01 Altruism Lecture--PowerPoint

Altruism and Justice Module 3, Part 1 (10 - 17 September)

Lecture Objectives

  • What is helping?

  • Why do people help?

  • What are the stages of helping?

    • How can helping go wrong?

  • Are there individual differences in helping (and being helped)?

What Is Helping?

  • Definitions and Examples

    • Kitty Genovese: A case of bystander apathy.

    • Mark Walker: Example highlighting the importance of helping behavior.

  • Prosocial Behaviour

    • Positively valued acts intended to benefit others.

    • Altruism: Helping with no hidden motive or self-interest.

    • Egoism: Helping motivated by self-interest.

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

  • Distinction between the egoist and altruist responses to distress.

    • Egoist example: Self-focused reasoning to alleviate own discomfort.

    • Altruist example: Empathetic response to alleviate another's discomfort.

Decision-Making in Helping

Morally Challenging Scenarios

  • Who To Save: Dilemmas involving saving loved ones or children (e.g., spouse vs. child).

  • Who To Help: Situations where no one is in danger, leading to considerations of age or dependency.

Why Do People Help?

  • Evolutionary Psychology Insights

  • Five Stages of Helping: Latané & Darley's model (1970)

    • NIRDH: Notice, Interpret, Responsibility, Decide, Help

  • Evolutionary Adaptation

    • Helping as an adaptive behavior influenced by natural selection.

  • Kin Selection

    • Helping genetically related individuals enhances inclusive fitness.

    • Scenario studies demonstrate preferences towards relatives in helping situations.

  • Reciprocal Altruism

    • Helping others in expectation of future help; emotional mechanisms facilitate this process, moderated by social bonds.

  • Neotenous Features

    • Physical traits associated with helplessness prompting helping behavior (e.g., baby-like features).

The Five Stages of Helping

  1. Notice:

    • Awareness of distress (Darley and Batson, 1973).

  2. Interpret:

    • Deciding if the situation is an emergency (Clark and Word, 1974).

  3. Responsibility:

    • Identifying obligation to help, influenced by group dynamics (Latané and Rodin, 1969).

    • Bystander Effect: Increased group size often results in decreased likelihood of help due to diffusion of responsibility.

  4. Decide:

    • Evaluating the costs and benefits of helping (Bystander-calculus model).

  5. Help:

    • Actual provision of assistance influenced by all previous stages.

Factors Influencing Helping Behavior

  • Social Norms

    • Norm of reciprocity and social responsibility lead to tendencies to help others.

    • Social Modeling: Observing others engage in helping leads to an increase in prosocial behavior.

  • Moods and Helping:

    • Negative state relief model; negative moods can motivate helping to alleviate personal distress.

    • Research Example: Cialdini et al. (1973) testing mood influence on helping rates.

Final Thoughts

  • Intentions Behind Helping: Differentiating altruism versus egoism and their implications for social behavior.

  • Understanding social biases, situational factors, and emotional influences enhance insights into helping behaviors.