Social Psychology - Chapter 10 - Final Exam!

Explain how individual differences such as personality, moral reasoning, and family background may affect a person's likelihood of helping others.

-Attractive people will be helped more -Receiver demonstrates responsibility (i.e. tried to help self or situation out of their control) -Similarity : More likely to help those who are similar to ourselves -Gender: Men- Night in shinning armor, more likely to help strangers, will provide help if it puts risk to themselves, or an audience is present. However men are less likely to ask for help. Women- More likely to help id there isn't and audience, low personal risk and people they know. * Need to add more

Compare and contrast egoistic and altruistic motives for helping.

Altruistic - helping behavior motivated by the desire to improve another's welfare egoistic - helping behavior motivated by the desire to improve one's own welfare. (E.g. Gorilla)

Describe how characteristics of people in need (e.g., attractiveness, perceived responsibility, gender) influence the likelihood that others will help them. Consider the role of fit between the characteristics of the help giver and receiver (i.e., similarity and closeness).

Attractiveness: Attractive people have a better chance of being helped than unattractive people. Perceived responsibility: has the person tried to help himself? what is the cause of distress? Gender: Men are more helpful than women and women need more help than men. Similarity: We are more likely to help people that are similar to us.

Describe the influence of other situational factors on helping behavior, such as time pressure, location, culture, mood, role models, and social norms.

Being in a good mood: Maintain mood Positive expectations and thoughts ( If helping someone will give you positive feedback, most people will rather be in a good mood) Being in a bad mood: Taking responsibility for cause of bad mood ( If you take responsibility for your bad mood youre more likely to help someone) Focusing on other people Focusing on personal values ( Being in distress you're more likely to provide help because you want to decrease the stress) Social norms: ( If the social norm is to help you will, if the social norm is to not to help you want ( it only takes one person to break the norm because then you'll feel free to do what you want) Time pressure: When we are in a hurry or we have a lot on our minds, we may be so preoccupied that we fail to notice others who need help, so we may decide its not our responsibility to help, or the cost of helping is too high. Location: People that live in big cities are less likely to help because they are over stimulated. Culture: Around the world, some cities seem to have more helpful citizens than others. 2 factors: Economic well being - rich people are less likely to help. Simpatia (concern with the social well-being of others) - higher levels in Latin America and Spanish cultures. Role models: Observing helpful models increases helping in a variety of situations.

Explain reciprocal altruism.

Helping someone can be in your best interests because it increases the likelihood that you will be helped in return.

Discuss how evolutionary theory accounts for helping behavior.

In order to reproduce, the individual must survive long enough to do so. Being helped by other should increase the chances of survival. Kin selection: preferential helping of genetic relatives, so that genes held in common will survive.

Explain the bystander effect. Identify and explain the five steps in the helping process, discussing obstacles to each step. Consider how each of these obstacles contributes to the bystander effect.

The effect whereby the presence of others inhibits helping. Step 1 - notice that something is happening. Obstacles - distraction, self concerns Step 2 - interpret event as emergency Obstacles - ambiguity, relationship between attacker and victim, pluralistic ignorance (no one else seems worried) Step 3 - take responsibility for providing help Obstacles - diffusion of responsibility Step 4 - decide how to help Obstacles - lack of competence Step 5 - provide help Obstacles - audience inhibition, costs exceeds rewards.

Explain the empathy-altruism hypothesis and identify why a distinction between these two types of motives is important.

The proposition that empathetic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping.

Identify the factors that influence people's different reactions to receiving help.

threat-to-self-esteem model: the theory that reactions to receiving assistance depend on whether help is perceived as supportive or threatening.