Altruism and Aggression
Chapter 8
Class Exercise & Discussion

List three occasions when you helped
another person.

What were your motives for helping the
person on each occasion?
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HELPING and ALTRUISM
1. Motivation to Help Others
2. Characteristics of Needy -> Helping
3. Normative Factors
4. Personal and Situational Factors
5. Bystander Intervention in Emergencies
6. Seeking and Receiving Help
1. Motivation to Help Others

Prosocial behavior (Broad category)

Beneficial to others

Positive social consequences
1. Motivation to Help Others

1. Helping
 Behavior intended to benefit
another
 Does not address helper benefit

2. Altruism
 Voluntary help for others
 No expectation of reward
What is Altruism?



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From Latin word alter – meaning “other”
Altruism – means “living for others”
Key component – Selflessness
Ignored as area of study until the mid-20th
century

Even though Auguste Comte coined the term
100 years prior
Motivation to Help Others

3. Egoism
 Rewards for helping
 Costs of helping & not helping
 Distress
Motivation to Help Others

4. Genuine concern for others
 Empathy

5. Evolved trait
 Survival of genes
 Reciprocation
Egoism & Cost-Reward Motivation

Costs for Helping

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Time
Danger
Expenditure of effort
Costs for Not Helping



Public disapproval
Loss of face
Embarrassment
Egoism & Cost-Reward Motivation

Rewards:
 Thanks
 Admiration
 Financial rewards
 Recognition of competence
Altruism and Empathetic Concern

Empathy-altruism model
 Two states of emotional arousal
witnessing another’s suffering
1. Distress: Shock, alarm, worry, upset
2. Empathy: Compassion, concern, warmth,
and tenderness

Empathy heightened
 Victim similar to self
Evolution and Helping

Evolutionary Theory:

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Genetic trait that helps individuals survive
will be passed on to next generation
Can also explain selfish or aggressive
behavior
Sociobiology:



Related to “survival of the fittest”
Most likely to help those closely related to us
Reciprocity from non-relatives
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2. Characteristics of Needy that
foster Helping
1. Acquaintanceship
2. Liking
3. Similarity
4. Deservingness
3. Normative Factors in Helping

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Outsiders should ‘mind their own
business’
Norm of Responsibility
Norm of Reciprocity
Personal Norms
Role Behavior
11/27 4. Personal & Situational
Factors

Modeling Effects


Gender Differences


Depends on situation
Good and Bad Moods


What actions are possible
Good mood encourages helping
Guilt

If feel responsible
Bystander Intervention in
Emergency Situations

1. Notice something is happening

2. Interpret as an emergency

3. Assume responsibility

4. Know appropriate assistance

5. Implement assistance
The Bystander Effect
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In emergency situations
Potential helpers
Influenced by relationship with other
bystanders
Bystander effect:
As number of bystanders increases,
likelihood that any one bystander will
help a victim decreases
Understanding the Bystander
Effect

Evaluation apprehension
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Diffusion of responsibility

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Concern about what others expect
How others evaluate their behavior
Someone else will help
How to get emergency help!!!
Costs of Emergency Intervention

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Arousal/cost-reward model

Needs of the victim

Their own needs & goals
Decide if helping is too costly
6. Seeking & Receiving Help

Help & Obligation

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Norm of self-reliance
Resent too much help
Threats to Self-Esteem
 Implies weaknesses