already dead
- although the murder itself was tragic, the nation was even more outraged that so many people who could have helped seemingly displayed callous indifference
- so, the failure of bystanders to intervene became know as “kitty Genovese Syndrome”
- social psychologists call it the “bystander effect”
other examples of the bystander effect
Sandra Zahler 1974
- fashion model beaten to death by her boyfriend
- screams and cry’s were heard
- one witness in the apartment building thought the superintendent would investigate
James Bulger and the “Liverpool 38” in 1993
- 2 year old boy led away by 12 year old boys
- several bystanders suspicious of young boy being led away by older boys
Deletha Word in 1995
- Brooklyn Bridge - rear ended a man and he got mad
- went over to her and chased her with a crow bar
- several witnessed watched her beaten and jump from the bridge
the 5 step decision model of bystander intervention (Darley and Latane)
1) notice the emergency
- can be effected by personal life concerns and proximity to the event
- eg. hear someone scream
- potential obstacles - attention drawn elsewhere, distracted
2) interpret the need for help
- eg. screamer is scared, not happy
- potential obstacles - ambiguous situation, pluralistic ignorance
- pluralistic ignorance - if nobody else helps, we might believe help is not needed
- Latance and Darley (1986) “smoke filled room study”
3) feel a sense of responsibility
- eg. “I might be the only person who can save them”
- potential obstacle - bystander effect: the more people present, the more we experience a diffusion of responsibility
- passing the buck - passing responsibility on to next witness
- more likely to help if alone
- Latane and Darley (1968) intercom study
4) decide how to help
- do we know what is needed and are we capable of providing it
- eg. should I call 911
- if we feel competent to help, we are more likely to do so - self efficacy
- potential obstacles - don’t know how to help
5) provide help
- help in a way that does not compromise your own safety
- Good Samaritan Laws
using the 5 steps to help
- by reducing ambiguity, we can make steps 1 and 2 easier to get through
- select a specific person to ask for help - overcomes bystander effect and gets passed stage 3
what are other influences on helping
mood:
- being in a good mood increases the chance if prosocial behaviour
- the mood can increase self awareness
- we match our actions with our actual self
attractiveness:
- we are more likely to help attractive people
no tome pressure
- help more when we’re not in a rush
similarity:
- we are more likely to help those similar to ourselves
- similarity = attraction?
race:
- ingroup/outgroup
- could be seen as a threat if different race
mimicry:
- acting the same way that others do
- more prosocial behaviour is demonstrated toward those who mimic our actions
modeling:
- when we observe other people (family, peers, role models) behave prosocial, we are likely to as well
altruistic personality:
- 5 traits that correlate with prosocial behaviour
- individual differences in behaviour
1. empathy
2. internal locus of control
3. belief in a just world
4. a sense of social responsibility
5. low egocentrism
how can we increase prosocial behaviour
- prosocial TV shows for kids
- increase helping behaviour
- decrease aggression
- help reduce stereotype
- teach good “citizenship” in classrooms
- attributions
- if we feel the help is needed because of situations out of a person’s control, we are more likely to act prosocial
- education
- enlightenment effect - learning about barriers to prosocial behaviour helps remove the,
