helping behavior

good samaritan laws

Laws intended to protect those who volunteer assistance in an emergency against claims of negligence.

large crowds

a person's attention is focused mostly on the victim, who is figural, and less so on themselves. therefore, they see themselves as part of the background, which reduces the likelihood that they will offer assistance.

prosocial (helping) behavior

any voluntary behavior intended to help others

objective self-awareness theory

argues that when a by stander's attention is focused on themselves, standards of appropriate behavior (the social norms of helping) get activated. this increases the likelihood that the bystander will offer help as attention shifts back and forth between themselves (helper) and the victim

altruism

behavior intended to help others out of inner concern for the welfare of others and without conscious regard for one's self-interests

egoism

consciously planned behavior that involves helping others as a means to benefit oneself

internal

controllable by the person, leads to no sympathy and no helping

Gestalt Psychology

focuses on the human ability to perceive overall patterns

the altruistic personality

high levels of empathy, belief in a just world, accepting of social responsibility, an internal locus of control, low egocentrism

gender

men are more likely to engage in helping that is heroic and chivalrous, also more likely to help female strangers. Women are more likely to engage in helping that is nurturing

Latene and Darley's 5 step model

noticing the event, interpreting the event, assuming responsibility, knowing how to offer help, and deciding to help

helping interference

once we see some people helping, other people begin helping, in fact too many people may try to off help

the moral model

people are held responsible both for problems and solutions and are believed to need proper motivation

the bystander effect

people are less likely to offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present; the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help

environmental factors

people are more helpful when it's pleasantly warm and sunny, people are more likely to help strangers in small towns and cities than in big cities, what matters is the current environmental setting, not where a person was raised

the compensatory model

people are not seen as responsible for problems but they are responsible for solutions

the enlightenment model

people are seen as responsible for problems but as unable or unwilling to provide solutions

equity

people may prefer relationships which are equitable, in which giving and receiving are in balance. one-way helping threatens equity and creates power imbalances

pluralistic ignorance

people will sometimes assume that with ambiguous information or in the absence of information that others have a different and better-informed opinion

increasing helping behavior

personalized verbal appeals "even a penny will help," personalized non verbal appeals, learning to be helpful, learning about helping behavior, de-victimize yourself

attractiveness

physically attractive and well-dressed people are more likely to receive help than physically unattractive and poorly-dressed people. this is especially strong when it comes to attractive women receiving help from men

religiosity

religious people are more likely to help in numerous ways than are non-religious people. religion operates similarly to social norms. the norms of many religions include the element of helping those in need.

the social-responsibility norm

the expectation that people will help those in need of help

the norm of reciprocity

the expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them

evolutionary theory (kin selection)

the idea that evolution has selected altruism toward one's close relatives to enhance the survival of mutually shared genes

empathic-joy hypothesis

the idea that helpers respond to the needs of a victim because they want to accomplish something and doing so is rewarding in and of itself

negative-state relief hypothesis

the idea that instead of helping because we genuinely care about the welfare of another person, we help because such actions allow us to reduce our own distressful, unpleasant emotions

empathy-altruism hypothesis

the idea that when we feel empathy for a person (the ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person and to experience events and emotions the way that person experiences them) we will attempt to help that person purely for altruistic reasons, regardless of what we have to gain

the medical model

the people are seen as neither responsible for the problem nor for the solution

social exchange theory

the theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs. external and internal rewards

urban overload hypothesis

the theory that people living in cities are constantly being bombarded with stimulation and that they keep to themselves to avoid being overwhelmed by it

single bystander

they are equally figural relative to the person in trouble which draws their attention to the fact that they are the only person capable of offering assistance

external

uncontrollable by the person, leads to sympathy, and the person helping

similarity

we are likely to help people we perceive as similar to us in some way

diffusion of responsibility

we tend to feel less responsibility to act when other people nearby are equally able to act

figure and ground

what's the object of focus and what's the background

self-esteem

when aid lowers recipients' self-esteem, they are more likely to dislike both the aid and the helper, and are likely to avoid seeking such help again. when the helper is very similar to oneself, receiving aid is likely to reduce one's self-esteem. how recipients respond to help is also influenced by their present level of self-esteem