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:

Learning
Perspective

Evolutionary
Perspective
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

Socio-Cultural
Perspective

Social-Cognitive
Perspective

Learning Perspective:
Learning
Perspective

Two general principles:

reinforcement:
rewards and punishments
observational learning
Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Learning Perspective Research:

Learning
Perspective

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Learning Perspective Research:

Learning
Perspective

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Evolutionary Perspective:
Evolutionary
Perspective

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

animal examples
tendency to help others:
survival value
mutual/reciprocal altruism
self preservation versus altruism:
predisposed to both

Socio-Cultural Perspective:
Socio-cultural
Perspective

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

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:
Socio-cultural
Perspective

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Reciprocity Norm Study:

Social-Cognitive Perspective:
Social-cognitive
Perspective

Cognitive/Decision-Making Steps:
Need Perception

Personal Responsibility

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Costs/Benefits
Assessment

What Help and How

Need Perception:
Social-cognitive
Perspective

Need Perception
interpretation is vital:

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

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:

Social-cognitive
Perspective

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Need Perception Study:

Personal responsibility:
Social-cognitive
Perspective

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Personal Responsibility

Need Perception:
Social-cognitive
Perspective

Costs/Benefits
Assessment
consider the potential gains/losses

Help

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Perceived Profits:
rewards - costs

Not
Help

Perceived Profits:
rewards - costs

We help when the perceived profits of

helping are greater than those of not helping

Theoretical perspectives on helping behavior:

Social-cognitive
Perspective

Cognitive/Decision-Making Steps:
Need Perception

Personal Responsibility

Prosocial
behavior:
Altruis
m

Costs/Benefits
Assessment

What Help and How

General Determinants of Behavior:

Emotions
Learning

Genetics

Behavior

Motives

Prosocial
behavior

Roles

Altruis
m

Norms

Cognitions
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

Why do people help each other?

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.

Why do people help each other?

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 doesnt 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 wouldnt want to be forced into it

Theoretical Explanations for Prosocial Behavior:

Explanation:

Motivation:

Reason for helping:

Empathy-Altruism
Hypothesis
Observe Emergency

Empathy is aroused

Victim needs help

Feels good to help

Negative- State
Relief Model
Observe Emergency

Negative Affect is
aroused

To 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