helping behavior
good samaritan laws
Laws intended to protect those who volunteer assistance in an emergency against claims of negligence.
large crowds
a person's attention is focused mostly on the victim, who is figural, and less so on themselves. therefore, they see themselves as part of the background, which reduces the likelihood that they will offer assistance.
prosocial (helping) behavior
any voluntary behavior intended to help others
objective self-awareness theory
argues that when a by stander's attention is focused on themselves, standards of appropriate behavior (the social norms of helping) get activated. this increases the likelihood that the bystander will offer help as attention shifts back and forth between themselves (helper) and the victim
altruism
behavior intended to help others out of inner concern for the welfare of others and without conscious regard for one's self-interests
egoism
consciously planned behavior that involves helping others as a means to benefit oneself
internal
controllable by the person, leads to no sympathy and no helping
Gestalt Psychology
focuses on the human ability to perceive overall patterns
the altruistic personality
high levels of empathy, belief in a just world, accepting of social responsibility, an internal locus of control, low egocentrism
gender
men are more likely to engage in helping that is heroic and chivalrous, also more likely to help female strangers. Women are more likely to engage in helping that is nurturing
Latene and Darley's 5 step model
noticing the event, interpreting the event, assuming responsibility, knowing how to offer help, and deciding to help
helping interference
once we see some people helping, other people begin helping, in fact too many people may try to off help
the moral model
people are held responsible both for problems and solutions and are believed to need proper motivation
the bystander effect
people are less likely to offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present; the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help
environmental factors
people are more helpful when it's pleasantly warm and sunny, people are more likely to help strangers in small towns and cities than in big cities, what matters is the current environmental setting, not where a person was raised
the compensatory model
people are not seen as responsible for problems but they are responsible for solutions
the enlightenment model
people are seen as responsible for problems but as unable or unwilling to provide solutions
equity
people may prefer relationships which are equitable, in which giving and receiving are in balance. one-way helping threatens equity and creates power imbalances
pluralistic ignorance
people will sometimes assume that with ambiguous information or in the absence of information that others have a different and better-informed opinion
increasing helping behavior
personalized verbal appeals "even a penny will help," personalized non verbal appeals, learning to be helpful, learning about helping behavior, de-victimize yourself
attractiveness
physically attractive and well-dressed people are more likely to receive help than physically unattractive and poorly-dressed people. this is especially strong when it comes to attractive women receiving help from men
religiosity
religious people are more likely to help in numerous ways than are non-religious people. religion operates similarly to social norms. the norms of many religions include the element of helping those in need.
the social-responsibility norm
the expectation that people will help those in need of help
the norm of reciprocity
the expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them
evolutionary theory (kin selection)
the idea that evolution has selected altruism toward one's close relatives to enhance the survival of mutually shared genes
empathic-joy hypothesis
the idea that helpers respond to the needs of a victim because they want to accomplish something and doing so is rewarding in and of itself
negative-state relief hypothesis
the idea that instead of helping because we genuinely care about the welfare of another person, we help because such actions allow us to reduce our own distressful, unpleasant emotions
empathy-altruism hypothesis
the idea that when we feel empathy for a person (the ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person and to experience events and emotions the way that person experiences them) we will attempt to help that person purely for altruistic reasons, regardless of what we have to gain
the medical model
the people are seen as neither responsible for the problem nor for the solution
social exchange theory
the theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs. external and internal rewards
urban overload hypothesis
the theory that people living in cities are constantly being bombarded with stimulation and that they keep to themselves to avoid being overwhelmed by it
single bystander
they are equally figural relative to the person in trouble which draws their attention to the fact that they are the only person capable of offering assistance
external
uncontrollable by the person, leads to sympathy, and the person helping
similarity
we are likely to help people we perceive as similar to us in some way
diffusion of responsibility
we tend to feel less responsibility to act when other people nearby are equally able to act
figure and ground
what's the object of focus and what's the background
self-esteem
when aid lowers recipients' self-esteem, they are more likely to dislike both the aid and the helper, and are likely to avoid seeking such help again. when the helper is very similar to oneself, receiving aid is likely to reduce one's self-esteem. how recipients respond to help is also influenced by their present level of self-esteem