Prosocial Behavior
Helping Others
Are others present?
Who else is present?
Who is the person in need?
What is the cost of helping?
Helping & Not Helping
Kitty Genovese example
New Bedford rape “The accused”
Goldensons give $60 million to Harvard Medical School
Oskar Schindler saved lives of several hundred Jews
Bystander Intervention Model
Inspired by Kitty Genovese incident
Must notice the incident
Must define it as an emergency
– many incidents are ambiguous: is it an emergency?
– we look at the responses of others to help us interpret the event
Latané & Darley (1968)
Assume responsibility
Decide how to help
Implement the help
Smoke Filled Room Experiment
Hypothesis: If people think there are other bystanders, they may fail to take responsibility
for helping
Independent variable:
– Ss think they are alone or in a group of 3
Dependent variable:
– % who contact experimenter
Epileptic Seizure Study
Hypothesis: If others are present, we may assume they will help, and fail to take
responsibility for helping
Independent Variable:
– Subjects think they are in a group of 2, 3, or 6
Dependent Variable:
– % helping within 3 minutes
Pluralistic Ignorance
Looking to others to decide what to do
– Fear of embarrassment contributes to this problem
Diffusion of responsibility
– Each person feels less responsible for dealing with the emergency
Cost Analysis of Helping
Perceived rewards and costs for helping
Can I get hurt helping?
Does victim deserve help?
Piliavin & Piliavin (1972)
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Hypothesis:
– The victim must be deserving
– apparent cause of other’s distress affects helping
Independent Variable
• victim either looked ill, or drunk
Dependent Variable
• % helping (see graph)
Shotland & Straw (1976)
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Hypothesis:
– The type of relationship between people affects helping
Independent Variable
• woman knew the man or did not
Dependent Variable
• % intervening (see graph)
Helping & Time Pressures
Darley & Batson (1973)
Hypothesis:
– Helping is less if the cost of helping is high
– people in a hurry are less likely to help
Independent Variable
– Ss told they’re running late, or on time
Dependent Variable: % helping
Theories of Helping
Negative State Relief Model (Cialdini)
– Egoism
Empathy-Altruism Model (Batson)
– Other-focussed helping
What is Altruism?
Helping another even when no benefits are offered or expected in return
Is This Altruism?
1. Bob, a college student, spends 3 hours per week as a “Big Brother” to an 8year old boy whose father has died
2. Mary, an attorney, stops to aid the victim of an automobile accident
3. Bill notifies the bookstore manager when he sees a college student attempt to
shoplift some notebook paper
4. John, a firefighter, rescues an elderly woman from an apartment building fire
and is overcome by smoke, but later receives a hero’s award
5. Millie anonymously donates $500 to a local charity
6. Sam attempts to save his 3-year old from drowning
7. Sally buys a raffle ticket from a charitable organization
8. Jim agrees to donate his eyes for transplant in case of his death
9. Jill, a college student, gives a pint of blood in exchange for $7.50
10. Wanda, a police officer, arrests a bank robber who is fleeing the scene of
the crime
11. Believing that “those who give shall receive great blessings in return” Ralph
and Doris contribute their family’s monthly paychecks to their church fund
drive
Why do People Help?
witnessing another in distress produces 2 reactions:
personal distress (upset, alarm)
empathic concern (sympathy, compassion)
personal distress motivates helping to relieve one’s negative state
empathic concern motivates helping to relieve the other’s distress
How Do You Create Empathy?
Make the person feel similar to the other
The person is more easily able to see themselves in such a situation
Sadness vs. Empathy
Cialdini et al. (1987)
Examined the effects of sadness and empathy
Helping increased when sadness not empathy increased
Negative Moods and Helping
Guilt increases helping
Regan, Williams, & Sparling (1976)
55% vs. 15%
Feel guilty about a “bad” act when forced to assume responsibility for it
Relieve guilt by aiding someone who is not the original victim
Do other negative moods other than guilt affect helping? YES
1. Personal responsibility
2. Other-focused attention
Qualifications
Increased helping due to bad moods is much more common in adults than children.
Why?
Only applicable to mildly negative moods. Why?
Good Moods and Helping
Stimulate positive thoughts
Reduces self-focus
“Happy Mood” maintenance
Scents & Sensibilities
Baron (1997)
– Pleasant odor or no odor areas of a mall
– Given a questionnaire
1 = very bad
5 = very good
– Other mall shoppers asked for change
– pleasant odor area or no odor present
Can Helping Hurt Others?
A handicapped person is trying to get in the door and you open it for them.
Your friend’s car will not start and you drive them to get a new car battery.
Your dad gives you $3,000.00 for a down payment on a new car.