Wk11: Prosocial Behaviour Flashcards
(23 cards)
Define prosocial behaviour
Any behaviour performed with the goal of helping another person, regardless of motive
Factors of prosocial behaviour
- Instinct and evolution
- Social exchange theory
- Personality
- Empathy-alturism hypothesis
- Mood
- Social processes
- Media effects
- Recipient characteristics
- Bystander effect
Instinct and evolution
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Social species makes prosocial behaviour better for survival
- Norm of reciprocity; kin selection
Norm of reciprocity
Factor of instinct and evolution, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Tendency to reciprocate favours
- Tendency to assume others will abide by this
Kin selection
Factor of instinct and evolution, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Tendency to help blood relatives more than others, even when costly
Social exchange theory
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Maximise rewards: reciprocation, social and personal rewards
- Minimise costs: uses resources, health and safety risks
Personality
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Agreeableness
- Dispositional empathy
Empathy-alturism hypothesis
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Empathy causes alturism
- Empathy produces negative affect - undesirable emotions on behalf of others
- We are motivated to reduce the cause of distress
- Thus, we help others with no reward expectation
Mood
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Good mood = more prosocial behaviour
- Good mood = greater sympathy, empathy, moral behaviour
- Unclear whether bad mood causes more or less prosocial behaviour
Negative state relief model
Factor of mood, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Helping others decreases bad mood
- Elongates good mood
Socialisation
Factor of social processes, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Children instructed to help more likely to do so independently
- Helpfulness internalised and valued
Social norms
Factor of social processes, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Prosocial behaviour exacerbated if social norm permits
Social learning theory
Factor of social processes, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Prosocial behaviour may be modelled by others and learned from
Media effects
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Cohesive literature
- Prosocial media increases prosocial thoughts, behaviours, and empathy
Recipient characteristics
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Those with a shared/ similar identity
- Those who are more attractive
- Those who do not appear responsible for their misfortune
are helped more than those who are not.
Bystander effect
Factor influencing prosocial behaviour
- Presence of others reduces prosocial behaviour
- Absence of evaluation apprehension; people feel less responsible for others’ misfortunes because no one else is helping
Bystander effect model
- Notice event
- Identify it as an emergency
- Assume responsibility
- Know how to help (make plan)
- Implement help (action plan)
Classic bystander effect
- The more bystanders, the less likely an individual will help
- Not all individuals show a bystander effect
Aggregate bystander effect
- The more bystanders, the more likely a victim will receive help
- Numbers game: increased number of people, inceased likelihood at lest one person does not show a bystander effect
Pluralistic ignorance
Factor of bystander effect influencing prosocial behaviour
- Factor of (2) emergency interpretation
- Tendency to assume others inaction means there is no emergency (rather than bystander effect)
Diffusion of responsibility
Factor of bystander effect, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Factor of (3) assuming responsibility
- Individuals’ sense of responsibility decreases as the number of bystanders increase
- Assuptions others will take responsibility
Audience inhibition
Factor of bystander effect, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Factor of (5) implementing help/ action
- Assumption bystanders may perceive us negatively for helping
Confusion of responsibility
Factor of bystander effect, influencing prosocial behaviour
- Factor of (5) implementing help/ action
- Fear of being assumed as the perpetrator by oncoming bystanders; avoid situation entirely
