Chapter 9:Prosocial Behavior: Doing What's Best for Others
Negative State Relief Hypothesis
the idea that people help others in order to relieve their own distress
Prosocial Behavior
Doing something that is good for other people or for society as a whole
Norms
Standards established by society to tell its members what types of behavior are typical or expected
Cooperation
When each person does his or her part, and together they work toward a common goal
Rule of Law
When members of a society respect and follow its rules
Prisoner's Dilemma
a game that forces people to choose between commperation and competition
Volunteering
a planned, long-term,nonimpulsive decision to help others
Zero-Sum Game
a situation in which one person's gain is another's loss
Non-Zero-Sum Game
an interaction in whcih both participants can win (or lose)
Forgiveness
ceasing to feel angry toward or seek retribution against someone who has wronged you
Audience Inhibition
failure to help in front of others for fear of feeling like a fool if one's offer of help is rejected
Survivor Guilt
feeling bad for having lived through a terrible experience in which many others died
Obedience
following orders from an authority figure
Underbenefited
getting less than you deserve
Overbenefited
getting more than you deserve
Conformity
going along with the crowd
Sensitivity About Being the Target of a Threatening Upward Comparison
interpersonal concern about the consequences of outperforming others
Pluralistic Ignorance
looking to others for cues about how to behave, while they are looking to you; collective misinterpretation
Empathy
reacting to another person's emotional state by experienceing the same emotional state
Belief in a Just World
the assumption that life is essentially fair, that people generally get what they deserve and deserve what they get
Kin Selection
the evolutionary tendency to help people who have our genes
Empathy-Specific Punishment Hypothesis
the idea that empathy triggers the fear of social punishment that can be avoided by helping
Empathy-Specific Reward Hypothesis
the idea that empathy triggers the need for social reward that can be gained by helping
Equality
the idea that everyone gets the same amount, regardless of what he or she contributes
Bystander effect
the finding that people are less likely to offer help when they are in a group than when they are alone
Equity
the idea that each person receives benefits in proportion to what he or she contributes
Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis
the idea that empathy motivates people to reduce other people's distress, as by helping or comforting
Reciprocity
the obligation to return in kind what another has done for us
Diffusion of Responsibility
the reduction in feeling responsible that occurs when others are present
Altruistic Helping
when a helper seeks to increase another's welfare and expects nothing in return
Egoistic Helping
when a helper seeks to increase his or her own welfare by helping another