Altruism Flashcards
What is the behaviourists perspective on altruism?
Helping is the by-product of the individual’s conditioning history (learning to help, being punished for not helping, modelling to be helpers). Inner motives do not matter.
What is prosocial behavior?
Helping someone regardless of your motives.
What is altruism?
Helping someone out of pure motives, no expectation of returns.
What is social exchange theory?
The theory that human interactions are transactions
that aim to maximize one’s rewards and minimize one’s
costs.
What was Robert Cialdini’s contribution to altruism research?
Negative state relief: Seeing someone in a state of need increases our arousal (neutral). We then attribute a value judgement that arousal (positive vs. negative) by looking at cues from the environment. When people experience negative states, they are motivated to alleviate this feeling by helping. Positive feelings or being primed by being given money, or being praised do the opposite.
What is Cialdini’s view on why we help?
We help because we want to alleviate our negative states.
What is Dan Batson’s view on altruism?
Empathy-altruism hypothesis: Witnessing another person in need can produce a range of emotions. The first being perspective-taking which fosters (empathic concern). This emotion provides evidence for pure altruism.
What is the theory of mind?
Being able to take the perspective of someone else.
What was Dan Batson’s study on altruism?
The experimenter asks you whether you could replace the person being shocked in the experiment after she reveals that she has a traumatic experience.
1st IV:
Easy-escape condition: Only have to watch 2 shocks
Difficult-escape condition: Have to watch 10 shocks
2nd IV:
Trait empathetic concern
1st DV: How much would you like to help Elaine? How willing are you be to take her place?
No statistical difference between easy/difficult conditions when they have high trait empathetic concern. High difference between easy/difficult conditions when they have low trait empathetic concern. Those who were least likely to help were in the easy escape condition and were low in trait empathy. Regardless of whether it was easy or hard, those who were high in empathy were willing to take her place. Those that had low empathy only helped because they would have to feel guilty watching the shocks.
True altruism: people who only had to watch 2 shocks and still helped.
What was Cialdini’s response to Dan Batson’s study that found pure-altruism exists?
People can fuzz the boundaries between themselves and others. Your suffering and my suffering. Shared identity/Oneness is behind why there appears to be pure altruism. Helping another person is equivalent to helping yourself.
What experiment in Poland refutes the claim that we help to alleviate a bad mood?
A ticket was placed on the dashboard of a car which was actually just an invitation to something. Unsuspecting subjects are relieved to find out that it is not a ticket and are much more likely to help than those who received this invitation on the side of their car (where a ticket is not found).
Define the reciprocity norm.
An expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them.
Define social capital.
The mutual support and cooperation enabled by a
social network.
Define social responsibility.
An expectation that people will help those needing help.
Define kin selection.
The idea that evolution has selected altruism toward
one’s close relatives to enhance the survival of
mutually shared genes.
How does Evolutionary theory explain altruism?
We are biologically stimulated to help others because we expect reciprocity and are more likely to help kin because it helps our genes survive.
How does social-norm theory explain altruism?
We are primarily driven to help through sociological factors, specifically the reciprocity norm and the social responsibility factor.
How does social exchange theory explain altruism?
We are primarily driven to help through psychological influence, that is the external rewards we get for helping or the internal rewards to alleviate negative emotions.
According to most evolutionary psychologists, which genetic makeup is more likely to survive?
The selfish genetic makeup.
What happened to Kitty in 1968 and why does it relate to bystander inaction.
Throughout the duration of the attack, a total of 38 people had witnessed her attack, and no one called the police until 45 minutes later. Later we found that some reports were exaggerated. But nonetheless, it stimulated research on why people do/don’t intervene.
What was Latane and Darley’s intercom experiment? What did it show? What did the smoke experiment show?
Participants discussed a topic with 1 - 6 people. During the discussion, 1 person started gasping and asking for help over the intercom. What people did depended on how many people were in the group? Only 38% of the people in the 6 person group, actually left the room to help. The more people, the less likely people are likely to help.
What is Latane’s and Darley’s model of bystander inaction?
- Notice that something is happening
- Interpret the meaning of the event (cries could be laughter), pluralistic ignorance, informational influence,
- Take responsibility for what has happened
- Know how to help
- Provide help.
What is the diffusion of responsibility?
When people don’t act because they don’t take responsibility for what has happened? Usually when the person needing help is a stranger.
Define the bystander effect.
The finding that a person is less likely to provide
help when there are other bystanders
