Chapter 13: Altruism
Social Psychology by
Tom Gilovich, Dacher
Keltner, and Richard
Nisbett
Altruism
Altruism - unselfish behavior that benefits others
without regard to the consequences for the self




What stops us from helping others?
Why do we help others?
How do we react to receiving help?
How can we increase helping behavior?
The Problem

Why don’t people help?
–
–
–
–
Fear of danger
Disruption of own life
People are not prepared
Worried about looking
foolish?
Essential Steps To Help in
Emergency
Have
needed
skill
Try
to help
Assume
responsibility?
No help
Interpret as
emergency?
No help
Notice the
situation?
No help
No help
Noticing and Interpreting Situations
The Smoke Filled Room
Seminary Students
80%
63%
60%
45%
40%
20%
10%
0%
Low
Hurry
Moderate
Hurry
Time Pressure
High
Hurry
% Reporting Smoke
% Who Helped
100%
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Time (in minutes)
Alone
Three-Person Group
7
Assuming Responsibility
Latané & Darley’s “seizure
study”
–
–
–
discuss student life over
intercom
no one else would be
listening in
3 conditions



–
–
–
talking to 1 other person
talking to 2 other people
talking to 5 other people
one “subject” had seizure
pleaded for help
what % helped in each
situation?
100%
% Who Helped

85%
80%
62%
60%
40%
31%
20%
0%
1-Person 3-Person 6-Person
Number of Listeners
The Bystander Effect
Bystander effect- helping
decreases as number of
bystanders increases
–
Noticing and Interpreting


–
Assuming Responsibility


–
ambiguity
pluralistic ignorance
diffusion of responsibility
high costs to intervene
Having necessary skills

fear of looking foolish
100
% Who Helped

80
60
50
40
28
16
20
0
Control
Verbal Abuse
Physical
Threat
Factors Affecting Helping

Helping increases if victim is:
–
–
–
attractive
similar to bystander
not perceived as responsible for their plight


Note: blaming the victim restores one’s sense of perceived
control over events
Helping increases in situations where:
–
–
there are few other bystanders
we are in a small town or rural area
Factors Affecting Helping Cont’d

Helping increases if the helper is:
–
–
–
–
not in a hurry
feeling guilty about something
in a good mood
an altruistic person
Effects of Mood on Helping
In general, the results are mixed
 Mood increases helping when:
–
–

good mood stimulates positive thoughts and actions
helping can improve bad mood (feel-bad, do-good)
Mood decreases helping when:
–
–
helping might spoil your good mood (unpleasant
consequences such as embarrassment or danger)
bad mood leads you to focus on yourself
Gender Differences in Helping

Men help more than women when:
–
–

act is dangerous (heroic) requiring certain skills
such as changing flat or overpowering attacker
person in need of help is a woman (possible sexual
motive)
Women help more than men when:
–
–
giving to charity
caring for friends, family, and others
We do we help?

Biologically-Oriented
–
–
–
Genetic determinism
Social exchange
Social norms

Psychologically-Oriented
–
–
–
Empathy-Altruism
Empathetic Joy
Negative State Relief
Genetic Determinism Model
Person observes emergency
Unconscious desire to help
occurs if the person perceives
the victim to be genetically
similar to himself or herself
Person provides help in
order to maximize the
chances of survival of genes
that are like those
of the observer
Social Norms Hypothesis
Person observes emergency
Helping is prescribed by
social norms
reciprocity or
social responsibility
Person provides help
because victim needs help
and bystanders are expected
to help those in need
Social Exchange Theory
Person observes emergency
Cost-benefit analysis
conducted
Person provides help if
benefits outweigh the costs
Empathetic Joy Hypothesis
Person observes emergency
Situation leads to desire to
act and to have a positive
effect on the victim
Person provides help in
order to engage in an activity
that has successful outcome,
making the helper feel good
Negative-State Relief Model
Person observes emergency
Negative affect is aroused by
the emergency situation, or
person is experiencing
negative affect based on
something else
Person provides help in
order to reduce own negative
affect and make the helper
feel better
Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis
Person observes emergency
Empathy is aroused
Person provides help simply
because victim needs help.
Batson’s Experiments


Participants were going to
observe Elaine being
shocked.
Prior to observing shocks,
participants were exposed to
Elaine’s responses on an
attitude questionnaire.
Two conditions created
–
High empathy

–
Low Empathy


Very similar to Elaine
Not similar to Elaine
Manipulated ease of escape
100%
% Who Swiched with Elaine

Easy
91%
82%
Difficult
80%
64%
60%
40%
18%
20%
0%
High
Low
Empathy
Batson’s Experiments (#2)



Same Scenario
Did NOT manipulate
similarity
Measured participant
emotions and
categorized them as
high or low empathy
Manipulated ease of
escape in the same
way as before.
100%
% Who Swiched with Elaine

Easy
86%
89%
Difficult
80%
63%
60%
40%
25%
20%
0%
High
Low
Empathy
Batson’s Experiments (#3)
Misattribution paradigm
–
Participants all took a
placebo

High empathy condition
–

Told pill would make
them feel uneasy
Low empathy condition
–
Told pill would make
them feel warm and
fuzzy inside
100%
% Who Swiched with Elaine

Easy
Difficult
83%
75%
80%
60%
58%
40%
33%
20%
0%
High
Low
Empathy
Summary of Batson

Empathetically-oriented people help for
altruistic motives rather than egoistic ones.
–
Want to relieve other person’s distress, not your
own
Reactions to Receiving Help

High helper-victim similarity (friend, peer)
negative affect (feel incompetent, resent helper)
– lowered self-esteem
– motivated to self-help in the future
Note: reactions typically occur in high-threat situations
–

Low helper-victim similarity (non-friend)
–
–
–
positive affect (feel good, appreciative)
positive self-image
less motivated to self-help in the future
Ways to Increase Helping
When dealing with potential emergencies:
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become aware of factors which inhibit helping (diffusion
of responsibility, ambiguity, etc.)
if you see something unusual, consider various
possibilities (seek additional evidence)
be willing to be wrong or look foolish
assume responsibility
gain confidence/competence (e.g., CPR)
seek exposure to prosocial models
Study Smarter:
Student Website

http://www.wwnorton.com/socialpsych
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