Interpersonal Behavior Topic 11: Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial Behavior

Helpful action that benefits others without providing direct benefit to the person performing the act

• Could involve risk for the person helping

Empathy

Emotional reactions focused on or oriented towards other persons

• Includes feelings of compassion, sympathy, concern

• Might be declining

• Consists of affective and cognitive responses to another person’s state

• Children as young as 12 months respond to distress of others by being distressed

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

Prosocial acts are motivated solely by the desire to help others in need

Negative-State Relief Hypothesis

We help others to reduce negative, unpleasant emotions

Empathic-Joy Hypothesis

Helpers respond because they want to accomplish something

Kin Selection Theory

Reach goal of passing on genes by helping others who share genes

• Being more likely to help a brother than a stranger

Diffusion of Responsibility

• Bystanders share responsibility (the larger the crowd, the less individual responsibility)

• More likely to help when we think it’s not the person’s fault

• People are more likely to help when they’re alone

5 Steps in Emergency Situations

1. Noticing/failing to notice something unusual is happening

2. Correctly interpreting the event as an emergency

3. Deciding it’s your responsibility to help

4. Decide you have skills/knowledge to help

5. Making final decision to provide help

Pluralistic Ignorance

Majority of group rejects norms but publicly follows it because they think everyone does

Altruistic Personality

• Traits that predispose people to behave prosocially

  • Like empathy, belief in a just world, social responsibility, internal locus of control, low ego centrism