Week 10 - Helping Behaviour

Question 1

Explain the Bystander effect [Latane and Darley , 1970]

Answer 1

• People are less likely to help when with others than alone
• Diffusion of Responsibility : share responsibility of helping others
• Pluralist Ignorance : not realising it is an emergency
• Audience Inhibition : not wanting to look foolish in front of others

Question 2

Experiment of the Bystander Effect [Latane and Darley]

Answer 2

• Completed questionnare in a lab , either alone , 2 strangers , or two confederates instructed to do nothing
• Smoke entered room and assessed how many people went to help : less likely in presence of others (from 70% to 10% with confederates)

Question 3

Darley and Latane (1968) Bystander effect study [ victim seizure ]

Answer 3

• Sat in separate cubicles and communicated via microphone
• Either in pairs , a group of 4 , or a group of 6
• Heard ‘victim’ have seizure : helping decreased with more bystanders

Question 4

Bystander Effect Experiment - Subway Train Studies [Piliavin et al]

Answer 4

• Field study ; man stagger and collapses on subway
• Varied race (white or black)
• Varied intoxication ( Drunk or sober)
• Lower helping drunk black person , num of bystanders didn’t not affect helping

Question 5

Bystander Effect Meta Analysis [ Fischer et al]

Answer 5

• Used statistics to see if the bystander effect exists
• 53 studies : effect was robust and replicated

Question 6

Can we reduce the bystander effect experiment? [ Beaman et al.]

Answer 6

-Either received lecture on bystander effect or no lecture
- Saw person in bicycle accident and confederate did nothing
- More likely to help when received lecture

Question 7

Define pro-social behaviour

Answer 7

• Behaviour that benefits others
• Not driven by personal obligations
• Can be selfless / selfish

Question 8

Define Alturism

Answer 8

• An act which is motivated by the desire to help , selflessly , without benefit to yourself

Question 9

Explain the Negative-State-Relief-Model

Answer 9

• Seeing others in need causes distress : try to help to avoid this distress
• Help to remove feelings of distress as helping is selfish

Question 10

Altruism vs Egoism [Manucia et al]

Answer 10

• Neutral = recall route to Uni
• Happy = recall happy event
• Sad = recall sad event
• All ppts given a pill that would ‘ freeze their mood’ : asked if would make call to established blood donors ; highest helping when sad / mood not fixed

Question 11

Explain the Empathy - Altruism Hypothesis [Baston , 1991]

Answer 11

• Helping dependant on empathy ; shared feelings with person in need
• Low empathy = selfish (unlikely to help when cannot escape situation)
• High empathy = selfless (always help)

Question 12

Altruism vs Egoism [Baston et al] (electric shocks)

Answer 12

• Watched people receive electric shock ; told it would only take 2/10 shocks (easy escape) or all 10 (hard escape)
• Also manipulated empathy to similar / dissimilar
• Always help when high empathy , when low empathy only help if cannot escape

Question 13

Shepard et al . (Sperm and Egg donation)

Answer 13

• Measured egoistic motive : feelings of pride
• Measured altruism : desire to help others
• Predicted intention to donate and behavuour in men
• Pride predicted intention but not behaviour in women

Question 14

Shepard and Lovell (2020) - Human Milk Donation

Answer 14

• DOnatins in women who were breastfeeding their children
• Measured feelings of pride , altruism , and theory of planned behaviours construct
• Intention to donate percieved by attitude and subjective norm
  = intention predicted whether they requested more info