Interacting with Others: Helping, Hurting, and Conforming

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 performs them

reciprocal altruism

principle that, if we help other people now, those others will return the favor should we need their help in the future

social exchange theory

involves an element of anticipation of reward, especially social reward

social responsibility norm

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

diffusion of responsibility

when we assume that others will take action and therefore we do not take actions ourselves

aggression

behavior that is intended to harm another individual

frustration-aggression hypothesis

when the pursuit of a goal is frustrated, which can lead to aggression

displaced aggression

aggression that is directed at an object or person other than the person who caused the frustration

catharsis

idea that observing or engaging in less harmful aggressive actions will reduce the tendency to aggress later in a more harmful way

desensitization

tendency over time to show weaker emotional responses to emotional stimuli

culture of honor

social norm that condones and even encourages responding to insults with aggression

conformity

change in beliefs or behavior that occurs as the result of the presence of the other people around us

informational conformity

we conform because we believe that other people have accurate information and we want to have knowledge

normative conformity

we conform because we want to be liked by others

obedience

tendency to conform to those in authority

minority influence

a smaller number of individuals is able to influence the opinions or behaviors of the larger group

psychological reactance

strong emotional reaction that leads people to resist pressures to conform