chapter 9 prosocial behavior. chapter outline defining prosocial behavior goals of prosocial...

Chapter 9Chapter 9

Prosocial BehaviorProsocial Behavior

Chapter OutlineDefining Prosocial Behavior

Goals of Prosocial Behavior

Gaining Genetic and Material Benefits

Gaining Social Status and Approval

Managing Self-Image

Managing Our Moods and Emotions

Does Pure Altruism Exist?

Defining Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial

Behavior

Benevolence

Pure

Altruism

Type of Behavior


Prosocial

Behavior

Benevolence

Pure

Altruism

Definition Example

Type of Behavior


Prosocial Prosocial

BehaviorBehavior

Benevolence

Pure

Altruism

Definition Example

Any action intended to

benefit another

(regardless of motive)

Giving a Giving a large tip to large tip to a waiter to a waiter to

impress impress your boss your boss with your with your generositygenerosity

Type of Behavior


Prosocial

Behavior

BenevolenceBenevolence

Pure

Altruism

Definition Example

Benefits another

intentionally for no

external reward

AnonymousAnonymously sending ly sending $20 to a $20 to a

charity to charity to make make

yourself feel yourself feel good insidegood inside

Type of Behavior


Prosocial

Behavior

Benevolence

Pure Pure

AltruismAltruism

Definition Example

Benefits another

intentionally for no

external or internal reward

Spontaneo-Spontaneo-usly usly

jumping on jumping on a railroad a railroad track to track to help a help a

stranger stranger who has who has

fallenfallen

Goals of Prosocial Behavior

• Gaining Genetic and Material Benefits

• Gaining Social Status and Approval

• Managing Self-Image

• Managing Our Moods and Emotions


Insights into the Evolution of HelpInclusive Fitness -

The ability of one’s genes to survive in one’s own offspring AND in any relatives one helps.

• Animals share more genes with siblings > nephews > cousins

• Helping a close relative promotes the survival of those genes


Genetic Relatedness and Helping

Would you lend your car to your brother?What about your grandfather?What about a cousin? What about an attractive stranger? Michael Cunningham and his colleagues

asked people whether they would be willing to help other people in different situations

Gaining Genetic and Material Benefitsesearchesearch

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High(parents, siblings, children)


Cunningham et al., (1995)Cunningham et al., (1995)esearchesearch

Percentage Volunteering

to Help

Percentage Volunteering

to Help

4040

Degree of RelatednessDegree of Relatedness

Mod. (grand-parents)


Low (first

cousins)

Low (first

cousins)

None (attractive strangers)

None (attractive strangers)

Insights into the Evolution of Help

Reciprocal Aid -

Help that occurs in return for prior help

• Other animals will help non-relatives if they live in close proximity and can better survive by sharing.

• People working for organizations who provide more benefits work harder for the firm.



Learning to Help: The sense of “We”

Similarity and Familiarity

Types of Helpers, Victims, and Need

Children exposed to others of different ethnic and religious backgrounds later develop a feeling of “we-ness” with the larger human family (Piliavin et al., 1981)

Expanded sense of “we”

European Gentiles who helped Jews escape from Nazis were exposed to more different ethnicities growing up than were non-helpers (Oliner & Oliner, 1988)



Similarity may be a cue to genetic relatedness (our relatives look like us)

In 34 studies, 29 found significantly higher helping for similar over dissimilar others (Dovidio, 1984)



Familiarity may also be a cue to genetic relatedness

If familiarity is associated with shared genes, helping familiar others would have generally helped relatives (Schroeder, Penner, Dovidio, & Piliavin, 1995)

In animal and human societies, familiarity increases helping.


Types of Victims, Helpers, and Need

The tendency to help relatives is stronger when the help is more related to survival

Participants in one study were asked to imagine scenarios like the following:


There are three people asleep in different rooms of a burning house:

• A cousin

• A grandfather

• An acquaintance

You have time to rescue only one.

Which do you save?

Burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama, 1994esearchesearch


There are three people who need you to run a small errand to the store:

• A cousin

• A sister

• An acquaintance

You have time to help only one.

Whose errand do you run?

Burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama, 1994esearchesearch


3.03.0

2.52.5

1.51.5

1.01.0



Burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama (1994)Burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama (1994)esearchesearch

Tendency to Help

Tendency to Help

2.02.0




Low (first

cousins)

Low (first

cousins)

None (acquaintances) None (acquaintances)

For everyday help, people tended to help close relatives more than non-relatives

For everyday help, people tended to help close relatives more than non-relatives

3.03.0

2.52.5

1.51.5

1.01.0



Burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama (1994)Burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama (1994)esearchesearch

Tendency to Help

Tendency to Help

2.02.0




Low (first

cousins)

Low (first

cousins)

The difference became even more pronounced

in life-or-death situations

The difference became even more pronounced

in life-or-death situations

None (acquaintances) None (acquaintances)

Social Responsibility norm -

Societal rule that people should help those who need their assistance.


The bystander effect –

individuals who observe an emergency are less likely to help when others are present than when they are alone.

Diffusion of responsibility -

Tendency for each group member to dilute personal responsibility for acting by spreading it among all other group members.


Bystanders as sources of help


Bystanders as sources of help

The Kitty Genovese Story

Pluralistic Ignorance -

Phenomenon that occurs when bystanders to an emergency, trying to look poised, give misleading cues to others that no help is needed


Bystanders as sources of information about helping

In one study, researchers pumped smoke into a lab while students filled out a questionnaire.

• Some students were left alone• Some with 2 other real participants• Some with 2 other confederates who

pretended nothing was wrong



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Alone Alone

Latane & Darley (1968)Latane & Darley (1968)esearchesearch

Percentage Reporting

Smoke

Percentage Reporting

Smoke

4040

With 2 other real

subjects

With 2 other real

subjects

With 2 calm confederates With 2 calm confederates

Results suggest that people look to others to provide information.

If no one else seems upset, that suggests this isn’t an emergency.



Sometimes people assume help would be seen as an unwelcome intrusion.

• When a woman fighting with a man shouted: “I don’t even know you!” - help more likely than if she shouted:

• “I don’t know why I married you!” (Shotland & Straw, 1976)


Bystanders as sources of approval or disapproval

Others as Sources of

Help

The Helping DecisionThe Helping Decision

Others as Sources of Whether

Helping is Called For

Others as Sources of

Approval or Disapproval for

Helping

Effects of Onlookers on Decisions to HelpEffects of Onlookers on Decisions to Help


Need for Approval

Awareness of the Helping Norm

Helping Models

Gender and Help

Students who score higher on a scale measuring the need for approval from others donate more money;

But only if the donation is public

Need for Approval


Very young children are not aware of the norm requiring people to help those in need.

Between 6 and 9 years of age, they become aware of the norm.

At this age, they will help IF an adult is present (Froming, Allen, & Jensen, 1985)

Awareness of the Helping Norm


Helping Models

Observing another giving help can teach young children about the helping norm.

For adults, a model can remind them of the helping norm.


Gender and HelpWomen are universally perceived as kinder,

more soft-hearted, and more helpful (Williams & Best, 1990)

But over 90% of Carnegie Hero awards go to men (for saving, or attempting to save, the life of another).

Why?


Managing Self-Image

Managing Self-Image

Personal Norms

Labeling

Deciding Not to Help Friends or to Seek their Help

Self-Focus

Religious Codes

Personal Norm -

Internalized beliefs and values that combine to form a person’s inner standards for behavior.

(example: I believe that I personally should give blood to the blood bank)

Personal Norms & Religious Codes

Managing Self-Image

People who define themselves as highly committed to their spiritual beliefs are, compared to the less committed, twice as likely to volunteer time to help the needy (Gallup, 1984)

Personal Norms & Religious Codes

Managing Self-Image

Labeling a child as “kind and helpful” increases his or her later willingness to donate prizes to other children (Grusec & Redler, 1980)

Labeling and Self-focus

Managing Self-Image

Self-Focus

Lower Helping LikelihoodLower Helping Likelihood

? Are My Personal Problems

Small

?

Is Victim’s Need

Prominent

Higher Helping LikelihoodHigher Helping Likelihood

?

Is Victim’s Need

Legitimate

?

Internal Focus on Value of Helping

YesYesYesYes

YesYes

NONO NONONONO

NONO

YesYes

SELF FOCUS

Deciding not to help friends or seek help

In one study, students gave more clues to friends than to strangers playing a non self relevant game;

But, they gave more clues to strangers when the task was said to reflect intelligence (Tesser & Smith, 1980)

WHY?

Gaining or Maintaining Social Status

Failing to seek needed help

Gender: Males are generally less likely to request help than females.

Age: Children after age 7 and 8 realize that asking for help may reflect poorly on their esteem.

After age 60, there is another drop.

Focus on Social Dysfunction

Failing to seek needed help

Self-esteem: High self-esteem individuals are LESS likely to seek help.

KEY: people fail to ask for needed help to avoid lower self-esteem.

Focus on Social Dysfunction

Managing Our Emotions and Moods

Arousal/Cost-reward model -

View that observers of suffering help to relieve their own personal distress (Dovidio, Piliavin, Gaertner, Schroeder, & Clark, 1991)

We will help in emergency if:

Managing our Emotions and Moods

Managing Emotional Arousal in Emergencies

Increased Increased Chance Chance

That Help That Help Will Be Will Be OfferedOffered

Increased Increased Chance Chance

That Help That Help Will Be Will Be OfferedOffered

Observation of Another

in Clear Need of Aid

Increased Negative

Emotional Arousal

if Cost of Helping is

Small

if Rewards are Large

if Arousal is strong

if “We” connection

Arousal/Cost-Reward Model of HelpingArousal/Cost-Reward Model of Helping

Mood management hypothesis -

Idea that people use helping tactically to manage their moods

Throughout life, we learn that helping others can lead to rewards.

This reward makes us feel good, and we learn to use helping to manage our mood.


Managing Emotional Arousal in Non- Emergencies

Managing Moods and Emotions

Presence of Sadness

Costs/Benefits of Helping

Gourmets and Gourmands

Helping can be increased by events triggering temporary sadness:

• Reminiscing about unhappy experiences

• Reading depressing statements

• Failing at a task

• Witnessing harm to another

Presence of Sadness


Students in one study were put into either:

• happy

• sad or

• neutral mood

Then given an opportunity to help a non-profit organization

Costs/benefits of HelpingManaging our Emotions and Moods

The benefits of helping were either:

• Low - help was for Little League

• High - American Cancer Society

Costs of helping were either:

• Low: Sit at donations desk

• High: Collect door-to-door

Costs/benefits of HelpingManaging our Emotions and Moods

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Weyant (1976)Weyant (1976)

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MoodMoodNeutralNeutral

BenefitBenefitLowLow HighHigh

CostCost LowLow

HighHighHappy students helped

more than those in a neutral mood, with

little regard for costs and benefits

Happy students helped more than those in a neutral mood, with

little regard for costs and benefits

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Weyant (1976)Weyant (1976)

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MoodMoodNeutralNeutral Sad Sad

BenefitBenefitLowLow HighHigh

CostCost LowLow

HighHigh

But students in a sad mood only helped

when benefits were high, and costs were low

But students in a sad mood only helped

when benefits were high, and costs were low


Those in sad moods are like gourmets - with hearty appetites but picky tastes

They help more if the opportunity is a good one; but less if it is a poor one.


People in a positive mood act like gourmands - of hearty appetite, but indiscriminate taste.

They avail themselves of any opportunity to help


People in a positive mood seem to view themselves and their environments in positive terms.

When everything is positive, we are generally less concerned with scanning the details of the environment.



Components:

Perspective-Taking - The process of mentally putting oneself in another’s position.

Empathic Concern - Compassionate feelings caused by taking the perspective of a needy other.


Students in one experiment were given the opportunity to help a suffering student (Elaine) by taking her place in an electric shock experiment.

Half could easily escape the whole situation by leaving immediately.

The other half would have to stay and watch as she received the remaining shocks.


Students given the easy opportunity to escape usually took it.

But if they felt high empathy for Elaine

They were more likely to help her out.

Dan Batson and colleagues argue that empathy engages pure altruism, and overrides selfish motivations.

An egoistic alternative

Cialdini and his colleagues argue that there is an egoistic explanation of these findings:

Empathy causes an observer to feel kinship with the victim, thus tapping into a basic selfish motivation – to serve myself by serving those who share my genes.

chapter 9 prosocial behavior. chapter outline defining prosocial behavior goals of prosocial...

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