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