Affective Psychology: Altruism, Prosocial Behavior, and Aggression PDF

Affective psychology Altruism, pro-social behavior, and aggression quired readings for today: lor, Peplau & Sears ith et al., pp. 420–431 nken, Chapter 8 Why do we give money to beggars? (How many reasons can you think of?) Helping...

Affective psychology Altruism, pro-social behavior, and aggression quired readings for today: lor, Peplau & Sears ith et al., pp. 420–431 nken, Chapter 8 Why do we give money to beggars? (How many reasons can you think of?) Helping behavior 1. Why do people (animals) help others, particularly at a potential or actual cost to themselves? Seems to contradict –the basic self-preservation drives, –reinforcement theory, –hedonistic theories of motivation What could be the advantage?  Types of prosocial behavior Cooperation (vs. competition): –2 or more persons work together for joint reward Helping/pro-social behavior: assistance to another organism (the benefit is at the other) Forms: a) expecting (later) reciprocity (favor, gift, etc.) b) in the absence of reward or personal benefit (consoling, sharing, defending, etc.) c) ALTRUISM: potential harm or injury to the helping organism (risking one’s life to save someone else’s; sacrificing our time, money, etc.)  Theoretical Explanations for Prosocial Behavior: Explanation: Motivation: Reason for helping: Empathy-Altruism Empathy is Victim needs help Hypothesis aroused Feels good to help Observe Emergency Negative- State Relief Model Negative Affect is To reduce own Observe aroused negative affect Emergency Genetic Unconscious Determinism To maximize desire to help if Model survival of similar victim genetically Observe genes similar Emergency Studying altruism since the 1960s 1. Shocking news about tragedies due to lack of help An extreme case of bystander apathy: Kitty Genovese March 13, 1964 Parking 30m from her apartment Stranger (Winston Moseley) followed, attacked (1) One neighbor hearing her cry, shouted at attacker Attacker returned to his car, expected police Nothing happened Returned to Kitty Genovese, attacked her again(2), lights were turned on, attacker left but returned and stabbed her to death (3) Many (38) witnessed Manning, from R., Levine, M., & their Collins, windows, A. (2007). The Kitty http://drvitelli.typepad.com/provi Genovese murder and the social psychology of but did dentia/2010/03/the-kitty-genoves not call the police… helping: The parable of the 38 witnesses. American e-murder.html Psychologist, 62(6), 555-562. Studying altruism since the 1960s: change of focus 2. Commitment 3. The state of toward the needy: psychology as a eg. Kennedy’s science Peace Corps in the Psychology was USA ‘ready’ to move from studying concerns of society (aggression and fear) to positive aspects Theoretical perspectives on altruism: Evolutionary perspective 1 Can animals be altruistic? Robert Hinde (1974): – if defined from the perspective of outcome: YES (e.g. danger calls, bird pretending to have a broken wing) – too broad – if defined from the perspective of intention: NO (only humans can have intention) – too narrow Genetitians: – care of the offspring = altruism – too broad Donald O. Hebb (1971): – It is intrinsically motivated behavior, – independent of reinforcement, and – directed by willful psychological phenomena. – Thus, insects’ social behavior does not belong here behavior of higher-order species does belong here (dogs, dolphins, apes, humans)  Theoretical perspectives on altruism: Evolutionary perspective 2 Can altruistic behavior have a genetic basis? AGAINST: – If some individuals have a gene for altruism, and altruism is expressed in self-sacrifice, then the individuals with the gene will extinct FOR: – The presence of altruistic genes in all members of the species is useful for the members of the species as a whole, because natural selection operates at the level of the species – Sociobiological view: the altruistic act insures the survival of those genes that the individual has in common with the others RESOLUTION: – Trivers (1971): Level of the species: kin selection  Two basic approaches of Altruism Biological altruism (with its roots in evolutionary psychology), and Psychological altruism (based more on cognitive Biological explanations of altruism psychology) – can be seen in many animals, psychological explanations of altruism are witnessed only in higher-level mammals. – occur almost automatically, psychological explanations of altruism arise as a result of cognition → this type of altruism relies on the ‘helper’ understanding the situation. This kind of  Kin selection theory Kin selection: the evolutionary strategy that favors the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Kin altruism: altruistic behaviour whose evolution is driven by kin selection. Darwin: mentioned the concept in his 1859 book, The Origin of Species, where he reflected on the puzzle of sterile social insects, such as honey bees (they leave reproduction to their The cooperative behaviour of mothers) social insects like the honey bee can be explained by kin selection  Kin selection theory According to Hamilton's rule (1964), kin selection causes genes to increase in frequency when: – the genetic relatedness of a recipient to an actor multiplied by the benefit to the recipient is greater than the reproductive cost to the actor. Relatedness is often important for human altruism: humans are inclined to behave more altruistically toward kin than toward unrelated individuals.  Kin selection theory Interviews: several hundred women in Los Angeles showed that while non-kin friends were willing to help one another, their assistance was far more likely to be reciprocal. The largest amounts of non-reciprocal help, however, were reportedly provided by kin. Additionally, more closely related kin were considered more likely sources of assistance than distant kin (Essock-Vitale et al, 1985) Experiment: the longer participants (from both the UK and the South African Zulus) held a painful skiing position, the more money or food was presented to a given relative. Participants repeated the experiment for individuals of different relatedness (parents and siblings at r=.5, grandparents, nieces, and nephews at r=.25, etc.). Participants held the position for longer intervals the greater the degree of relatedness was between themselves and those  Reciprocal altruism theory In evolutionary biology, reciprocal altruism is a behaviour whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing another organism's fitness, with the expectation that the other organism will act in a similar manner at a later time. The concept was initially developed by Robert Examples: Trivers to explain the Warning calls in birds evolution of cooperation as Grooming in primates  Theoretical perspectives on altruism: Sociocultural perspective Act of generosity to strangers cannot be explained by genetic evolution Social norms of helping (culturally common) – Social responsibility (duty to help) parents, teachers, strangers in emergency, picking up litter, etc. – Reciprocity I scratch your back, you scratch mine – Social justice fairness and just distribution  Theoretical perspectives on altruism: Learning perspective Reinforcement – Development: from external reward (small children) to internalized values (adults) 1. Situational praise 2. Dispositional praise Observational learning (modeling) – Children – Adults  Theoretical perspectives on helping: Decision-making 1-2. Perceiving perspective a need and label it correctly certain emergency – help more likely 6 sudden, unexpected clear threat of harm likely increase of harm without 5 intervention helpless victim 4 possible effective intervention 3 uncertain situation – help less likely accident: serious or not 2 fight: lovers or strangers 3. Perception of responsibility 1 personal or general competence Latané and Darley model Weighing costs and benefits profit of helping > profit of non- helping 4. Deciding how to help  Theoretical perspectives on helping: Attribution perspective Is the need legitimate? – Controllable or uncontrollable cause of need Sick or drunk? Lazy or unable? Cause perceived as controllable  anger, irritation, avoidance, neglect  the other does not deserve help Cause perceived as uncontrollable  sympathy, pity  the other deserves help  Negative-state relief model When encountering a homeless person asking for money, we can either: – Give them some money or – Walk away Schaller and Cialdini (1988) proposed the negative-state relief model. – Pro-social behaviour results from egoism rather than altruism. – We help others in order to relieve the stress we feel when encountering a bad situation. – This model also explains why people walk away. Walking away also alleviates distress. This model does explain some behaviour, however feelings of distress do not always lead to helping behaviour.  Empathy-altruism model: Batson etwith Batson disagrees al (1981) According to Batson, if the notion that we you feel empathy only help to relieve towards a person, you negative feelings. will help, regardless of Batson et al (1981) what you may gain suggest that people from it. experience two kinds Relieving suffering of emotion when they becomes the most see suffering. important thing. If a person feels no empathy, then they would consider the costs and benefits before making the Why do people help?  Theoretical Explanations for Prosocial Behavior: Explanation: Motivation: Reason for helping: Empathy-Altruism Empathy is Victim needs help Hypothesis aroused Feels good to help Observe Emergency Negative- State Relief Model Negative Affect is To reduce own Observe aroused negative affect Emergency Genetic Unconscious Determinism To maximize desire to help if Model survival of similar victim genetically Observe genes similar Emergency  Why do people help? Personality characteristics (interviews) – Good Samaritans (sense of own competence) – Blood donors (part of personal identity) – Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe (social norms, empathy, compassion, morality: justice and responsibility) – Gender Men: heroic Women: nurturing Bystander intervention – Presence of others  Why do people help? Experiment to investigate bystander Social psychological intervention and field studies diffusion of Latané & Darley, 1968, responsibility 1970 Subjects thought they were overhearing another student have an epileptic seizure. In some conditions, the students were told they were one of two subjects. In other conditions, they were told they were one of six subjects in the experiment. In the six- person condition, 31% of  Theoretical perspectives on altruism: New findings: Roots of altruism can be Evolutionary perspective 3 seen in babies’ helping hands https://www.mpg.de/532681/pressRelease20060302 Felix Warneken and Mike Tomasello  Theoretical perspectives on altruism: Evolutionary perspective 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS-QLB 8ELyk Aggressio n  Aggression (Smith et al.) Traditional definition of aggression: a behavior against another person with the intention of committing harm Aggression as a drive – frustration-aggression hypothesis – biological basis chimpanzee’s border wars stimulation of hypothalamus Aggression as a learnt response (social learning theory, Bandura) – vicarious learning – observational learning Aggressive expression – Hypothesis: expression of anger  catharsis  less aggression –  Aggression (Franken) Forms of aggression in animals, all can be found in human behavior Predatory Intermale Fear-induced Territorial Maternal Irritable (as a result of frustration) Sex-related Instrumental Possible motives for aggression – Need to control: agressive behavior as a subclass of control behaviors – Anger  lowers threshold for instrumental aggression  affective aggression, but anger may lead to different outcomes as well  What is aggression? Dolf Zillmann (1979): Hostility and Aggression Humans against animals (inter-species) attack – Aim is food-acquisition (= predatory ) ≠ aggression Other aims (only humans) – Aggression serving man’s safety: (animals threatening man’s life/health directly) – Aggression serving man’s well-being: (animals damaging man’s fundamenal goods (pests) / providing products necessary for survival (duck embryo for serum) – Aggression serving man’s convenience : (flies, moles, animal fur today) – Aggression serving man’s pleasure :  What is aggression? Dolf Zillmann (1979): Hostility and Aggression Humans against humans (intraspecies) attack Aggressive behavior: – Any and every activity by which a person seeks to inflict bodily damage or physical pain upon a person (animal) who is motivated to avoid such infliction. Hostile behavior: – Any and every activity by which a person seeks to inflict harm other than bodily damage and physical pain upon a person (animal) who is motivated to avoid such infliction. Threat of aggression or a threat of hostility: – Any and every communicative activity conveying a person’s intention to behave in an aggressive or hostile manner toward a person (animal) either dependent on certain conditions or unconditionally. Expressive behavior: – Any and every activity resembling aggressive or hostile behavior but by which a person does not seek to inflict injury or harm upon a person (animal) constitutes expressive behavior that may or may not be associated with a state of anger or annoyance. Disposition: – Any and every state of readiness or willingness to aggress against, be hostile toward, or threaten a person (animal) constitutes an aggressive, hostile, or threatening disposition, respectively.  What is aggression? New taxonomic system by Parrott & Giancola (2007) Definition: Aggression is a behavioral process in which the goal of a person is to inflict harm on another living being who wishes to avoid such treatment. Ways of expression: 2 dichotomies, 4 possible routes 1. Direction: How easily can the victim identify the aggressor? – Direct: easily – Indirect: barely, if at all 2. Activity: How active is the aggressor in harming the victim? – Active: activity causes harm physical verbal postural damage to property theft – Passive: lack of activity causes harm physical verbal damage to property  Types of aggression: Parrot & Giancola’s taxonomic system of aggressive acts INDIRECT DIRECT 1 Physical 10 The harmful stimulus is physical, causing physical harm or pain 2 Verbal 11 The harmful stimulus is verbal, causing psychic harm 3 Postural 12 ACTIVE Nonverbal communicational act, no direct physical contact between perpetrator and victim (only in personal interaction, thus, only in active form) 4 Damage to property 13 The perpetrator damages the victim’s property intentionally 5 Theft 14 Taking the victim’s property with the intention of doing harm 6 Physical 15 The damaging stimulus is the lack of some physical activity 7 Verbal 16 The harmful stimulus is the lack of some verbal activity PASSIVE 8 Damage to property 17 The perpetrator damages the victim’s property intentionally by being passive 9 Theft 18 The passive thief does not prevent others taking the victim’s property  She also posted her wedding dress and £10,000 ring on the site, saying: 'The sentimental value of these pieces mean little now.' She later posted a series of sexually-explicit text messages between the pair on her Twitter profile. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2587171/Scrumbags-wife-arrested-spray-painting-word-scum-Mercedes-red-p aint-burning-gear-theyre-getting-divorced.html  Prosecutor Kate Prince said there had been a history of domestic violence between the couple, who are now divorcing. She said: 'On this occasion, while Mr Small was out of the property, she returned to the home address to collect some of her items. 'When she checked in the wardrobe, she found all her items had been removed, apart from her wedding dress and her winter coat. 'Treasured items, including a nightie belonging to her grandmother and a ball dress she was due to wear that Friday night, had been burned in the garden at the back of the property. 'Mr Small admitted he had done it because he was angry and he did not look to see what it was he was taking. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581172/Ukip-councillor-set-fire-wifes-clothes-garden-row-join-mayors-ball.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2779931/Ex-husband-appears-court-accused-stealing-wife-s-beloved-cat-Marmalade-never-found.html http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/exclusive-angry-boyfriend-killed-girlfriend-dog-cops-article-1.1997015 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3050168/Revenge-dish-best-served-WET-Scorne d-woman-dumps-lying-lover-s-entire-Apple-collection-bath-sent-pictures-prove-it.html Thank you for your attention.