1. Altruism and Pro-social Behavior
Who (has) does “service”?
Who has asked a friend for a “favor”?
Like RELATIONSHIPS, we all have some experience

2. 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?

3. What are these? Define PRO-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR: Define ALTRUISM:
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.

4. 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
Social-Cognitive Perspective
Socio-Cultural Perspective

5. Learning Perspective:
Two general principles:
reinforcement:
rewards and punishments
observational learning
Prosocial behavior:
Learning:
reinforcement:
effects of rewards and punishments
observational/social learning:
prosocial models
does involve rewards and punishments as well
Altruism

6. Learning Perspective Research:
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

7. Learning Perspective Research:
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

8. Evolutionary Perspective:
animal examples
tendency to help others:
survival value
mutual/reciprocal altruism
self preservation versus altruism:
predisposed to both
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

9. Socio-Cultural Perspective:
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
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

10. Socio-Cultural Research:
Socio-cultural Perspective
Reciprocity Norm Study:
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

11. Social-Cognitive Perspective:
Cognitive/Decision-Making Steps:
Need Perception
Personal Responsibility
Prosocial behavior:
Costs/Benefits Assessment
Altruism
What Help and How

12. Social-cognitive Perspective
Need Perception:
Social-cognitive Perspective
Need Perception
interpretation is vital:
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
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

13. Need Perception Research:
Social-cognitive Perspective
Need Perception Study:
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

14. Personal responsibility:
Social-cognitive Perspective
Personal Responsibility
Prosocial behavior:
Altruism

15. Costs/Benefits Assessment Social-cognitive Perspective
Need Perception:
Costs/Benefits Assessment
Social-cognitive Perspective
consider the potential gains/losses
Help
Not Help
Prosocial behavior:
Perceived Profits:
rewards - costs
Perceived Profits:
rewards - costs
Altruism
We help when the perceived profits of helping are greater than those of not helping

16. Theoretical perspectives on helping behavior:
Social-cognitive Perspective
Cognitive/Decision-Making Steps:
Need Perception
Personal Responsibility
Prosocial behavior:
Costs/Benefits Assessment
Altruism
What Help and How

17. General Determinants of Behavior:
Emotions
Learning
Genetics
Behavior
Prosocial behavior
Motives
Roles
Altruism
Norms
Cognitions
Self Concept

18. 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

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. So, what would the Pope do?
Most likely, it doesn’t 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 wouldn’t want to be forced into it

26. 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