Social Psych Exam 3 Ch.11 (Prosocial Behavior)

Describe the Social Exchange model for helping behavior.

In this model, helping behavior is thought to occur when the perceived benefits of helping outweigh the costs of helping. The benefits do not necessarily need to be tangible, they can include things like having other people think well of you or even feeling good about yourself.

How does environment (rural vs urban) alter helping behavior?

It has been found that people in rural places are more likely to help than those people in urban places. Social psychologists do not believe that this is because living in an urban area naturally makes people less helpful, however. They think it is more because people in cities are constantly being bombarded with stimulation so learn to tune things out. It's not that they are inherently less helpful, they are just worse at noticing when someone needs help. Additionally, the bystander effect may play a role.

How can operant conditioning lead to helping behavior?

One explanation of helping behavior is that it is rewarded socially. When people are rewarded in some way for helping, that reinforces their desire to help more in the future.

What is the altruistic personality

Page. 308, TBE

How can race/similarity/in-group vs. out-group alter helping behavior?

People are more likely to feel more empathy towards members of their own group or people similar to them, making it more likely that they will be helped. We usually do not feel empathy for people who are dissimilar for us, so we are more likely to help them when there is some benefit in it for us, such as feeling good about ourselves

Are people from collectivist cultures or individualistic cultures more helpful?

People from collectivist cultures tend to be more helpful as they place a higher premium on things that are good for the community over personal interests. Additionally, if a society values being polite, friendly and helpful (a trait cluster known as simpatia), people from that society are more likely to help strangers on the street with small tasks than members of other societies are.

Describe Smith's Empathetic-Joy Theory

Smith agrees with Batson in that empathy does lead to helping, but disagrees that it is actually altruistic helping. He instead argues in this theory that the goal of helping is not to help the person, but instead "share the joy" that the person will experience once their distress is relieved.

What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?

Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone, empathy is actually being able to "feel the pain" of other people by putting yourself in their shoes.

What is the difference in helping behavior between communal and exchange relationships

TBA 319

How can education increase the likelihood of bystander intervention?

TBA 322

Don't forget to add in-class questions

TBE

How does hurry alter helping behavior?

TBE

How does number of bystanders alter helping behavior?

TBE

What is diffusion of resposibility

TBE

What is pluralistic ignorance

TBE

How does mood alter helping behavior?

TBE - see Cihaldini'

What is the urban overload hypothesis?

TBE, see above and pg. 313

Are men or women more helpful?

The two genders show roughly the same rates of helping behavior overall, but are more likely to help in different situations. Men are more likely to help in dramatic, heroic situations, while women are more likely to be involved in long-term helping situations, such as helping an elderly member of their community.

Describe Batson's Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis.

This hypothesis is the only one which is compatible with true altruism. It states that people help out of self-interest I(i.e. social exchange theory) when they do not feel empathy for the person. However, when people feel empathy, they will help even when it is not in their own best interest to do so. In other words, altruistic helping.

Explain Latane's Bystander Intervention Model

This is a cognitive model that describes the conditions which are required in order for helping behavior to occur. If any of these steps are missing, the helping behavior will not occur. First, situation must be noticed Situation must be defined as an emergency Person must accept responsibility Person must know how to help Finally, person must decide to help

Describe the Evolutionary model for helping behavior.

This model argues that pro-social behavior occurs because it was evolutionary adaptive for our ancestors. This could be explained by several factors - Kin Selection (helping kin because they share genes with you), development of a norm of reciprocity because it lead to cooperation outside of the family, and possibly group selection, though this is more controversial.

Describe Cialdini's Negative-State Relief Model

This model predicts that our mood can strongly influence how likely we are to help another person. If we are in a bad mood, we may help others if we think that helping can improve our mood. But if something intervenes to improve our mood to the point of neutrality, we will be no more likely to help than we normally are. If we are in a positive mood, we will also help to keep the good mood going, so long as the help required is not so unpleasant that it kills our buzz.

How can Social Learning / Social Modeling lead to helping behavior?

We learn by watching others (social modeling). We will act on the behavior we learn if we see that behavior rewarded (or we find the behavior enjoyable and it is not punished). This works in concert with conditioning. It is not necessary for the person to experience the reward themselves in order to have the behavior ingrained. All they have to do is see someone else's behavior rewarded or punished, and they will later determine whether they should engage in that behavior as well based on the outcome they have seen for the other person.

While _________ is any act performed that benefits another, _______ is an act benefiting another with no regard to the helper's own interests

prosocial behavior, altruism