Finals: Prosocial Behavior

Question 1

This refers to actions intended to improve the situation of the help-recipient. This is not considered as ‘prosocial behaviour’ if the act is motivated by professional obligations, or if help-givers or help-recipients are organizations

Answer 1

Helping

Question 2

This refers to helping that is not motivated by professional obligations and that is not based on an organization (except charities).

Answer 2

Prosocial behaviour

Question 3

This refers to prosocial behaviour that has the ultimate goal of benefiting another person.

Answer 3

Altruism

Question 4

• Wanting something in return for helping
• Negative state relief theory - help to reduce your own distress

Answer 4

Egoistic helping

Question 5

• Empathy motivates people to reduce other’s distress
• In low empathy, people can reduce their own distress by escaping the situation

Answer 5

Empathy-altruism hypothesis

Question 6

• Individuals may behave altruistically for reputation reasons because selective benefits (associated with status) accrue to the generous.

Answer 6

Competitive altruism:

Question 7

The ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person and to experience events and emotions

Answer 7

Empathy

Question 8

that human beings have an innate drive to reduce negative moods. They can be reduced by engaging in any mood-elevating behavior, including helping behavior

Answer 8

Negative state relief

Question 9

Helping others is a reward in itself because it brings a person happiness and joy when they commit a helping behavior.

Answer 9

Empathetic joy

Question 10

tendency to help genetic relative to enhance survival of mutually shared genes. Ex. Helping humanity

Answer 10

Kin selection theory

Question 11

unconcious tendency to help for survival

• is a concept in genetics and biology that suggests genes alone determine biological traits and behaviors, minimizing or excluding the role of environment, experience, or free will.

Answer 11

Genetic determinism model

Question 12

by extending help to an outgroup member whose achievements jeopardize their status

Answer 12

DEFENSIVE HELPING

Question 13

Adaptive for individuals to learn social norms from other members of a society (Simon, 1990)

Answer 13

SOCIAL NORMS

Question 14

The expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future.

Answer 14

NORM OF RECIPROCITY

Question 15

tendency of people to become less likely to assist a person in distress where number of other people are also present people less likely to help when they are in the presence of others

Answer 15

BYSTANDER EFFECT

Question 16

• Tendency of bystanders in an emergency to rely on what the other bystanders do and say, even though none of them is sure about what is happening or what to do about it.
• Very often, all of the bystanders hold back and behave as if there is no problem.
• Each individual uses this information to justify failure to act.

• we look to others to see how to act

Answer 16

Pluralistic Ignorance

Question 17

burden of helping is shared with others.

Answer 17

Diffusion of responsibility

Question 18

• Males are more helpful in broader public sphere, toward strangers and in emergencies
• Females are more helpful in family sphere, toward close relationships and in repeated contact
• Female are more likely to get help.
Factors that increase or decrease the tendency to help

Answer 18

Gender

Question 19

• When people are in a good mood, they are more helpful
• Helping others can prolong our good mood.

Answer 19

Mood

Question 20

• Positive feelings increase helping,
• Negative emotions may or may not increase helping

Answer 20

Feelings/emotions

Question 21

• Women not only receive more offers of help in certain situations but also seek more help
• Physical attraction is also necessary for prosocial behavior
• People mostly help those who are physically attractive

Answer 21

Gender and Receiving Help Norm

Question 21

• People will help when the rewards are high relative to the cost
• Rewards: social approval, feeling good about yourself, increasing likelihood of being helped in the future
• Cost: physical effort, time, resources, emotional concerns

Answer 21

Social Exchange Theory

Question 22

• Religious people are slightly more likely to help during emergencies
• Religious people are more likely to provide planned help
• Ex. Volunteerism, charity

Answer 22

Religiosity

Question 23

According to this theory:
- Individuals are more likely to sacrifice themselves for relatives than non-relatives
• Ex. Parental Care

Answer 23

Kin Selection Theory of Altruism

Question 24

• Helping others now ensures that they help us later • If we are not returned with help, we may not help them again • We help non-kin on this concept

Answer 24

Reciprocity