Solidarity, Welfare, and Prosocial Behaviour – Core Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, theories, models and empirical findings about solidarity, welfare states and prosocial behaviour introduced in the lecture series.

Solidarity

Helpful, supportive or cooperative behaviour based on a sense of moral obligation or value-based commitment (Thome, 1999).

One-Sided Solidarity

Support given without expectation of return (e.g., charity donations, progressive taxes).

Two-Sided Solidarity

Mutual support in which future return is possible but uncertain (e.g., health insurance).

Formal Solidarity

Institutional, often anonymous support organised by the state or other organisations (e.g., welfare benefits).

Informal Solidarity

‘Warm’ support based on personal sympathy within close networks such as family, friends or neighbours.

Voluntary Solidarity

Support given by free choice; not legally enforced (e.g., volunteering, private charity).

Compulsory Solidarity

State-mandated transfers of money, goods or services (e.g., taxes, mandatory parental care).

Reciprocity

Exchange of benefits; doing good with the expectation (direct or indirect) that the favour will be returned.

Public Good

A benefit that is non-excludable and non-rival, created when people contribute more than they personally receive.

Welfare State

State-organised system of compulsory income and in-kind transfers between citizens, independent of individual contributions.

Social Insurance

Two-sided welfare arrangement pooling risks among contributors (e.g., pensions, unemployment insurance).

Social Benefits

Cash transfers, subsidies or rebates provided by the state (e.g., child allowances).

Social Services

Publicly funded services such as education or health care delivered at low or zero cost to users.

Liberal Welfare State

Cheap, one-sided national model relying heavily on markets and means-tested relief (e.g., US, UK).

Conservative Welfare State

Two-sided, contribution-based national model that excludes non-contributors; typical of Central Europe.

Social-Democratic Welfare State

Mixed national model with universal services and targeted support; high taxes but low poverty (e.g., Scandinavia).

Adverse Selection

Problem in insurance when high-risk individuals join and low-risk individuals exit, undermining sustainability.

Risk Pooling

Combining resources across individuals or regions to spread large, unpredictable risks (possible supranational option).

Open Method of Coordination (OMC)

EU process that sets common goals but leaves social policy implementation to member states.

Social Welfare Function

Rule for aggregating individual utilities into a measure of social well-being (e.g., utilitarian, Rawlsian).

Utilitarian SWF

Maximises total (sum) of individual utilities—focus on efficiency.

Rawlsian SWF

Maximises the minimum utility in society—focus on the worst-off.

Egalitarian SWF

Seeks to minimise utility gaps between individuals—strong inequality aversion.

Pareto Efficiency

Allocation where no one can be made better off without making someone else worse off.

Paternalism

Government intervention based on the assumption that individuals do not act in their own best interest.

Libertarian Paternalism

Guiding choices through ‘nudges’ while preserving freedom of choice.

Nudge

Change in choice architecture that influences behaviour without restricting options (e.g., opt-out organ donation).

Crowding-Out

Reduction in voluntary prosocial behaviour caused by external incentives or regulations.

Indirect Reciprocity

Helping someone to gain or maintain a good reputation that others will reward later.

Positive Reciprocity

Rewarding kind acts with kindness.

Negative Reciprocity

Punishing unkind or free-riding behaviour at a personal cost.

Public Goods Game

Experimental task where individuals decide how much to contribute to a group project that benefits all.

Solidarity Game

Selten & Ockenfels experiment where players pre-commit to share winnings with unlucky group members.

Bystander Effect

Tendency for individuals to help less when other potential helpers are present.

Pluralistic Ignorance

Mistaken belief that one’s private concern is not shared by others, leading to inaction in groups.

Diffusion of Responsibility

Reduced sense of personal obligation to act when others are present.

Evaluation Apprehension

Fear of negative judgement that inhibits helping in public situations.

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

Batson’s claim that empathic concern produces altruistic motivation to improve another’s welfare.

Negative-State Relief Model

Theory that people help to alleviate their own negative mood.

Arousal: Cost-Reward Model

Helping results from emotional arousal and a cost–benefit analysis of intervening versus not intervening.

Kin Selection

Evolutionary tendency to help genetic relatives to ensure gene survival.

Reciprocal Altruism

Trivers’ concept of helping non-kin when future return is likely.

Group Selection

Idea that groups with cooperative members outcompete purely selfish groups.

Prosocial Behaviour

Voluntary actions intended to benefit others, including helping and cooperation.

Altruism

Other-focused motivation where the ultimate goal is to increase another person’s welfare.

Egoism

Self-focused motivation aimed at enhancing one’s own welfare.

Descriptive Norm

Perception of what most people do in a given situation (‘is’).

Injunctive Norm

Perception of what behaviours are approved or disapproved (‘ought’).

Subjective Norms

Beliefs about whether important others expect one to perform a behaviour (TPB component).

Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)

Model stating that intention is driven by attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control.

Implementation Intentions

‘If–then’ plans that specify when, where and how to act, bridging the intention–behaviour gap.

Habit

Automatic behaviour triggered by context cues, often overriding conscious intentions.

Common In-Group Identity Model

Reframing former out-group members as part of a shared in-group to reduce bias and increase helping.

Political Solidarity Model

Subašić et al. theory that advantaged-group members act for minorities when they share a politicised identity opposed to authority.

Conditional Cooperation

Tendency to contribute to a public good only if others are also contributing.

False Consensus Effect

People’s tendency to assume others share their own attitudes and behaviours.

Adverse Selection

(Duplicate removed – see term 17).

Benefit Generosity

Average value of social benefits per non-working person; indicator of welfare state support level.

Official Development Aid (ODA)

Government-to-government financial transfers aimed at development in poorer countries.

Private Social Expenditure

Non-state spending on social protection, such as private pensions and health insurance.

Crowding-In

Increase in voluntary solidarity that accompanies higher compulsory or formal solidarity.

Opt-Out Default

Policy design where people are automatically enrolled unless they actively decline (e.g., organ donation systems).

Punishment (in Public Goods)

Costly act that reduces another’s payoff to sanction free-riding, supporting cooperation.

Reputation

Public information about past behaviour that influences others’ willingness to cooperate or help.

Similarity

Perceived shared attribute with another person, which increases empathy and generosity.

Deservingness

Perception that a recipient’s need is not self-inflicted, increasing willingness to help.

Self-Selection (in Economics Students)

Idea that less generous individuals choose economics studies, partly explaining low cooperation levels.

Indoctrination Effect

Decrease in generosity caused by exposure to self-interest norms in economics education.