Prosocial Behavior

Question 1

prosocial behavior

Answer 1

acts that are positively valued by society

Question 2

helping behavior

Answer 2

acts that intentionally benefit someone else

Question 3

altruism

Answer 3

special form of helping behavior, sometimes costly, that shows concern for fellow human beings & is performed without expectation of personal gain

Question 4

mutualism

Answer 4

cooperative behavior benefits cooperate as well as others

Question 5

kin selection

Answer 5

cooperator biased towards their own genes; lack of benefit to cooperator indicates altruism

Question 6

empathy

Answer 6

identifying with and experiencing another person’s emotions, thoughts, attitudes

Question 7

empathy costs of not helping

Answer 7

failing to help can cause distress to a bystander who empathizes with a victim’s plight

Question 8

personal costs of not helping

Answer 8

not helping a victim in distress can be costly to a bystander (e.g. experiencing blame)

Question 9

empathic concern

Answer 9

in contrast to personal distress (may lead us to flee from situation), it includes feelings of warmth, being soft-hearted & having compassion for a person in need

Question 10

reciprocal altruism

Answer 10

helping with the expectation to get something back

Question 11

perspective taking

Answer 11

being able to see the position of another person

Question 12

learning by vicarious experience

Answer 12

acquiring a behavior after observing that another person was rewarded for it
–> social learning theory

Question 13

just-world hypothesis

Answer 13

people need to believe that the world is a just place where everyone gets what they deserve

Question 14

bystander intervention

Answer 14

occurs when an individual breaks to of the role of a bystander & helps another person in an emergency

Question 15

bystander effect

Answer 15

people are less likely to help in an emergency the greater the number of people around them is

Question 16

diffusion of responsibility

Answer 16

we assume that others will take responsibility –> no one does; this is a hypothesized cause of the bystander effect

Question 17

social responsibility norm

Answer 17

idea that we should help people who are dependent & in need

Question 18

fear of social blunders

Answer 18

dread of acting inappropriately or of making a foolish mistake witnessed by others

Question 19

pluralistic ignorance

Answer 19

bystanders looking at each other to see how they should react

Question 20

bystander calculus model

Answer 20

in attending to an emergency, the bystander calculates the perceived costs/benefits of proving help compared with those associated with no helping

Question 21

emergency situation

Answer 21

often involves an unusual event, varies in nature, is unplanned & requires a quick response

Question 22

prior commitment

Answer 22

when promised to help in advance