PSY2004 SEMESTER 1 - WEEK 10

Question 1

define prosocial behaviour

Answer 1

voluntary behaviour intended to benefit another eg; comforting, helping, sharing, providing helpful info

Question 2

define altruism

Answer 2

prosocial behaviour that is performed for unselfish motives (no benefit to self even in long run)

Question 3

outline how children address negative emotional states in others

Answer 3

rate with which child comfort others in pain/distress (not reacting with distress self) increases over their 2nd year
1-2 increasing shows comfort behaviour
3 years = reasoned responsiveness to distress

Question 4

outline how heritability/genetics may be able to account in individual difference of comforting in children

Answer 4

genetic factors have modest role
genes can influence neurohormonal system (affective response to other in distress)

Question 5

what emotion are those who are not overwhelmed by emotions they see then experience are more likely to feel, compared to those who are not overly inhibited (shy)

Answer 5

those not overwhelmed by emotions they see, then experience = more likely to feel sympathy
those not overly inhibited (shy) more likely to act on their sympathetic feeling

Question 6

if a child is struggling processing/acting on emotion, how may they present

Answer 6

showing no concern or comfort

Question 7

outline comforting and reassurence behaviours in chimps/bonobos

Answer 7

comfort and reassure, just later on in developments than humans

Question 8

define helping

Answer 8

addressing instrumental needs to achieve practical outcome

Question 9

what kinds of helping can be seen at 12 months (Liszkowski, 2008)

Answer 9

informative pointing to where objects are if adult didn’t see it
helping other achieve instrumental goal

Question 10

at what age is active assistance helping behaviours shown

Answer 10

18 months

Question 11

do chimps show helping behaivours

Answer 11

yes, if easily able to infer what others goal is, but some debate over chimp’s prosociality

Question 12

outline Pettygrove research on how caregivers can promote helping in 18/30months infant

Answer 12

ask to help mum clean up, behaviour recorded, child had chance to help another adult
found certain styles of behaviour predict likelihood of helping other adult
18months: directives important
30months: scaffolding, providing support to make their actions relevant in activities

Question 13

at 18months, what kind of caregiver behaviour is important to promote helping behaviour

Answer 13

directions (command/request)

Question 14

at 30months, what kind of caregiver behaviour is important to promote helping behaviour

Answer 14

scaffolding (providing support like emotional regulations, making childs action relevant in activity)

Question 15

what 3 approaches do not help in promoting helping at 18-30month

Answer 15

1. reasoning (explaining why need to tidy up, at 30months reasoning skills not yet developed)
2. praise (positive comments are too open-ended, but promotes self-esteem)
3. character attributions (promotes self-esteem, not helping behaviours)

Question 16

at what age do infants share attention?

Answer 16

6 months

Question 17

at what age do infants actively give object

Answer 17

9-10months
sets stage for notions of “mine” and “yours”

Question 18

at what age do infants start to share?

Answer 18

18 months (initially requiring heavy scaffolding, instruction, prompting)

Question 19

when does sharing behaviour become uncommon, despite previously being apparent

Answer 19

18months, but start to share again at 24months (quicker and often, need less prompts, are more generous)
dried by increases in social understanding

Question 20

explain reciprocity of helping

Answer 20

sharing resources with those who share with us

Question 21

explain indirect reciprocity in helping

Answer 21

sharing with those who we know share with other

Question 22

at what age do children become discerned about who should benefit from act of kindness

Answer 22

age 3, think people should prefer to share resources with family, friends and those who share with them, and others

Question 23

alongside direct/indirect helping behaviour reciprocity, what else do children show age 3

Answer 23

sacrifice resource to punish (game-based evidence)

Question 24

outline methodology of Blake & McAuliffe( 2015) study on fairness attitudes in child

Answer 24

2 children, 1 lever with a bowl in middle, different number of sweets on each trial
1 child pull lever: green means both get sweets (accept it as being equal), if pull red sweets go to middle bowl (reject, as see it as being unequal)

Question 25

outline results of Blake & McAuliffe( 2015) study on fairness attitudes in child, using levers and sweets, what did child do when perceiving disadvantageous inequity (you get less sweets)

Answer 25

more quick to reject the state of affairs

Question 26

outline results of Blake & McAuliffe( 2015) study on fairness attitudes in child, using levers and sweets, what did child do when perceiving equal distribution to advantageous inequity (you get more sweets)

Answer 26

more cultural variation
some still reject, as see as unfair (Canada, Uganda, USA)

Question 27

when does disadvantegous inequity aversion emerge (getting less than others)

Answer 27

emerges in all population by middle childhood

Question 28

when does advantegous inequity aversion emerge (getting more than others)

Answer 28

more variable and emerged in 3 populations, only later in development

Question 29

outline sharing behaviours in chimps/bonobos

Answer 29

female chimps shares food, more common for bonobo (voluntarily hand food to other)

Question 30

what is evidence of altruism behaviour in children (specifically for toddlers)

Answer 30

toddlers help others anonymously and help whether adult there to watch/not, or if familiar/not
even if they’re engaged in an interesting task of their own

Question 31

name the 4 motivational sources of prosociality

Answer 31

empathetic concern
gratitude and guilt
obligation
reward

Question 32

what is empathetic concern (a motivational source of prosociality)

Answer 32

sincere concern for others wellbeing

Question 33

how can gratitude/guilt sustain prosocial motivations

Answer 33

gratitude sustains prosocial interactions, reinforce reciprocity
guilt motivates repairing ruptured social relation

Question 34

how can obligation be a motivational source of prosociality

Answer 34

commitments create sense of social obligation, norms create expectation of altruistic behaviour

Question 35

what is the impact of material reward on altruism (Warneken & Tomasello studied this in toddlers)

Answer 35

when infants helped, adults either gave material reward, praise (verbal reward), or responded neutrally (no rewards)
infant given an opportunity for more helping
found those in reward condition less likely, and praise didn’t function as a verbal reward
important intrinsic motivation in altruistic actions

Question 36

what is the point of view that altruistic behaviours are an innate tendency

Answer 36

infants display helping behaviours from early on-development, extrinsic motivation inhibits helping and also chimps help other when is easy to infer goals

Question 37

what is the point of view that altruistic behaviours are NOT an innate tendency

Answer 37

early helping can be explained by motivation for social interaction rather than altruism