Prosociality

Question 1

Define prosociality.

Answer 1

Behaviour that is positive and intended to help or benefit another being

Question 2

What is the main difference between altruism and prosociality?

Answer 2

Altruism doesn’t benefit the actor, prosociality can

Question 3

Does prosocial behaviour need to be voluntary?

Answer 3

No

Question 4

Does prosocial behaviour need to benefit others?

Answer 4

Yes (or at least be intended to)

Question 5

Does prosocial behaviour need to have a personal cost to the actor?

Answer 5

No

Question 6

Does prosocial behaviour need to involve empathy?

Answer 6

No, but highly correlated

Question 7

Is prosocial behaviour exclusive to humans?

Answer 7

No (e.g. rats)

Question 8

Is prosocial behaviour motivated by others’ needs?

Answer 8

Yes, generally, but not necessarily (can be our perception of others’ needs)

Question 9

Do positive or negative emotions tend to generate prosocial behaviour?

Answer 9

Positive

Question 10

Does empathy increase prosocial behaviour?

Answer 10

Yes, usually but not always. Too much empathy can create distress and avoidance.

Question 11

What are the three types of prosocial behaviour according to Wu and Hong?

Answer 11

• Comforting in response to emotional need
• Targeted helping in response to goal-directed need
• Sharing in response to material need

Question 12

What’s an example of rats being altruistic?

Answer 12

Rats will release a cage-mate from a restraint.

Question 13

What type of behaviour does negative affect trigger?

Answer 13

Survival-motivated specific responses to an immediate need

Question 14

What type of behaviour does positive affect trigger?

Answer 14

Broad, prosocial behaviour (attention drawn away from self and towards others)

Question 15

What is the relationship between positive affect and prosocial behaviour?

Answer 15

Reciprocal, both increase each other

Question 16

How does prosocial behaviour relate to extreme stress?

Answer 16

Buffers against it

Question 17

What are two types of prosociality that aren’t based on empathy?

Answer 17

Strategic prosociality and selective/ norm-based prosociality

Question 18

What is strategic prosociality?

Answer 18

When the actor benefits in some way from the prosocial behaviour

Question 19

What is the relationship of age with strategic prosociality?

Answer 19

Increases with age

Question 20

What does it mean that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is associated with costly giving?

Answer 20

*Controlling impulse to protect one’s own resources
*Regulating negative emotions associated with costly giving

Question 21

What type of prosocial behaviour is empathy especially related to?

Answer 21

Costly giving

Question 22

Why is cognitive control important in the relationship between empathy and costly giving?

Answer 22

Redirecting negative arousal away from avoidance and towards prosocial behaviour

Question 23

How does reward relate to prosociality?

Answer 23

Intrinsic rewards are beneficial, but extrinsic rewards can reduce prosociality

Question 24

How does reward for costly prosocial behaviour relate to group dynamics?

Answer 24

More reward for costly giving to in-group than out-group members,

Question 25

Why is extrinsic reward sometimes bad for prosociality?

Answer 25

Can undermine feelings of goodness and motivation to be prosocial

Question 26

What is the general developmental trend of prosocial behaviour?

Answer 26

Trends are hard to identify, depends on how it's operationalised, depends on context. Tends to increase in childhood and adulthood, mixed findings in adolescence.

Question 27

What is the developmental trend for giving to antagonists?

Answer 27

Stable until 15-18, then decreases

Question 28

From what age can people demonstrate prosocial behaviour?

Answer 28

Possibly as young as three months

Question 29

Describe the results of the Aknin et al. (2012) study

Answer 29

Toddlers (younger than 2) are happier giving candy to a puppet than receiving candy themselves.

Question 30

From what age do infants prefer those who help good people and punish bad people?

Answer 30

4.5 months

Question 31

At what age can moral development be inferred in infants?

Answer 31

4.5 months

Question 32

How does risk-taking affect prosocial behaviour in adolescents?

Answer 32

Some prosociality, e.g. standing up for others, requires risk-taking to be displayed.

Question 33

What is the developmental trend of prosocial behaviour in adolescence?

Answer 33

Mixed evidence, no clear trend. Depends on individuals - different adolescents have different trajectories

Question 34

What brain regions (big-picture) are involved in both prosociality and risk-taking?

Answer 34

* Reward regions * Cognitive control regions * Social regions

Question 35

How does the strength of prosocial and antisocial influences change across adolescence?

Answer 35

Decreases (highest at age 12, lowest at 18).

Question 36

What is the developmental trend of prosocial behaviour in adulthood?

Answer 36

General upwards trend, but also depends on recipient (in-group vs out-group)

Question 37

What is the overall relationship between prosociality and well-being?

Answer 37

Positive (globally, in every region of the world)

Question 38

What is the idea of a "positive cascade" in prosociality in children?

Answer 38

As children engage in prosocial behaviour, they learn positive skills and have more friends, people treat them nicer and like them more, so they engage in more prosocial behaviour.

Question 39

What is the relationship between prosociality and peer acceptance in adolescence?

Answer 39

Prosociality positively predicted peer acceptance but not vice versa.

Question 40

What is the problem of intrinsic motivation for prosociality?

Answer 40

Difficult to get people to behave prosocially to get the benefits of prosociality. People who don't value prosociality don't really benefit from it. Only works if they're intrinsically motivated to do it.

Question 41

What is the relationship between suppression and prosocial behaviour?

Answer 41

Negative

Question 42

What is the relationship between reappraisal and prosocial behaviour?

Answer 42

Positive

Question 43

What is the relationship between prosociality and mental disorder/ well-being in adults?

Answer 43

Prosocial behaviour protects against disorder and increases happiness and valued living.