altruism and pro-social behavior who (has) does “service”? who has asked a friend for a...

Altruism and Pro-social Behavior

Who (has) does “service”?Who has asked a friend for a “favor”?

• Like RELATIONSHIPS, we all have some experience

Thinking about your own experiences:

When have you received help? From whom do you receive help? How do you/did you feel about these events?

When have you given help? To whom have you offered help? How do you/did you feel about these events?

What are these? Define PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR:

– Action intended to benefit another

– Positive, Constructive, Helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

– Behaviors that are carried out with the goal of helping other people

Define ALTRUISM:– Action intended solely to benefit another and thus not

to gain external or internal reward

– Unselfish regard for the welfare of others

– Pro-social behaviors a person carries out without considering his or her own safety or interests.

Theoretical perspectives on helping behavior:

Prosocial behavior:any act intended to help others regardless of the helpers motives

Altruism:acts intended to

help others with no expectation of personal gain

Learning Perspective

Evolutionary Perspective

Socio-Cultural Perspective

Social-Cognitive Perspective

Learning Perspective:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism


Two general principles:

• reinforcement:– rewards and punishments

• observational learning

Learning Perspective Research:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism


Prosocial behavior:

Altruism


Learning Perspective Research:

Evolutionary Perspective:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism

Evolutionary Perspective

• animal examples• tendency to help others:

– survival value• mutual/reciprocal altruism• self preservation versus altruism:

– predisposed to both

Socio-Cultural Perspective:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism

Socio-cultural Perspective Social Norms:

• norm of social responsibility:– help those who depend on us

• norm of reciprocity:– help those who help us

• norm of social justice:– rules about fairness and the just distribution of resources– equity principle:

• inequity = pressure to redistribute

Socio-Cultural Research:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism

Socio-cultural Perspective Reciprocity Norm Study:

Social-Cognitive Perspective:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism

Social-cognitive Perspective

Cognitive/Decision-Making Steps:

Need Perception

What Help and How

Personal Responsibility

Costs/Benefits Assessment

Need Perception:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism


Need Perception

• interpretation is vital:

– ambiguous versus unambiguous cues

• cues for interpretation as emergency:

– sudden/unexpected

– clear threat of harm to victim

– harm increases without intervention

– victim is helpless

– effective intervention is possible

Need Perception Research:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism

Social-cognitive Perspective Need Perception Study:

Personal responsibility:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism



Need Perception:

Prosocial behavior:

Help



• consider the potential gains/losses

Altruism

Not Help

Perceived Profits:rewards - costs

Perceived Profits:rewards - costs

We help when the perceived profits of helping are greater than those of not helping

Theoretical perspectives on helping behavior:

Prosocial behavior:

Altruism


Cognitive/Decision-Making Steps:

Need Perception

What Help and How



General Determinants of Behavior:

Prosocial behavior

Altruism

Learning Genetics

Norms Cognitions

Behavior

Motives

Emotions

Roles

Self Concept

Why do people help each other?

• Compassion vs. Compliance• Compassion

– help because the person is in real need– socially valued trait– helper feels good and will want to help again

• Compliance

– credit for good deed given to requestor– helper may feel regret or reactance toward

manipulation and less likely to help again


• Batson, Harris, McCaul, Davis & Schmidt (1979)• Females in this study that were forced into a

compliance situation were~– in less of a good mood– less likely to help in response to a second request– less likely to show altruistic behavior

• Therefore, if you are forced into a situation you are less likely to feel rewarded and also less likely to help again.


• Empathic Concern– Egoism vs. Altruism

• Egoism~– helping yourself– motivation to reduce personal stress

• Altruism~– helping others in order to reduce their stress

What about the religious?

• From Jerusalem to Jericho (Darley & Batson)

• “The Good Samaritan”: a psychological view

– the Levite and priest are religious, yet the religious

outcast (ie. Samaritan) actually helps

What is going on in this parable?

• Three Reasons:– 1. Differences in thought

• priest and Levite are concerned with religious matters, the Samaritan more with mundane issues

– 2. Differences in hurriedness• priest and Levite are important in society, therefore more

likely to be in a hurry

– 3. Differences in religiosity• priest and Levite are more concerned with lofty ideals of

religion as opposed to the spontaneity of the Samaritan

Three Hypotheses Derived~

• A person consumed by religious thoughts will be more likely to help an individual than a person thinking about something else

• A person encountering a possible helping situation when they are in a hurry will be less likely to offer help than someone who is not in a hurry

• People who are religious in a Samaritan-like way are more likely to help than those religious in a priest of Levite way

Results

• Subject matter did not affect the people (norm

salience)

• Subjects in a hurry were less likely to help

• No data to support that types of religiosity will

predict helping

So, what would the Pope do?

• Most likely, it doesn’t appear that the Pope would stop on the street to help you out

• There are too many costs and dangers involved

• He is also an extremely busy man and very theologically based, not very down to earth

• Plus, he wouldn’t want to be forced into it

Theoretical Explanations for Prosocial Behavior:

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

Observe Emergency Empathy is arousedVictim needs helpFeels good to help

Explanation: Motivation: Reason for helping:

Negative- State Relief Model

Observe EmergencyNegative Affect is

arousedTo reduce own negative affect

Empathic Joy Hypothesis

Observe Emergency

Leads to desire to act, and positively affect the victim

To engage in an activity with a positive outcome and feel good

Genetic Determinism Model

Observe Emergency

Unconscious desire to help if victim

genetically similar

To maximize survival of similar genes

altruism and pro-social behavior who (has) does “service”? who has asked a friend for a...

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