Altruism & Helping

Define altruism.

Acting to benefit another at cost to oneself

What is the puzzle of altruism?

Free riders

What are possible explanations for altruism’s survival through evolution?

Kin selection, reciprocity, group selection

Describe kin selection.

• Favoring kin over non-kin

• “Blood is thicker than water”

• Unit of selection = gene (not the individual)

• Inclusive fitness

What is inclusive fitness?

An individuals direct fitness + additional fitness of relatives as consequence of behavior, discounted by the coefficient of relatedness

Describe reciprocity.

• “You scratch my back & I scratch yours”

• Mutual benefit

• Vulnerable to cheaters

Cheater detection is _____ _____ & _____ in humans.

Highly evolved; ritualized

What are ways humans attempt to detect cheaters?

• Rituals (reciprocal gift giving)

• Emotions (moralistic anger, sense of injustice, friendship, senses of obligation)

• Cognitions (rule breaker detection)

Describe group selection.

• Creates mechanisms where people do things for benefit of the group

• Biologists argue can happen but is very unstable

Why is there no such thing as “for the good of the species”?

• Own species contains most of your fiercest competitors

• Open to exploitation

• Natural selection doesn’t see species

What is the paradox of the prisoners dilemma?

The rational thing to do is for both to be worse off than if both could cooperate (best strategy is to defect)

What is “tit for tat” the best strategy for the prisoners dilemma?

• Allows communication

• Recognizes common interests

• Individual is being provokable

Define prosocial behavior.

Acts that benefit people other than the actor

What is the difference between prosocial & altruistic behavior?

While both benefit others, only altruistic is carries out at a cost to the actor

Why do psychologists assume all “altruistic” acts involve benefits to the actor? (universal egoism)

Evolutionary processes do not favor selfless behavior

What is the Empathy-Altruism explanation?

• Altruism/helping is motivated by the ability to empathize w/ the person in trouble

• We will help when empathic identification (similarity) is high & ease of escape is low

• Brings range of benefits to self (egoism), the group (collectivism, inclusive fitness), upholds principles, obeys social norms

What is the Arousal-Cost-Reward prediction?

• Others’ distress causes arousal → we are motivated to reduce distress (either by walking away or helping)

• Decision to help determined by cost v rewards

• We will help when costs are low, rewards are high, & costs of NOT helping are high

What is the Social Exchange Theory?

• Cost-benefit or economic theory of helping

• Will only help if it will get you more than you give

What is the Bystander Effect?

The more people present at an emergency, the less likely that help will be given

What factors influence the Bystander Effect?

• Diffusion of responsibility

• Pluralistic ignorance (occurs when a situation is ambiguous)

• Nature of situation (someone else nearby more qualified to intervene, is the need legit, was it brought on upon themselves)

• Characteristics of potential helper (skills)

What is the Urban Overload Hypothesis?

Urbanites exposed to high levels of environmental stimulation develop strategies to cut out excessive stimulation (e.g. avoiding interactions w/ strangers)

What cultural variations might impact the Bystander Effect?

• Collectivism v individualism

• Urban v rural

• Norms of reciprocity

What is the Second Order Public Goods Theory?

If enough have a tendency to punish free riders, even though personally costly, then the altruistic puzzle will be solved

Why do free riders need to be punished?

To police cooperation & reduce exploitation