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Altruism and Prosocial Helping

Altruism and Prosocial Helping. Learning Outcome. HR.2.A. – Distinguish between altruism and prosocial helping. Warm-Up. Create a list of times when you have helped others during this school year. Why did you help them? What was your motivation?. “Friends ” Example.

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Altruism and Prosocial Helping

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  1. Altruism and ProsocialHelping

  2. Learning Outcome • HR.2.A. – Distinguish between altruism and prosocialhelping

  3. Warm-Up • Create a list of times when you have helped others during this school year. • Why did you help them? What was your motivation?

  4. “Friends” Example • Good Deeds Do Not Exist! • Who do you with Joey or Pheobe? Why? Give Examples.

  5. Prosocial Behavior • Behavior that benefits others or has positive social consequences. • Acts intended to benefit others. • Any behavior that is initiated with the purpose of increasing another person’s physical or psychological well-being and has a positive consequence for that person. • What prosocial behaviors do you engage in?

  6. Altruism • Behavior that benefits another person – sometimes at some cost. • Evolutionary Biology: • Behavior that benefits other organisms but has some cost. (Cost & Benefit measured in reproductive fitness) • Social Psychology • Behavior that is meant to benefit another person rather than oneself • Staub(1978) – Alturistic acts may also result in reward for the individual (ex: feeling good)

  7. Theories of Altruism

  8. Learning Outcome • HR.2.B – Contrast two theories explaining Altruism

  9. Explanations of Altruism • Evolutionary Explanation • Altruism can be beneficial to the group, not just the individual survive. • Psychological Explanation • Altruism is witnessed in higher-order mammals and appears to have some conscious cognitive component, rather than just instinctual nature.

  10. Evolutionary Explanation • Kin Selection Theory (Hamilton, 1963) • Individuals are more likely to sacrifice themselves for relatives than non-relatives. “I only saved you because I am your father!

  11. Building on the Kin Selection Theory • Selfish Gene Theory (Dawrkins, 1989) • What looks like self-sacrifice could, in reality, promote survival of your genes. • If your brother survives, your genes do as well.

  12. Simmons et al (1977) • Aim: To investigate whether close relatives were more likely to be kidney donors. • Results: 86% or parents agreed to be donors but only 47% of siblings. The theory predicts that both should be equally as likely to volunteer.

  13. Kin Selection Theory • What are the strengths and limitations of the Kin Selection Theory?

  14. Game Theory • The study of strategic decision making. • The article you will read for homework will apply the concept of game theory to better help us understand how evolution could explain altruism.

  15. The Situation • James is paired up with a partner in a learning experiment on the value of electric shocks. James is assigned the role of the control (no shocks) and his partner is assigned the treatment (electric shocks). After watching his partner receive shocks, he is asks if he wants to switch roles, and James agrees. • How can this be explained? • Lerner and Lichtman (1968)

  16. The Empathy-Altruism Theory: Batson et al. (1981) • By feeling empathy for another person, it is possible for true altruistic behavior to occur. • When we see a bad situation we either have… • Personal Distress (anxiety and fear) • Empathetic Concern (sympathy, compassion

  17. Perspective Taking • True altruism requires perspective taking. This requires three traits. • The observer has to have had similar experiences. • The observer is attached to the victim. • The person is instructed to imagine what it is like to be in the victim’s shoes.

  18. Batson et al (1981) • Aim: To investigate individuals’ willingness to help if they had an escape. • Procedures: Using college students, researchers had participants read a short description of Elaine. One story led to high empathy and the other low empathy. They then watched Elaine participate in a memory test in which she received electric shocks. Some participants were offered the choices of either taking her place or filling out a questionnaire. The other half were offered the choices of either taking her place or watching the remainder of the trials.

  19. Batson et al. (1981) • Results: Participants who had high levels of empathy for Elaine almost always volunteered to take her place. Students with low empathy were less likely to take her place. • Conclusions: feeling empathy for a person drastically increases the likelihood of altruistic behavior. • Evaluation?

  20. Negative-State Relief:Schaller and Cialdini (1988) • Egoistic motives lead us to help others. • We help to limit our own self-distress. • This is also why people are willing to walk away.

  21. Empathy-Altruism Theory • What are the strengths and limitations of the Empathy-Altruism theory?

  22. Homework for 3/17/2014 • Read the Article Titled: Evolution: Why We Help. • Answer the following questions: • What is the prisoner’s Dilemma? How does it relate to altruism? • What are the five mechanisms by which cooperation occurs? • What is Indirect Reciprocity? Why are humans so susceptible to this?

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