2720 Chapter 14 - Prosocial behaviour

Prosocial Behavior

Any action that benefits another person.

Helping

A specific type of prosocial behavior intended to offer aid to others.

Low Cost Helping

Casual helping that involves minimal effort, such as making a small donation.

High Cost Helping

Emergency or substantial personal helping requiring significant effort, such as giving CPR.

Social Norms

Expectations about how to behave in society; includes norms of social responsibility and reciprocity.

Norm of reciprocity

The expectation that people will help those who have helped them.

Perceived Responsibility of Victim

The extent to which individuals believe that victims are responsible for their circumstances.

Just World Theory

The belief that the world is fair and that people get what they deserve.

Positive Mood - the good mood effect

A state in which individuals are more likely to engage in helping behaviors.

Identifiable Victim Effect

The tendency to help a single identifiable victim more than a large number of victims.

Kin Selection Theory

The evolutionary strategy that favors aiding relatives to increase the chances of genetic survival.

Altruism

Unselfish behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for the self. (risking their own life)

Egoism

The motivation for helping others driven by self-interest.

Empathy-altruism hypothesis

The theory that feelings of empathy can motivate purely altruistic acts.

Negative-state relief hypothesis

The idea that people help others to alleviate their own distress.

Bystander Effect

A phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help when others are present.

Diffusion of responsibility

The tendency for individuals to feel less personal responsibility to act when others are present.

Compassion collapse

The failure to act in response to the suffering of many as opposed to an individual.

Modeling prosocial behavior

Demonstrating positive behaviors for children and others to imitate.

Social Dilemmas

Situations where individual gains conflict with collective well-being.

Prisoner’s Dilemma

A scenario in which individuals must choose between cooperation and competition.

Tit-for-tat strategy

A strategy in repeated games where a participant mimics the actions of their opponent.

Teaching moral inclusion

Inculcating a sense of moral responsibility towards all individuals within one's circle.

Understanding barriers to helping

Increasing awareness of factors that prevent individuals from offering assistance.

Virtuous Authority Experiment

An experiment highlighting the gradual increase in prosocial behavior through modeled actions. (step by step ascent into goodness

Good mood effect

The tendency to help others more when in a positive emotional state.

Smoke-filled room experiment

Latané & Darley’s study on how people respond to emergencies in groups.

Guilt-induced helping

The tendency to offer assistance when feeling guilt about a past action.