Week 12 - Altruism Flashcards by Tiegen Espetveidt

What is altruism?

Desire to HELP one another, improve welfare, regardless if it provides us benefit

Helping without CONSCIOUS regard

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True or false. All altruistic behaviour is pro social behaviour, but not all pro social behaviour is altruistic.

TRUE

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What are some common prosocial behaviours?

Helping, giving, sharing cooperating

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WHY DO WE HELP…

1) evolutionary theory

Survival of the FITTEST

Helping has survival advantages

Ex. Kin selection
Helping your kin = help your genes

Ex. Reciprocity
Helping strangers = help survival

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What is reciprocal helping?

Can provide adaptive advantages (norms of reciprocity)

Can be found in many species

Requires rlPFC

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WHY DO WE HELP…

2) social exchange theory

What are some benefits/costs?

“Minimax” strategy

UNCONCIOUS weighing of costs & rewards

Want to maximize the rewards

*** SUGGESTS THAT TRUE ALTRUISM DOES NOT EXSIST

Benefits:
- feel good
- avoid punishment
- social approval
- decrease stress

Costs:
-physical danger
- pain
-embarrassment
- time consuming

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WHY DO WE HELP…

3) Empathy-altruism hypothesis
Daniel Batson

Empathy

Attempt to help regardless of what we gain

Help motivated by empathy lasts LONGER than when there is NO empathy

*** ALTRUISTIC OR NOT?

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What is Batson, Ahmad and Stocks explanation of empathy joy?

What was their study?

Katies misfortune

IV:

1) empathy (high/low)
2) feedback (feedback/no feedback)

DV:

Whether they agreed to help Katie

** IN THE END, PEOPLE MOTIVATED BY REWARD
** IN THE END, SLIGHTLY LESS PEOPLE MOTIVATED BY EMPATHY = THAT IS TRUE ALTRUISM

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What is the criticism of empathy?

“The fragile flower”

Empathy can be easily CRUSHED

Conforming to some socially valued norm/desirability

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Why do we fail to help?

Bystander effect

Ex. Kitty genoveise

A person who witnesses another in need, is LESS likely to help when there are other bystanders

More likely to occur when need for help is MINOR

Less likely to occur among friends

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Why do we fail to help?

Diffusion of responsibility

Pluralistic ignorance

Presence of others PREVENTS one from taking responsibility

Situation in which others rely on others to identify a NORM, but FALSELY interpret others beliefs and feelings

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What are the steps to helping, or not?

1) notice event

2) interpret event

3) take responsibility

4) decide how to help

5) give help

(MANY THINGS OF PREVENTION OF HELPING CAN HAPPEN IN BETWEEN)

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How is human nature viewed through a self -control lens?

First impulse DEFINES us

Self- control can REVEAL our basic nature, our first instincts

***ARE WE SELFISH?
Needed to restart in base impulses towards temptation

***ARE WE PROSOCIAL?
Needed to bind altruism to enable personal achievement

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What is the “selfish” first argument?

What is the evidence?

Human state as it is, where it is… we do the selfish thing first

“SELFISH GENE”

We are born selfish, needed to be taught generosity and altruism
———————————————————————————————-

Right lateral PFC associated with self-control

If you could turn it off^^^ = should become more selfish

Ultimatum

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What is the “pro social” first argument?

We are social creatures

More SOCIAL than other animals

Sacrifice for others with NO personal gain
——————————————————————

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Which is the correct argument?

Probably BOTH

Personality x environment

Pro social AND selfish traits

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How does self-control and selfish- prosocial work together?

Some need SELF-CONTROL to curb greed to help others

Some need SELF-CONTROL to stop sacrifical altruism and assert themselves to personal goals

***SOME MAY NEED BOTH

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What does the phrase “money is good for me, but bad for you” mean?

Similar feelings or NARCISSISM and POWER

Money makes you feel good “I earned it”

Are richer people more mean?

What is an example?

A study shows nicer cars are LESS LIKELY to stop at crosswalk for pedestrian

Manipulated status DECREASES prosocial behaviour

Ex. Monopoly game, the rich people attribute their win to their own “capabilities” even tho it was clear they were gonna win anyways

What is compassionate action?

Basic psychological needs…

RECALL self-determination theory

1) autonomy
2) relatedness
3) competence

Compassionate action should serve these NEEDS

GOAL CONFLICT —> ________ —> __________ ?

ANXIETY

APPROACH MOTIVATION

What is included with wisdom?

What are the 2 ways to reorientate towards altruism in terms of wisdom?

Pursuit of prosocial & compassionate ideals

Dialecticism = being okay with conflict

Self-control

Perspective-taking
———————————————————————————————

1) change response to anxiety (prosocial/compassionate ideals)
2) diffusion of anxiety (halt aggression, allow empathy)

What is temperance-prudence?

The practice of drinking little to no alcohol

Tangled up in conflict of moral authority

NEGATIVE tone = “prude”

What is platonic cardinal virtues?

Temperance, prudence, fortitude and justice

What is aristotles golden mean? What is aristioltes phronesis?

GOLDEN MEAN: Virtue is found BETWEEN excess and deficit Appropriate action is context dependent Divined through wisdom and intellect ————————————————————- PHRONESIS: Often translated as prudence Practical wisdom Determines what fits the “golden mean” or not

Western traditions: “__________ as the path to ___________”

Prudence Virtue St. Thomas Aquinas

Is temperance included in Eastern culture?

Yes Dama = self-restraint Dukkha = life is frusteration, stress etc… Nobel eightfold path

What is virtue ethics?

Contrasted with consequentialism (morality is contingent on the value of an action’s outcome) and deontology (morality is the action we ought to do) Emphasizes being and developing good character TEMPERANCE again classified as VIRTUE

What is temperance? What are the 4 aspects?

Character strength and virtues… 1) humility/modesty 2) prudence 3) self-regulation 4) forgiveness/mercy

Why is temperance important?

IT IS CONTRASTED w/ myopic convictions, arrogance, impulsivity and aggression

_________ circumstances can cause the reverse of temperance Give some examples of what can happen

Anxious Reduced humility, priudence, control and forgiveness

How does temperance relate to self-control?

Self-control sounds a lot like temperance in ANXIOUS circumstances

People with high trait self-control are…?

Healthier Less stressed Better relationships Better grades in school Better workers

What’s a way to remember how to be wise?

Doing, NOT knowing!!!! Being SMART can be a TRAP

What is a hypo-ego state? What are some way to get into this state?

Relinquish deliberate, conscious control over personal behaviour SO… That you will respond more NATURALLY, EFFORTLESSLY or AUTOMATICALLY —————————————————————————————————————————— Awe, gratitude, mindfulness, common humanity, compassionate action etc…

What experiment showed the relation between meditation and prosocial behaviour?

3 chairs in waiting room… w/ one open spot Someone with crutches shows up.. will the person give up the spot? The MEDITATOR group 5x more LIKELY to give up seat

What’s a dramatic version of altruism?

Non-Jewish people protected Jews during WWII They put their OWN LIVES on the line

What is social exchange theory?

Way of helping that focuses on such EGOISTIC motivations People help someone else when the BENEFITS of helping and the COSTS of not helping outweigh the potential costs of HELPING and the benefits of NOT HELPING ***COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

True or false. Are people more likely to help those who are more similar to them?

TRUE But this can lead to prejudice, ignoring those in NEED who are DIFFERENT

What is the empathy gap?

People tend to UNDERESTIMATE others pain Reduced likihood of someone helping

What role do casual attributions play in the role of helping others?

With a desire to see the world as just… people may think that a person themselves bears RESPONSIBILITY for his/her own actions This feeling can REDUCE empathy for others

True or false. It is more likely that in a high dense population, people will be more likely to help a stranger in need

FALSE The bigger the city population = the LESS likely someone is to help

What are the steps for helping behaviour to occur? (4)

1) attending/interpreting the situation 2) take responsibility 3) deciding how to help 4) conducting a cost-benefit analysis