Prosocial Behaviour:Why Do People Help?

What is Altruism?

Rooted in the Latin word alter – meaning other

Altruism – means “living for others” Key component – selflessness – an

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

Altruism vs. Prosocial Behavior

Altruism – “refers to acts that are carried out voluntarily by individuals who have no concern for themselves and who have no expectation of any kind of reward.”Altruism is the desire to help others, even if it

involves a cost to the helper.

What motivates people to help others?

Motivation to Help:Evolutionary Theories

Perhaps helping behavior is a matter of natural selection.

Darwin suggested that “altruistic animals risk the survival of their genes by engaging in self-sacrificing behaviors that threaten their long-term reproductive potential.”

There are three ways that altruistic genes might be passed on:Kin SelectionReciprocitySocial Norms

Motivation to Help:Social Exchange Theory

The decision to help others involves a cost-benefit analysis (maximize our outcomes and minimize our costs)

Empathy and Altruism: The Pure Motive for Helping

Empathy:

The ability to experience events and emotions the way another person experiences them.

Motivation to Help:Batson’s Model – Empathy-Altruism

Batson argues that true altruism does exist and that empathy is what sets it apart as altruism

He argues that a person’s motivation for helping may involve urges that are either egoistic or altruistic.

Why Do People Help?

Empathy-Altruism Theory

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education Canada

Personal Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour:Individual Differences

Personal Determinants

Altruistic Personality

Gender Differences

SES

Cultural Differences

Mood

Attractiveness

Situational Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour

¢ Rural Vs. Urban

Bystander Intervention: The Latané and Darley Model

Bystander Effect:

The greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them will help

Aggression:Why We Hurt Others

What is Aggression? Aggression is intentional behaviour aimed

at causing either physical or psychological pain.

Instrumental Aggression:Aggression as a means to some goal other than

causing pain.

Hostile Aggression: An act of aggression stemming from feelings of

anger and aimed at inflicting pain or injury.

¢ Is Aggression Inborn or Learned?. ¢ Freud elaborated on the more pessimistic

view that brutish traits are part of human nature.

Is Aggression Instinctual?Situational? Optional?

The Evolutionary ArgumentMales are theorized to aggress for two reasons:1. Males behave aggressively to establish

dominance over other males. The idea here is that the female will choose the male who is most likely to provide the best genes and the greatest protection and resources for their offspring.

2. Males aggress "jealously" in order to ensure that their mate(s) are not copulating with others. This ensures their paternity.

Research supporting the evolutionary perspective is provocative but inconclusive because it is impossible to conduct a definitive experiment.

Neural and ChemicalInfluences on Aggression

Aggressive behaviors in human beings, as well as in the lower animals, are associated with an area in the core of the brain called the amygdale.

When the amygdale is stimulated, docile organisms become violent.

Similarly, when neural activity in that area is blocked, violent organisms become docile.

Gender and Aggression

Boys and men act more aggressively than girls and women. The latter are more likely to use covert aggression (e.g., spreading rumours).

In Canada, although the rate of violent crime by females has almost doubled in the past 20 years, the rate by males is still four times higher.

Alcohol and Aggression

Research shows that the more people drink, the more likely they are to behave aggressively (Graham & Wells,2001).

Family violence, bullying, and dating aggression is associated with alcohol use.

Imitation and Aggression

Children frequently learn to solve conflicts aggressively by imitating adults and their peers, especially when they see that the aggression is rewarded.

In a classic series of experiments, Albert Bandura and his associates demonstrated the power of social learning.

Violence in the Media: TV, Movies, and Video Games

EFFECTS ON CHILDREN

The more TV violence individuals watch as children, the more violence they exhibit later as teens and young adults.

Watching a violent film has the effect of increasing the number of aggressive acts committed during a game—primarily by the youngsters who already rated as highly aggressive by their teachers.

EFFECTS ON CHILDREN

Playing violent video games seems to have the same kind of impact on children that watching TV violence does.

Violent video game playing positively correlates with aggressive behavior and delinquency in children.

What About Adults?

The amount of time spent watching television during adolescence and early adulthood correlates positively with likelihood of subsequent violent acts against others.

This association was significant regardless of parental education, family income, and neighborhood violence.