Chapter 9

Question 1

Define prosocial behaviour

Answer 1

any act performed with the goal of benefiting another person

Question 2

Define altruism

Answer 2

desire to help others, even is it involves a cost to the helper

Question 3

What are the 2 brain regions most involved in altruism?

Answer 3

• Amygdala and prefrontal cortex: most involved in altruism

Question 4

According to evolutionnary psychology, altruism has evolved through 3 processes, which are they?

Answer 4

Kin selection
Reciprocity norm
Group selection

Question 5

Define kin selection and how its linked with evolution of a species

Answer 5

○ People are + likely to help relatives than non relative

Behaviour helping relatives is favored by natural selection - increases chances that genes will be passed on

Question 6

Define reciprocity norm

Answer 6

social norm reminding us that we should follow the principles of reciprocal altruism

Question 7

Define reciprocal altruism

Answer 7

Expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future

Question 8

Define social responsibility norm

Answer 8

We should try to help others who need assistance, even without any expectation of future paybacks

Question 9

Define group selection and explain why it is adaptive

Answer 9

Altruistic groups might be stronger than individualistic/selfish groups
Species survival - goal of natural selection
Learning social norms - helping others is one of the biggest norm

Question 10

Define the social exchange theory

Answer 10

(financial model, not evolutionary) argues that altruistic behaviour:
• Can be based on self-interest
• Stems from the desire to maximize our outcomes and minimize our costs

Question 11

Explain the experiment with students giving a presentation and its link with social exchange theory

Answer 11

experiment where students were on time or running late - on time helped more than those who were late (because it cost much less)

Question 12

Define empathy and name one possible brain structure responsible for it

Answer 12

putting ourselves in the shoes of another person and experiencing the events and emotions the way that person experiences them
Mirror neurons

Question 13

Define the empathy-altruism hypothesis

Answer 13

when we feel empathy for a person, we will attempt to help him or her purely for altruistic reasons (regardless of our gain)

Question 14

Define the concept of an altruistic personality

Answer 14

the aspects of a person’s makeup that are said to make them likely to help others in a wide variety of situations

Question 15

Are we more likley to help a student who is trying really hard or one that is not? Why is that?

Answer 15

• We are more likely to help people who seem like they need help because of situations outside of their control than people who seem to control the situation but still need help (ex; giving notes to a student who tried really hard but cannot take good notes vs giving notes to a student who never comes to class because they’re lazy)

Question 16

What can be the negative reaction to receiving help? Name 2 factors responsible for this outcome

Answer 16

sometimes help is not welcome - it implies a status discrepancy between the 2 people and a situation of dependence (the person being helped is of lesser status and is dependent on the resources of the person giving help) - dependency-oriented help

Question 17

Explain the gender differences in prosocial behaviour

Answer 17

Men:
• More likely than women to perform acts of bravery and heroism (more likely to help in situations where physical help is required)
○ Ex: saving someone form a burning building

Women:
• More likely than men to give supportive long-term help to individuals, groups and important causes
Ex: donating blood, offering social support

Question 18

Describe cultural differences in prosocial behaviour

Answer 18

• Collectivistic: More likely to help a member of their ingroup
  
  • Individualistic: less likely to help a member of their ingroup
  • Collectivistic cultures less likely to help “out-group”
    • There a more modest approach for helping others: they are less likely to take credit

Question 19

What was the experiment observing mood on prosocial behaviour conducted in a shopping mall? What is the conclusion about prosocial behaviour and mood?

Answer 19

Researchers have found a “feel good, do good” effect on diverse situations
Conducted in shopping malls
Put people in a good mood: left a dime on the floor (making people who found them to be happy)
• As they were happy, a confederate dropped papers near the person
Ø Those that found the dime, 85% helped
Ø 4% of those who had not found a dime helped

Question 20

Define the negative-state relief hypothesis

Answer 20

we help in order to alleviate sadness/distress

Question 21

What is personal distress? What are the relations with helping?

Answer 21

the negative emotions that we may experience when we view another person’s suffering
• Makes us LESS likely to help if the emotions are too negative
• If not, it may increase our empathy and make us MORE likely to help

Question 22

Name the 3 main situational determinants of prosocial behaviour

Answer 22

Environment (urban vs rural)
Residential mobility
Bystander effect

Question 23

Define the urban-overload hypothesis

Answer 23

people living in cities keep to themselves in order to avoid being overloaded

Question 24

Define residential mobility and its link to prosocial behaviour

Answer 24

• People who have lived for a long time in one place are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviours that help their community

Question 25

Define the bystander effect

Answer 25

the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them will help
(according to studies of Darley and Latané)

Question 26

What is the first step of the bystander intervention model?

Answer 26

• Notice the event: too much stimuli in big cities (like New York) - difficult to notice all the situations around us

Question 27

What is the second step of the bystander intervention model?

Answer 27

• Interpret the event as an emergency : tricky (we tend to check other people’s behaviour to see if it is urgent - informational social influence)

Question 28

Define informational social influence

Answer 28

we tend to check other people’s behaviour to see if it is urgent -

Question 29

Define pluralistic ignorance

In which step of the bystander intervention model it may happen?

Answer 29

when people think that others in their environment have information that they do not have and when they base their judgements on what they think the others are thinking
Interpret the event as an emergency

Question 30

What is the third step of the bystander intervention model?

Answer 30

• Assume responsibility: we see diffusion of responsibility when there is a group around; the responsibility to help does not only fall on 1 person when there is a group around, therefore no one feels a strong need to help

Question 31

Define the final step before intervention in the bystander intervention model

Answer 31

• Knowing how to help: people trained to help (medical professionals) are + likely to help, otherwise everyone is able to contact someone for help

Question 32

Explain 2 ways to increase prosocial behaviour in children

Answer 32

• Reward prosocial acts with praise, smiles and hugs

* Behave prosocially to represent a model of those behaviours for the children

Question 33

Name 2 ways to increase bystander intervention

Answer 33

• Teaching people about the bystander effect and determinants of prosocial behaviour
• Reduce diffusion of responsibility
  
  • When in a crowd, point to one person and give specific instructions; YOU, CALL 911!