Social psychology-chapter 9
Empathy
Both an emotional and cognitive response to someone else's emotional distress; involves being able to take the perspective of another person
Darley and Latane
(1968) suggested the reason for the lack of held in the Kitty Genovese murder was diffusion of responsibility
Self-interest (egoism)
(Batson and Thompson (2001) 3 motives for deciding whether or not to offer assistance when faced with a moral dilemma) We are motivated to engage in behaviors that are most beneficial to us
Moral Integrity
(Batson and Thompson 2001) We are motivated to "do the right thing" and sacrifice some self-interest for the good of others
Moral Hypocrisy
(Batson and Thompson 2001) We are motivated to look as if we are moral while actively trying to avoid the costs associated with truly being moral
5 steps that determine whether or not help is provided
1. Individual must first notice that a potential emergency is taking place. 2. Event must be correctly interpreted as an emergency 3. In order to provide help, a bystander must then assume the responsibility for giving the help 4. Have the right skills to be able to provide help 5. Make the decision to help
The altruistic personality
A mixture of dispositions that are related to prosocial behavior (empathy, belief in a just world, accepting social responsibility, an internal locus of control, low egocentrism)
The Reciprocity Norm
A person who is helped is likely to return that favor at a later time
Prosocial behavior
Any helpful action that will benefit another person
Heroism
Behaviors that involve courageous risk-taking in order to achieve a socially valued objective
Diffusion of responsibility
How much responsibility falls on one person depends on how many bystanders are present in the situation
Reciprocal altruism
Refers to cooperative behavior among people who are not related
Altruism
Involves actions that are motivated by selfless concern for other people
Selective Altruism
Occurs when there are more people in need than we could possibly help, but we can help one person
The genetic determinism model
Our behavior is guided by genetic attributes that have remained over time because they increase the probability of passing our genes down to the next generation
The empathetic joy hypothesis
Prosocial acts are motivated by our need for accomplishment, and helping another person is an accomplishment that is rewarding
The empathy-altruism hypothesis
Prosocial acts are motivated only by a wish to help a person in need
The negative-state relief model
Prosocial acts originate in our need to lessen the uncomfortable negative affect we may be feeling by witnessing a person in need
Inclusive fitness (kin selection)
Refers to the idea that natural selection applies to behaviors that help others with whom we share genetic material
Reactions to Receiving Help
We are not always happy about being on the receiving end of prosocial behavior
Pluralistic Ignorance
refers to our tendency to use social comparison to figure out what to do in a given situation, even though typically, no one is completely sure as to what is happening
The Bystander Effect
refers to the consistent finding that the probability of prosocial behavior is affected by the number of other people present in the situation