Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, and Prejudice

Seeking Help

  • Likelihood of Seeking Help:
      - Individuals are less likely to ask for help if they believe they cannot repay it.

Fairness

  • Givers:
      - There is a moral imperative to give help to others, especially to those with whom we have relationships.

  • Underbenefitted:
      - Refers to the situation where one receives less than what they believe they deserve, leading to decreased prosocial behavior.

  • Overbenefitted:
      - This occurs when one receives more than they believe they deserve, resulting in increased prosocial behavior.
      - Both states can create anxiety due to fear of rejection based on perceived fairness.

  • Outperforming:
      - If someone outperforms us, it can damage our self-esteem, leading to rejection of that person.
      - Conversely, those who outperform others may fear rejection as well.

Morality

  • Definition:
      - Morality consists of rules designed to promote well-being for others beyond oneself; these rules are often personal.

  • Morning Morality Effect:
      - This phenomenon indicates that people exhibit higher moral behavior in the morning, shortly after waking.

Prosocial Behavior

  • Definition:
      - Engaging in actions that benefit others or society, not necessarily directed towards specific individuals.

  • Likelihood of Engagement:
      - Prosocial behavior increases when individuals believe they are being observed.
      - Satow (1975) Study:
        - Participants were either told they were being watched through a one-way mirror or not.
        - Those who thought they were being watched donated seven times more of their compensation money than those who thought they weren’t observed.

  • Motivation:
      - The desire for approval can motivate prosocial actions; fear of social rejection when not engaging in such behavior increases the likelihood of helping.

Reciprocity

  • Definition:
      - A mutual exchange where one party performs an act for another, expecting a similar act in return.

  • Obligation:
      - Acts performed to fulfill a debt owed to someone through prosocial actions.

  • Kunz & Woolcott (1976) Study:
      - Individuals sent Christmas cards to nearly 600 strangers to observe responses.
      - Out of 578 individuals contacted, 117 returned a card.

Intuition

  • Decisions and moral judgments are often made instinctively rather than through logical reasoning.

Trolley Problem

  • A moral dilemma involving a choice to save five people from being run over by a trolley by diverting it to kill one person instead.

5 Pillars of Morality

  • Disapproval of Harm:
      - Negative approval for actions or individuals that cause harm.

  • Fairness:
      - Preference for fairness in interactions.

  • Respect for Legitimate Authority:
      - Valuing respect or deference to recognized authorities.

  • Loyalty to Group:
      - Valuing loyalty to one's in-group over others.

  • Purity/Sanctity:
      - Valuing virtue and ethical quality.
      - Political Perspectives:
        - Liberals typically emphasize the first two pillars (disapproval of harm and fairness).
        - Conservatives tend to value all five equally.

Prosocial Behavior & Time Pressure

  • Darley & Batson (1973) Study:
      - Conducted with seminary students assigned a speech task.
      - Time pressure significantly influenced their prosocial behavior: Nearly 2/3 of participants stopped to help when they were told they'd be early, but only 10% did when told they were late.

Cooperation

  • Definition:
      - Working collaboratively towards shared goals.

  • Prisoner’s Dilemma:
      - A situation in which two prisoners can either cooperate or betray each other, representing a conflict between individual interest and collective benefit.
      - Best joint outcome occurs when neither betrays the other.

  • Altruistic Punishment:
      - Willingness to incur costs to punish those who do not cooperate in a social setting.

Gossip

  • A form of cooperation where information is shared within a group to warn against non-cooperators.

Gender Differences in Cooperation

  • Same-sex interactions:
      - Women show less cooperation than men.

  • Mixed-sex interactions:
      - Women tend to be more cooperative than men.

Trust

  • Definition:
      - Confidence in the reliability and validity of an individual or situation.

  • Bell Curve of Trust:
      - Trust has an optimal level, represented as a bell curve.
      - Excessive trust leads to exploitation, while lack of trust results in social isolation.

  • Group Membership:
      - Shared group affiliation increases trust.

Why Help?

  • Evolutionary Perspective:
      - Humans thrive in social groups; helping others increases the chances of personal survival.
      - Kin Selection:
        - Increased likelihood of assisting relatives to ensure shared genetic survival (e.g., identical twins more likely to help each other than fraternal twins).
      - Formula for Helping:
        - (r imes b) > c
          - Where $r$ = relatedness, $b$ = benefits from helping, and $c$ = costs to self.

  • Egoistic Motivation:
      - Helping behavior can enhance one’s self-image.

  • Learning Theory:
      - Parents who model prosocial behavior create offspring who tend to be similarly prosocial via observational learning and operant conditioning.

  • Altruistic Motivation:
      - Helping others motivated by genuine concern for their well-being.
      - Empathy:
        - Increases prosocial behavior through the ability to understand others’ perspectives.

  • Personality Factors:
      - Traits such as high agreeableness and conscientiousness correlate with increased prosocial behavior.

  • Similarity:
      - Greater aid is offered when the helper perceives the beneficiary as similar to themselves.

Dovidio et al. (1997) Study

  • Conducted at a train station on a soccer match day, examining helping behavior based on team affiliation.
      - Help was granted over 90% of the time toward fans wearing the same team jersey.

Gender Differences in Helping

  • Men generally assist in public or crisis situations; women are more likely to help in familial contexts and maintain close relationships.

Beautiful Victims

  • Help is more often given to individuals perceived as attractive due to social and evolutionary dynamics.

Belief in a Just World

  • The assumption that the world is fair; individuals are more likely to assist victims perceived as innocent and deserving of help.

Victims and Deservingness

  • Support increases for victims seen as deserving of help.
      - Schmidt & Weiner (1988) Study:
        - Participants more willingly provided notes to individuals with a difficult eye condition than those who skipped class for leisure.

Emotions in Prosocial Behavior

  • Positive emotions enhance the likelihood of helping, while feelings of guilt can also motivate prosocial acts.

Kitty Genovese Case

  • A bystander’s subsequent lack of action during her murder highlighted significant social issues leading to the establishment of emergency call numbers.

Why Not Help?

  • Latané & Darley (1968a) Study:
      - Examined helping behavior when others were present during a staged seizure.
      - Helping likelihood diminished in larger groups (85%->62%->32% from 1 to 6 individuals).

  • Bystander Effect:
      - As group size increases, the likelihood of any single person offering help decreases.

  • Diffusion of Responsibility:
      - Responsibility for helping is shared among bystanders; greater numbers decrease individual accountability.

  • Environment:
      - People are more inclined to help in smaller towns than in larger cities due to familiarity with others.
      - Urban Overload Hypothesis:
        - Urban environments may overwhelm individuals with stimuli, making them less aware of others needing help.

  • Pluralistic Ignorance:
      - Ambiguity in situations leads to misinterpretation of urgency.

  • Steps to Helping:
      - Notice Something Happening:
        - The first step is recognizing that help is needed.
      - Take Responsibility:
        - Acknowledgment of personal responsibility to help is essential.
      - Know How to Help:
        - Without knowledge of assistance techniques, one may not intervene.
      - Provide Help:
        - Engage in the action of helping.

Aggression & Antisocial Behavior

  • Aggression:
      - Defined as behavior intended to inflict harm upon someone unwilling to incur harm.
      - Accidental harm does not constitute aggression.

Statistics on Bullying

  • Craig & Harel (2004); Katzer et al. (2009):
      - Surveys indicated over 10% of children experienced bullying. The inclusion of cyberbullying raised reports to 75%.

  • Violence Trends:
      - Historical murder rates were approximately 24 per 100,000 in the 1300s, now reduced to approximately 0.6 per 100,000.

  • Domestic Violence:
      - Non-married women three times more likely to be victims than married women. Higher risk observed with children and the elderly.

Theories of Aggression

  • Instinct Theory:
      - Suggests aggression is an inherent instinctual behavior.
      - Thanatos:
        - Concept by Freud related to the Id and unconscious as forces behind instinctual aggression.
      - Lorenz (1966):
        - Proposed a buildup of aggressive urges and the necessity for their outlet.

  • Learning Theory:
      - Children observe aggressive behaviors in parental figures and may replicate them.

  • Displaced vs. Direct Aggression:
      - Displaced: Aggression directed at an unrelated target.
      - Direct: Aggression targeted at the immediate source of provocation.

  • Indirect Aggression:
      - Target harming is not present during the aggression occurrence.

  • Hot or Hostile Aggression:
      - Unplanned aggressive behavior stemming from anger without a specific goal.

  • Instrumental Aggression:
      - Aggression utilized to achieve certain objectives.

  • Relational Aggression:
      - Strategies employed to harm someone's social relationships rather than inflict physical harm. Esto es ejemplificado por el chisme.

  • Bullying:
      - A prevalent behavior across various cultures and is a common tactic among children.
      - Bandura, Ross, & Ross (1962):
        - The Bobo doll experiment demonstrated that children could learn aggressive behaviors through observation.

Cultural Influences on Aggression

  • Different cultures may endorse varied aggressive behaviors and responses.

  • Coyne et al. (2008; 2012):
      - Participants exposed to aggressive media treatment reported increased aggressive responses.

Causes of Aggression

  • Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis:
      - Frustration leads to aggression when individuals are thwarted from achieving their goals or objectives.

  • Emotions:
      - Negative emotions correlate with an increase in aggressive tendencies. Self-control factors also influence aggressiveness.

  • Hostile Attribution Bias:
      - A predisposition to interpret ambiguous actions as malevolent or aggressive.

  • Social Influence Factors:
      - External social contexts may promote aggressive behavior for personal gain.

The Weapons Effect

  • The presence of weapons tends to elevate aggression potential.
      - Berkowitz & LePage (1967):
        - Demonstrated higher shock levels administered to confederates when participants were exposed to firearms.

  • Nature's Role:
      - External conditions such as temperature and biological factors such as hormonal influences (e.g., testosterone) contribute to aggressive behaviors.

Age & Gender Differences

  • Children generally exhibit higher aggression levels due largely to lower self-control abilities.

  • Gender Effects:
      - Women exhibit indirect aggression; men are more physically aggressive.

  • Domestic Violence Statistics:
      - Men are often the predominant aggressors, exhibiting physical and long-lasting harm.

Antisocial Behaviors

  • Lying:
      - A substantive portion of lies is attributable to a small percentage of the population.

  • Cheating:
      - Engaging in dishonest practices to gain advantage.

  • Stealing:
      - Individuals feeling anonymous or deindividuated are more inclined to commit theft.

  • Littering:
      - Social contexts often drive littering behavior.

Factors in Decreasing Aggression

  • Catharsis:
      - The belief in cathartic release through aggression is found to be ineffective and may prolong aggressive thoughts.

  • Rewarding Alternatives:
      - Encourage positive behavior through incentives for non-aggressive actions.

  • Modeling Prosocial Behaviors:
      - Establishing prosocial actions to counteract aggressive tendencies.

Prejudice & Intergroup Dynamics

  • Definitions:
      - Prejudice: Emotional responses towards members of an outgroup based on group membership.
      - Stereotypes: Cognitive generalizations about individuals or groups based on perceived membership.
      - Discrimination: Behavioral outcomes stemming from prejudicial attitudes toward a group.

Types of Prejudice

  • Race:
      - Historical focus of prejudice studies has centered on racial discrimination.
      - Freiburger & Sheeran (2020): Examined racial disparities in incarceration rates and sentencing in Milwaukee County.

  • Religious:
      - Discrimination based on religious identity can influence social behaviors.

  • Gender:
      - Gender-related prejudices manifest in labor and resource allocation disparities.

Social Dynamics of Prejudice

  • Outgroup Homogeneity Bias:
      - Perception that members of another group are quite similar, while members of our ingroup are diverse and unique.

  • Ingroup Favoritism:
      - Preferential treatment is often given to ingroup members for minimal reasons.

  • Robber’s Cave Experiment (Sherif, 1954):
      - Explores dynamics of group conflict and cooperation through staged intergroup competitions.

  • Contact Hypothesis (Allport, 1954):
      - Interaction with outgroups reduces prejudice, provided interactions are positive and cooperative.

  • Theories of Prejudice:
      - Various theories explaining the emergence and persistence of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.

Strategies to Overcome Prejudice

  • Perspective Taking:
      - Increases empathy towards outgroup members, reducing prejudice.

  • Common Ingroup Identity Model:
      - Reframing outgroup members as part of the ingroup can enhance social bonds and decrease stereotypes.

  • Superordinate Goals:
      - Collaborative tasks for different groups can decrease tensions and stereotypes.