PSYC 343 - Prosocial Behavior

Define Prosocial Behavior

any behavior with the goal of benefiting another person

What are three motives for prosocial behavior?

1. promote welfare of those genetically similar to us (evolutionary psych)

2. when rewards out way the costs (social exchange theory

3. powerful feelings of empathy and compassion (empathy and altruism)

Define Kin Selection

the idea that behaviors that help a genetic relative (especially in a life and death scenario) are favored by natural selection

What is the Norm of Reciprocity?

the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future

Define Group Selection

the idea that social groups with altruistic members are more likely to survive in competition with other groups

How does gratitude tie in to prosocial behavior?

it promotes reciprocity and facilitates survival

What is the Social Exchange Theory?

the idea that our actions stem from a desire to maximize or rewards and minimize costs

Benefits of helping others:

reciprocity, relieving our own stress, self-esteem, social approval, and greater cooperation

Common costs of helping:

time/effort, pain, danger, embarrassment

Define Altruism

the desire to help another person even if it involves a cost to the helper

Define Empathy

the ability to experience events and emotions in the way other person experiences them, leading to pure altruism

What is the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis?

when we feel empathy for someone, we may help them for purely altruistic reasons

When we don’t feel empathy what do we use to determine whether or not we help?

costs and benefits (social exchange theory)

What part of the brain induces empathy?

the “mirror neuron”

What is an Altruistic Personality?

qualities that cause an individual to help others in a variety of situations

What are gender differences in the ways people help?

males tend to help in more “heroic ways,” risking their life, while women help in more close, long-term ways such as volunteering

What is an In-Group?

the group with which an individual identifies as a member

What is an Out-Group?

any group with which an individual does not identify

People help in-group members due to

empathy for their in-group member

People help out-group members because they

have something to gain from the out-group member

Religious people are more likely to help out other people only if:

the person in need shares religious beliefs

Which moods contribute to prosocial behavior?

an especially good mood, guilt, or sadness

What is the Urban Overload Hypothesis?

people living in cities are constantly bombarded with stimulation and keep to themselves to avoid being overwhelmed- making them less likely to help

Are long-term residence more or less likely to help?

more likely

What is the Bystander Effect?

the greater the number of bystanders that witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them is to help

What is a Diffusion of Responsibility?

each bystander’s sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increases

Define Pluristic Ignorance

when people think everyone else is interpreting a situation a certain way, when in fact they are not

(Pluristic Ignorance) the greater the amount of people to witness an emergency

the less likely they are to know it’s an emergency- cause by state of shock and informational social influence

Steps of bystander intervention:

1. notice the event

2. interpret the situation

3. assume responsibility

4. know appropriate form of assistance

5. implement decision

Limiting factors of bystander intervention:

1. distracted, in a hurry

2. pluristic ignorance

3. diffusion of responsibility

4. lack of knowledge

5. danger to self, embarrassment, high costs etc.

How can helping be increased?

teaching people about the barriers of bystander intervention, reminding people how they acted in helpful ways before, or playing a prosocial video game or music

The effects of over justification with volunteering:

people believing they must volunteer because they have to causes a decrease in possibility that they volunteer in the future

How to increase volunteering?

preserve the sense that they freely chose to volunteer