benefits of helping others - Chapter 12

benefits of being helpful/volunteering

• more positive emotions

• better physical + psychological health

• more satisfying relationships

How many norms are there ?

3

Reciporcity

We should help others who help us

Social responsibility

we should help others who need help

social justice

we should help others who deserve help

Who helps more?

• Low socioeconomic status

  • more concern for wlefare of others

  • give higher percent of income to charity

• Politically liberal

  • socially responsibility norm

  • conservatives emphasize individualism

• collectivist cultures

  • enjoy helping more

  • stronger feeling of responsibility to ingroup

• Men in emergences

  • help more when there is an audience

• Women

  • care of children + others

• People higher in empathy and lower in distress

• People observe model helping ( teacher, parent)

• Heard model preach generosity

• Previously thanked/rewarded

Victim factors

• we are more likely to help someone who is….

  • similar to us

  • women help men and women equally

  • men help women more, men are more unlikly to help gay men

• is nearby

• not hurt or dangerous situation

• clearly needs help, requests specifically

• has a problem that can be solved quickly

• we think deserves help

Who helps more?

• People who observe a model helping

• heard model preach geneorsity

• Play prosocial games

• were previously thanked/rewarded socially for helping

• think of self as kind and helpful

Just-world belief

false belief that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people

Characteristics of Just-world belief

• Defensive reaction to twists of fate

  • illusions that we won’t end up like them

• Blame victims for their misfortune

  • attribute their problems to internal, controllable causes

Bystander Intervention Model

1. notice situation

2. is help needed

3. is it your responsibility

4. decide what needs to be done

5. choose to help

Audience inhibition effect

when others are present, we are less likely to define a situation as an emergency

outcome dependence

it’s socially unacceptable to overreact, so we try to look concerned

information-dependence

look to see how others define the situation

Pluralistic ignorance

we think everyone else thinks there is no problem

Diffusion of Responsibility

the more people present at an emergency, the less each person feels responsible for helping.

Arousal-cost-reward model

witnessing an emergency is emotionally arousing

in seeking to decrease the discomfort of arousal we consider the costs and rewards of helping or not

cost me to help - cost to victim if no help - decision

low - high - help

cost me to help - cost to victim if no help - decision

low - low - depends on norms

cost me to help - cost to victim if no help - decision

high - low - leave/ignore/deny

cost me to help - cost to victim if no help - decision

high - high - indirect help

Negative State Relief Model

• Mild sadness or guilt may increase helping if the activity has high potential reward value

  • the cost is low and we think helping will improve our mood

  • but often bad mood causes us to not notice others’ needs

• Empathy increases helping, distress/anxiety decreases it