Social Psychology David Myers 11 e 2013 Mc

Social Psychology David Myers 11 e © 2013 Mc. Graw-Hill Companies

Chapter Twelve Helping

Why Do We Help? Social Exchange and Social Norms Theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one’s rewards and minimize one’s costs Rewards Internal External

Why Do We Help? Social Exchange and Social Norms Internal rewards Reduction of guilt (Feel-bad/do-good) Exceptions to the feel-bad/do-good scenario Effect occurs only with people whose attention is on others Feel good, do good Positive mood can dramatically boost helping

Why Do We Help? Social Norms Reciprocity norm Expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them Helps define the social capital Supportive connections, information flow, trust, and cooperative actions—that keep a community healthy

Why Do We Help? Social Norms Social-responsibility norm Expectation that people will help those needing help Gender and Receiving Help Women offer help equally to males and females Men offer more help when the persons in need are women

Why Do We Help? Evolutionary Psychology Kin Selection Genetic relatedness predicts helping Kin selection Idea that evolution has selected altruism toward one’s close relatives to enhance the survival of mutually shared genes

Why Do We Help? Evolutionary Psychology Reciprocity Predicted by genetic self-interest Works best in small isolated groups Group selection Groups in competition are mutually supportive

Why Do We Help? Genuine Altruism Our willingness to help is influenced by self-serving and selfless considerations Empathy Vicarious experience of another's feelings

When Will We Help? Number of Bystanders Noticing We are less likely to notice a situation if we are not alone Interpreting Illusion of transparency Bystander effect Finding that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other bystanders

When Will We Help? Number of Bystanders Assuming responsibility Responsibility diffusion Revisiting research ethics After protecting participants’ welfare, social psychologists fulfill their responsibility to society by giving us insight into our behavior

When Will We Help? Helping When Someone Else Does Prosocial models do promote altruism Elevation Time Pressures Good Samaritan parable Similarity We tend to help those whom we perceive as being similar to us

Who Will Help? Personality Traits Individual differences Network of traits Positive emotionality Empathy Self-efficacy Particular situations Gender

Who Will Help? Religious Faith Predicts long-term altruism, as reflected in volunteerism and charitable contributions Surveys confirm the correlation between faith engagement and volunteering

How Can We Increase Helping? Reduce Ambiguity, Increase Responsibility Personalizing bystanders Personal request Eye contact Stating one’s name Anticipation of interaction

How Can We Increase Helping? Guilt and Concern for Self-Image Door-in-the-face technique Strategy for gaining a concession After someone first turns down a large request, the same requester counteroffers with a more reasonable request

How Can We Increase Helping? Socializing Altruism Teaching moral inclusion Moral exclusion Perception of certain individuals or groups as outside the boundary within which one applies moral values and rules of fairness Moral inclusion Regarding others as within one’s circle of moral concern

How Can We Increase Helping? Socializing Altruism Modeling altruism Real-life modeling Media modeling Learning by doing Helpful actions promote the self-perception that one is caring and helpful, which in turn promotes further helping

How Can We Increase Helping? Socializing Altruism Attributing helpful behavior to altruistic motives Overjustification effect Result of bribing people to do what they already like doing; they may then see their actions as externally controlled rather than intrinsically appealing

How Can We Increase Helping? Socializing Altruism Learning about altruism Can prepare people to perceive and respond to others’ needs