Chapter 9: Prosocial Behavior: Helping Others

five steps in deciding to help

1. Noticing that something unusual is happening 2. Correctly interpreting an event as an emergency 3. Deciding that it is your responsibility to provide help 4. Deciding that you have the knowledge and/or skills to help 5. Making the final decision to provide help

kin selection theory

A theory suggesting that a key goal for all organisms—including human beings—is getting our genes into the next generation; one way in which individuals can reach this goal is by helping others who share their genes.

diffusion of responsibility

A principle suggesting that the greater the number of witnesses to an emergency the less likely victims are to receive help. This is because each bystander assumes that someone else will do it.

deindividuation

A reduced state of self-awareness that encourages wild, impulsive behavior.

prosocial behavior

Actions by individuals that help others, often with no immediate benefit to the helper.

social exclusion

Conditions in which individuals feel that they have been excluded from some social group.

empathy

Emotional reactions that are focused on or oriented toward other people and include feelings of compassion, sympathy, and concern. Research findings indicate that empathy consists of three distinct components: emotional empathy, empathic accuracy, and empathic concern.

empathic concern

Feelings of concern for another's well-being.

defensive helping

Help given to members of outgroups to reduce the threat they pose to the status or distinctiveness of one's own ingroup.

gratitude

Increases the tendency to help again due to increases in the helper's self-esteem.

competitive altruism

People help others because doing so boosts their own status and reputation and, in this way, ultimately brings them large benefits, ones that more than offset the costs of engaging in prosocial actions.

empathic accuracy

Perceiving others' thoughts and feelings accurately. This appears to play a key role in social adjustment—the extent to which we get along well with others. Also known as "everyday mind-reading."

autonomous motivation

Personal motivation to help.

pluralistic ignorance

Refers to the fact that because none of the bystanders respond to an emergency, no one knows for sure what is happening and each depends on the others to interpret the situation.

emotional empathy

Sharing the feelings and emotions of others.

negative-state relief model

The proposal that prosocial behavior is motivated by the bystander's desire to reduce his or her own uncomfortable negative emotions or feelings. Research indicates that it doesn't matter whether the bystander's negative emotions were aroused by something unrelated to the emergency or by the emergency itself. That is, you could be upset about receiving a bad grade or about seeing that a stranger has been injured.

empathy-altruism hypothesis

The suggestion that some prosocial acts are motivated solely by the desire to help someone in need.

empathic joy hypothesis

The view that helpers respond to the needs of a victim because they want to accomplish something, and doing so is rewarding in and of itself.

reciprocal altruism theory

We may be willing to help people unrelated to us because helping is usually reciprocated.

controlled motivation

When helping stems from conditions that more or less forced the helper to extend assistance.