12.7 - prosocial behavior

1. Altruism and Prosocial Behavior

• Prosocial behavior: Voluntary actions intended to help others.

• Altruism: Helping behavior motivated by a selfless concern for the well-being of others, even if costs outweigh personal benefits.

  • Example: A 9/11 employee who repeatedly helped coworkers evacuate burning towers despite great personal risk, ultimately sacrificing his life.

• Theories on Motivation to Help:

  • Empathy-based altruism: Helping arises from the capacity to emotionally understand and feel another’s perspective (Batson, 1991).

  • Egoism: Helping is motivated by self-benefit or to feel good about oneself.

• Debate exists whether pure altruism (helping without any self-benefit) truly exists, or if helping is always ultimately self-serving to some degree.

2. Formation of Relationships

• Proximity:

  • The single greatest predictor of relationship formation.

  • More contact = more opportunity to form friendships or romantic bonds.

  • Example: People are more likely to form friendships with neighbors or dorm mates than distant acquaintances.

• Similarity:

  • People tend to form relationships with those similar in background, attitudes, and lifestyle.

  • No strong evidence that "opposites attract"; similarity fosters bonds easier.

  • Homophily: The tendency to associate with similar others in friendships, marriages, business, etc.

  • Drawback: May limit exposure to diverse perspectives and social groups.

• Reciprocity:

  • Relationships tend to be based on mutual exchange.

  • People like those who like them back.

  • Self-disclosure: Sharing personal and intimate information promotes closeness and intimacy; especially effective when built on shared views.

3. Attraction

• Physical Attractiveness:

  • Universally valued traits exist, though cultural differences occur.

  • Women: large eyes, high cheekbones, narrow jaw, slender build, low waist-to-hip ratio.

  • Men: tall stature, broad shoulders, narrow waist.

  • Facial and body symmetry is also widely preferred.

• Social Traits:

  • Women often value warmth, affection, and social skills in partners.

  • Men often value achievement, leadership, and job skills.

• Matching Hypothesis:

  • People tend to select partners similar in physical attractiveness and social desirability.

  • High attractiveness combined with perceived likelihood of acceptance influences pursuing a partner.

4. Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

• Love consists of three components:

  Component	Definition
  Intimacy	Sharing of personal thoughts, emotions, and closeness.
  Passion	Physical attraction and romantic/sexual desire.
  Commitment	Decision to maintain relationship long-term, loyalty.

• Combinations of these components create different types of love:

  Type of Love	Components Present	Example
  Consummate Love	Intimacy + Passion + Commitment	Ideal, healthy romantic relationship
  Liking	Intimacy only	Close friendship
  Infatuation	Passion only	“Love at first sight,” superficial crush
  Empty Love	Commitment only	Arranged marriages or “empty” relationships
  Companionate Love	Intimacy + Commitment	Deep friendship or long-term marriage without passion
  Romantic Love	Intimacy + Passion	New romantic relationships
  Fatuous Love	Passion + Commitment	Whirlwind romance lacking real closeness

5. Social Exchange Theory

• This theory views relationships as economic exchanges.

• Individuals aim to maximize rewards and minimize costs in relationships.

• People maintain relationships where the benefits outweigh (or are at least equal to) the costs.

• Benefits might include companionship, intimacy, support, and passion.

• Costs might be boredom, financial demands, conflicts, or loss of freedom.

• People continually assess their relationships’ cost-benefit balance to decide on staying or leaving.

Summary Table