E4: Prosocial behavior Flashcards
what is the difference between prosocial behavior and altruism
prosocial behavior: behavior done with the goal of benefitting others
altruism: prosocial behavior that is motivated by genuine desire to benefit someone else even if it costs you
Why do we help other
different personal and situation factors
what are the personal factors that play into why we help people
-sociobiological reasons
-personality traits
-gender differences
-current state of mind
-current mood
sociobiological reason for helping people
-helping exists across all cultures and human beings
-helping is an adaptable characteristic because of the norm of reciprocity which means that if we help others, then they will help us when we’re in need
-more likely to help those who are similar to us
gender differences influence on helping people
-men more likely to help with a physical danger or threat
-women more likely to help when there is nurturing or support needed
current state of mind influence on helping people
-are you feeling guilty
-do you feel empathy for the person who needs help
what are the three different kinds of empathy
- affective: you feel the same thing (someone is crying so you cry)
- cognitive: you understand what they feel (understanding that someone is sad)
- sympathetic: care/compassion for what they feel
what is the type of empathy most tied to prosocial behavior
sympathetic empathy
current mood influence on helping people
-in general, people are more likely to help when in a good mood than when in a bad mood
-mildly bad mood = more likely to help
negative state relief model
when someone is in a mildly bad muood, they are more likely to help another person because it will improve their own mood
BUT this is only true if the help needed is easy to provide
what are the situational factors that influence why we help people
-modeling
-characteristics of person in need
-relationship between victim and perpetrator
-social norms
-time constraints
-presence of others
influence of modeling on helping others
seeing other people help makes us more likely to intervene
characteristics of person in need
-similarity to us
-attractiveness
-and membership to in-group all play a role in whether or not we help someone
relationship between person who needs help and person who is causing the problem
if we think that two people in an altercation know each other, than we are less likely to help because we want to mind our own business
social norms and helping others
-if a norm of helping is set than others are more likely to join in
-norm of reciprocity: if someone helps us then we feel the need to return the favor
time constraints and helping others
when we are in a hurry, we are much less likely to help someone
*priest studies
number of people present
bystander effect: when there are more people present and witnessing a situation, we are less likely to help
*smoke study of people looking to others for what to do when room filled with smoke
