Social Psychology Week 9 Helping Behavior

Learning Objectives Differentiate between pro-social and anti-social behavior. Analyze theoretical perspectives on helping including personality characteristics of those who are likely to offer help. Identify the concept of bystander intervention. Describe the factors that can influence or affect helping. Explain why being helped can engender both positive and negative feelings.

Definitions Altruism means helping someone when there is no expectation of a reward (except for feeling that one has done a good deed) Prosocial Behavior includes any act that helps others, regardless of motive. Prosocial Behavior Altruism

Definitions Types of Helping (McGuire, 1994) Casual help, e.g., giving directions Substantial help, e.g., lending $$ Emotional help, e.g., listening Emergency help, e.g., taking someone to E.R.

Theoretical Perspectives There are 4 major theoretical perspectives on helping behavior: Evolutionary Sociocultural Learning Decision-Making Let’s take a look at each…

Theoretical Perspectives Evolutionary Perspective Many examples of prosocial behavior have been observed among animal species. Example: Gorillas who have helped children who have fallen in their enclosures at the zoo Endangering one’s own life to help another, on the surface, seems incompatible with reproductive fitness… “Kin selection” provides an explanation. Animals help others more who are genetically related. Mothers are more helpful than fathers. Females can produce a limited number of offspring, so protecting each is more important However, these ideas are controversial.

Theoretical Perspectives However, the evolutionary perspective does not explain why we do things like: Help strangers in distress Generosity toward strangers The Sociocultural Perspective offers a different explanation…

Theoretical Perspectives The Sociocultural Perspective Human societies have gradually evolved beliefs or social norms that benefit the welfare of the group These include: Norm of Social Responsibility We help those who depend on us Norm of Reciprocity We help those who help us Norm of Social Justice We maintain equitable distribution of rewards

Theoretical Perspectives The Learning Perspective We learn to be helpful through reinforcement and observation Children help and share more when they are reinforced for their helpful behavior Children and adults exposed to helpful models are more helpful For children, helping may depend largely on reinforcement, but as they get older, helping may be internalized as a value

Theoretical Perspectives The Learning Perspective Studies have found that rewards and punishments have a profound impact on children’s willingness to help In one study, a helpful adult model was used to get boys to behave altruistically by giving some tokens they had won bowling to an orphan Children who were rewarded gave more than those who were punished…

A Study Found: Rewards and punishments have clear effects on children’s willingness to help

Theoretical Perspectives The Decision-Making Perspective People decide whether or not to offer assistance based on a variety of perceptions and evaluations Help is offered only if a person answers “yes” at each step There are four steps involved in a decision about whether or not to help someone in distress…

Four crucial steps in the process leading us to help a person in distress

Theoretical Perspectives Perceiving a Need Characteristics that lead us to perceive an event as an emergency: Event is sudden & unexpected. Clear threat of harm to a victim. Harm will increase unless someone intervenes Victim needs outside assistance. Effective intervention is possible.

Theoretical Perspectives Taking Personal Responsibility Being given responsibility increases helping Perceiving oneself as competent to help increases the likelihood of taking responsibility In a study with children who donated Halloween candy to hospitalized children, when they were made to feel personally responsible (by putting their name on the donation bag), they donated more…

Increased personal responsibility increases helping.

Theoretical Perspectives Weighing the Costs and Benefits At least in some situations, people weigh the costs and benefits of helping or not helping However, in other cases, helping may be impulsive and determined by basic emotions and values rather than by expected profits

Theoretical Perspectives Deciding How to Help & Taking Action In emergencies, decisions are made under high stress Under these circumstances well-intentioned helpers may not be able to give assistance or may mistakenly do the wrong thing

Theoretical Perspectives Attribution Theory We are more likely to be empathetic and to perceive someone as deserving help if we believe that they did not cause their problem

Who Helps? Mood and Helping People are more willing to help when they are in a good mood likely because… It helps maintain their good mood Good moods increase positive thoughts However… The “Feel good” effect after helping is short lived We may actually be less likely to help if helping will detract from our good mood

Who Helps? Mood and helping Sometimes Negative moods can lead to more helping The Negative-State Relief Model suggests that people may help as a way to make themselves feel better This is less likely to occur if a person is focused on themselves and their own needs

Who Helps? Personal Distress refers to our own emotional reactions to the plight of others Examples: feelings of shock, horror, alarm, concern or helplessness Occurs when we are preoccupied with our own feelings and leads us to focus on reducing that distress As opposed to empathy which is sharing in the suffering of others This fosters egoistic helping: We’ll help only if we cannot easily escape the situation or ignore others’ suffering

Who Helps? Empathy refers to feelings of sympathy and caring for others Occurs when we focus on the needs and the emotions of the victim We are more likely to feel empathy for those who are similar to us and those who did not cause their own distress. This fosters altruistic helping

Who Helps? Personality Characteristics There is no single type of “helpful person.” Rather particular traits and abilities lead people to help in different specific types of situations According to a study (Huston, 1981) people who helped in potentially dangerous emergencies tended to: Be taller & heavier Have training in coping with emergencies Be men

Who Helps? Gender and Helping Men are more likely to engage in helping that is heroic and chivalrous Men are more likely (than women) to Help strangers—especially if the person needing help is female Help if there’s an audience Help if the situation is dangerous

Who Helps? Gender and Helping Women are more likely to engage in helping that is nurturing Examples: Care-giving, emotional support, doing favors.

Bystander Intervention STOP Read & Discuss Kitty Genovese Murder Article

Bystander Intervention Bystander effect = The more people present, the less likely that any one person will respond and help in an emergency The Kitty Genovese murder has sparked extensive research

Why does the bystander effect occur? Diffusion of responsibility The presence of other people makes each individual feel less personally responsible Example: w/16 people present, each has only 1/16 of the responsibility to help Pluralistic ignorance People may be uncertain if the situation is really an emergency and look for cues from others to determine if it is If nobody responds, one might interpret it as an non-emergency Evaluation apprehension = Concern about how others are evaluating our performance or “stage fright”

Bystander Intervention Environmental Conditions affect helping People are more helpful when it’s pleasantly warm and sunny People are more likely to help strangers in small towns & cities than in big cities What matters is current environmental setting, rather than where person was raised. Potential explanations include: Anonymity in cities Fear of crime Information overload Feelings of helplessness

Bystander Intervention “Good Samaritan” study (Darley & Batson, 1973) Participants were seminary students asked to give a short sermon Some were told to hurry across campus, others to take their time When they passed a groaning stranger: 63% of those “not in a hurry” helped 10% “in a hurry” helped

Volunteerism Volunteer helping is planned, sustained, and time-consuming Motives for volunteering: Expressing Values Gaining knowledge, skills, & experience Gaining social approval and new relationships Advancing career Putting aside own problems Gaining personal growth & self-esteem

Caregiving Most helping is given to friends and relatives Helping given to strangers is usually spontaneous, Whereas that given to those we know is usually planned Women tend to be more involved in care-giving type helping than men

Receiving Help Reactions to receiving aid are quite varied

Receiving Help Attribution Theory If being helped implies a personal deficiency rather than a difficult situation, it can be threatening to self-esteem If being helped implies the others’ genuine caring for us, it can boost self-esteem

Receiving Help The Costs of Indebtedness Helping is most appreciated when it can be reciprocated so that an equitable balance is maintained in the relationship Helping that is “one-way” or unidirectional in nature threatens equity and creates power imbalances

Receiving Help Reactance Theory Helping may be perceived as a threat to independence and induce reactance According to reactance theory, people want to maximize their personal freedom and choice Feeling that one’s freedom is threatened leads to negative reactions

Receiving Help New Ways to Obtain Help include: Self-Help Groups which minimize the costs of being helped because they offer opportunities for reciprocal helping and foster knowledge that others have the same problem Computers which can provide assistance anonymously and with no expectations of reciprocity and also minimize costs of being helped

Summary In this lesson, we have discussed: Helping behavior in general Perspectives on helping Evolutionary, Sociocultural, Learning & Decision-Making Mood, Personality, Gender & helping The Bystander Effect Volunteering Caregiving Receiving help

Quiz on Unit 9 NEXT week Unit 9 Assignment : Bystander Intervention Consider the following scenario: While walking through a busy city park, you begin to experience sharp chest pains that indicate the onset of a heart attack. What can you do to increase the chances that someone will come to your assistance quickly and provide appropriate medical attention? Provide rationale taking into account research on altruism and the decision-making process underlying bystander intervention and attribution theory.