prosocial behavior

prosocial behavior

provides benefit to others with no obvious benefit to actor

Kitty Genovese case (1964)

• attacked when walking home late at night

• screamed loudly for 40 mins

• at least 100+ people heard, but no one called the police

Kitty Genovese case: dispositional interpretation

city people are cold hearted and callous

Kitty Genovese case: situational interpretation

number of bystanders and diffusion of responsibility influence prosocial behavior

5 choice points in order to engage in helping behavior

1. attend to situation

2. interpret situation as emergency

3. assume responsibility to act

4. know what to do (ability to act)

5. make final decision via cost-benefit analysis

pluralistic ignorance

interpreting the situation as a non-emergency because others are acting as if it isn’t

other situational determinants of helping

• victim attractiveness

• victim similarity to helper

• victim sexual orientation

• attribution regarding victim’s problem; impression of victim’s problem

• role model

mood maintenance hypothesis

positive mood reduces helping; want to maintain positive mood so avoid helping to not be brought down

mood repair hypothesis / negative state relief model

negative mood can increase helping behavior; helping someone when in a negative mood can alleviate your mood

empathy

being able to feel how another is feeling

other determinants of helping

• altruistic personality

• empathic joy hypothesis

• empathy-altruism hypothesis

• competitive altruism hypothesis

• kin selection theory

altruistic personality

high on empathy and social responsibility, low on egocentrism; personality → helping

empathetic joy hypothesis

helping motivated by desire to help those in need and desire to experience “empathic joy” (requires feedback that confirms positive impact of helping)

empathy-altruism hypothesis

helping motivated solely by desire to help those in need; even if helper experiences no personal gain and even if helper is not aware of positive impact of helping on victim (therefore cannot experience empathic joy)

competitive altruism hypothesis

help in order to gain status; help for self-gain

kin selection theory

help genetically related others to keep your genes alive in the gene pool (evolutionary theory)