Chapter 9

ProSocial Behavior

actions by individuals that help others with no immediate benefit to the helper

Reciprocity

anyone who has helped you, should be helped back, "general contract" idea, the obligation to return in kind what another has done for us

Bystander Apathy and Effect

as the number of bystanders increases, the probability that any one bystander will help, decreases and the amount of time that passes before help occurs increases, occurs due to the diffusion of responsibility

Altruism Definition

behavior which benefits another human being, helping others may place the helper in personal danger - helping involves putting out effort for the sake of another human being's welfare, pro-social behavior

Social Responsibility

belief that people will help those in need (core ideal), children taught from a young age to be socially responsible

Role of Mood

in good mood people have the "glow effect" and are more likely to help, in bad mood, people are less likely to help - exception: self-satisfying mood

Effects of Helping on the Helper

it makes you feel good about yourself when you help somebody, sometimes there may be publicity involved, ego boost, reciprocity: helpee owes you one, satisfies needs for power

Situational Factors that Increase/Decrease Prosocial Behavior

less action or prosocial behavior when more people are around in a given location due to the diffusion of responsibility, factors leading to increased prosocial behavior: attractiveness, similarity, prior relationships, reciprocal altruism: increased helping because the person thinks the person they help will help them in the future, attribution of responsibility for the predicament decreases helping because the person perceives it as being their fault so they are less likely to help, prosocial model: more good people around leads to more helping, cost: higher cost to you = less help, higher cost to you with high cost if no helping = more help, social exclusion: less likely to help due to no reciprocal gain, dont like them, not part of their group, darkness: decrease in helping to the anonymity and deinviduation, monetizing helping: decreases helping, takes away from joy/meaning of helping by giving money or reward for helping

Deindividuation

loss of one's sense of individuality leads to more deviant behavior, therefore less likely to help

Pluralistic Ignorance

refers to the fact that because none of the bystanders respond to an emergency (bystander effect/diffusion of responsibility), no one knows for sure what is happening and each depends on the others to interpret the situation

Just World Illusion

tendency to believe that the world is just and people get what they deserve/deserve what they got

Diffusion of Responsibility

the greater the number of bystanders, the less the individual's sense of responsibility to act, thus the less help given, a principle suggesting that the greater 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

Equity Norm

the idea that each person receives benefits in proportion to what he or she contributes

"More is Less"

the idea that the more people there are in a given location, the less help will be given to the person in need of help

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

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

Cooperative Behavior

when each person does his or her part, and together they work toward a comon goal

Effects of Helping on the Helpee

you get the help you need, need to understand the limits, possible loss of self-respect