prosocial behaviour Flashcards
prosocial behaviour, why people help, the bystander effect, person factors (24 cards)
what is prosocial behaviour?
acts positively valued by society
“behaviour that has positive social consequences and contributes to the well-being of another person”
what is helping behaviour?
intentional
benefits another
what is altruism?
act to benefit other rather than self
performed without expectation of personal gain
can be costly
what are the different theories of why people help?
evolutionary perspective
learning to be helpful
social norms
empathy-altruism hypothesis
what is the evolutionary perspective for why people help?
contemporary neo-Darwinian models of evolution
evolutionary success - survival of one’s genes in subsequent generations
existence of prosocial tendencies in humans because of genetically based predispositions to act prosocially and the evolutionary success of people who displayed such predispositions (Penner, Dovidio, Piliavin and Schroeder, 2005)
what are the two evolutionary perspectives of why people help?
kin selection
reciprocal altruism
what is the kin selection perspective of why people help?
evolutionary benefit in terms of inclusive fitness to those who help relatives
humans more inclined to help relatives than unrelated individuals (Barrett et al, 2002)
who investigated kin selection and when?
Burnstein et al
1994
what was Burnstein et al’s (1994) study on kin selection?
tendency to help people who varied in kinship in two conditions - healthy vs sick, everyday vs life-or-death situations
more willing to help closer kin than more distant kin
more likely to help people who were healthy rather than sick in life-or-death situations
more likely to help people who were sick than healthy in everyday situations
what is reciprocal altruism?
helping others increase likelihood that they will help us
reciprocity - benefits that may add to evolutionary success, increases status and reputation in community (Penner, Dovidio, Piliavin and Schroeder, 2005)
how does the learning theory say we learn to help?
observational learning/modelling
using reinforcement - acts that are rewarded are more likely to be repeated
what are the social norms for helping?
reciprocal principle
social responsibility
what is the reciprocal principle?
“we should help those who help us”
what is social responsibility?
“we should help those who are dependent and in need, without regard to future exchanges”
who suggested the empathy-altruism hypothesis and when?
Batson et al
1987, 1991, 1997
what is the empathy-altruism hypothesis?
perception that someone needs help - perspective taking (imagine how THAT person feels) - empathetic concern - altruistic motive (ultimate goal to increasing other’s welfare)
imaging how YOU would feel - personal distress - egoistic motivation to reduce personal distress
what does egoistic mean?
state with ultimate goal to increase own welfare
what was the Kitty Genovese murder?
late on night, Kitty Genovese on her way home, attacked and killed
in half hour of attack, not one of her neighbours helped
one anonymous phone call to police 30 minutes later
38 people admitted to hearing the screaming
what is the bystander effect?
people less likely to help in an emergency when they are with others than when alone
what is bystander intervention?
individual breaks out of role of a bystander and helps another
who suggested the cognitive model of bystander intervention and when?
Latané and Darley
1970
what is the cognitive model of bystander intervention?
notice the incident - interpret the incident - accept personal responsibility for helping - decide what can be done - help?
what are the processes contributing to bystander apathy?
diffusion of responsibility
audience inhibition
social influence
what are person factors?
competence
mood states (good mood = more likely to help, guilt = more likely to help)
