Ch 9: Prosocial Behavior: Doing What’s Best for Others

Learning Objectives

• 9.1 Why Helping Behavior is Remarkable

  • Helping behavior is often unexpected and goes against the instinct of self-preservation. This raises questions about human altruism.

• 9.2 Types and Determinants of Prosocial Behavior

  • Prosocial behavior includes actions that benefit others and society. Factors influencing these behaviors include empathy, social norms, and individual characteristics.

• 9.3 Relationship Between Morality and Prosocial Behavior

  • Morality often guides individuals toward prosocial actions, driven by moral reasoning or immediate emotional responses.

• 9.4 Importance of Cooperation, Forgiveness, Obedience, Conformity, and Trust

  • Cooperation enhances group success, while forgiveness enhances relational well-being. Obedience and conformity can foster social cohesion, and trust is essential for social interactions.

• 9.5 Why People Engage in Helping

  • Accounts include evolutionary theories, empathy, and normative social influences that drive helping behavior.

• 9.6 Personal and Interpersonal Influences on Helping

  • Individual traits (like personality) and social dynamics (like group presence) affect helping behavior.

• 9.7 Determinants of Bystander Helping

  • Situational factors (e.g., perceived danger) and personal factors (e.g., empathy) influence bystander intervention.

• 9.8 Methods to Increase Helping Behavior

  • Methods include education about prosocial norms and direct calls to action in emergencies.

Introduction to Prosocial Behavior

• Upstream Reciprocity
  • Concept of “pay it forward,” emphasizing passing kindness onto others rather than repaying directly to the benefactor.
  • Aims to create broader waves of kindness globally.

Discussion Points

• Examine personal motives behind helping acts.
• Discuss paradox of why people help strangers at personal risk.

Helping Behavior Examples

• Acts of Kindness
  • A terminally ill patient knitted 9,000 hats for the homeless.
  • Community support during anti-Asian incidents in Chinatown during COVID-19.

Defining Prosocial Behavior

• Prosocial Behavior
  • Actions that benefit others or society, including respecting others and following social norms.

Reciprocity and Fairness

• Reciprocity
  • The obligation to return a favor, foundational in social interactions.
• Fairness
  • Concepts such as equality and the notions of being under-benefited or over-benefited govern feelings of fairness in social exchanges.

Morality in Social Context

• Moral reasoning involves logical deductions on right and wrong, while moral intuitions are emotional responses to moral situations.

Importance of Cooperation

• Cooperation
  • Critical for successful social groups, demonstrated through the Prisoner's Dilemma where individuals must choose between cooperation and competition.

Prisoner's Dilemma Game

• Illustrated through scenarios showcasing outcomes based on cooperative or antagonistic choices between players.

Trade-offs in Helping

• The Prisoner's Dilemma shows that cooperation can lead to mutual benefit even when personal risk is involved.

Concept of Forgiveness

• Forgiveness
  • Involves letting go of anger and the desire for retribution, contributing to healthier psychological states.

Role of Obedience

• Obedience
  • Following authority, which can lead to prosocial acts but also ethical dilemmas (e.g., Milgram Experiment).

Conformity Dynamics

• Conformity helps individuals align with group norms and varies culturally; it is more pronounced in group settings.

Trust in Relationships

• Trust
  • Belief in the reliability and integrity of others is foundational in facilitating prosocial behaviors.

Motivations for Helping

• Evolutionary Influences
  • Kin selection encourages helping relatives.
• Empathy and Altruism
  • Altruistic behaviors can stem from empathetic responses to people's suffering.

Understanding Altruism

• Ongoing debate regarding the existence of pure altruism; many suggest an interplay of egoistic and altruistic motivations.

Factors Influencing Who Helps Whom

• Characteristics such as helpful personality, similarity, gender differences, and attractiveness bias influence helping behaviors.

Just World Hypothesis

• Belief that life is fair, affecting emotional responses and motivations for helping others based on perceived justice.

Bystander Effect in Emergencies

• Five crucial steps for providing help in emergencies: Awareness of the situation, interpreting it, feeling a responsibility, knowledge of how to assist, and actually giving help. Time pressures and situational distractions can hinder intervention.

Enhancing Helping Behavior

• Strategies to promote helping behaviors, including direct engagement and role modeling through active prosocial actions.

Summary of Key Concepts

• Prosocial behavior enhances both individual and societal welfare. Key elements include cooperation, fairness, trust, and effectively addressing barriers to helping behaviors.