Chapter 9 Prosocial Behavior: Doing What’s Best for Others © 2014 Wadsworth Cengage Learning Oskar Schindler’s grave. The Hebrew inscription reads: “A Righteous Man Among the Gentiles.” The German inscription reads: “The Unforgettable Savior of the Lives of 1200 Hunted Jews.”

 What is Prosocial Behavior?  Cooperation, Forgiveness, Obedience, and Conformity  Why Do People Help Others?  Who Helps Whom?  Bystander Help in Emergencies  How Can We Increase Helping? Chapter Topics

 Consider the case of Oskar Schindler, who risked his own life and spent his life savings to rescue more than 1200 Jews from the Nazis  Why do humans behave in helpful and cooperative ways even when it is not in their own self interest to do so? Debate: Help and Sacrifice

 Prosocial behavior: doing something good for someone or for society  It builds relationships and allows society to function.  Obeying rules, conforming to norms, cooperating, and helping are all forms of prosocial behavior.  People behave better when others are watching and know who they are.  People engage in prosocial behavior to be accepted by others. What is Prosocial Behavior?

obligation to return in kind what another has done for us. Found in all cultures. Reciprocation-the obligation to return in kind what another has done for us. Found in all cultures. - Fairness- is part of culture and based on norms. Equity- means that each person receives benefits in proposition to what he or she did. Equality – means that everyone gets the same amount, regardless of performance. Factors in Prosocial Behavior

 How is cooperation linked to reciprocity?  Prisoner’s dilemma: forced to choose between competition and cooperation  How does the prisoner’s dilemma illustrate the delicate balance of cooperation?  What are the most effective strategies to win in a prisoner’s dilemma game?  How does communication improve cooperation? Cooperation

 How does forgiveness go against reciprocity?  How does forgiveness benefit society? Individuals?  What are some of the downsides to forgiveness?  When is forgiveness more likely?  Who is more likely to forgive? Forgiveness

 Is following orders from an authority figure.  In what way is obedience prosocial?  Milgram (1963)  Majority of participants delivered extreme shocks to a screaming victim in obedience to an authority figure  How did Milgram’s studies paint obedience?  How did they influence social scientists’ views of obedience?  How can obedience benefit society?  How does obedience make it possible for people to live in large groups? Obedience

 Means going along with the crowd.  How is conformity prosocial?  In what ways is conformity beneficial?  In what ways is it detrimental?  How does knowing that others are watching affect our behavior? Conformity

 Is the strong belief in the reliability and validity of someone or something.  How is trust prosocial?  How does trust shape interactions?  How is the Trust Game similar to the Prisoner’s Dilemma?  What can both of these tell us about trust?  What types of people do you trust easily? What types of people do you mistrust? Trust

 of kin selection  The evolutionary theory of kin selection suggests that we prefer to help others who are related to us.  Altruistic helping  Expecting nothing in return for helping  empathy  Is motivated by empathy, an emotional response that corresponds to the feelings of the other person because it motivates people to reduce others’ distress.  Egoistic helping  Wanting something in return for helping  negative state relief  Is helping that is motivated by the desire to reduce one’s own distress according to negative state relief theory. Why Do People Help Others?

 Do people ever help when they stand to gain nothing?  How do positive feelings or avoidance of negative feelings offer an incentive to helpfulness?  How has evolution built humans to help others? Is Altruism Possible?

 Mostly people get pleasure from helping others.  People are more likely to help people that are similar to them.  Males are more helpful than females in the overall public with strangers and emergencies.  Females are more helpful with family, close relationships and in volunteering.  Females are more likely to receive help than are males, regardless of whether the helper is male or female.  People are more likely to help attractive individuals.  People who believe the world is just will help others, but only if they think those people deserve the help.  Positive mood increase helping, but some bad moods such as guilt can also promote helping. Who Helps Whom?

 Many people are introduced to sex partners by friends, co-workers, and relatives; however, the increase in online dating has reduced this trend  Spring break sex  Men will support and help each other to engage in casual sex  Women will support and help each other to avoid casual sex The Social Side of Sex: Helping, Sex, and Friends

 The Bystander effect  The Bystander effect is the finding that people are less likely to offer help when they are in a group than when they are alone.  How does the case of Kitty Genovese illustrate the bystander effect? Bystander Helping in Emergencies

 Helping can be increased by: Reducing uncertainties Educating others about bystander indifference Teaching moral inclusion (making others a part of the ingroup) How Can We Increase Helping?

 Humans help individuals and society  How does prosocial behavior benefit both individuals and society?  Why do humans demonstrate prosocial behavior towards those who aren’t family?  What prosocial behaviors are most important to the day-to-day running of society?  How do reciprocity and cooperation demonstrate the human concept of fairness? What Makes Us Human?

 If you donate money to charity or help a needy victim because it makes you feel good to do so, are you, in essence, being selfish and self- serving?  Is altruism truly possible? Discussion: Altruism

 Humans engage in prosocial behavior to benefit both themselves and society  Prosocial behavior is influenced by concepts of fairness, reciprocity, and cooperation  Barriers to helpfulness can be overcome through education and modeling helpful behavior Conclusion