Problem 9 Prosocial Behaviour Flashcards
Prosocial behaviour
Acts that are positively valued by society
→voluntary, benefits others, defined by society norms
Helping behaviour
Acts that intentionally benefit about someone else
→subcategory of prosocial behaviour, has to be a direct person which you help
→can be antisocial e.g. overhelping
Whom do we help
• People tend to help younger an older people more than infants. They prefer 10 and 18 years old people
Empathy
Ability to feel another person’s experiences, identifying/experiencing other people’s emotions, thoughts and attitudes
Bystander-calculus model
Bystanders evaluate the costs and benefits of helping with those associate with not helping
o Personal costs of not helping: Failing to help can bring the bystander in plight as well (Piliavin)
o Empathy costs of not helping: Not helping a victim in destress can be costly for the bystander (e.g. experience blame) (Piliavin)
Learning by vicarious behaviour
Acquiring a behaviour after observing that another person was rewarded for it
Bystander intervention
This occurs when an bystander breaks out of his role and helps somebody in an emergency
Latane and Darleys cognitive model
- Attend to what happening 2. Define event as emergency 3. Assume responsibility 4. Decide what can be done -> giving help
the more people the slower the response
Mutualism
cooperative behaviour benefits the co-operator as well as others, a defector will do worse that a co-operator
Kin selection
those who cooperate are biased towards their blood relatives because it helps propagate their genes; the lack of benefit of the co-operator indicates altruism
Norms
o Reciprocity norm: we should help those who helped us
→ reciprocity principle: Try to gain compliance by doing someone a favour or helping them. (wie man in den wald rein ruft so kommt es auch wieder heraus)
o Social responsibility norm: States that we should help people who need it or are dependent.
Bystander effect
States that people are less likely to help when other persons are around which technically could help as well
→is stronger between strangers because their communication is slower
Autokinetic paradigm
Looking at other for guidance
Diffusion of responsibility
Tendency of an individual to assume that others will take responsibility (as a result nobody does), his is a hypothesis based on the bystanders effect
Fear of social blunders
The fear, to act unappropriated or making a foolish mistake, caused by others. The desire to avoid negative evaluation inhibits the effective response to an emergency by members of the group
Social influence
other onlookers provide a model for action
Bad mood
Concentrate on themselves on their own worries and problems (can lead to prosocial behaviour when its about combating injustice and promoting moral principles)
Social stereotypes
inhibit helping people from a certain stereotype (e.g. men don’t like to receive or even ask for help)
Commons dilemma
Social dilemma where cooperation by all benefits all and competition by all harms all
Giving instructions
encourage ps behaviour
simply telling children to be helpful to others works
Using reinforcement
encourage ps behaviour
Behaviour that is rewarded is more likely to be repeated and vice versa
Exposure to models
encourage ps behaviour
Modelling works so if a child sees a model helping somebody it is likely to reproduce this behaviour
encourage ps behaviour (media)
Prosocial music games series
Helpful Attributions
encourage ps behaviour
(might feel bad when you don’t fulfil your own attribution)
Distress cues
encourage ps behaviour
try to catch attention (e.g. screaming)
Good mood
encourage ps behaviour
not preoccupied with themselves and more sensitive for the needs of others
Physical characteristics
encourage ps behaviour
e.g. strength or height in a case of a crime
Psychological characteristics
encourage ps behaviour
Higher status, agreeable people
Attachment styles
encourage ps behaviour
Securely attached people are more prosocial
Urban overload (underload in this case) theory encourage ps behaviour
people from small-town background are likely to help
Competence
encourage ps behaviour
When you have knowledge how to handle a certain situation
Sexual arousal
encourage ps behaviour
Men are more likely to help women
Prior commitment
encourage ps behaviour
When you agree to be responsible when certain trouble occurs.
E.g. when committing yourself to protect the property of somebody for theft
Altruism
Is an act of helping somebody to benefit them without expecting a personal gain, can be costly (selfless)
Reciprocal altruism
When you help people you kind of expect some reparation not necessarily now but some day maybe
Nature-nurture controversy
Controversy about if whether human behaviour is influenced by genetic or the environment. Scientist generally accept that’s it a combination of both
Evolutionary social psychology
A part of social psychology which sees some behaviour as learned, helping the individual, kin and the species to survive.
Sociocultural theory
psychological gender differences are determined by individuals’ adaptions to restrictions based on their gender in their society. Also called Social role theory
Urban overload theory
In big citys you have so many arousals that you are overwhelmed and so more unlikely to help
Evolutionary perspective
You are more likely to help near family members (e.g. more likely to help sister than cousin) this is to protect your genes
Male helping behaviour
More heroic way
Female helping behaviour
more emotional way
pluralistic ignorance
If nobody does anything the situation cant be an emergency
