Prosocial Behavior

Psych 223

Prosocial Behavior

Behavior that benefits one or more other people

Helping

Behavior in which one or more individuals act to improve the status or well-being of one or more others

Altruism

Any behavior that is designed to increase another person’s welfare, and particularly those actions that do not seem to provide a direct reward to the person who preforms them

Reciprocal Altruism

If we help other people now, we think it is likely they will return the favor should we need their help in the future

Social Exchange

People seek to maximize their benefits withing the limits of what is regarded as fair or just

Reciprocity Norm

Norm indicating that if someone helps us, then we should help them in the future, and that we should help people now with the expectation that they will help us later if we need it

Social Responsibility Norm

Norm indicating that we should try to help others who need assistance, even without any expectation of future paybacks

Increases Helping

• Positive moods

• Guilt

• Empathy

Personal Distress

The negative emotions that we may experience when we view another person’s suffering (Decreases Helping)

Empathy

An affective response in which a person understands, and even feels, another person’s distress and experiences events they way the other person does (Increases Helping)

The Bystander Effect

A phenomenon in which people fail to offer needed help in emergencies, especially when other people are present in the same setting

Pluralistic Ignorance

When people think that others in their environment have information that they do not have and when they base their judgements on what they think the others are thinking

Diffusion of Responsibility

When we assume that others will take action, and therefore we do not take action ourselves

Altruistic/Prosocial Personalities

People who are more helpful than others across a variety of situations