4.1- prosocial behavior

what is prosocial behavior

any act performed with the goal of benefiting another person

egoism

behavior is based on how much it serves the self

altruism

the desire to help someone solely because it benefits another person

the evolutionary perspective on prosociality

suggests mostly egoistic prosociality based on kin selection, reciprocity, and group selection

social exchange theory

desire to maximize benefits and minimize costs

what does the social exchange theory suggest about prosociality

suggests mostly egoistic prosociality based on what the self would gain for helping

empathy-altruism hypothesis

feeling empathy for another person encourages altruistic behavior regardless of personal gain

toi & batson, 1982

those with high empathy chose to help carol regardless of whether they would see her again in class, suggesting that empathy motivates true altruism

altruistic personality

the qualities that cause an individual to help others in many situations

does gender play a role in prosociality?

yes; women do more emotional/long-term helping while men do more emergency helping

isen & levin, 1972

participants who found the dime in the photobooth were more likely to help

do religious people engage in more prosocial behavior

yes, they are more likely to help if they share a social bond, beliefs, or will be percieved positively by others

urban overload hypothesis

people living in cities usually keep to themselves to avoid being overwhelmed by constant stimulation

bystander effect

the more bystanders there are witnessing something dangerous, the less likely it is that one of them will help

latane & darley: 5 step model of bystander intervention

describes the steps that determine whether a bystander will help in a bystander intervention situation

what are the steps of the 5 step model of bystander intervention

1. notice event

2. interpretation of event

3. assume responsibility

4. know appropriate form of assistance

5. implement decision

darley & batson, 1973

concluded that being in a rush dramatically reduces helping behavior, even if participants were primed to think about helping

pluralistic ignorance

people think everyone else is interpreting a situation in a certain way, when they’re not

latane & darley, 1970: the smoky room study

concluded that when people see others do nothing, they assume the situation is not concerning

diffusion of responsibility

as the number of bystanders increase, each bystander feels less responsible

darley & latane, 1968: seizure study

concluded that the more people present, the less likely a participant will take action and they assume someone else will first