Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial Behavior

Behavior that benefits others - regardless of what the helper received in return

altruism

doing things simply out of a desire to help

Helping behavior

giving more than you receive back

Kitty Genovese

Rosenthal: 38 witnesses A woman was killed in a quiet neighborhood, screaming for her life. Nobody called the police. Rosenthal & Gansberg investigated, published “38 witnesses” 3 months after her death. Half of the book discussed her death, but the other half ridiculed behavioral scientists who had no idea why people chose not to help.

Instinct

helping behavior is inborn (inside of us.)

Kohlberg’s “6 stages”

prosocial development

Level 1: Preconventional morality
Stage 1 (Obedience and Punishment):

Obeying the rules is important → avoid punishment.

Level 1: Preconventional morality
Stage 2 (Individualism and Exchange):

What people want and are rewarded for determines right and wrong

Level 2. Conventional Morality

Stage 3 (interpersonal concordance or “good boy-nice girl” orientation)

Being moral is determined by what pleases and helps other people — and ultimately what the majority thinks.

Level 2. Conventional Morality

Stage 4 (maintaining the social order orientation)

duty to respect authority and maintain social order

Level 3: Post-conventional morality

Stage 5 (social contract–legalistic orientation)

laws are established based on mutual agreement, they can be changed democratically or, overridden

Level 3: Post-conventional morality

Stage 6 (universal ethical principles orientation)

People at this stage have developed their own set of moral guidelines which may or may not fit the law

1972 - Moss field experiment:

Woman walking down the street when another woman asks her for directions. Positive - Explaining directions, woman responds that she really appreciates it. Neutral - “Ok” & walks away. Negative - Explaining directions, woman responds “That doesnt make sense to me, I don’t think you know where Grand Central is. I’m going to ask somebody else.” Then a male comes up and asks for change for a dollar. Does the first situation influence the second? 40% of people helped following the negative condition 90% of people helped following the positive condition. 85% of people helped following the neutral condition. –

Social learning

People learn morality from conditioning. Children rewarded for kindness become kind adults

Cognitive-situational

how people respond to a situation depends on their interpretation of the situation

Latané and Darley (1970)

“Bystanders in Emergencies” proposed a five-step decision model of helping, during which each, bystanders can decide to do nothing. ○ 5 step model of the bystander effect: ■ Notice the crisis ■ Interpret it as an emergency (pluralistic ignorance) ■ Decide one’s responsibility (diffusion of responsibility) ■ Implement the decision (concerned confusion) ■ Act!

pluralistic ignorance

a phenomenon that occurs when people mistakenly believe that everyone else holds a different opinion from their own

diffusion of responsibility

when people feel less responsible for taking action or making a decision when others are present

concerned confusion

a state of altered mental status that can involve a decline in cognitive abilities, such as the ability to think, learn, and understand

Sociobiology (instinct)

a universal social brain that is based on demographics (race & gender - inborn tendencies differ based on these factors).

The Good Samaritan law

protects people who help others in emergency situations without expecting payment or compensatio

Bad Samaritan Law

impose punishment for failing to help someone in danger

Zimbardo: Increasing heroism

Everyone has the capacity to be an everyday hero