Social Psych - Exam 3 - Prosocial

Feeling Good

- helping others

- acts of kindness activate areas of the brain associated with reward (similar to personal gains)

- helping = reduction in one's own feelings of sadness

negative state relief model

people may help others to reduce their own feelings of sadness

The Joy of Giving Aknin 2015

- spending money or resources on others leads to greater happiness than spending on oneself

- more generous = more emotionally rewarding

Costs of Helping or Not Helping:

- people weigh pros and cons of helping

- helping can have benefits (feeling good or helping someone) but may involve effort, time, and risk

Courageous resistance

- offering sustained and intentional help even when the potential costs are very high

- bravery and long term commitment (people who help others even in danger, personal sacrifice, or social pressure)

alturism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

- you want to help without any other motives

Empathy-altruism hypothesis

The proposition that empathic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping

- if person needs help -> empathetic concern -> alturistic

- if person doesn't need help -> personal distress -> egoistic

egoistic

motivated by the desire to increase one's own welfare

The Bystander Effect

The effect whereby the presence of others inhibits helping.

Tragic stories of assault, violence, and murder

Latané and Darleythe (founders)

What are the 5 steps of going to help someone (NITHP)

N: Noticing (stimulus overload)

I: Interpreting (pluralistic ignorance)

T: Taking Responsibility (Diffusion of responsibility)

H: How to help (audience inhibition)

P: Provide help

pluralistic ignorance

assuming your thoughts are different than others, meaning you think oh someone thought like me and helped

diffusion of responsibility

the tendency for individuals to feel diminished responsibility for their actions when they are surrounded by others who are acting the same way

- less likely to take action bc someone else will

audience inhibition

reluctance to help for fear of making a bad impression on observers

Time Pressure and Helping Others

Time pressure can conflict with one's good intentions of helping

Samaritan study

participants were asked to give a talk and were placed in different time conditions:

Ahead of schedule → More likely to stop and help someone in need

On time → Moderate likelihood of helping

Behind schedule → Least likely to help

The Bystander Effect Online

The virtual presence of others reduced the likelihood that any one individual will intervene.

When would we jump in to help someone

Feel connected

Multiple helpers

Scorned for failing to help

Leadership role or helping occupation

Getting Help in a Crowd – What You Should Do:

reduce diffusion of responsibility

Making direct eye contact

Pointing to an individual

Giving a clear, direct request (e.g., “You in the blue jacket, call 911!”)

Why Feeling Good Leads to Doing Good

Desire to maintain one's good mood

When Feeling Good Might Not Lead to Doing Good

Costs of helping are high

Positive thoughts about other social activities that conflict with helping.

When Negative Moods Make Us More Likely to Help Others

If we take responsibility for what caused our bad mood

If we focus on other people

If we think about our personal values that promote helping

When Negative Moods Make Us Less Likely to Help Others

If we blame others for our bad mood

If we become very self-focused

If we think about our personal values that do not promote helping

Role Models and Social Influence

Observing helpful models increases helping in a variety of situations

Social influence

the ability to control another person's behavior

Reluctant altruism

Altruistic kinds of behavior that result from pressure from peers or other sources of direct social influence.

Are some people more likely to receive help than others?

Attractive

Not responsible

Ingroup members (someone perceived as part of the same group or community)

Helping Ingroup Members

more likely to help ingroup members than neutral or outgroup

Gender and Helping

Men:

- More likely to help in situations that are emergent, risky, or require physical intervention (e.g., heroic acts)

- short term helping

- viewed as courageous

Women:

- More likely to help through nurturing, emotional, and long-term support (e.g., caregiving)

- helping people they have relationships with

- empathetic and interpersonal care

Prosocial behaviors

actions that tend to benefit others, such as doing favors or helping

The "Selfish Gene"

The idea suggests that behavior is driven by the goal of ensuring the survival and reproduction of one’s genes, not necessarily the individual.

Kin Selection:

People are more likely to help relatives because they share genes. Helping family members increases the chances that shared genetics will be passed on to future generations.

Helping Kin When Risks Are High

At low risk, help is given relatively equally to friends, half-siblings, and siblings.

At medium risk, helping declines for friends, remains moderate for half-siblings, and stays higher for full siblings.

At high risk, people are most likely to help siblings, followed by half-siblings, and least likely to help friends.

Reciprocal Altruism

behavior that benefits another with the expectation that those benefits will be returned in the future

Empathy

The ability to understand and share another person's emotional experience.

Perspective taking

Cognitively putting yourself in someone else's position to see things from their point of view.

Empathic concern:

Feeling compassion or care for someone experiencing distress, which often motivates helping behavior

Consolation in Chimps

Chimps show consolation behaviors (hugging, grooming, comforting).

Typically occurs after conflict or distress.

Often done by close friends or relatives.

Indicates empathy and emotional awareness.

Suggests empathy has evolutionary roots beyond humans.

Convergence of Motivations: Volunteering

Long-term helping behavior - multiple motives.

Motivations: Values

We have humanitarian obligation to help others

Motivations: Understanding

I want to learn more about people who are suffering with a particular issue or problem

Motivations: Personal Development

I want to meet new people and make new friends

Motivations: Extrinsic

I want to improve my reputation or career

Motivations: Community Concerns

I want to advocate for this community

Motivations: Esteem Enhancement/Atonement

I want to feel better about myself; I want to make up for my mistakes

Motivations: Requirements and Norms

I need to do a service project for school or because of my religion

Moods and Helping – Sensory Conditions

Good mood = more helping people

Pleasant sensory conditions (nice weather, pleasant smells, good music) = boost mood -> helping people

Altruistic Personality

The type of person that is more helpful

Culture and Helping

- Religions that promote kindness and helping actual behaviors aren't always consistent

- Collectivist Cultures: prioritize group welfare and may help ingroup members more

- Individualist Culture: may help strangers or in public contexts but less consistently

Exchange Relationships

involve helping with the expectation of something in return.

Communal Relationships

helping out of care, without expecting repayment.

Identity Fusion:

A strong sense of oneness with a group—people who are highly fused with their group are more likely to help others who share their identity, even at personal cost.

Sign of Superiority:

Sometimes helping others can be used to signal status or power, implying that the helper is in a position of strength or authority.