SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY MARQUEZ, QUENIE V. AB PSYCHOLOGY 3 PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY MARQUEZ, QUENIE V. AB PSYCHOLOGY 3

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR Used as a term only since the 1970s Antonym of antisocial behavior Research into the psychology of giving, helping and sharing has gained significance as the key to harmonious interpersonal and group relations

(Eisenberg and Mussen, 1989) Prosocial behavior refers to “voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals” (Natalie Boyd) Prosocial behavior is any action intended to help others. One motivation for prosocial behavior is altruism, or the desire to help others with no expectation of reward.

In the story of the Good Samaritan, a man who is walking down a country road is robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. Two men pass by, and both leave the man to die on the side of the road. Then, a man who hates the beaten man passes by, and he stops to help.

Altruism When the motivation for prosocial behavior is to help others without any thought to what you might get in return, it is called altruism. Notice the difference: prosocial behavior is helping actions a person takes, while altruism is one possible motivation for those actions.

Predicting Prosocial Behavior There are many things that predict whether people will help others. Among the most common theories are: Kin Selection, The Reciprocity Norm, Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis, and Altruistic Personality Traits.

Kin Selection Kin selection is an evolutionary concept that says that people will help others who are related to them. (e.g, You’ll want to help your sibling more than you’ll want to help your friend) According to the theory of evolution, this is because we want our genes to survive for future generations.

The Reciprocity Norm Have you ever had someone give you a gift, and then you felt like you had to give them one back? The reciprocity norm is just a fancy way of saying that if you give me something, I’ll give something in return. If I see that you need help, I might help you because I know that then you’ll want to help me

Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis According to the empathy-altruism hypothesis, we are most likely to help if we feel strong amount of empathy and the situation is hard to forget People are more likely to help others if they feel empathy for them. Then, empathy leads to altruism

Altruistic Personality Traits Individual that shows unselfish desire to help other people who are in need has said to have altruistic personality trait that make him/her different from usual people.