Ch. 10: Helping Behaviors

Apr. 10, 2012

Helping (or not helping)• Examples of people in distress who are ignored• What determine why/when people help?– 1) Evolutionary factors:• Role of ‘kin selection’

• What research supports this?

• Other evolutionary explanations:– Reciprocity

– Empathy• Cognitive component –• Emotional component –

• Toddler empathy research -

• deWaal’s research on monkeys & empathy…

• 2) Cost-reward model– Social exchange – focus on rewards

• What are possible rewards?– Well-being

– Following social norms

– Related question of whether helping is altruistic or egoistic?

Voluteering

• Increases in volunteering after disasters (9/11, Hurricane Katrina…)– Penner’s research – possible theories:• 1. Modeling• 2. Threat to community• 3. Just-world theory• 4. Terror management theory• 5. Negative state relief

Situational Influences on Helping

• Effect of crowds: The Bystander Effect– Research on this began w/Kitty Genovese murder

in 1964 in NYC• Details of the incident?

• How did bystanders react?

• Darley & Latane’s follow-up experiments:

• Confederate appears to have seizure• …either alone, with 1 other participant, or 4 other

participants

0

20

40

60

80

100

0

60

12

0

Seconds from beginning of

fit

% h

elp

ing Alone

S + 1otherS + 4others

What is ‘Diffusion of Responsibility’?

– Obstacles to helping in these situations?• Noticing

• Interpreting– Shotland’s research on intervening in male-female assaults

– The role of pluralistic ignorance

• Responsibility

• Deciding how to help

• Other situational influences on helping:– Rural/Urban areas:

– Culture:

– Role modeling:

– Attractiveness:

Increasing Helping

– Note that people do not always want help

• Increasing helping among bystanders -

• Avoid the overjustification effect –– Issue among volunteer orgs: