Week 11: Social and physical environments

Question 1

What are the three kinds of altruism?

Answer 1

Kin altruism - kindness to family
Reciprocal altruism - kindness to those who are kind to you
Competitive altruism - being nice to be better than someone else

Question 2

What are the two types of social dilemmas?

Answer 2

1. Common resource dilemmas (ex: cows, fish, pollution)
   - goods exist, how much do I take?
   - Take some/social trap
2. Public goods dilemmas (public radio, governments, bridges)
   - good is being created, should I contribute?
   - Give some/social fence

Question 3

Why would people engage in intuitive pro-sociality?

Answer 3

Neuroscience correlates
- generally associated with reward seeking (ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex)
- generally associated with cognitive control (lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex)
Developmental emergence
- prosocial behavior in young is significant despite very little capabilities for delay of gratification
Emotions
- helping produces pleasure
- emotions can nudge towards prosocial

Question 4

What are the results of the public goods game? What are some limitations?

Answer 4

Contribution is higher under time pressure, moderate with unconstrained time, and lowest with large time delay

Limits: these findings have not always replicated, timing is tricky (failure to understand/indecision)

Question 5

How does E.O wilson’s biophilia hypothesis relate to nature as a positive environment?

Answer 5

Innate need to affiliate with other living/lifelike things (biophilia)
Suggestive evidence: empirical benefits of nature, windowless office workers seek plants and pictures, biological preparedness

Question 6

What is the evolutional influence of liking nature? What is attention restoration theory?

Answer 6

Reasonable person model

• Humans have informational needs
• Intense focus (or boredom) are fatigued: people are unreasonable when fatigued
• Natural environments often restorative: stress reduction theory

Attention restoration theory: people are able to concentrate better after being in nature

Question 7

What are the results of short-term studies exposing people to nature?

Answer 7

Walking studies in various provinces 
Sitting still; even in winter 
- Consistent boosts in positive emotions 
- More than expected (forecasting error)
VR works but smaller effect

Question 8

What are some individual effects of nature beyond happiness?

What are some community benefits of nature?

Answer 8

Indv
Cognitive fatigue 
Creativity 
Pain and recovery time 
Cardiovascular health 
Mortality 

Community
Less aggression and crime (poverty and violence)
More social activity
More cooperation (perhaps sustainability)
- plants and generosity
- fishing study
- kids at forest vs. museum