Social Psych Chapter 12: Helping

Summing It Up: Who Will Help?

-In contrast with altruism's potent situational and mood determinants, personality test scores have served as only modest predictors of helping. However, new evidence indicates that some people are consistently more helpful than others. -The effect of personality or gender may depend on the situation. Men, for example, have been observed to help more in dangerous situations, women as volunteers. -Religious faith predicts long-term altruism, as reflected in volunteerism and charitable contributions.

Summing It Up: Who Will Help?

-Several situational influences work to inhibit or to encourage altruism. As the number of bystanders at an emergency increases, any given bystander is (1) less likely to notice the incident, (2) less likely to interpret it as an emergency, and (3) less likely to assume responsibility. Experiments on helping behavior pose an ethical dilemma but fulfill the researcher's mandate to enhance human life by uncovering important influences on behavior. -When are people most likely to help? One circumstance is when they have just observed someone else helping. -Another circumstance that promotes helping is having at least a little spare time; those in a hurry are less likely to help. -We tend to help those whom we perceive as being similar to us.

Summing It Up: Why Do We Help?

-Three theories explain helping behavior. The social-exchange theory assumes that helping like other social behaviors, is motivated by a desire to maximize rewards, which may be external or internal. Thus, after wrongdoing, people often become more willing to offer help. Sad people also tend to be helpful. Finally, there is a striking feel-good/do-good effect: Happy people are helpful people. Social norms also mandate helping. The reciprocity norm stimulates us to help those who have helped us. The social-responsibility norm beckons us to help needy people, even if they cannot reciprocate, as long as they are deserving. Women in crisis, partly because they may be seen as more needy, receive more offers of help than men, especially from men. -Evolutionary psychology assumes two types of helping: devotion to kin and reciprocity. Most evolutionary psychologists however, believe hat the genes of selfish individuals are more likely to survive than the genes of self-sacrificing individuals. Thus, selfishness is our natural tendency and society must therefore teach helping. -We can evaluate these three theories according to the ways in which they characterize prosocial behavior as based on tit-for-tat exchange and/or unconditional helpfulness. Each can be criticized for using speculative or after-the-fact reasoning, but they do provide a coherent scheme for summarizing observations of prosocial behavior. -In addition to helping that is motivated by external and internal rewards, and the evading of punishment or distress, there appears also to be a genuine, empathy-based altruism. With their empathy aroused, many people are motivated to assist others in need or distress, even when their helping is anonymous of their own mood will be unaffected.

Altruism

A motive to increase another's welfare without conscious regard for one's self-interests.

Egoism

A self-serving motive (supposedly underlying all behavior) to increase one's own welfare. The opposite of altruism, which aims to increase another's welfare.

Empathy

A vicarious experience of another's feelings; putting oneself in another's shoes.

Social-Responsibility Norm (Sociological)

An expectation that people will help those needing help. Example= If a person on crutches drops a book you pick it up. No expectation of future reward.

Reciprocity Norm

An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.

Summing It Up: How Can We Increase Helping?

Research suggests that we can enhance helpfulness in three ways. -First, we can reverse those factors that inhibit helping. We can take steps to reduce the ambiguity of an emergency , to make a personal appeal, and to increase feelings of responsibility. -Second, we can teach altruism. Research into television's portrayals of prosocial models shows the medium's power to teach positive behavior. Children who view helpful behavior tend to act helpfully. If we want to promote altruistic behavior, we should remember the overjustification effect: When we coerce good deeds, intrinsic love of the activity often diminishes. If we provide people with enough justification for them to decide to do good, but not much more, they will attribute their behavior to their own altruistic motivation and henceforth be more willing to help. Learning about altruism, as you have just done, can also prepare people to perceive and respond to others' needs.

Bystander Effect

The finding that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other bystanders.

Kin Selection (Biological)

The idea that evolution has selected altruism toward one's close relatives to enhance the survival of mutually shared genes. We are more likely to help someone who is similar to us (shares similar genes as us. The more similar the genes the more likely we are to help. Identical twins > fraternal twins)

Social Capital

The mutual support and cooperation enabled by a social network. Example= Neighbors keeping an eye on each others homes.

Moral Exclusion

The perception of certain individuals or groups as outside the boundary within which one applies moral values and rules of fairness. Moral inclusion is regarding others as within one's circle of moral concern.

Overjustification Effect

The result of bribing people to do what hey already like doin; they may then seen their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically appealing.

Social-Exchange Theory (Psychological)

The theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs.