Topic 10__Prosocial Behaviour__SV.pptx

Prosocial Behaviour Topic 10 Overview of Topics Prosocial Behaviour Why Do We Help People? Personal Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour Situational Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour Bystander Intervention Prosocial Behaviour Prosocial Behaviour: o Any act performed with the goal of benef...

Prosocial Behaviour Topic 10 Overview of Topics Prosocial Behaviour Why Do We Help People? Personal Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour Situational Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour Bystander Intervention Prosocial Behaviour Prosocial Behaviour: o Any act performed with the goal of benefiting another person o Examples: recycling, doing a favor, volunteering, saving a life o Self-interested or altruistic Altruism: o The desire to help others, even if it involves a cost to the helper Why Do People Help? Evolutionary Reasons: Instincts and Genes o Kin Selection: The idea that behaviour that helps a genetic relative is favoured by natural selection o Norm of Reciprocity: The expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future Social Exchange Theories o Prosocial behaviour is a way of maximizing rewards and minimizing costs Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis: o When we feel empathy for a person, we will attempt to help purely for altruistic reasons, regardless of what we have to gain Personal Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour The Altruistic Personality o A personality trait characterized by sympathy, empathy, and felt responsibility to help others across a variety of situations o Individual differences Gender Differences o Men and women help in different ways • Heroic and caregiving Socioeconomic Differences o Low SES people may help more (mixed findings) o Differ in self-concept Personal Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour Cultural Differences o In-group/out-group o Empathy to in-group, social exchange for out-group o Interdependent cultures help in-group; individualists help outgroup members o Cultural differences in credit? Religion o Associated with prosocial behaviour o Communal, moral norms, accountability o Consistent across religions; content of prosocial behaviour varies Mood: The good and the bad o E.g., Isen & Levin (1972): manipulated mood with money • Participants who were more likely to help a man who dropped a folder o Negative Mood: sadness and guilt Situational Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour Rural vs. Urban Environment o People in small towns may help more than those in big cities o Urban-overload hypothesis: people living in cities are overstimulated and keep to themselves to avoid being overloaded by it Residential Mobility o Moving away from home and social units/communities • Longer residence is associated with more prosocial behaviour o Place attachment: emotional bonds to a place Bystander Intervention Bystander Effect: o The finding that the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely it is that any one of them will help o E.g., Latané & Darley, 1968 (and other studies in Topic 2) Creative but questionable studies o Bystanders are often confederates Philpot et al. (2020) o Viewed real life bystander intervention using CCTV o Helping/intervention was the norm o The more people present, the better the chance of help Bystander Intervention The End