W8.a Flashcards
The three characteristics people depend on to help
Recipient characteristics
Helper characteristics
Situation/context characteristics
What is prosocial behaviour?
Behavior intended to help someone else
What is Altruism?
Prosoical behaviour without any prospect of personal rewards for the helper (or with clear costs to the helper)
What is Egoism?
Behaviour motivated by the desire to obtain personal rewards
Including positive feelings about having helped
What is cooperation?
Two or more people working together toward a common goal that will benefit all involved
When do people help? (I) Perceived Need
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)
When do people help? (II) Deservingness
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’?)
What is relational models exchange norm?
Helping should depend on different things in different relationship contexts CS: need RA: duty EM: reciprocity MP: equity
Recipient attributes
Identity of victim
- Ingroup vs. outgroup
- Identifiable victim effect: tendency to offer greater help to specific, identifiable victims than to anonymous statistical victims
Helper attributes
Individual differences
Accessibility of prosocial thoughts
What are the situational and social factors?
Do I need to help?
Is help expected?
Do I have time?
Do I need to help?
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.
Is help expected?
Norm of privacy
e.g., stage of physical attack between man (aggressor) and woman (victim)
Do I have time?
Darley and Batson (1973) "Good Samaritan' study -Seminary students -Prepare a talk: jobs or 'Good Samaritan' -'Hurry' condition: hurry
‘Warm glow of giving’ (Dunn et al, 2008)
Spending money on others makes one happier than spending on the self
What is Negative-State relief model?
Most people don’t like watching others suffer
Helping is aimed at reducing this aversive state
Evidence for Egosim?
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
What is Empathy-altruism model?
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
Evidence for Altruism?
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
Ways to increase prosocial behaviour?
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?)
Dependency-oriented versus Autonomy-oriented help
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
Alvarez & Van Leeuwen (2011)
Problem solving task
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.
Why receiving help is not always positive?
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.
