Social Psychology Part 8: Helping

According to Manning et al. (2007), what parts of the original Kitty Genovese story are inaccurate? Explain 3.

1. not all of the 38 witnesses were eye witnesses (some only heard the attack) 2. witnesses have since claimed that the police were called immediately after the first attack 3. none of the eye witnesses could have watched Kitty or her attacker for the full 30 min because they were visible to the witnesses for only a few moments

What are the 5 stages in the 5 Stage Model of Helping Behavior?

1. recognize the problem 2. interpretation of the problem as an emergency 3. the bystander must feel a personal obligation to act 4. the bystander must decide how to act (form of assistance) 5. the bystander must decide how to implement the assistance.

How does mood affect helping behavior? Why?

Although positive moods can increase helping, negative emotions can do so too. The idea is that if helping can reduce negative feelings we are experiencing, then we may help in order to get rid of those bad feelings (Cialdini, Darby, & Vincent, 1973). One emotion that is particularly important in this regard is guilt.

Describe the method and results of the "seizure" study (Latane and Darley, 1968) and what concept it demonstrates.

Darley and Latané (1968) conducted research on diffusion of responsibility. The findings suggest that in the case of an emergency, when people believe that there are other people around, they are less likely or slower to help a victim because they believe someone else will take responsibility. Bystander effect

What negative effects do the authors argue occurred because of repeatedly telling the Kitty Genovese story incorrectly? Describe 2.

Distorted ideas about prosocial behavior and also swayed research on non-prosocial behavior; it also took many ideas about prosocial behavior out of textbooks to leave room for non-prosocial behavior

Describe the method and results of the "room filling with smoke" study (Latane and Darley, 1970) and what concept it demonstrates.

Male undergraduates found themselves in a smoke-filling room either alone, with 2 nonreacting others, or in groups of 3. As predicted, Ss were less likely to report the smoke when in the presence of passive others (10%) or in groupsof 3 (38% of groups) than when alone (75%). This result seemed to have been mediated by the way 5s interpreted the ambiguous situation; seeing other people remain passive led Ss to decide the smoke was not dangerous. Bystander effect

What is the difference between prosocial behavior and altruism? Give an example of each.

Prosocial behavior covers the broad range of actions intended to benefit one or more people other than oneself—actions such as helping, comforting, sharing, and cooperation. Example: comforting someone Altruism is motivation to increase another person's welfare; it is contrasted to egoism, the motivation to increase one's own welfare. Example: donating money

What kind of people are most likely to get help? List 3 attributes, and describe a study supporting one of them.

Similar people, people in rural areas, and people who appear deserving of help

Name and describe the three norms that tell us we ought to help.

Social Exchange, Social Responsibility and Social Reciprocity

Social Responsibility

The Social Responsibility Norm is a societal rule that tells people they should help others who need help even if doing so is costly

Why are you more likely to get help in a rural vs. urban setting?

The reason may be due to the difference in dominant culture, production mode and lifestyle between rural and urban people. Perhaps it has to do with closeness of the community.

How would a social exchange theorist explain when someone helps another person? What would they say about pure altruism?

They're doing it to feel better about themselves. Pure altruism still brings a feeling of self-satisfaction, so it's not REALLY altruistic.

Describe the "good Samaritan" study and how it supports the 5 Stage Model of Helping Behavior.

This study includes seminary students who were recruited to talk on the parable of the Good Samaritan or on jobs available for seminary graduates. The students walk into another building to give the talk and they were told that they were late, just on time, or had more time. As they were walking to their room, they encountered a person in distress sitting in a doorway not moving and groaning. The findings of this study were that giving a speech on the good samaritan increased helping (53-29%), but being in a rush was a key factor in helping behavior. Low hurry=highest helping, middle hurry= middle helping, rush=low help The Good Samaritan Study-- Noticing something is happening: Low hurry=highest helping, middle hurry= middle helping, rush=low help

Social Exchange

people help each other because they want to gain as much as possible while losing as little as possible

Social Reciprocity

the implicit societal rule that says people must help those who have helped them