Week 12 - Altruism Flashcards
What is altruism?
Desire to HELP one another, improve welfare, regardless if it provides us benefit
Helping without CONSCIOUS regard
True or false. All altruistic behaviour is pro social behaviour, but not all pro social behaviour is altruistic.
TRUE
What are some common prosocial behaviours?
Helping, giving, sharing cooperating
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
What is reciprocal helping?
Can provide adaptive advantages (norms of reciprocity)
Can be found in many species
Requires rlPFC
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
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?
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
What is the criticism of empathy?
“The fragile flower”
Empathy can be easily CRUSHED
Conforming to some socially valued norm/desirability
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
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
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)
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
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
What is the “pro social” first argument?
We are social creatures
More SOCIAL than other animals
Sacrifice for others with NO personal gain
——————————————————————
Which is the correct argument?
Probably BOTH
Personality x environment
Pro social AND selfish traits
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
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
