Chpt 11: Prosocial Behaviour
Why do people help?
Social Exchange Theory
Empathy & Altruism
Evolutionary perspective
Why do some ppl help more than others?
Cultural diff
Religion
Gender differences
Effects of Mood
Individual diff: the Altruistic Personality
two dimensions
why help in-group
In what situations are ppl more likely to help others?
Residential Mobility
No. of bystanders
Environment: Rural vs Urban
How to increase likelihood of bystander intervention
Decision model of helping
Prosocial behaviour vs altruism
Prosocial-->any act performed with the goal of benefiting another person
Altruism-->form of helping motivated out of concern for the individual in need, even if it is costly to the helper
Kin Selection strategy
Reciprocity Norm
We tend to help others when they are relatives compared to genetically unrelated ppl, esp during emergencies/ life threatening situations
Natural selection favours actions directed towards genetic relations
we help others with the expectation that they might help us in return in the future
In the past, those most likely to survive were ancestors who developed an understanding with their neighbours about reciprocity
Because of survival value, this norm may have become genetically based-->those sensitive to the reciprocity norm were more likely to survive and have offspring
Rewards
Costs
There is no true altruism & what we do stems from the desire to maximise rewards and minimise costs
Social approval from others
Increase feelings of self-worth
Relieve personal distress (we feel disturbed when seeing others suffer)
Resources & opportunity costs eg. time
Embarrassment
Physical danger & pain
Empathy-->ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person , experience events & emotions the way that person experiences them
Batson's empathy-altruism hypothesis
Helping for the sake of helping even when there is a clear costs with no foreseeable benefits
Class notes study
when we feel empathy for another person, we will attempt to help that person for purely altruistic reasons regardless of what we have to gain
When empathy low
when empathy was high
ppl were willing to help regardless of the rewards & costs
ppl were concerned abt the rewards & costs for themselves
whether they will see Carol in class in future didn't matter
willing to help only if they would encounter Carol in their class and would feel guilty for not helping
Prosocial thoughts and feelings: a sense of responsibility and tendency to experience cognitive and affective empathy
Self-perception that one is helpful & competent
Females
Males
tend to be more chivalrous, heroic
91% of award recipients from the Carnegie Hero Fund commission were men
tend to be nurturing, generous in providing long-term social support
engage in more volunteer work that involves helping others
why help out-group
ppl often favour their in-groups (groups with which they identify as a member) and discriminate against members of out-groups (groups which they do not identify with)
more likely to feel empathy toward members of our in-groups in need
because it is rewarding-->make us feel good about ourselves
when we don't feel empathy, social exchange theory on rewards & costs are considered instead
more likely to help others only if the person in need shares their beliefs
if its strangers, religious ppl are not more helpful than nonreligious ppl
binds ppl tgt and creates strong social bonds
Negative-state relief hypothesis
Good mood increases helping
more likely to see the bright side of helping
good moods increase the amnt of attention we pay to ourselves-->makes us more likely to behave according to our values and beliefs
Prolongs or maintains good mood
sadness
Feeling guilty
increases helping cos they are motivated to engage in activities that make them feel better
when they did smth which made them feel guilty, helping another person balances things out, reducing their guilty feelings
Urban overload hypothesis
When placed in a calmer less stimulating environment, they would be as likely as anyone else to reach out to others
ppl living in cities are constantly bombarded with stimulation and keep to themselves in order to avoid being overwhelmed by it
Stable vs transient community
Greater concern with one's reputation in the community
ppl who lived for a longer time at a place-->more likely to engage in prosocial behaviours
more interdependence with neighbours
Have greater attachment to community
eg. Trivia contest experiment-->ppl in the "stable community" condition who had the chance to get to know one another, were more likely to help their struggling companion than those in the "transient" group condition
Latane and Darley seizure experiment
Bystander effect
the greater the no. of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them is to help
when ppl believed they were the only ones listening to the student having a seizure, 85% helped within 60 seconds.
when ppl believed there was one other student listening, fewer helped with only 62% within 60 seconds
Overcome pluralistic ignorance
Overcome diffusion of responsibility
Sound out when you/someone needs help
Give clear instructions on how to help
Being aware of the barriers to helping in an emergency can increase ppl's chances of overcoming those barriers
Decision model to help
Diffusion of responsibility
Knowing how to help
Interpreting the event as an emergency
Deciding on whether to implement help
Noticing the event
Being in a hurry reduces our ability to pay attention to our surroundings
Eg. Good Samaritan study-->students who were hurrying to keep their appointment were less likely to stop to help the confederate
Over-reaction will be embarrassing
When others are not reacting, ppl conform due to informational social influence
If ppl assume that nth is wrong, they won't help
Pluralistic ignorance-->ppl assume everyone else thinks nth is wrong though it might not be true
each bystander's sense of responsibility to help decreases as the no. of witnesses increases
when ppl don't know what form of assistance to give, we will be unable to help
even if know what kind of help is appropriate,
Afraid of embarrassing yourself or putting yourself in danger
know that even if no one appears concerned, it doesn't mean it's not an emergency
Realise if you don't act, no one will act as well
ask a specific individual directly for help
Protect "helpers"
when ppl are feeling bad, they are more likely to help others to make themselves feel better
Because genetic relatives share our genes and their survival ensures some of our genes will be passed on