Reflexive and Strategic Altruism

Question 1

Two definitions of Altruism

Answer 1

• Behaviour that promotes someone else’s welfare, even at a risk or cost to outselves
• any form of helping/cooperative behaviour
• Behaviour that is motivated by the “goal of increasing another’s welfare”
• not motivated by some underlying selfish goal

Question 2

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

Answer 2

empathy —> truly altruistic motive (to improve the welfare of the person in need —> prosocial behaviour

• empathy leads to increased helping (truly altruistic motives) even when it would not be easy to help

Question 3

Reflexive altruism

Answer 3

• prosocial behaviour often arises from intuitive, system 1 preferences
• intuitive model of prosociality
• “thoughtless” acts of real-life heroism

Question 4

“Thoughtless” acts of real-life heroism

Answer 4

• Carnegie Hero Fund: risking their lives to save the lives of others
• “I think it was just instict”

Question 5

Happiness and helping

Answer 5

• when people are happy, they are more helpful
• uses fast thinking (system 1)

Question 6

The bystander effect

Answer 6

• people trying to figure out if they should help or not + “are other people helping?”
• makes people reflective of situation
• uses slow thinking (system 2)

Question 7

Strategic altruism

Answer 7

• helping benefits helpers
• people may help more when they perceive greater personal benefits of doing so

Question 8

Three illustrative lines of research

Answer 8

1. Liking
2. Mating
3. Mood management

Question 9

Liking

Answer 9

• helpful people liked by others and obtain social rewards
  Implication: people strategically engage in altruistic behaviour when they believe other people are aware of their actions
• when “eyes” are “watching” them = more likely to give money

Question 10

Mating

Answer 10

• helpful people are more desirable mates
  Implication: people strategically engage in altruistic behaviour when motivated to impress potential mates
• mating motives temporarily aroused = express greater willingness to do helpful things/more inclined to spend money in altruitic ways (charity)
• men: heroic motives
• women: genuinely helpful motives

Question 11

Mood management

Answer 11

• it feels good to act altruistically
• helping others makes oneself feel better
  Implication: people in negative mood SOMETIMES strategically engage in altruistic behaviour to eliminate that negative mood state
• only sometimes because it could be costly to help others —> can just watch funny video to feel better

Question 12

Does sad mood always lead to increased altruistic behaviour?

Answer 12

• not if mood is perceived to be unchangeable
• not if there are other easier ways to improve mood

Question 13

An alternative interpretation of the “empathy — altruism” evidence

Answer 13

empathy for a person in need —> sad mood —> non-altruistic motive to help that person (To improve own mood) —> Altruistic behaviour

• helping to improve own mood = not true altruistic behaviour

Question 14

Does empathy lead to increased altruistic behaviour?

Answer 14

• not if empathic person perceives their mood to be unchangeable
• not if there are other easier ways to improve mood

Question 15

3 markers that support an intuitive model of prosociality

Answer 15

1. Behavioural signs of automaticity
2. Neural signatures of values
3. Early development

Question 16

1. Behavioural signs of automaticity

Answer 16

• people make prosocial decisions more quickly than selfish ones
• e.g. time pressure or distractions

Question 17

2. Neural signatures of values

Answer 17

the pursuit of rewarding goals such as food or money = prototypical behaviour that often does not require control (prefrontal cortex & anterior cingulate cortex)

prosocilaity as a form of reward seeing-impulse
- ventral stratum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (brain reward system)
- even if they incur personal costs, reward-related brain regoins are activated when people donate money or make costly prosocial choices

Question 18

3. Early development

Answer 18

emerges in early life before children develop ability to exert significant control over their actions

by 18 months, children begin to spontaneously help others

rewarding prosocial behaviour can have a negative effect, reducing children’s subsequent willingness to help (intuitive)
- “overjustification”

Question 19

Prosocial spending & happiness

Answer 19

people who spend money on others report more happiness

Question 20

Benefits most likely to emerge when giving satisfies 1 or more human needs:

Answer 20

1. Relatedness
2. Competence
3. Autonomy

Question 21

Capacity to derive joy from giving might be a universal feature of human psychology

Answer 21

• more than 20% of SAfricans reported not having enough money to buy food for themselves BUT still gift candy to sick children in hospitals

Question 22

1. Relatedness

Answer 22

helping others may be most emotionally rewarding when it satisfied the fundamental need for social connection

when it gives them opportunity to connect with others

Question 23

2. Competence

Answer 23

prosocial spending most likely to satisfy the need for competence if people can see how generous actions have made a difference
- when charities share their accomplishments from donations

Question 24

3. Autonomy

Answer 24

emotional benefits of prosocial spending is stronger when people feel their actions are freely chosen

Question 25

Emotional and physical vitality

Answer 25

prosocial giving = better overall health