Section 9: Prosocial Behavior Flashcards
What is the difference between prosocial and pure altruism?
- Prosocial: action intended to benefit another
Internal reward, External reward (extra credit) - Pure altruism: action intended to benefit another but this action is for no other reason but to improve someone else’s welfare without thinking about the possible rewards
-Evolutionary reasons: Two ways get genetic carried on maximize genetic success and survival of own genes to carry on
- Protecting our Kin: promote survival of genetics even if we die in our efforts to help them
- Inclusive fitness: our genes survive in offspring and any relatives that we help
Research evidence: High related to parents, kids more likely to help and if not related to at all less likely to help, and more likely to help young healthy relatives than older sickly relatives
Emotional Reasons as to why we help others:
-helps reduces our own negative emotions and distress
• Arousal/cost-reward model:
Observation of another in clear need of aid –>Increased negative emotional arousal(stress) –> Increased chance that help will occur
• Especially likely to help under 3 conditions:
- Arousal is strong: how badly you feel for them
- “We connection”: any connection such as a relationship (family, cousin), or any connection (same hair color, similar personality, attitudes, familiarity)
- The cost is small and the rewards are large: reducing negative feeling reduces costs and large rewards
Empathy – altruism hypothesis (Batson, 1991):
-truly altruistic helping for actions that emerge from feeling empathy, complex psychological phenomenon with 2 components: cognitive and emotional
- 1. Cognitive component of empathy: think about what is their perspective
• Perspective taking: using power of imagination to put you in someone else’s shoes
- 2. Emotional components of empathy
• Personal distress: self-oriented reaction, alarmed, troubled, or upset
• Empathic concern: other oriented responses, sympathy, compassion, tenderness, more about them compared to self
Results of Empathy experiment:
Most empathy to someone more similar
After 2 trials, she was thrown off a horse into fence and was distressed, and asked the participant to replace her as the shock subject instead
-High empathic and similar = more likely to help
-Low empathic and easy escape = more likely to leave
-Low empathic and difficult to escape = more likely to help
True altruism: empathy for another person, only if you have an easy escape out of situation
• Social responsibility norm:
expectation in society that someone is dependent on us and we help in return
Latane and Darley = 5 step model
Step 1: Notice that something is happening
Step 2: Interpret event as an emergency: asking if they really need help?
Step 3: Take responsibility for providing help
Step 4: Decide how to help
Step 5: Provide help
Step 1: Obstacles =
Obstacles: Distraction, Self-Concern
Good Samaritan study
Step 2: Obstacles:
-Ambiguity of situation: is she really sick?
Interpretation of relationship between attacker and victim
Pluralistic ignorance: no one else is worried
Step 3: Obstacle:
-diffusion of responsibility if others are around, share responsibility = leads to bystander effect multiple bystanders that can also step up (someone else did it)
Step 4: Obstacles:
Perceived lack of competence: I am not trained to handle this, and who would you call?
Step 5: Obstacles
-Audience inhibition: I’ll look like a fool
Costs exceed rewards: What if I do something wrong? He’ll sue me!
Latane and Darley 1968 epilepsy study: bystander effect and diffusion on responsibility
group discussion of problems of college life, individual telephone booths
IV:2 people or multiple people on phone
DV: Measure on helping behavior
Results: Alone=83% went to help, 2 or 5 other bystanders= 31-62% went to help, more people = helping behavior dropped
