W8.a

Question 1

The three characteristics people depend on to help

Answer 1

Recipient characteristics
Helper characteristics
Situation/context characteristics

Question 2

What is prosocial behaviour?

Answer 2

Behavior intended to help someone else

Question 3

What is Altruism?

Answer 3

Prosoical behaviour without any prospect of personal rewards for the helper (or with clear costs to the helper)

Question 4

What is Egoism?

Answer 4

Behaviour motivated by the desire to obtain personal rewards

Including positive feelings about having helped

Question 5

What is cooperation?

Answer 5

Two or more people working together toward a common goal that will benefit all involved

Question 6

When do people help? (I) Perceived Need

Answer 6

Helper needs to perceive that the recipient needs help

• Facilitated by attention, hindered by distraction
• Ambiguity of the situation often make this unclear (Look to others’ reactions as a way to reduce ambiguity)

Question 7

When do people help? (II) Deservingness

Answer 7

Helper needs to believe that recipient deserves help

Norms of helping:

• Social responsibility (the able should help the vulnerable)
• Relational models exchange norms
• Attributions of recipient responsibility (have they ‘brought it on themselves’?)

Question 8

What is relational models exchange norm?

Answer 8

Helping should depend on different things in different relationship contexts
CS: need
RA: duty
EM: reciprocity
MP: equity

Question 9

Recipient attributes

Answer 9

Identity of victim

• Ingroup vs. outgroup
• Identifiable victim effect: tendency to offer greater help to specific, identifiable victims than to anonymous statistical victims

Question 10

Helper attributes

Answer 10

Individual differences

Accessibility of prosocial thoughts

Question 11

What are the situational and social factors?

Answer 11

Do I need to help?

Is help expected?

Do I have time?

Question 12

Do I need to help?

Answer 12

Bystander effect:

• Presence of (more) bystanders decreases likelihood of an individual helping
• Diffusion of responsibility: presence of others diminishes each individual’s feeling of responsibility for action.

Question 13

Is help expected?

Answer 13

Norm of privacy

e.g., stage of physical attack between man (aggressor) and woman (victim)

Question 14

Do I have time?

Answer 14

Darley and Batson (1973)
"Good Samaritan' study
-Seminary students
-Prepare a talk: jobs or 'Good Samaritan'
-'Hurry' condition: hurry

Question 15

‘Warm glow of giving’ (Dunn et al, 2008)

Answer 15

Spending money on others makes one happier than spending on the self

Question 16

What is Negative-State relief model?

Answer 16

Most people don’t like watching others suffer

Helping is aimed at reducing this aversive state

Question 17

Evidence for Egosim?

Answer 17

Cialdini, Darby & Vincent (1973)

• Induce negative state (Causing or witnessing suffering)
• Remove negative state or not (E.g., by praise, financial incentive)
• Offer another chance to help another person (Helping was greater in people who experienced a negative state which was not removed prior to helping opportunity)

Harris et al. (1971)
-Solicit donations pre > post confession

Question 18

What is Empathy-altruism model?

Answer 18

When seeing someone suffer, we have personal distress: shock, alarm, shame, fear, guilt. Helping if no other way of reducing aversive state (e.g., via escape)

BUT:
Empathic concern: compassion, concern, warmth
Helping regardless of other means of reducing aversive state

Question 19

Evidence for Altruism?

Answer 19

Batson et al (1981)
Participants watch the learner
-Empathy vs not
-Escape: easy vs. difficult
-Helping: taking the learn's place

Those who feel empathy help regardless of whether there is an easy alternative way of reducing aversive states

Question 20

Ways to increase prosocial behaviour?

Answer 20

Reduce ambiguity

Teach and activate prosocial norms

Infuse, don’t diffuse, responsibility

Promote identification with those who need help (connectedness)

(Increase internal attributions for helping and cooperation?)

Question 21

Dependency-oriented versus Autonomy-oriented help

Answer 21

Dependency-oriented: Provides one with full solution (but limited knowledge/tools for future problem solving)

Autonomy-oriented: Enables one to independently solve problems

Generally, recipients prefer autonomy-related help

Question 22

Alvarez & Van Leeuwen (2011)

Problem solving task

Answer 22

Help from either professor or peer

• prefer autonomy-related help
• but reactions to the autonomy-related help is more negative if the source is peer

The most appropriate strategy depends on the situation and the relationships involved.

Question 23

Why receiving help is not always positive?

Answer 23

Help can make people feel that they owe a favor and that can be a problem for those who are unable to reciprocate. (collectivism)

Helping can send a mixed message:
Implies that the helper is more powerful, more able, or more in control than the recipient.
Feelings of gratitude is triggered only when the receiver feels at least partially in control, responsible.