Chapter 9 & 10
At school, Carl falls down the stairs and badly sprains his ankle. When will Carl most likely receive help?
Before school starts when only one other student is in the hallway.
Which of the following explains why a positive mood can decrease the probability of responding in prosocial ways?
Being in a good mood can lead us to interpret emergency situations as not really serious.
Mark and Cynthia are writing out checks to donate to their alma mater. First, Mark says he's going to donate $5,000, and then Cynthia indicates she might be able to donate more than that. Mark then decides he too could contribute more than $5,000. What is this called?
Competitive altruism
Who mostly benefits from crowdfunding?
Entrepreneurs and communities
Janelle wants to begin hosting her own podcast focused on community events. She will need some money to purchase recording equipment and create a small studio in her house. She is thinking of reaching out to other community members to ask for their financial support. Which of the following websites should Janelle use?
Kickstarter
Your friend Gretchen is notoriously rude to her partner. She never says anything nice or complimentary and frequently embarrasses her partner in front of others. Gretchen calls and leaves a very distressed message for you letting you know that her partner has dumped her and she really needs someone to talk to about it. Will you call Gretchen back?
No, because you feel Gretchen is responsible for her own predicament.
If people help in order to receive praise from others, then what would be expected under cover of darkness?
People would be less likely to help others.
Danya is in a really bad mood after receiving a low score on an exam. She mopes, complains, and is curt with her friends. Later in the day, Danya goes to volunteer at a local homeless shelter. Why would she do this?
She knows that helping others will make her feel better.
Raquel's 3-year-old son has been having intense tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. Which of the following should Raquel try in order to reduce his anger when he begins to have a tantrum?
She should encourage him count to 10.
What type of provocation involves using a playful nature to issue provoking statements that call attention to a person's flaws or imperfections?
Teasing
One day you are out biking on a relatively deserted trail. You see a fellow cyclist on the side of the trail with the bike's wheels in the air. When will you be most likely to help?
When you know a great deal about bikes and work at a bicycle repair shop
Ron and Elaine are walking down the street when they see someone helping an old man across the road. On the next block, they see a woman having difficulty in trying to get across the street. Elaine says, "We'd better give her a hand." The woman who initially helped the old man
acted as a prosocial model.
One result of desensitization to violence is that individuals who are desensitized to violence are likely to
be more aggressive to others.
Frank is a young musician who sometimes earns extra money by playing guitar on a downtown street corner during lunch hour. He sometimes puts a dollar and a few coins in his open guitar case before he starts playing. Frank does this because he
believes the presence of the money will act as a model for prosocial behavior for his audience.
Programs that are intended to reduce bullying in schools or in prisons
can be effective if bullying is recognized as a serious problem and organizations take strong and appropriate steps to correct it.
In Texas, a man named Will committed a series of unprovoked murders. Will spent many years in prison but was then executed because the state deemed the ultimate consequence of his action to be
capital punishment.
According to the social learning perspective, people learn
different ways of inflicting harm on others and what situations tolerate or encourage aggressive behavior.
Raphael helps Lisa carry her groceries up the stairs. Lisa comes by 15 minutes later and says, "Thank you. The frozen food would have melted if you hadn't helped me." Because of her response to his help, Raphael is motivated to help others later. This scenario is MOST consistent with the
empathic joy hypothesis.
Among children, girls who bully others are motivated by their desire to
exercise power over others, their desire to be part of a tough group, and their desire to lessen negative feelings associated with depression.
Emily, who is always slightly depressed, helps a little boy find his mom at the mall. Emily is surprised to find her mood has improved. This is likely because
helping a person often relieves a negative mood.
Marian, who is wearing a distinctive and pleasant perfume, has dropped all of the contents of her purse and is in need of assistance. The fact that she is wearing perfume should
increase her likelihood of receiving help.
In the general aggression model, repeated exposure to aggressive stimuli serves to strengthen a person's beliefs, attitudes, schemas, and scripts that are related to aggression. These beliefs, attitudes, schemas, and scripts are a person's
knowledge structures.
The empathy-altruism hypothesis suggests that at least some prosocial behavior is
motivated solely by the desire to help someone in need, even if unpleasant or dangerous situations are involved.
Allen is running late for his social psychology class. He is hurrying across campus and is thinking about the instructor's reaction to his tardiness on an exam day. He passed by a small group of students clustered around someone who is lying on the ground, clutching his chest and gasping for breath. Allen did not stop to help because he simply was not aware of what was happening at the time. This failure to engage in prosocial behavior was probably due to Allen's
not paying attention to the situation.
Wayne and Cheryl were at a restaurant eating dinner when he noticed a faint smell of smoke coming from the air conditioning vent. No one else in the busy restaurant seemed to be concerned about the odor, and Wayne was not sure if it was the result of an electrical problem or of food scorching in the kitchen. Wayne's uncertainty, combined with the observation that others were not taking action, means that Wayne will probably
not take any action in the situation.
On the street, a passerby notices Jeanette's bruised eye and asks if she is okay. Jeanette said that her boyfriend hit her, and the man said he was sorry to hear that but continued on his way. Later, Jeanette's best friend, Ellen, notices that Jeanette's bruise. When Jeanette tells her what happened, Ellen offers to provide help. This example best illustrates that
people are much more inclined to help a close friend than a stranger.
James and William are discussing the last presidential election. James, a Democrat, has made some very negative comments about Republicans and the way in which the campaign was conducted. William, a life-long Republican, has told James to tone it down, but this seems to encourage James to make even more negative comments. Eventually, William pushes James away and starts to throw a punch. This situation might best be seen as a case of
provocation.
Walter has just watched the news of Hurricane Irene, including an interview with a man who is standing in knee-deep water in his basement. Walter decides to go to the store and on his way sees a stranded motorist. The empathy-altruism model predicts that Walter will
stop and try to help because he can understand how it feels to be stranded.
Two aspects of empathy are ________ and ________.
taking another's perspective; sympathizing with another person
Suppose Roger, a religious fundamentalist, is told that three individuals—a gay man, an unwed mother, and a college student—are in need of aid due to employment problems. Roger would be MOST likely to believe that aid should go to
the college student.
The general pattern of results of studies of TV violence suggests that
the depictions of violence contribute to increased aggression in viewers.
Sarah was driving home after a particularly difficult day at work when someone cut her off and almost caused her to wreck her car. Still shaken from her near miss, she arrived home to find that her spouse had not yet started dinner, as he had promised to do. Sarah angrily accused him of being "a lazy bum" and started an argument with him. This situation can best be explained by
the excitation transfer theory.
Victims who are bullied repeatedly and brutally may react by
committing suicide.
The catharsis hypothesis suggests that providing people with an opportunity to express aggressive impulses in a safe manner will decrease their tendencies to engage in unacceptable forms of aggressive behavior. What does research on this hypothesis demonstrate/suggest?
Catharsis may actually increase aggressive behavior.
SooHee wants to open her own bakery. She will need at least $50,000 dollars for equipment and a year's worth of rent for a retail space on Main Street in her town. Instead of getting a loan through her bank, SooHee creates a website that asks people she knows, along with strangers, to contribute to her dream of opening a bakery. Each $5 donation can be redeemed for a muffin once the bakery opens. What process is SooHee taking advantage of?
Crowdfunding
Emily is out for a leisurely drive and has just witnessed the car in front of her on the highway slow to a stop and pull off to the side of the road. The driver got out of the vehicle and lifted the hood. She is very adept at fixing cars and there are not too many other cars on the road. After considering helping for a bit, Emily continues to drive past the stranded motorist. Why?
Emily is concerned the driver might be setting up a trap or trick.
Which of the following accurately characterizes the common traits of a victim of bullying?
Lonely, withdrawn, unhappy, with few friends
What theory suggests that if a person is impeded in reaching a goal he or she is seeking, then this impediment will lead to a stimulation of a drive whose main goal is to harm some person or object?
The frustration-aggression hypothesis
Which of the following is the most complex theory of aggression?
The general aggression model
Why are violent video games so popular according to the text?
These types of games provide a sense of autonomy.
The idea that providing angry persons with an opportunity to express their aggressive impulses in relatively safe ways will lead to a reduction in their tendencies to engage in more harmful kinds of aggression is the
catharsis hypothesis.
Trina received a poor quarterly appraisal of her work performance, and by the time she gets home from work she is so upset that she wants to throw and break something. However, instead, Trina decides to go for a hard 5-mile run. When she gets back from the run, she feels better and her anger has evaporated. Trina's reduction in aggression can be explained by the
catharsis hypothesis.
David sees a homeless person and thinks that "this guy has no one to blame but himself." Thus, David appears to believe that this homeless man's misfortunes are
controllable.
Each night at midnight, Daryl's phone buzzes when a text message arrives from an unknown number. The text messages he receives say things like "Watch your back" and "One of these days we're going to get you" and "You'll never see it coming." At first, Daryl tried to ignore these messages, but now he has anxiety about going to school each day. Daryl is a victim of
cyberbullying.
While walking down Madison Avenue, Thomas smelled smoke. Soon, Thomas saw flames leaping out of a third story apartment window. In a flash, Thomas saw another man run into the burning building and emerge, only a minute later, with a young girl in his arms. Witnessing this made Thomas feel hopeful about humans and our ability to help each other. Thomas felt
elation
Steven sees an emergency and then his empathy is aroused; he then provides help simply because the victim needed help and it felt good to provide help. This example illustrates the
empathy-altruism hypothesis.
Drive theories of aggression suggest that
external conditions arouse the motive to harm or injure others.
A New York City taxi cab driver once intervened and stopped what he perceived to be a mugging in progress—even though it actually was a group of actors performing a scene for a television sketch. The taxi driver probably intervened due to
his feelings of empathy.
Samantha is watching a movie on TV. The story is about a young boy who had lost his brother in a traffic accident. Samantha says that she knows just how the boy feels and even guesses many of the character's lines before he says them. This situation illustrates the type of perspective-taking involved with
feeling empathy for—and identifying with—a fictional character.
Sam is playing a challenging video game and is very close to nearing the end. Suddenly, his character dies in the game and Sam is forced to start all over. Sam throws the controller across the room and punches the wall. Sam's behavior is best explained by the
frustration-aggression hypothesis.
Janice tends to become aggressive whenever anyone slights her or insults her. Her friend Joline, however, never seems to become upset or angry at the same kinds of provocations and is generally not an aggressive person. The ways in which these two people might react to the same provocation is best explained by the
general aggression model.
Among children, boys who bully others are motivated by a desire to
hold power over others and a desire to be seen as part of a tough group.
When given an opportunity to decide how much punishment should be delivered to individuals convicted of different crimes, research has shown that most people are more strongly influenced by beliefs about ________ and much less strongly influenced by ________.
how much punishment is deserved; information about the ease or difficulty involved in detecting a crime
When Sigmund Freud proposed his theory that aggression stems from a powerful death wish, _______ with him.
most psychologists disagreed
People who tend to think of themselves as being superior to other people in terms of their abilities or qualities, and as being more deserving of respect than others, tend to react strongly to negative feedback, in part because
negative feedback may threaten their self-image.
Oscar is alone resting on a beach when he notices someone who appears to be floundering in the ocean. Since he does not know how to swim, Oscar realizes that he cannot help this individual himself. This example illustrates that people
often decide that they cannot help when they do not know what to do.
Jason is the owner of a furniture store in a small Southern town. He donated several hundred mattresses to the Red Cross immediately after hearing about the devastation caused in a neighboring state by a hurricane. He was motivated to do so by his desire to help others, by thoughts of the income tax deduction he could take, and by the recognition his store would receive from his act of charity. This is an example of
prosocial behavior.
Seeking revenge may harm both the one seeking revenge and the one against whom vengeful actions are taken. This is because
revenge may lead to an upward spiral of retaliation, revenge, and further retaliation.
While aggression can be viewed as an adaptive behavior from an evolutionary perspective, lashing out at every single provocation is not adaptive, and therefore ________ is necessary.
self-regulation
Walter has just watched the news of Hurricane Irene, including an interview with a man who is standing in knee-deep water in his basement. Walter decides to go to the store, and on his way sees a stranded motorist. The negative state relief model predicts that Walter will
stop and try to help in order to alleviate his own negative feelings. Fantastic!
According to the general aggression model, repeated exposure to aggressive models in films or video games may increase a person's level of aggressiveness by
strengthening knowledge structures such as beliefs, attitudes, and schemas that are related to aggression.
While walking through Central Park, Mark sees a man being attacked and mugged. There are many people around the scene, and many of these people are holding phones. Mark is concerned for the man but ultimately does nothing. Mark's actions can be explained by the concept of
the diffusion of responsibility.
Karen knows that her neighbors often struggle to make ends meet. She sometimes offers to babysit for free because she can easily afford to do so and feels good that she can help in this small way. This example most clearly illustrates
the empathic joy hypothesis.
Miller has been watching a very exciting adventure movie at the theater. His heart rate is still a little elevated as he leaves the cinema. Just as he reaches his car in the parking lot, he sees someone accidentally bump his car as they back out of another parking space. Miller becomes extremely agitated and excitedly begins yelling and pounding on the other person's car fender. This extreme reaction to a relatively minor annoyance can best be explained by
the excitation transfer theory.
Paul is studying for a test in biology. He is somewhat concerned about his ability to master the material and is trying to concentrate as much as he can. Sam, his brother, has interrupted his studies several times, causing Paul to become frustrated and angry. When Sam again enters Paul's room, Paul pushes Sam hard and threatens to punch him. This situation illustrates
the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
After watching wrestling on TV for an hour, 5-year-old Samuel went outside to play. When 5-year-old Jamie, who lives next door, came outside, Samuel shoved him and tried to get him in a headlock. This situation can best be explained by
the social learning perspective.
One difference between bullies and their victims is that bullies ________, while victims ________.
believe that others act the way they do intentionally or because of lasting characteristics; perceive others as behaving the way they do due to external stimuli
Samantha is frustrated after waiting in a long line for an hour and ultimately shouts at the person in front of her. According to the frustration-aggression hypothesis, Samantha is showing aggression due to
the negative affect from her frustration elicited by the person in front of her.
A professor, two students, and the president of the student government are all on an elevator. When one of the students passes out, who is most likely to be seen as having the responsibility to help?
The professor
Jenny, a 5-year-old child, may be MOST likely to exhibit helping behavior after playing ________ video game.
a prosocial