Prosocial Behavior

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Prosocial Behavior
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Prosocial Behavior An act that benefits others
but has no obvious benefit to the individual who
carries it out.
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The scientific study of prosocial behavior can
trace its beginnings to a highly publicized
murder that occurred in 1964 . . .
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Latané and Darley (1968) reported the first
experimental test of the bystander apathy
apparent in the Genovese case. Participants in
their study thought they would discuss problems
faced by students in a high pressure urban
environment. They never met the other members
face-to-face. Instead all communication took
place over an intercom.
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Shortly after beginning the discussion (after
everyone had introduced themselves), one of the
other group members began to choke and appeared
to be having a seizure. Who would help? How long
would it take?
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The Bystander Effect
Victim receives
Prob(Help)
Any givenbystanderwill help
Group Size
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One clear feature of the Genovese case and other
bystander situations is some degree of ambiguity.
If the situation were clear, the presence of
other bystanders would be irrelevant. The
situation and the remedy would be obvious and
automatic. When there is uncertainty, however, we
must engage in careful, controlled
processing. According to Latané and Darley, we
proceed through five decision stages.
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Noticing and Defining the Situation What
determines if the situation will be noticed and
defined correctly?
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• Noticing and Defining the Situation
• What determines if the situation will be noticed
  and defined correctly?
• A cry for help

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Yakimovich and Salz (1971) had participants
complete a survey in a room on the second floor
of a building. A window washer on a ladder falls.
In half the cases, he cries out for help. How
many participants come to his aid?
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• Noticing and Defining the Situation
• What determines if the situation will be noticed
  and defined correctly?
• A cry for help
• Familiarity

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Does location matter? Latané and Darley (1970)
staged an accident (confederate on crutches
falls) in either the subway or at the airport.
Who helps more?
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• Noticing and Defining the Situation
• What determines if the situation will be noticed
  and defined correctly?
• A cry for help
• Familiarity
• A typical emergency

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We are most likely to define a situation as an
emergency if it is unexpected, unfolds quickly,
and escalates rapidly.
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• Noticing and Defining the Situation
• What determines if the situation will be noticed
  and defined correctly?
• A cry for help
• Familiarity
• A typical emergency
• Social comparison information

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Does it matter who the bystanders are and what
they do?
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Does it matter who the bystanders are and what
they do? Latané and Darley had participants
complete a survey in a room, sometimes with
others present. Shortly after beginning, smoke
billows into the room through the ventilation
system, clearly placing the participant at risk.
Do participants help themselves?
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Latané and Rodin investigated whether friends and
strangers produce different effects. Participants
arrived for a marketing survey study. Sometimes
others were present as well. Shortly after
beginning, the experimenter goes behind a curtain
and appears to have an accident (a crash is
heard). Who helps?
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Pluralistic Ignorance When others are present,
the collective uncertainty may lead to hesitancy,
which is collectively viewed as a signal that
nothing is wrong and no action is needed.
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Assuming Responsibilityand Knowing What to
Do The presence of others may inhibit helping via
diffusion of responsibility--the belief that
others present are responsible for helping. We
may also believe that more knowledgeable helpers
are present as group size increases.
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Shotland and Heinhold (1985) had participants
encounter a bleeding victim, either alone or with
another person present. Some of the participants
had Red Cross training.
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• The Rewards and Costs of Helping
• Even if we accept responsibility and know what to
  do, we may fail to help because it is too costly.
  
• Fear of embarrassment
• If fear of a social blunder is a concern, then
  being able to explain an action later should
  remove that concern.

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Gottlieb and Carver (1980) conducted an intercom
study but in half of the cases the participants
expected to meet each other after the study
(during which time any foolish behavior could
presumably be explained).
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• The Rewards and Costs of Helping
• Even if we accept responsibility and know what to
  do, we may fail to help because it is too costly.
  
• Fear of embarrassment
• Fear of punishment
• We may also fail to help because we may fear a
  negative response from others, perhaps even the
  victim.

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Moss and Page (1972) had unsuspecting
participants encounter a confederate on a city
street. The confederate asked for directions to a
nearby location and responded in one of three
ways to the participants who tried to help
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Moss and Page (1972) had unsuspecting
participants encounter a confederate on a city
street. The confederate asked for directions to a
nearby location and responded in one of three
ways to the participants who tried to
help Positive response Thank you very much.
Youve been very helpful.
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Moss and Page (1972) had unsuspecting
participants encounter a confederate on a city
street. The confederate asked for directions to a
nearby location and responded in one of three
ways to the participants who tried to
help Neutral response Ok
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Moss and Page (1972) had unsuspecting
participants encounter a confederate on a city
street. The confederate asked for directions to a
nearby location and responded in one of three
ways to the participants who tried to
help Negative response Interrupts the
participant and says, Never mind, I cant
understand a word you are saying.
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Then the participant encounters a second
confederate who appears to be window shopping. As
the second confederate turns from the window and
starts to walk away, he drops a small package.
How many participants help?
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• The Rewards and Costs of Helping
• Even if we accept responsibility and know what to
  do, we may fail to help because it is too costly.
  
• Fear of embarrassment
• Fear of punishment
• No time to help
• Sometimes we may fail to help because we have
  other demands on our time.

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Batson et al. (1978) conducted a study in which
participants arrived for an experiment and were
told that it was in another building. They were
also told that their participation was either
important (study was important and their
participation was vital) or unimportant (only a
pilot study). They were also told that they were
late or had plenty of time to get to the study.
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On their way to the other building, they pass a
man slumped over in a doorway, groaning and
apparently in need of help.
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• The Rewards and Costs of Helping
• Even if we accept responsibility and know what to
  do, we may fail to help because it is too costly.
  
• Fear of embarrassment
• Fear of punishment
• No time to help
• A messy or unusual victim

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Are some victims not helped because they might be
inconvenient to help or because they are unusual
in some way? Pilliavin, Pilliavin, and Rodin
(1976) staged an emergency on a subway train A
confederate collapses. In some cases, the
confederate has an obvious stigma--a large, dark
purple birthmark on his face.
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Pilliavin, Rodin and Pilliavin (1969) staged an
emergency on a subway train A confederate
collapses. In some cases, the confederate is
reeking of alcohol. Who helps?
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Other victim characteristics that matter
Similarity We help those who are similar to
us. Responsibility We help those who are not
responsible for their plight.
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Although much research has been motivated by acts
of bystander apathy, there are other cases of
truly selfless altruism.
Oscar Schindler
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Altruism can even extend across species . . .
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Emotion and Helping Do we help more when in a
good mood? Initial evidence indicated that good
mood might lead to helping Isen et al. (1972)
staged a minor accident--a confederate dropping a
stack of papers--on a city street. The potential
helpers were unsuspecting pedestrians who had
just finished using a phone booth.
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In half of the conditions, Isen et al. had left a
dime in the coin return of the phone. Would that
minor boost in emotion matter?
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In a second study, Isen et al. (1978) used the
lost letter technique. Letters were left in
phone booths and helping was determined by who
mailed the letters. Once again, in half of the
conditions, Isen et al. left a dime in the coin
return of the phone. In addition, sometimes the
letter was unstamped.
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Other research indicates that the influence of
mood may be more complex and depend on whether
the helper is self-focussed and concerned about
whether helping could affect the current
emotional state.
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Are some people more likely to help?
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Victim Responses to Being Helped Another reason
that bystanders may be hesitant to help is that
victims are sometimes resentful. Accepting help
from others can be embarrassing and lower
self-esteem because it implies that the recipient
is less capable or competent.
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Nadler, Altman, and Fisher (1979) manipulated
participant self-esteem by providing a
psychological profile of them as either stable,
clear-minded, mature, etc. or as unstable,
confused, etc. Then participants performed a
difficult task. In half the cases they were
helped by a confederate. Later they completed a
mood questionnaire. How did they feel?
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• What underlies our tendency to help? Selfish
  versus Unselfish Motives
• Four theories have been proposed for the
  motivation to help others in need.
• Empathy-Altruism Model
• Negative-State Relief Model
• Empathy-Joy Model
• Genetic Determination Model

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Empathy-Altruism Model
Yes
Observe anemergency
Is empathyelicited?
Help
No
No
Is it easyto escape?
Yes
No help
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Negative State Relief Model
No
Are negativeemotions elicited?
Observe anemergency
No help
Yes
Can the emotions beeliminated withouthelping?
Yes
No
No
Will helpingeliminate them?
Yes
Help
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Empathy Joy Model
No
Is empathyelicited?
Observe anemergency
No help
Yes
No
Will helperreceive feedback?
Yes
Help
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Genetic Determination Model
No
Similar geneticmakeup?
Observe anemergency
No help
Yes
Help
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Helping varies by culture . . .
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Helping varies by region of the country . . .
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