Social Psychology: Chapter 11 Prosocial Behavior

Pluralistic Influence

the case in which people think that everyone else is interpreting a situation in a certain way, when in fact they are not

Isen and Levin (1972) Study

- left dimes in coin slot (happiness manipulation) -staged a confederate walk by and drop papers everywhere....Dependent variable: will help? -84% who found dimes in coin slot helped vs. 4% who didnt find dimes and helped

Harris et al (1975) Study

-churchgoers headed to confession -stood outside and asked for charity donations -people donated more before confession (guilt)

LA Riots

-black man detained and beaten by police, got caught on video, so riots in LA -truck driver Reginald Denny, white, pulled out of truck and beaten severely (nobody helped) and caught on TV -Bobby Green saw the truck driver getting beat up on TV and left his house to help Reginald to hospital in the middle of a riot -Altruistic because there was no reward for Bobby and it was dangerous, -both Bobby and Reginald were truck drivers (members of in-groups)

Broshan and DeWaal (2003)

-capuchin monkeys trained to exchange tokens for pieces of cucumber -see other group get grape (better) and get mad (inequality) -when they both got cucumbers they all worked 25 times -when the other groups were given grapes, the capuchin monkey that got cucumbers refused to keep trading tokens or rejected the cucumbers completely *enhancing peoples confidence that public good will be distributed FAIRLY among contributors tends to increase contributions

Why do we help?

-helping can relieve the personal distress of a bystander (people get aroused and disturbed when they see another person suffer) -by helping others, we can also gain rewards as social approval from others and increased feelings of self-worth

Toi and Batson (1982) "Carol" study

-volunteer to participate in study to evaluate audio tapes -believe that they are randomly picking the tape -hear Carol is a girl in a wheelchair and is stressed out about intro psyc. class -gave note to whoever listens to tape and asks if you will help Carol GROUP 1- told they would see carol -most helped whether in high or low empathy group GROUP 2- told she would be out the rest of the year -empathy (high) stronger to help vs. low empathy group if you see Carol

Bystander Intervention Decision Tree (Darley and Latane, 1968)

1) Notice the Event 2) Interpret as an emergency 3) assume responsibility 4) know HOW to implement help 5) Decide to implement help

"feel bad, do good"

Negative State-relief hypothesis "good deeds cancel out bad deeds"; most likely to help when in negative mood when we feel GUILT -self-focused depression in a negative way you are less likely to help someone -anger: less likely to help someone ex) catholics donated more before attending confession (guilt) vs. after

Prosocial Behavior

any act performed with the goal of benefitting another person ex) 9/11 tradegy -motivated by altruism and egoism

Social Exchange Theory

argues that true altruism does NOT exist; people help when the benefits outweigh the costs Costs include: -physical danger, embarrassment, inconvenience (loss of time, resources, etc) Rewards include: -gaining social approval/feelings of self-worth, helping someone increases the likelihood that they will help you when you need it (Reciprocity norm)

Indirect Reciprocity

benefactor and beneficiary will never meet -good reputation, benefit back

Exchange Relationships

governed about concern about equity (what you put into the relationship is what you get out)

"feel good, do good"

if people are in a good mood, they are more likely to help others ex) if someone holds a door for you, you will most likely hold it for the next person WHY? 1) they are looking on the bright side of life; optimistic outlook, boosted self-esteem 2) excellent way of prolonging good mood 3) increase the amount of attention we pay to ourselves, the more likely we are to behaving according to our values and goals (increase self-awareness)

Men and helping

in Western cultures, men are chivalrous and heroic

In groups vs. out groups and helping

in-groups and out-groups determine whether or not someone will help -many people go out of their way to help in-group members -more likely to feel empathy towards members of our in-group who are in need -tend to help out-group members in order to feel good about ourselves/make a good impression on others

Thompson et al (1980)

lab manipulation -told what if a close friend dying of terminal illness, how would you feel? (scenario 1) -told to imagine how you would feel if they lost that friend (scenario 2- self-focused grief) -then both scenarios asked whether or not they would help with another research project?? -25% of self-focus group helped (scenario 2) -83% of others focused helped (scenario 1)

Small towns vs. large towns

people in small towns are more likely to help when asked to find a lost child, give directions, and return a lost letter WHY? 1) people who grew up in small towns are more likely to internalize altruistic values 2) immediate surroundings -people who have lived in one place for a long time are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors (greater attachment to community, more interdependence with neighbors, greater concern with reputation in community)

Simpatia

refers to a range of social and emotional traits (being friendly, polite, good-natured, pleasant, and helpful towards others) -prominent in Spanish-speaking countries -more people help when value simpatia but many countries also have a high rate of helping when they don't value simpatia

Religion and helping

religious people are more likely to help in situations where helping makes them look good to themselves or others ex) raising money for a sick child -not any more likely to help in private situations where no one will know that they helped

Sadness and helping

sadness can lead to an increase in helping (motivated to engage in feelings that make them feel better)

Why don't we help?

sometimes we don't help because it can be costly -helping decreases when the costs are high (physical danger, pain/embarrassment, or if it takes too much time/you are in a rush)

Empathy

the ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person and to experience events and emotions (such as joy and sadness) the way that a person experiences them -pure altruism comes into play when we experience empathy for the person in need of help

Altruism

the desire to help another person even if it involves a cost to the helper; helping purely out of the desire to benefit someone else and not hoping to get something in return ex) firefighters/police officers in 9/11 who lost their lives -selfless concern for the welfare of others -intrinsic motivation to help, even at a cost to self -motive to increase anthers welfare without conscious regard to ones self interest

Norm of Reciprocity

the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future -inability to reciprocate may lead beneficially to feel threatened/demeaned and reduce help-seeking (cant help back) *evolutionary psychologists believe that people help others because of factors that have become ingrained in our genes*

Bystander Effect

the finding that the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them is to help -we often look to others as a source of information, but sometimes nobody knows what is happening and emergencies are often confusing

Kin Selection

the idea that behaviors that help a genetic relative are favored by natural selection -study where people stated they would be more likely to help genetic relatives than non-relatives in life-or-death situations -not any more likely to help genetic vs. non-relatives in non-life-threatening situations (supports the idea that people are most likely to help in ways that ensure the survival of their own genes)

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

the idea that when we feel empathy for a person, we will attempt to help that person for purely altruistic reasons, regardless of what we have to gain (Batson, 1991) 1) Helping is an instinctive reaction to promote the welfare of those genetically similar to us (evolutionary psyc.) 2) The rewards of helping often outweigh the costs, so helping is in our self-interest 3) Under some conditions, powerful feelings of empathy and compassion for the victim prompt selfless giving (empathy-altruism hypothesis)

Egoism

the motive to increase ones own welfare; the helping behavior provides tangible or intangible benefits to the helper (not a bad thing!) ex) volunteering for extra credit

Diffusion of Responsibility

the phenomenon wherein each bystanders sense of responsibility to help decreases as the number of witnesses increases

Altruistic Personality

the qualities that cause an individual to help others in a wide variety of situations *the nature of the SOCIAL SITUATION determines whether or not people help along with personality

Urban Overload Hypothesis

the theory that people living in cities are constantly bombarded with simulation and they keep to themselves to avoid being overwhelmed by it ex) if someone is rushing (city life) they are less likely to help -if put in calmer environment, they would be as likely as anyone else to help *In cities, people are less likely to help (no safety in numbers)*

Why are prosocial acts rewarding?

they help both the giver and the recipient of the aid so it is everyones advantage to promote and praise such acts *people often help out of the goodness of their hearts and not just for self-interest*

Communal Relationships

those in which peoples primary concern is the welfare of the other person ex) parent and child

Women and helping

women tend to be nurturing and caring and value close, long-term relationships -more likely to provide social support to their friends and engage in volunteer work