Chapter 10

Question 1

Actions intended to benefit others

Answer 1

Prosocial Behaviors

Question 2

Preferential helping of genetic relatives, which results in the greater likelihood that genes held in common will survive

Answer 2

Kin selection

Question 3

What are the implications of Kin Selection?

Answer 3

1. When there is a low-risk for helping, we are willing to help friends and siblings alike
2. When there is high-risk for helping, we are way more likely to help full blood siblings

Question 4

Altruism involving an individual helping another & becoming more likely to receive help in return

Answer 4

Reciprocal altruism

Question 5

Individual who helps someone becomes more likely to receive help from someone else

Answer 5

indirect reciprocity

Question 6

principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior

Answer 6

Morality

Question 7

Understanding or vicariously experiencing another individual’s perspective and feeling sympathy and compassion for that individual

Answer 7

Empathy

Question 8

What are the two key components of empathy?

Answer 8

1. Perspective taking- using imagination to try to see the world through someone else’s eyes
2. Empathetic concern- involves other-oriented feelings such as sympathy, compassion, and tenderness

Question 9

The theory that people help others to counteract their own feelings of sadness

Might explain mechanisms associated with volunteering and/or coping with trauma

Answer 9

Negative state relief model

Question 10

Desire to be helpful in spite of significant potential consequences

Answer 10

Courageous resistance

Question 11

What factors influence courageous resistance

Answer 11

1. Contextually, long-term sacrifices can produce significant fatigue (physical, emotional, & psychologically)
2. Willingness to help may depend on outcome of cost-benefit analysis

Question 12

Motivated by the desire to improve another’s welfare

Answer 12

Altruism

Question 13

Motivated by desire to improve one’s own welfare

Answer 13

Egoism

Question 14

How does altruism and egoism influence prosocial behavior?

Answer 14

Someone who is acting out of altruistic motivations are more likely to act in prosocial ways

Question 15

Theory that empathic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping

Answer 15

Empathy-altruism hypothesis

Question 16

What are the pathways a person might choose in regards to empathy-altruism hypothesis

Answer 16

Do we adopt the other person’s perspective

1. Yes -> empathetic concern -> altruistic -> reduction of other’s distress
2. No -> personal distress -> egoistic -> reduction of one’s own distress

Question 17

Stocks & Colleagues (2009) Implications

Answer 17

Method:
1. Students were induced to experience low or high empathy toward a suffering student named Katie. They were led to believe that they would remember or soon forget what they learned about Katie.
2. The students were then given a chance to volunteer to help Katie.

Results:
1. Students in the low-empathy condition tended to not offer their help if they thought they wouldn’t remember Katie and her plight.
2. Students in the high-empathy condition offered to help whether or not they thought they would forget her situation.

Implications:
1. People who have lower empathy may act in egoistic ways
2. People who have higher empathy may act in altruistic ways

Question 18

Effect where the presence of others inhibits helping, usually emerges in emergency situations involving assault, violence, and murder

Answer 18

Bystander effect

Question 19

5 steps that lead to providing assistance but obstacles can interfere and if a step is missed, the victim won’t be helped

Answer 19

Latane and Darley Model

Question 20

What are the different steps in the Latane and Darley model?

Answer 20

Step 1: Notice that something is happening
Step 2: Interpret event as an emergency
Step 3: Take responsibility for providing help
Step 4: Decide how to help
Step 5: Provide help

Question 21

What conditions can lead to the bystander effect being less likely to occur or may even be reversed?

Answer 21

1. The bystanders know or feel connected to each other.
2. Effective helping would require multiple helpers.
3. People feel they will be scorned for failing to help

Question 22

How does each step in the Latane and Darley model increase likelihood of a bystander effect occurring?

Answer 22

Obstacles for each step

Step 1:
1. Distraction
2. Self-concerns

Step 2:
1. Ambiguity
2. Relationship between attacker and victim
3. Pluralistic ignorance (no one else seems worried)

Step 3:
1. Diffusion of responsibility (someone else must have called 911)

Step 4:
1. Lack of competence

Step 5:
1. Audience inhibition (I’ll look like a fool)
2. Costs exceed rewards (what if I do something wrong?)

Question 23

Darley & Batson’s (1973) - Good Samaritan study Method & Implications

Answer 23

1. Students who were studying to become pastors were to give a speech on helping others.
2. Students were given time constraints a) running late b) on time c) early
3. 63% helped when they had more time, but only 10% helped when they were pressed for time.

When we are pressed for time or cognitively preoccupied, we may be way less likely to help

Question 24

What is the relationship between mood and helping others?

Answer 24

Good Moods: Reasons & Limitations

Why Feeling Good Leads to Good
Desire to maintain good mood
Positive thoughts & expectations

When Feeling Good Might Not Lead to Doing Good?
Costs of helping are high
Positive thoughts about other social activities conflict with helping

Bad Moods: Reasons & Limitations

When Bad Moods Lead to Good Acts
If we take responsibility for our bad mood
If we focus on others
If we think there is personal value for helping others

When Bad Moods Reduce Likelihood of Helping
If we blame others for our bad mood
If we become self-focused
If we focus on personal values that do not promote helping

Question 25

Prosocial Media Effects

Answer 25

1. Playing prosocial games at one point in time predicted increases several months or even two years later in empathy and in prosocial behavior.
2. Playing violent video games, in contrast, predicted less subsequent helping behavior

Question 26

Gentile & Others (2000) Method & Findings

Answer 26

1. College students or young children played a video game in which the characters acted either in helpful, cooperative ways (prosocial game), violent ways (violent game), or neither (neutral game).
2. They later had the opportunity to help a partner’s chances of earning money by assigning them easy puzzles in a task.

Results:
Students (graph on left) and children (right) were significantly more likely to help their partner if they had played a prosocial video game than if they had played a neutral or violent game.

Question 27

What is the importance of role models?

Answer 27

1. Research has found that observing helpful models increases helping in a variety of situations
2. Similarly, seeing models of selfish, greedy behavior can promote selfish, greedy behavior in turn

Question 28

How do role models inspire others?

Answer 28

1. They provide an example of behavior for us to imitate directly.
2. People who model helping behavior teach us that helping is valued and rewarding
3. The behavior of these models makes us think about and become more aware of the standard of conduct in our society

Question 29

Altruistic kinds of behavior that result from pressure from peers or other sources of direct social influence

Answer 29

Reluctant altruism

Question 30

What factors affect who is more likely to get assistance?

Answer 30

1. People who are physically attractive
2. People who are perceived to be nice/ happy/ sociable
3. People perceived to not be responsible for the situation they are in