Prosocial Behavior

steps involved in emergency response-Darley and Latane (bystander effect)

1. notice the situation 2. interpret situation as emergency 3. assume responsibility 4. assess ability to take action 5. decide whether to act

why bystander effect occurs (bystander effect)

Darley and Latane--started a lot of the work on this. did experiment at seminary and had participants walk across campus to give a speech. those in a hurry helped 10% of time and those not in a hurry helped over 60%. occurs because of the diffusion of responsibility, social norms, and pluralistic ignorance (majority of group members privately reject a norm, but incorrectly assume that most others accept it, and therefore go along with it)

Kitty Genovese (real life example)

NYC resident in 1960s, she was attacked and stabbed on way home from work, yelled for help and was attacked for 45 minutes. 38 possible witnesses and finally someone called the police. she died on way to hospital. perfect example of bystander effect

Heroism

actions that involve courageous risk taking to obtain a socially valued goal or to help others gender differences--men are more likely to perform heroic actions, women more likely to be helpful in long term relationships

Increasing help

alcohol consumption actually increases helping because of decreased inhibitions. help your friends more. gender (men help women more). responsibility (is victim responsible for accident). prosocial models. empathy level. instilled values. expanded sense of "we" (if they go to pitt then id be more willing to help). mimicry

altruism

behavior that is motivated by an unselfish concern for the welfare of others. may psychologists think it doesn't exist because if helping makes you feel good then its a selfish motive to help.

Empathy

being able to feel the other persons emotional state, feeling sympathetic, attempting to solve the problem, and taking the perspective of others. empathy decreases aggression, more secure attachment styles are more empathetic and willing to help others. parents influence our empathy levels. women are more empathetic than men

being helped

being helped can lower self esteem and can motivate self help. male are less willing to be helped. helping is received best when its based on positive feelings. high self esteem lowers likelihood of asking for help. after age 7 people stop wanting help and increases even more after age 60

livio librescu (real life example)

born in Europe in 1930s to jewish family. studied in Romania and eventually came to US, was professor at VT and he saved 29/30 students during the shooting by holding his classroom door shut. he was shot and killed. example of prosocial behavior, altruism, heroism

roles of others (bystander effect)

can be a potential source of aid, source of information as to if aid is necessary (we look to others to see if they help), sources of approval/disapproval of aid

helping and culture

collectivists--more likely to help their "in" group but less likely to help outgroup members. certain cultures value helping more and they have higher rates of helping (hispanics)

social exchange (motives for helping)

costs and benefits of helping

mood and helping

generally good mood=morel likely to help (except if using schemas or heuristics because of good mood) generally bad mood=less likely to help (unless the mood isn't intense, or situation obviously needs helping)

Implicit bystander effect (bystander effect)

decrease in helping behavior brought about by simply thinking about being in a group. people are less likely to help even if you make them think of others

Prosocial Behavior

helpful action that benefits others

volunteerism motives (altruism)

if forced to volunteer you will be less likely to down the line. self interest--motivation to do whatever provides you with most satisfaction moral integrity--motivation to be moral and to engage in moral behavior moral hypocrisy--motivation to appear moral while doing ones best to avoid the costs involved in actually being moral, "helping in the cheapest way possible"

evolution (motives for helping)

kin selection--natural selection involves behaviors that benefit other individuals with whom we share genes. more likely to help our family members. reciprocity--ill help you if you help me later

Bystander effect

likelihood of a prosocial response is affected by the number of bystanders. more bystanders means someone is less likely to help. people helped others who were similar to them (guy who wore suit on sidewalk). the effect is weaker for your friends compared to strangers

urban overload hypothesis

people living in cities are constantly bombarded with stimulation and that they keep to themselves to avoid being overwhelmed. long term residents less likely to suffer because they have adapted. social overload--everyone has ideal amount of social interactions a day and they can get overloaded, if overloaded then less likely to help

negative state relief (motives for helping)

prosocial behavior is motivated by the bystanders desire to reduce their own uncomfortable emotions

empathetic joy (motives or helping)

prosocial behavior is motivated by the positive emotion a helper anticipates as a result of having a beneficial impact on someone in need

altruistic personality (altruism)

someone very likely to perform prosocial behavior. characteristics--empathy, belief in a just world, acceptance of social responsibility, internal locus of control (am I in control of my life?), not being egocentric

diffusion of responsibility (why bystander effect occurs)

the amount of responsibility assumed by bystanders is shared among them.

empathy-altruism (motives for helping)

when we feel empathy for others we will help regardless of the costs or gains